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Park Ranger (P)

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

Summary

Position is located in El Malpais National Monument in the Law Enforcement Division.

Overview

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Job canceled
Open & closing dates
04/25/2025 to 05/01/2025
Salary
$74,741 to - $97,158 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 11
Location
1 vacancy in the following location:
Grants, NM
Remote job
No
Telework eligible
No
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
None
Job family (Series)
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
L Access Authorization
Drug test
Yes
Position sensitivity and risk
Noncritical-Sensitive (NCS)/Moderate Risk
Trust determination process
Financial disclosure
Yes
Bargaining unit status
No
Announcement number
IM-1538-ELMA-25-12730056
Control number
835919300

This job is open to

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Clarification from the agency

Current National Park Service Career or Career-Conditional Employees in the competitive service; Land Management Workforce Flexibility Act (LMWFA) eligibles; CTAP eligibles in the local commuting area.

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Duties

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  • Serve as a senior uniformed, commissioned law enforcement officer performing duties for the protection, conservation, use, and management of natural and/or cultural resources in the park
  • Plans, directs, or participates in emergency incidents which include search and rescue operations, wild land/structural fire, special law enforcement operations, and other major emergencies.
  • Responsible for the development, revision and implementation of law enforcement planning documents and the development of park law enforcement policies and procedures.
  • Serve as a FLETC certified training official or a project team leader for one or more functional area including emergency medical services, search and rescue, drug eradication, safety, aviation, or structural or wildland fire.
  • Conduct the detection of criminal activity, investigation of criminal violations, and custodial arrests. You may prepare and execute warrants, interview witnesses, and detain suspects. You will ensure the completion of comprehensive written reports. You will conduct gathering of law enforcement, security, and intelligence information relating to the park, its facilities, events, mission, or visitors.
El Malpais National Monument consists of 114,748 acres of lava fields, cinder cones, lava tubes, ice caves, sculptured sandstone formations, and ponderosa, pinon and juniper forests. Approximately 85% of the park (97,000 acres) is managed as wilderness. Elevation ranges from 6,600 to 8,372 feet, and temperatures range from 90+ degrees in summer to winter extreme lows of below zero. http://www.nps.gov/elma/

The administrative headquarters is located in the town of Grants, New Mexico (pop.10,000) within Cibola County (pop. 25-27,000), and all services are available in the local community including the New Mexico State University-Grants Branch and the Cibola General Hospital. Albuquerque, New Mexico is located 75 miles to the east on I-40, while Gallup, New Mexico is situated 65 miles west along I-40 or the 602 from the El Morro area. For further information about the area visit the Grants Chamber of Commerce at http://www.grants.org/.

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.
  • Subject to pre-employment physical and drug testing.
  • New employees of the Department of the Interior must identify a financial institution for direct deposit of net pay within 30 days of entrance on duty.
  • Selectee(s) will be required to carry a firearm while performing duties and maintain firearm proficiency.
  • Selectee(s) must be free of any domestic violence convictions. Appointment will be subject to the applicant's successful completion of a background security investigation and favorable adjudication. Failure to successfully meet these requirements will be grounds for termination.
  • 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 may be required to work on-call, evenings, weekends, holidays, overtime and shift work.
  • 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 complete training and obtain/maintain a government charge card with travel and/or purchase authority.
  • The position to which you will be appointed is subject to a financial disclosure reporting requirement and you will be required to complete a new entrant Confidential Financial Disclosure Report (OGE Form 450) within 30 days of your appointment.
  • Applicants must be at least 21 years old.

