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Park Ranger (Wilderness)

Department of the Interior
National Park Service
Pacific West Region (Interior Regions 8,9,10 and 12) - Mount Rainier National Park
This job announcement has closed

Summary

These positions are located in Mount Rainier National Park, in the Division of Visitor and Resource Protection.

The typical seasonal entry-on-duty period for Mount Rainier National Park is April to May but can be variable during these months due to weather conditions, project needs, or funding. Anticipated Entry on Duty: May 2023

Open to the first 250 applicants or until 12/12/2022 whichever comes first. All applications submitted by 11:59 (EST) on the closing day will receive consideration.

Overview

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Hiring complete
Open & closing dates
12/06/2022 to 12/12/2022
This job will close when we have received 250 applications which may be sooner than the closing date. Learn more
Salary
$19.11 to - $30.76 per hour
Pay scale & grade
GS 5 - 7
Locations
10 vacancies in the following locations:
Enumclaw, WA
Longmire, WA
Remote job
No
Telework eligible
No
Travel Required
50% or less - You may be expected to travel for this position.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Temporary - Not to Exceed 1039 Hours
Work schedule
Multiple Schedules
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
None
Job family (Series)
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Not Required
Drug test
Yes
Position sensitivity and risk
Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk
Trust determination process
Announcement number
PWR-1548-SR-23-11727075-DE
Control number
691650900

This job is open to

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Clarification from the agency

The Pacific West Region is recruiting for TEMPORARY seasonal positions not to exceed 1039 hours work in a service year. Dates of employment will vary depending on funding, weather conditions and visitation. Within regulatory limitations, the length of initial appointment may be shortened or extended depending on work availability and funding.

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Duties

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The duty locations for the park are: Longmire OR Enumclaw (White River), WA

GS-05: You will perform a variety of duties both in the wilderness areas of the park and at the Wilderness Information Center. Backcountry patrols vary in length from 1 to 10 days per pay period, but averages 3-6. The remainder of the time is spent on office tasks. Duties include:

  • Patrolling the backcountry by foot including rugged terrain in a range of weather conditions, making educational contacts with visitors, assisting in emergency response, campsite maintenance and light trail work, and other tasks relating to wilderness management.
  • Office duties include assisting visitors with wilderness trip planning and safety information, issuing permits, discussing Leave No Trace and wilderness regulations, informal educational presentations, data entry, and other office related tasks as assigned.
GS-07: You will be a team leader wilderness ranger position. You will be expected to be knowledgeable and able to lead the following position duties:
  • Patrolling the backcountry by foot including rugged terrain in a range of weather conditions, making educational contacts with visitors, assisting in emergency response, campsite maintenance and light trail work, and other tasks relating to wilderness management. Backcountry patrols vary in length from 1 to 10 days per pay period, but averages 3-6.
  • The remainder of the time is spent on office tasks. Office duties include assisting visitors with wilderness trip planning and safety information, issuing permits, discussing Leave No Trace and wilderness regulations, informal educational presentations, data entry, and other office related tasks as assigned.
  • Additional duties at this level include assisting in training, mentoring and scheduling other staff, identifying and taking the lead on projects, and serving as a reference and leader for new staff and volunteers.
This announcement may be used to fill additional positions if identical vacancies occur within 90 days of the issue date of the referral certificate.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • U.S. Citizenship required.
  • Appointment subject to background investigation and favorable adjudication.
  • Meet Selective Service Registration Act requirement for males.
  • Selectee will be required to participate in the Direct Deposit Electronics Funds Transfer Program.
  • At the GS-07, you will be required to submit to a drug test and receive a negative drug test result prior to appointment. In addition, this position is subject to random testing for illegal drug use.
  • You will be required to operate a government (or private) motor vehicle as part of your official duties; a valid driver's license is required. You will be required to submit a Motor Vehicle Operator's License and Driving Record. You must also submit (within a State sealed envelope or submitted directly by the State authorities), and at your own expense, all certified driving records from all States that disclose all valid driver's licenses, whether current or past, possessed by you.
  • You will be required to wear a uniform and comply with the National Park Service uniform standards. A uniform allowance will be provided.
  • You will be required to work on-call, evenings, weekends, holidays, overtime and shift work.
  • You will be required to travel overnight away from home including backpacking and camping in wilderness areas.

Qualifications

All qualifications must be met by 11:59 EST when the 'applicant cut-off' is reached (which may be sooner than 12/12/2022).

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 of qualified specialized experience.

SELECTIVE FACTORS:
1. These positions must hike and backpack safely in a wide variety of environmental conditions, including over snow, up to 10 miles per day carrying heavy loads up to 50 pounds. Candidates who do not meet this requirement by close of this announcement will receive no further consideration for this position. Experience MUST be reflected in application materials.
2. These positions perform pre-hospital care for medical emergencies. Emergency Medical Services certification, as listed below, is required. Candidates who do not meet this requirement by close of this announcement will receive no further consideration for this position. Certifications MUST be reflected in application materials.

  • GS-07 Park Ranger (Wilderness) - First Responder or Wilderness First Responder or higher certification
- AND -

To qualify for this position at the GS-05 grade level, you must possess at least one of the following minimum qualifications:

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: 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 implementation of policy related to protection, conservation, or management of park areas or similar operations. You must include hours per week worked in your resume.
-OR-
EDUCATION:
Successful completion of at least at least four years of progressively higher level undergraduate coursework leading to a bachelor's degree or equivalent undergraduate degree with major study or at least 24 semester hours in any combination of courses 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, behavior sciences, sociology, or other closely related subjects pertinent to the management and protection of natural and cultural resources. 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 semester hours (or equivalent) earned towards a bachelor's degree, in excess of 60 semester hours, and divide by 60 semester hours (or equivalent). 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. You must include hours per week worked and transcripts.

