Skip to main content
U.S. flag
Back to results

Outdoor Recreation Planner (Trail Planner)

Department of the Interior
National Park Service
This job announcement has closed

Summary

This permanent full-time position is located at the North Country National Scenic Trail headquarters in Lowell, Michigan. For information on the area or duties of the position contact Kenneth_Hendrickson@nps.gov or 616-250-3160.

This position is concurrently open to all U.S. Citizens under Announcement Number MW-1544-NOCO-23-12083926-DE

Overview

Help
Hiring complete
Open & closing dates
11/29/2023 to 12/18/2023
Salary
$57,118 to - $89,835 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 9 - 11
Location
Lowell, MI
1 vacancy
Remote job
No
Telework eligible
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Travel Required
Occasional travel - You may be expected to travel for this position.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
Yes—You may qualify for reimbursement of relocation expenses in accordance with agency policy.
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-time
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
11
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Not Required
Drug test
No
Position sensitivity and risk
Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk
Trust determination process
Announcement number
MW-1544-NOCO-23-12083927-ST
Control number
747956200

Videos

Duties

Help

MAJOR DUTIES GS-9
Assists with trail planning activities for the North Country National Scenic Trail. Under direction from the Trail Manager, leads local-level trail planning studies. Collaborates with North Country Trail Association Regional Trail Coordinators (RTCs), state and federal agencies, partners, and volunteers to facilitate trail route planning studies, assist in planning long-term trail routes as well as short-term reroutes, and address a variety of trail planning challenges. Work includes: 1) under the direction of the Trail Manager, work with NPS partners, members of the public, and others to plan and conduct routine trail route studies and plans and prepare planning documents for supervisory review and approval; 2) with supervisory guidance, coordinate contracted trail studies and consult with local, state, and federal partners; 3) use a variety of methods, resources, and technology to collect data in support of trail planning, such as GIS, GPS, aerial imagery analysis, etc.; 4) other duties as assigned supporting trail and organizational operations and activities.

MAJOR DUTIES GS-11
Serves as the Trail Planner for the North Country National Scenic Trail and the primary contact for trail planning activities. Independently directs and leads local, state, and regional-level route planning projects of increasing complexity with minimal supervisory guidance from the Trail Manager. This position regularly collaborates with North Country Trail Association Regional Trail Coordinators (RTCs), state and federal agencies, partners, and volunteers to facilitate trail route planning studies, conduct planning studies for long-term trail routes as well as short-term reroutes, and address a variety of trail planning challenges. Work includes: 1) independently develops strategies to work with NPS partners, members of the public, and others to plan and conduct advanced trail route studies and plans and prepare planning documents for supervisory review and approval; 2) independently coordinates contracted regional-level trail studies and consults with local, state, and federal partners; 3) independently organizes, facilitates, and leads meetings and other planning processes to support collaborative trail planning; 4) conducts advanced trail planning using a variety of methods, resources, and technology to collect data in support of trail planning, such as GIS, GPS, aerial imagery analysis, etc.; 5) other duties as assigned supporting trail and organizational operations and activities.

Duties will be developmental in nature when filled below the full performance level.

Physical Demands: Most work is sedentary, but incumbent is expected to travel when necessary and work in outdoor settings, which require hiking and enduring various, occasionally extreme, environmental conditions. Situations may arise with considerable time constraints and long hours.

Work Environment: Work is performed primarily in an office environment, meeting room, or similar setting. Travel may be frequent and involves the normal risks and discomforts of automobile, bus, rail, or air transportation travel. During periods of fieldwork the employee may be exposed to a variety of climates, altitudes, and other environmental factors.

AREA INFORMATION
Lowell Michigan is a small city of 4,044 persons, 15 miles east of Grand Rapids Michigan. All necessary amenities can be found in Lowell. Excellent public school system, groceries, pharmacies, restaurants, breweries, cultural organizations, and water and land-based recreation. Additional amenities can be found in Grand Rapids, the second most-populated city in Michigan. Situated a short 40-minute drive from Lake Michigan, Grand Rapids was named Lonely Planet's top U.S. travel destination for 2014. It has been voted "Beer City USA" in two nationwide polls, and the city's annual ArtPrize has been named one of Time magazine's top five festivals in the world.