Qualifications

Requirements - Conditions of Employment Continued:

  • 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.
  • Prior to appointment, you must be determined physically fit by an authorized government physician to perform strenuous and physically demanding duties; and also pass a medical examination (which includes vision, hearing, cardiovascular, and mobility of extremities) given by an authorized government physician. You will also be required to undergo periodic medical examinations throughout employment.
  • Prior to appointment, the people selected for these positions must be determined physically fit by an authorized physician to perform strenuous and physically demanding duties, pass a medical examination, and pass the Physical Efficiency Battery (PEB). The PEB is a fitness test consisting of five different components: 1) agility run - measures the ability to get up from the ground and sprint while changing directions; 2) bench press - measures upper body strength for one repetition; 3) 1.5 mile run - measures cardio/respiratory fitness; 4) sit and reach - measures flexibility in the lower back, legs and shoulders; and 5) body composition - measures body fat. Prior to appointment, selectees will be tested in all five components, and must pass the agility run, bench press and 1.5 mile run in the 25th percentile.
All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement-05/08/2025-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.

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 for each federal position listed as part of your application to be used to validate your work schedule and determine the amount of qualifying 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. Failure to adequately provide information needed to determine number of hours worked in each position may result in that time not being credited when evaluating qualifying 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.

Selective Factors: Applicants must meet ALL of the following to qualify:
  • National Park Service Type I Law Enforcement Commission: Must currently possess, previously held (within the past three years), or be able to obtain a valid Type I or higher National Park Service (NPS) Law Enforcement Commission, or equivalent, by close of this announcement.
  • Previous Law Enforcement Experience: In addition, for positions covered under 6(c) as secondary-administrative, management has certified that a MANDATORY PREREQUISITE exists -- prior experience in a primary law enforcement position or equivalent experience outside the Federal Government, is a mandatory prerequisite.
  • Maximum Entry Age (MEA): More Information within "Additional Information."
  • Must possess or be able to successfully obtain and maintain Federal OR State EMT or EMR emergency medical certification within one (1) year of entrance on duty. within one (1) year of entrance on duty.
  • Must have a current, valid State Driver's License by entrance on duty.
- AND -

Applicants 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/GL-09 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. Examples of qualifying specialized experience includes but is not limited to experience in a primary law enforcement position in the federal government, or equivalent experience outside the federal government. Extensive experience and skills in the full range of advanced law enforcement techniques and procedures: including patrol operations, law enforcement, and criminal investigations. Understanding of federal, state and local laws, regulations, relevant court decisions that relate to the management of public lands and their natural, cultural, and human resources. Knowledge of instructional methods and techniques to develop advanced law enforcement training materials and to plan and provide specialized situational and classroom training to agency.
-OR-
  • EDUCATION: Successful completion of at least three full years of graduate level study leading to a Doctorate, Ph.D., or equivalent degree at an accredited college or university in directly-related fields such as natural resource management, natural sciences, earth sciences, history, archaeology, anthropology, park and recreation management; law enforcement/police science, social sciences, museum sciences, business administration, public administration, behavioral sciences, or sociology. 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, in excess of 36 semester hours, and divide by 18 semester hours or equivalent. Then, take the number of months of experience and divide by 12 months. Add the percentages together. The total must equal at least 100 percent to qualify. 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

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.

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

Primary/Rigorous (Law Enforcement): This is a primary position covered by enhanced retirement provisions which stipulate mandatory retirement at age 57 after 20 years of service. Applicants must be at least 21 years of age, and must not have reached their 37th birthday upon appointment to this position. Two exceptions are allowed: 1) an applicant has prior Federal service in a primary covered position sufficient to complete 20 years of service on or before the mandatory retirement age of 57 (You must submit proof of your status in the Law Enforcement retirement system.); or 2) an applicant is a qualified veterans' preference eligible, in which case the MEA is waived and their corresponding retirement age may be higher than 57 after completing 20 years of service.

Employer paid and reimbursed relocation expenses are considered taxable income. The National Park Service does not provide tax, legal or accounting advice. Employees should consult professional tax, legal and accounting advisors regarding concerns about the financial implications of a Permanent Change of Station (PCS).

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 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.

You will be evaluated on the following competencies:

  • Criminal Investigation
  • Criminal Law
  • Oral Communication
  • Public Safety and Security


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 successful completion of additional assessments, including a resume review by subject matter expert. These assessments measure the critical competencies listed above that are required to successfully perform the job.

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.

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