To qualify for this position at the GS-07 grade level, you must possess at least one of the following minimum qualifications:

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: 1) perform front or backcountry patrols in a park or natural area to education visitors and protect resources; 2) staff a visitor center or information desk providing information and orientation to visitors; and 3) provide emergency medical treatment to others within the scope of your licensure. You must include hours per week worked in your resume.
-OR-
EDUCATION:
Successful completion of at least at least one year of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a master's degree or equivalent graduate degree with a major study in a related field 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, behavior sciences, sociology, or other closely related subjects pertinent to the management and protection of natural and cultural resources. 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 semester hours (or equivalent) earned towards a graduate degree and divide by 18 semester hours (or equivalent). 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. You must include hours per week worked 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.

ICTAP/CTAP Statement: Current surplus and current or former displaced Federal individuals who have special prior­ity selection rights under the Agency Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP) or the Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP) must be well qualified for the position to receive consideration for special priority selection. Well qualified means that the applicant meets the following: OPM qualification standards for the position; all selective placement factors, where applicable; special qualifying conditions that OPM has approved for the position, where applicable; is physically qualified with reasonable accommodation, where appropriate to satisfactorily perform the duties of the position upon entry; and is rated by the organization at least at the well qualified level on all competencies.

Education

To qualify based on education, you must submit a legible copy of transcripts from an accredited institution with your name, school name, credit hours, course level, major(s), and grade-point average or class ranking. Transcripts do not need to be official, but if you are selected for this position and you used your education to qualify, you must provide official transcripts before you begin work.

If you are using education completed in foreign colleges or universities to meet qualification requirements, you must show that your education credentials have been evaluated by a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign education programs and such education has been deemed equivalent to that gained in an accredited U.S. education program; or full credit has been given for the courses at a U.S. accredited college or university.

Additional information

If you would like more information regarding this announcement, please contact:
Daniel Van Der Elst, Daniel_van_der_Elst@nps.gov, 360-569-6651
Tabbatha Cavendish, Tabbatha_Cavendish@nps.gov, 360-569-6671

A selectee receiving a first appointment to the Federal Government (Civil Service) is entitled only to the lowest step of the grade for which selected. The display of a salary range on this vacancy shall not be construed as granting an entitlement to a higher rate of pay.

Physical Demands: The work requires regular and recurring physical exertion such as extensive periods of standing and walking, in some cases over rough, uneven, rocky or snowy surfaces and includes lifting and carrying backpacks, tools, rescue equipment, etc. Work may be performed on uneven, steep, rough, slippery, and/or rough terrain.

Working Conditions: The work is performed in a setting in which there is regular and recurring exposure ot moderate discomforts and unpleasantness, e.g., high or low temperatures, confined spaces or adverse weather conditions. In addition, work may be performed in areas of extremely rough terrain with wide annual variations in climactic conditions.

Telework: The National Park Service has determined that the duties of this position are suitable for telework only during an emergency or natural disaster.

Travel, transportation & relocation expenses will not be paid. Relocation expenses will be the employee's responsibility.

Non-Competitive Rehire Eligibility: Temporary seasonal employees can only maintain their non-competitive rehire eligibility if they work no more than a combined total of Temporary NTE less than 1040 hours anywhere in the National Park Service (NPS) within their established service year. Accordingly, non-competitive rehire eligibility allows for re-appointment to the same position or another position appropriate for temporary appointment with the same qualification requirements (5 CFR 316.402[b][7]), based on series and grade, anywhere in the major subdivision (NPS).

If you have held a temporary seasonal appointment in the past 12 months and have already worked the maximum temporary appointment less than 1040 hours during that period, you are still welcome to apply. However, please be aware that exceeding the limit of 1040 hours in your established service year will result in the loss of your non-competitive rehire eligibility.

The limit can be exceeded by working multiple temporary seasonal positions that result in a combined total greater than 1040 hours. The limit also can be exceeded by working a single temporary seasonal appointment that exceeds 1040 hours, unless granted an exception by OPM.

Employment may be terminated at any time due to fluctuations in funding levels, project needs, employee performance, or other considerations.

If you are unable to apply online or need to fax a document that you do not have in electronic form, view the following link for information regarding an Alternate Application. Click the following link for more information, https://help.usastaffing.gov/Apply/index.php?title=Alternate_Application_Information.

How you will be evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

You will be evaluated based on how well you meet the qualifications listed in this vacancy announcement. Your qualifications will be evaluated based on your application materials (e.g., resume, supporting documents), the responses you provide on the application questionnaire, and the result of the additional assessments required for this position. A review of your resume and supporting documentation will be made and compared against your responses to the Assessment Questionnaire to determine if you are qualified for this job. If your resume is incomplete or does not support the responses provided in the Assessment Questionnaire, or if you fail to submit all required documentation, you will be rated 'ineligible', 'not qualified', or your score will be adjusted accordingly. If a determination is made that you have inflated your qualifications or experience, you can lose consideration for this position. Please follow all instructions carefully; errors or omissions can affect your rating.

Candidates will be rated and ranked using Category Rating procedures. These procedures place candidates with veteran's preference above non-preference eligibles within each category. Veterans with a service-connected disability of at least 10 percent are listed in the highest quality category, except when the position being filled is scientific or professional at the GS-09 grade level or higher. Under Category Rating, candidates will be rated and ranked into one of two categories:

  • Well Qualified - applicants possessing experience that exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors and are proficient in most of the requirements of the job
  • Qualified - applicants possessing experience that meets the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors and are proficient in some, but not all of the requirements of the job.
You will be evaluated on the following competencies:
  • First Response
  • Interpersonal Skills
  • Spatial Orientation
  • Technical Competence
  • Leadership (GS-07 Only)

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