Requirements

Help

Conditions of employment

  • U.S. Citizenship required.
  • Appointment subject to background investigation and favorable adjudication.
  • Meet Selective Service Registration Act requirement for males.
  • Complete the initial online assessment and USAHire Assessment, if required.
  • Selectee will be required to participate in the Direct Deposit Electronics Funds Transfer Program.
  • Any individual who is currently holding, or has held within the previous 52 weeks, a General Schedule position under non-temporary appointment in the competitive or excepted service, must meet time-in-grade requirements (must have served 52 weeks at the next lower grade or equivalent in the Federal service). Time-in-grade requirements must be met by the closing date of this announcement. Time-In-Grade requirements also apply to former Federal civilian employees applying for reinstatement as well as current employees applying for Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) appointment.
  • 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 wear a uniform and comply with the National Park Service uniform standards. A uniform allowance will be provided.
  • You may be required to work evenings, weekends, holidays, overtime.
  • If you are a new employee or supervisor in the Federal government, you will be required to complete a one-year probationary period.
  • You may be required to travel overnight away from home occasionally. You must obtain a government charge card for travel purposes.
  • You may be required to complete training and obtain/maintain a government charge card with travel and/or purchase authority.
  • Applicants must be at least (1)18 years old or (2) at least 16 years old and: (a) Have graduated from high school or been awarded a certificate equivalent to graduating from high school; or (b) Have completed a formal vocational training program; or (c) Have received a statement from school authorities agreeing with their preference for employment rather than continuing their education; or (d) Be currently enrolled in a secondary school and either work only during school vacation periods or work part-time during the school year under a formal student employment program.

Qualifications

All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement-12/18/2023-unless otherwise stated in this vacancy announcement.

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.

To qualify for this position at the GS-09 grade level, you must possess one of the following minimum qualifications by close of the announcement:

EXPERIENCE: At least one full year of specialized experience comparable in scope and responsibility to the GS-07 grade level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors). This experience includes activities such as: Draft and contribute to planning documents; Prepare materials for internal and external meetings including press releases, presentations, posters, and other relevant materials; Collaborate with team members to write components of planning documents and meet project objectives, milestones, and timelines; Consider outdoor recreation interests, habits, and needs of diversified groups, and the means for meeting those needs; Research and analyze data of current and future use, demographics, and natural, cultural, and recreation features related to park planning and compliance. Prepare or review final document results from those actions. You must include hours per week worked on your resume.
-OR-
EDUCATION: Successful completion of at least a master's or equivalent graduate degree with a major study in outdoor recreation planning or a related field such as: sociology, forestry, landscape architecture, economics, biological science, park administration, earth science, natural resource management and conservation, civil engineering, urban planning, or recreation OR 2 full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree. You MUST submit a copy of your transcripts indicating degree earned and credit hours in order to qualify based on education. A copy of your official transcripts will be required before entrance on duty, if selected.
-OR-
Successful completion of a combination of education and experience as described above. The total must equal at least 100 percent to qualify. You MUST submit a copy of your transcripts indicating degree earned and credit hours in order to qualify based on education. A copy of your official transcripts will be required before entrance on duty, if selected.

To qualify for this position at the GS-11 grade level, you must possess one of the following minimum qualifications by close of the announcement:

EXPERIENCE: At least one full year of specialized experience comparable in scope and responsibility to the GS-09 grade level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors). This experience includes activities such as: analysis and evaluation of outdoor recreation interests, habits, and needs of diversified groups, and the means for meeting those needs; evaluation of land or water areas for their recreation and related potential use, such as wildlife reserve; preparation and review of plans and programs for natural resource utilization and recreation area development. You must include hours per week worked on your resume.
-OR-
EDUCATION: Successful completion of at least three (3) full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. with a major study in outdoor recreation planning or a related field such as: sociology, forestry, landscape architecture, economics, biological science, park administration, earth science, natural resource management and conservation, civil engineering, urban planning, or recreation. Applicants who qualify based on graduate work in related disciplines must have one or more courses in outdoor recreation. You MUST submit a copy of your transcripts indicating degree earned and credit hours in order to qualify based on education. A copy of your official transcripts will be required before entrance on duty, if selected.
-OR-
Successful completion of a combination of education and experience as described above. The total must equal at least 100 percent to qualify. You MUST submit a copy of your transcripts indicating degree earned and credit hours in order to qualify based on education. A copy of your official transcripts will be required before entrance on duty, if selected.

