Park Ranger (Interpretation)

All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement-10/29/2024-unless otherwise stated in this vacancy announcement. In order to qualify, you must meet the eligibility and qualifications requirements as defined below by the closing date of the announcement. For more information on the qualifications for this position, visit the Office of Personnel Management’s Federal General Schedule Qualification Standards. To qualify for this position at the GS-05 grade level, you must possess at least of the following minimum qualifications by close of the announcement: SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: At least one full year of specialized experience comparable in scope and responsibility to the GS-4 grade level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors). Specialized experience is experience that equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities needed to successfully perform the duties of this position. Specialized experience includes creating education or interpretive programs; delivering programs to an audience; scheduling programs; or participating in community events. You must include hours per week worked. -OR- EDUCATION: Successful completion of at least four (4) years of education above high school (120 semester hours or 180 quarter hours) leading to a bachelor’s degree with 24 semester hours of related course work. Related fields of study include natural resource management, natural sciences, ecology, biology, geology, earth sciences, history, archeology, anthropology, park and recreation management, social sciences, museum sciences, geography, English or other languages, behavioral sciences, sociology, education, or communication. You must include transcripts. -OR- Successful completion of a combination of education and experience as described above. You must include transcripts. To qualify for this position at the GS-07 grade level, you must possess at least of the following minimum qualifications by close of the announcement: SPECIALIZED 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). Specialized experience is experience that equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities needed to successfully perform the duties of this position. Specialized experience includes creating education programs; creating interpretive programs based on park themes; delivering education and interpretation programs; coordinating programs; providing virtual programs; developing training courses; or participating in community events. You must include hours per week worked. OR- EDUCATION: Successful completion of one (1) full academic year of graduate education related to the position. Related fields of study include natural resource management, natural sciences, ecology, biology, geology, earth sciences, history, archeology, anthropology, park and recreation management, social sciences, museum sciences, geography, English or other languages, behavioral sciences, sociology, education, or communication (one year of full-time graduate education is defined as 18 semester hours). You must include transcripts. -OR- SUPERIOR ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT (S.A.A.): Must meet the criteria for the S.A.A., as evidenced by one of the three following methods: 1) in the upper third of 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; 2) 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 curriculum; or 3) a member in one of the national scholastic honor societies. You must include transcripts. -OR- Successful completion of a combination of education and experience as described above. You must include transcripts. Credit will be given for all appropriate qualifying experience. To receive credit for experience, your resume MUST clearly indicate the nature of the duties and responsibilities for each position, starting and ending dates of employment (month/year), and the resume must reflect full and/or part-time or total number of hours worked (i.e., work 40+ hours a week, rather than indicating full-time). If part-time, the hours must be annotated to be able to pro-rate the amount qualified specialized experience. 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.
The purpose of these positions is to enrich peoples lives through meaningful experiences and enjoyable recreation, preserve and protect natural and cultural resources through broad collaboration and shared stewardship. The full performance level (FPL) of the target position that the Recent Graduate can be non-competitively promoted to is a GS-9. For more information, please contact David Krueger at david_krueger@nps.gov.