Park Ranger (Interpretation)
What you'd do
You will serve as a Park Ranger (Interpretation). You may be required to work on-call, evenings, weekends, holidays, overtime and shift work. First time hires to the Federal government normally start at the step 1 rate.
Major duties
Some of the major duties you will perform include but are not limited to the following: Assist in coordinating and overseeing special events, including the culture bearer program. Serve as the Visitor Center lead, produce biweekly schedule, train staff on building SOPs. Independently research, develop, and conduct formal and informal interpretive programs on a wide variety of natural and cultural history topics. Conduct informal interpretation, including staffing information desk, and providing roving interpretation. Produce interpretive media, including site bulletins, website, social media, displays. Coach, mentor, and audit NPS staff and interpretive volunteers using 21st Century Interpretive Principles. The employees of the National Park Service care for special places that are the heritage of all Americans. Since its inception in 1916, the National Park Service has been dedicated to the preservation and management of this country's outstanding natural, historical, and recreational resources. Park ranger - interpreters connect people to parks. They play a key role in ensuring that visitors have a meaningful, satisfying, and safe park experience, help visitors decide how to spend their time in the park, and inform them about the wonders that await their discovery. Park ranger - interpreters are specially trained to engage the public so that each park visitor can find a personal connection with the meanings and values found in the places and stories of that park. They help visitors explore the many dimensions of parks by introducing them to a variety of perspectives. By providing the opportunity for visitors to care about the places they visit, they promote stewardship and the opportunity for those visitors to care for park resources. National parks are among the most remarkable places in America for recreation, learning, and inspiration. The work done by park ranger-interpreters through effective interpretive and educational programs encourages the development of a personal stewardship ethic and broadens public support for preserving and protecting park resources, so that they may be enjoyed by present and future generations.
What you need to qualify
Requirements Continued... Under applicable law, the employment of an individual serving a probationary or trial period automatically terminates when that period ends unless the agency affirmatively certifies, in writing, that the individual's employment should continue and that their appointment should be finalized. In the absence of agency action to affirmatively certify continued employment beyond the probationary or trial period, such appointments are terminated. Upon completion of your probationary period your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest. Qualifications: All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement-08/31/2026-unless otherwise stated in this vacancy announcement. To receive credit for experience, 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. For periods of time that reflect military service, the DD-214 or Statement of Service is sufficient to meet the full and/or part-time hours requirement as the service dates will be reflected. Minimum Qualification Requirements: To qualify for this position, you must meet the following minimum qualifications: Basic Educational Requirement AND/OR Specialized Experience for the series to which you are applying. To qualify for this position at the GS-09 grade level: Specialized Experience Requirement: you must possess at least one full year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-07 level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors). Specialized experience is defined as demonstrated experience: (1) administering and coordinating day-to-day operations of a recreation site, visitor facility or information desk; (2) developing or presenting interpretive content and materials using digital technologies (e.g., the web, social media, mobile technology, live broadcast You must include hours per week worked. -OR- Education: Successful completion of at least two full academic years of graduate education, a master's degree, or an equivalent graduate degree in natural resource management, natural sciences, earth sciences, history, archeology, anthropology, park and recreation management, law enforcement/police science, social sciences, museum sciences, business administration, public administration, behavioral sciences, or sociology. You must include transcripts. -OR- Combination of education and experience. To combine education and experience, first take the total number of completed graduate semester hours beyond the first graduate year (or equivalent) by 18. Then take the number of months of full-time experience and divide by 12 months. Add the percentages together. The total must equal at least 100 percent to qualify. Only graduate education in excess of the amount required for the next lower grade level may be used to qualify. You must include hours per week and transcripts. Volunteer Experience: Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religious; spiritual; community, student, social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.
Before you apply
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