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.

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

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.

A Recruitment Incentive May Be Authorized for a newly selected employee when appointed to a permanent, temporary, or term position. A Federal employee who is transferring to the National Park Service from another component, bureau or Federal agency and who does not meet the conditions under 5 CFR 575.102 is not eligible for a recruitment incentive.

A Relocation Incentive May Be Authorizedfor a Federal employee when the employee must move, as directed by the National Park Service (NPS) either through a management directed reassignment or selection for employment, to a different location at least 50 miles away from the one where his/her position of record held at time of selection is currently located, due to a need of the NPS. A relocation incentive is not the same as a Permanent Change of Station (PCS) move and, as such, may be granted in conjunction with one another.

This announcement may be used to fill additional positions if identical vacancies occur within 90 days of the issue date of the referral certificate.

Promotion to the full performance level is neither guaranteed nor implied and will be based solely on your ability to satisfactorily perform the work of the position, existing work at the higher grade level, and recommendation by the position's supervisor.

The National Park Service has determined that the duties of this position are suitable for telework and the selectee may be allowed to telework with supervisor approval.

Reasonable Accommodation (RA) Requests: If you believe you have a disability (i.e., physical or mental), covered by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended, that would interfere with completing the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, you will be granted the opportunity to request a RA in your online application. Requests for RA for the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments and appropriate supporting documentation for RA must be received prior to starting the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments. Decisions on requests for RA are made on a case-by-case basis. If you meet the minimum qualifications of the position, after notification of the adjudication of your request, you will receive an email invitation to complete the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments. You must complete all assessments within 48 hours of receiving the URL to access the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, if you received the link after the close of the announcement. To determine if you need a RA, please review the Procedures for Requesting a Reasonable Accommodation for Online Assessments here: https://help.usastaffing.gov/Apply/index.php?title=Reasonable_Accommodations_for_USA_Hire

How you will be evaluated

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

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 who apply under Competitive Merit Promotion procedures will undergo a quality review to determine if they are highly qualified based on the content of their resume and their responses to the questionnaire. Best qualified candidates will be referred if all required supporting documentation has been provided.

Candidates who apply under Noncompetitive Merit Promotion procedures will undergo a quality review to determine if they are minimally qualified based on the content of their resume and their responses to the questionnaire. Qualified candidates will be referred if all required supporting documentation has been provided.

Your qualifications will be evaluated based on your responses to the online assessments completed during the application process. You will be assessed on the following competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities and other characteristics):

  • Attention to Detail
  • Customer Service
  • Decision Making
  • Flexibility
  • Influencing/Negotiating
  • Integrity/Honesty
  • Interpersonal Skills
  • Learning
  • Oral Communication
  • Partnering
  • Project Management
  • Public Planning
  • Reading Comprehension
  • Reasoning
  • Self-Management
  • Stress Tolerance
  • Teamwork
  • Written Communication


In order to be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process. In addition to the application and application questionnaire, this position requires an online assessment. The online assessment measures critical general competencies required to perform the job.

The assessment includes a cut score based on the minimum level of required proficiency in these critical general competencies. You must meet or exceed the cut score to be considered. You will not be considered for the position if you score below the cut score or fail to complete the assessment

Please submit 1) a copy of your most recent performance appraisal/evaluation and 2) a list of any awards (e.g. superior performance awards, special act or achievement awards, quality step increase, etc.) you received in the last 5 years. Any performance appraisal/evaluation and award documentation you provide will be forwarded to the selecting official. The selecting official will review this documentation and give it due weight consideration during the overall selection process.

If you do not have your most recent performance appraisal/evaluation, please submit a statement as to why it is not available. Please indicate if any prior performance appraisals/evaluations were at an acceptable level.

Your session is about to expire!

Your USAJOBS session will expire due to inactivity in 8 minutes. Any unsaved data will be lost if you allow the session to expire. Click the button below to continue your session.