Park Ranger (Interpretation)

Summary

You will serve as a Park Ranger (Interpretation) with National Park Service. The purpose of interpretation is to enrich people's lives through meaningful experiences and enjoyable recreation; preserve and protect natural and cultural resources through broad collaboration and shared stewardship; and inspire social and environmental consciousness to build community and sustain the health of the planet.

Duties

Some of the major duties you will perform include but are not limited to the following: Presents formal structured programs (e.g., walks, talks, tours, events, and presentations). Identifies training needs and provides constructive feedback; coaches others on how to perform tasks; and acts as a mentor. Develops and formally presents training sessions on interpretive/educational topics for employees who work with the public. - Develops improve interpretation materials (e.g., signs, waysides, publications, exhibits, and audio content). Responds to visitor's inquiries for information, direction, and/or guidance. Provides curriculum-based education programs. Assists with the administration of the education operations including scheduling, providing training and guidance to seasonal employees and volunteers, record keeping, correspondence, and educational materials, including Junior Ranger programs, and other youth projects and advertises park education opportunities Duties will be developmental in nature when filled below the full performance level.

Qualifications

All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement - 10/30/2026-unless otherwise stated in this vacancy announcement. Competitive candidates must also meet Time-in-Grade requirements as defined in 5 CFR 300, Subpart F. 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 periods of time that reflect military service, the DD-214 or Statement of Service is sufficient to meet the work schedule requirement as the service dates will be reflected. 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. Selective Placement Factors: This position requires a special qualification that has been determined to be essential to perform the duties and will be used as a screen out element. If you do not provide evidence that you possess the following selective factor(s), you will be rated not qualified. Resume will need to indicate you have experience performing the following: Have a minimum of 50 open ocean dives and experience diving in water colder than 60F. -AND- Minimum Qualification Requirements: To qualify for this position, you must meet the following minimum qualifications: GS-05 grade level: Experience: To qualify, you must possess at least one full year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-04 level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors). Examples of specialized experience: assisted with presenting interpretive talks, educational programs, guided tours, or visitor contacts to the public in a park, museum, historic site, nature center, environmental education program, or similar setting; Provided visitor information by answering questions, explaining rules and regulations, and directing visitors to facilities, trails, exhibits, or points of interest; Assisted with preparing, organizing, or maintaining interpretive materials, exhibits, educational supplies, or program equipment; Worked with members of the public to provide courteous customer service while responding to a variety of visitor needs and inquiries; Followed established safety procedures while conducting visitor services or assisting with educational or interpretive activities. You must include hours per week worked. -OR- Education: Successful completion of at least a 4-year course of study above high school leading to a bachelor's degree with 24 semester hours of related course work in a major study such as: 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, sociology, or other closely related subjects pertinent to the management and protection of natural and cultural resources. . You must include transcripts. -OR- Combination of education and experience as listed above. NOTE: Only education in excess of the first 60 semester hours of a course of study leading to a bachelor's degree is creditable toward meeting the specialized experience requirements. Two full academic years of study, or 60 semester hours, beyond the second year is equivalent to l year of specialized experience. For example, I have 6 months of the specialized experience described above (50% of the experience requirement), and 3 years of college study from an accredited institution (50% of the qualifying education) which included at least 12 semester hours of related coursework as specified in B above (50% of the related coursework required). You must include transcripts. GS-07 grade level: Experience: To qualify, you must possess at least one full year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-05 level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors). Example of specialized experience: as park guide or tour leader; environmental educator or teacher; 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/or implementation of policy related to protection, conservation, or management of park areas or similar operations; or other similar work.. You must include hours per week worked. -OR- Education: Successful completion of one full year of graduate study in a related field. Related fields include 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, sociology, or other closely related subjects pertinent to the management and protection of natural and cultural resources. (One year of graduate education is 18 semester hours, 27 quarter hours, or the number your school uses to represent one year.) You must include hours worked per week in your resume and a copy of your transcripts. -OR- Superior Academic Achievement (SAA): Successfully completed a bachelor's degree in a directly related field AND meet one of the following: (1) Class Standing: rank in the upper 3rd of the graduating class in the college, university, or major subdivision, based on the completed courses; OR (2) Grade-Point Average (GPA): earn a GPA of (a) 3.0 or higher out of a possible 4.0 ("B" or better) based on 4 years of education, or based on courses completed during the final 2 years of the curriculum -or- (b) 3.5 or higher out of a possible 4.0 ("B" or better) based on the average of the required courses completed in the major field, or the required courses completed during the final two years. Note: GPA will be rounded to the one decimal place, for example, 2.95 = 3.0, 2.94 = 2.9; OR (3) Membership in a National Scholastic Honor Society. -OR- Combination of education and experience as listed above. To combine education and experience, first determine the percentage of experi