Park Ranger (Interpretation)
What you'd do
This position is located within the Department of the Interior, National Park Service, Guadelupe Mountains National Park, Visitor Services Division, Pine Springs, TX. Open to the first 100 applicants or until 07/20/2026 whichever comes first. All applications submitted by 11:59 (EST) on the closing day will receive consideration.
Major duties
At the full performance level (GS-9) the major duties of this position include, but are not limited to the following: 1. Researches, develops, and presents formal and informal interpretive programs and services that connect park natural, cultural, and historical resource meanings to visitor interests. 2. Staffs visitor centers, contact stations, and roving locations to orient visitors and provide accurate resource, safety, and facility information. 3. Develops and presents curriculum-based education programs and interpretive media for school groups and the visiting public. 4. Promotes resource stewardship and Leave No Trace principles to foster appropriate visitor behavior and protect park resources. 5. Evaluates interpretive program effectiveness, plans new offerings, and (at the full performance level) leads interpretive themes and provides work direction to seasonal staff and volunteers. This vacancy may be used to fill additional positions as vacancies become available.
What you need to qualify
All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement-07/20/2026-unless otherwise stated in this vacancy announcement. Credit will be given for all appropriate qualifying experience. For current Federal employees, if hours worked per week are not included on your resume, you must submit a non-award SF-50 for each federal position listed as part of your application to be used to validate your work schedule and determine the amount of qualifying experience that you will be granted. An award SF-50 will not be acceptable documentation for which to consider your amount of qualifying experience. For all other applicants who are not current federal employees, your resume must state either "full-time" (or "40 hours a week") or "part-time" with the number of hours worked per week to ensure proper crediting of specialized experience. Failure to adequately provide information needed to determine number of hours worked in each position may result in that time not being credited when evaluating qualifying experience. To qualify for this position at the GS-05 grade level, you must possess at least one of the following minimum qualifications by close of the announcement: EXPERIENCE: At least one full year of specialized experience comparable in scope and responsibility to the GS-04 grade level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors). This experience includes activities such as: Experience that demonstrated the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to perform successfully the duties of the position to be filled. Experience may have been in technical, administrative, or scientific work, fish and wildlife management, recreation management, law enforcement, or other park-related work. Examples of qualifying specialized experience include, but are not limited to, the following: Park guide or tour leader; Law enforcement or investigative work; Archeological or historical preservation research work; Forestry and/or fire management work in a park, recreation, or conservation area; Management, assistant, or program specialist work involving the development and implementation of policy related to protection, conservation, or management of park areas or similar operations. In addition, serving as a park guide or tour leader; presenting informal interpretive talks or programs to the visiting public; staffing a visitor center or contact station providing resource and orientation information; or similar work that demonstrated the knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform interpretive duties. You must include hours per week worked. -OR- EDUCATION: Successful completion of at least 4-year course of study above high school leading to a bachelor's degree with 24 semester hours of related course work You must include transcripts. -OR- Successful completion of a combination of education and experience as described above. To combine education and experience, first take the number of months of full-time experience and divide by 12 months. Then take the number of credit hours in excess of 60 and divide by 60. Multiply the resulting decimal by 100. Add the percentages together. The total must equal at least 100 percent to qualify. You must include transcripts. To qualify for this position at the GS-07 grade level, you must possess at least one of the following minimum qualifications by close of the announcement: EXPERIENCE: At least one full year of specialized experience comparable in scope and responsibility to the GS-05 grade level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors). This experience includes activities such as: Experience that demonstrated the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to perform successfully the duties of the position to be filled. Experience may have been in technical, administrative, or scientific work, fish and wildlife management, recreation management, law enforcement, or other park-related work. Examples of qualifying specialized experience include, but are not limited to, the following: Park guide or tour leader; Law enforcement or investigative work; Archeological or historical preservation research work; Forestry and/or fire management work in a park, recreation, or conservation area; Management, assistant, or program specialist work involving the development and implementation of policy related to protection, conservation, or management of park areas or similar operations. In addition, Independently researching, developing, and presenting formal interpretive programs (guided walks, talks, evening programs) that connect park resource meanings to visitor interests; providing interpretive and informational services to a broad range of audiences; and preparing interpretive media or materials. You must include hours per week worked. -OR- 1 full academic year of graduate education related to the occupation. -OR- Meet the criteria for Superior Academic Achievement (S.A.A.) as evidenced by one of the three following methods: I am in the upper third of my graduating class in the college, university, or major subdivision, such as the College of Liberal Arts or the School of Business Administration, based on completed courses; OR I have a GPA 3.0 or higher out of a possible 4.0 computed based on 4 years of education, or as computed based on courses completed during the final 2 years of the curriculum, or 3.5 or higher out of a possible 4.0 ("B+" or better) based on the average of the required courses completed in my major field or the required courses in the major field completed during the final 2 years of the curriculum; OR I am a member in one of the national scholastic honor societies. -OR- Successful completion of a combination of education and experience as described above. To combine education and experience, first take the number of months of qualifying, full-time work experience and divide by 12. Multiply the resulting decimal by 100. Then take the number of graduate credits completed and divide by 18. Multiply the resulting decimal by 100. Add the percentages together. The total must equal at least 100 percent to qualify. You must include transcripts. To qualify for this position at the GS-09 grade level, you must possess at least one of the following minimum qualifications by close of the announcement: EXPERIENCE: At least one full year of specialized experience comparable in scope and responsibility to the GS-07 grade level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors). This experience includes activities such as: Experience that demonstrated the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to perform successfully the duties of the position to be filled. Experience may have been in technical, administrative, or scientific work, fish and wildlife management, recreation management, law enforcement, or other park-related work. Examples of qualifying specialized experience include, but are not limited to, the following: Park guide or tour leader; Law enforcement or investigative work; Archeological or historical preservation research work; Forestry and/or fire management work in a park, recreation, or conservation area; Management, assistant, or program specialist work involving the development and implementation of policy related to protection, conservation, or management of park areas or similar operations. In addition, performing full-performance interpretive work such as developing new interpretive programs and media aligned to park themes and goals; evaluating the effectiveness of interpretive services and adjusting content and delivery; serving as a lead for an interpretive theme, site, or program; and training or providing work direction to seasonal staff, interns, or volunteers. -OR- **Qualifications requirements continued under Education**
Before you apply
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