Education Program Specialist

All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement-10/24/2024-unless otherwise stated in this vacancy announcement. To qualify for this position, you must meet both the Individual Occupational Requirements (IOR) and the Minimum Qualifications as described below. Note: The same experience and/or education cannot be used to meet both the IOR and the Minimum Qualifications. Individual Occupational Requirements: Must possess at least one of the following: A college degree that included or was supplemented by at least 24 semester hours in a field related to the work of the position to be filled, of which at least 9 semester hours must have been in education courses. -OR- A combination of education and experience — at least 24 semester hours in a field related to the work of the position to be filled, of which at least 9 semester hours must have been in education courses, plus appropriate experience or additional education. The experience must reflect the level and kind described below. -OR- Four years of experience that demonstrated a thorough understanding of the principles and practices underlying the work of this series. This experience must have been of such character and diversity to demonstrate that the applicant possesses an understanding of the field comparable to that normally acquired through successful completion of a full 4-year course of study in an accredited college or university. -OR- At least 1 full academic year of professional teaching experience. This experience is defined as full and primary responsibility, under general supervision, for instruction of assigned students in an accredited school or institution. This includes responsibility for preparing and presenting lessons and for evaluating students’ progress, including a determination of the students’ success or failure according to established criteria. Serving in an assistant capacity to a professor without the authority to determine the students’ success or failure to meet course requirements does not meet this criterion. Minimum Qualifications: Must possess at least one of the following: One year of specialized experience, equivalent to the GS-09 level in the federal service, that provides the particular knowledge, skills and abilities to successfully perform the duties of an Education Program Specialist, GS-1720-11. Examples of specialized experience include but are not limited to: Supervise a subordinate staff carrying out a park’s Outreach Education Program; Develop partnerships with public and private education groups or other government agencies; Negotiate and prepare cooperative agreements such as Memoranda of Understanding or Memoranda of Agreements; Plan and develop a comprehensive curriculum-based education program within or outside a park area; Prepare grant proposals; Formulate, track, and manage an educational program budget. Your resume must show dates of employment and hours per week worked. -OR- Successfully completed of 3 years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. degree or Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree in a field directly related to the position. PLEASE NOTE: you must submit a copy of your transcripts when qualifying based on this option. Failure to include this documentation will make you ineligible for this position. -OR- Combination of specialized experience as described in A above and education as described in B above which total at least one year. For example, 6 months of specialized experience (50% of the specialized experience) and at least 27 semester hours of higher-level graduate education (50% of the education) would qualify an applicant for this position. NOTE: You must include your college transcripts to qualify under this option. Failure to include this documentation will make you ineligible for this position 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 as part of your application to be used to validate your work schedule and determine the amount of specialized 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. 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. 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.
This position is located in Rocky Mountain National Park in the Interpretation and Education Division. For additional information about this specific position, please contact hiring manager Kimberly Swift at kimberly_swift@nps.gov. Government housing may be available on a temporary or permanent basis, but it is not guaranteed. Housing assignments are made though a bid process.