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Lead Recreation Assistant (Surf-Lifeguard)

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

Summary

These positions are located in Gateway National Recreation Area, in the Visitor and Resources Protection Division. Temporary positions not-to-exceed 1039 regular hours in a service year may be terminated sooner or extended depending on management needs. The typical seasonal entry-on-duty period for Gateway National Recreation Area is May through September but can be variable during these months due to weather conditions, project needs, or funding.

Overview

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Hiring complete
Open & closing dates
01/23/2024 to 06/04/2024
Salary
$46,494 to - $46,494 per year

Annual Salary Equals $22.28 Per Hour

Pay scale & grade
GS 5
Locations
Highlands, NJ
15 vacancies
Neponsit, NY
17 vacancies
Staten Island, NY
3 vacancies
Remote job
No
Telework eligible
No
Travel Required
Not required
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Temporary - Temporary positions not-to-exceed 1039 hours in a service year may be terminated/extended based on management needs.
Work schedule
Full-time
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
None
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Not Required
Drug test
Yes
Position sensitivity and risk
Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk
Trust determination process
Announcement number
NE-1611-GATE-24-12210336-DE
Control number
772064900

This job is open to

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Clarification from the agency

Announcement is open to U.S. Citizens, Career Transition (CTAP) and Interagency Career Transition Act Program (ICTAP) eligibles.

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Duties

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Temporary positions not-to-exceed 1039 hours in a service year may be terminated/extended based on management needs. The typical season is April to September, but can vary due to weather, project needs, or funding. Anticipated Entry on Duty: May/June 2024.

These positions involve performing or leading work concerned with protecting the public against preventable danger and drowning death in the waters officially designated for swimming at a crowded and extended surf-beach seashore area. This work typically involves preventive surf-life guarding; rescuing, either individually or as a member of a team, persons in distress or in danger of drowning; administering urgent first-aid care and cardiopulmonary resuscitation; controlling usually large crowds; operating and maintaining rescue equipment and enforcing agency regulations. Required to be able to work outdoors for long periods of time.

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.
  • 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 may be required to operate a government (or private) motor vehicle as part of your official duties. Prior to your first official motor vehicle operation, and again every year thereafter (or more frequently if management determines such need exists), you will be required to sign an affidavit certifying to your possession of a valid State issued driver's license that is current and has not been revoked, suspended, canceled, or otherwise disqualified in any way to prohibit your operation of a motor vehicle. You will also submit a photocopy of your valid State issued driver's license prior to your first official motor vehicle operation, and again every year, or more frequently if management determines such need exists. Lastly, you may be required to 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 discloses all valid driver's licenses, whether current or past, possessed by you. Please indicate in your application whether you possess a valid State driver's license.
  • 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 on-call, evenings, weekends, holidays, overtime.
  • 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.
  • Government housing maybe available at New Jersey location only.
  • Must have the ability to lift 50 pounds.

Qualifications

All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement-06/04/2024-unless otherwise stated in this vacancy announcement.

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.

You must be able to pass the surf-lifeguard test. Candidates must pass all parts of the test - includes the following: Swim 550 yards continuously in less than 10 minutes using a swimming stroke performed on the front only; and Run 1.25 miles continuously in less than 12 minutes. All applicants will be tested upon entry on duty.

Pre-Employment physical examination will be required prior to enter on duty at applicant's expense.

Current valid nationally recognized CPR/AED course-completion certificate required prior to enter on duty.


To qualify for this position at the GS-05 grade level, you must possess at least 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-04 grade level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors). This experience includes activities such as: Group leader, counselor, or similar work in public and private recreation programs for adults or children such as summer camps, local playgrounds, YWCA and YMCA clubs, Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, urban community centers, or resort recreational activities; Teachers aid in elementary school recreation or physical education program, with emphasis on development of general recreational skills and abilities; Aid or assistant assignments in recreation while on active military service; Aid or assistant in the organization and administration of recreation activities, such as preparing activities calendars, maintaining attendance records, and providing information concerning schedules and activities; Summer aid in a State or national park, with duties related to the recreational activities of visitors to campsites, trails, picnic areas, nature and raft centers, and boating and fishing areas (e.g., demonstrating camping techniques and park safety, conducting nature tours, and overseeing farm animal areas provided for children); Sales or stock clerk in a recreation supplies and equipment shop; Aid or assistant in the issuance of authorized property, and in the maintenance of inventory control and accountability for such property in a recreation facility; Aid or assistant in a hotel or resort recreation service, with duties such as setting up areas for games, tournaments, and other organized group recreational activities. You must include hours per week worked and beginning and ending (month/year) for each work experience listed.-OR-

EDUCATION: Successful completion of 4-year course of study leading to a bachelor's degree with major study or at least 24 semester hours in courses related to recreation or physical education. You must include transcripts.-OR-

Successful completion of a combination of education and experience as described above (including 12 semester hours in courses related to recreation or physical education). The total must equal at least 100 percent to qualify. 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 1 year of specialized experience. You must include 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.

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

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

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.

Physical Demands: The work requires speed and endurance capacity both of them very demonstrably above average so as to be able to do the following, back-to-back and at full throttle (as described, above, under Factor 4 Complexity, Entry 1). The lack of such speed and endurance capacity can lead to consequences that are literally irrevocable. To guard against that happening, the incumbent, together with all other members of this park's surf-lifeguard staff GS 03 thru GS 07, inclusive, participates in the following mandatory, supervisor-conducted and -documented, physical conditioning and skills- proficiency training regimen for the entire period of employment: Run 1.25 miles in less than 12 minutes. (Two times weekly); Participate in a simulated ocean-rescue drill. (Once weekly); Review urgent-care and CPR / AED procedures. (Once weekly). The aim of this ongoing training regimen is to assure that the incumbent-like all other surf-lifeguard staff maintains a minimum performance level that increases the likelihood of success in meeting the demanding challenges singular to surf-lifeguard work: In a word, then, this ongoing and rigorous training seeks to make very real the phrase, "At the ready." You must be able to lift 50 pounds.

Working Conditions: The work environment involves potentially high risks (e.g., those associated with long-term exposure to the sun, the risk of marine-animal attack, the risk of inadvertently being pinned under a 300-pound surf boat in the attempt to beach it, etc. The foregoing representative sample of potentially high risks associated with surf-lifeguard work requires the incumbent and, likewise, all other surf-lifeguard staff to take prudent precautions to eliminate, or to at least very significantly minimize, the job- related risks in question.

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 three categories:

  • Best Qualified - applicants possessing experience that substantially exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors and are highly proficient in all requirements of the job and can perform effectively in the position
  • 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
  • Leadership
  • Oral Communication
  • Public Safety and Security
  • Teaching Others
  • Technical Competence

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