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Park Guide

Department of the Interior
National Park Service
Alaska Region, Fairbanks Alaska Public Lands Information Center
This job announcement has closed

Summary

Fairbanks, AK - Fairbanks is located in Alaska's Interior Region. Amenities include a hospital, university, schools, and international airport. Summer temperatures range from 70s to 80s. Activities including hiking, canoeing, and backpacking. Cultural activities include a museum, exhibits, musical presentations, and other activities. For more information check out the Alaska website at http://www.commerce.state.ak.us/dca/commdb/CF_COMDB.htm

Government housing is not available.

Overview

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Hiring complete
Open & closing dates
09/21/2021 to 09/27/2021
Salary
$17.37 to - $25.27 per hour

Salary includes a Cost of Living Allowance (COLA) of 2.86% which is subject to annual review and adjustment.

Pay scale & grade
GS 4 - 5
Location
2 vacancies in the following location:
Fairbanks, AK
Telework eligible
No
Travel Required
Not required
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-time
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
5
Job family (Series)
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Other
Drug test
No
Position sensitivity and risk
Noncritical-Sensitive (NCS)/Moderate Risk
Trust determination process
Announcement number
AK-1537-YUGA-21-11239337-ST
Control number
614779300

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Duties

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The Alaska Public Lands Information Center, located in Fairbanks, is an interagency visitor center that represents nine state and federal agencies and provides information and education on all public lands in Alaska. It serves as a centralized point of information for the local residents and the visiting public about public lands, resources, and recreational opportunities in Alaska. It is located in the Morris Thompson Cultural and Visitors Center along with their partners, the Fairbanks Convention and Visitors Bureau and the Tanana Chiefs Cultural Programs.

As a Park Guide, the incumbent will:

  • Staff information counter in a visitor center.
  • Answering questions on a variety of subjects.
  • Guiding small groups and providing services to visitors.
  • Present limited and repetitive pre-established talks including introductions to films, map talks, and static exhibit interpretation.
  • Orient hikers to conditions and equipment needs.
  • Interpret park values for visitors with varying interests and backgrounds.
Additional duties for GS-4:
  • Performs duties including programs that contain live demonstrations and/or audio-visual devices.
  • Guide small parties (up to 20 people) on short walks.
  • Issue backcountry registrations.
Additional duties for GS-5:
  • Performs duties including programs that require application of broad subject-matter knowledge of the Alaska Public Land Information Center.
  • Guide large groups (up to 50 people) on longer walks or programs
  • Provide a wide range of services to park visitors.
  • Orient and explain current park events and warn of safety hazards.
Full Performance Level of this position is GS-05. Duties will be developmental in nature when filled below the full performance level.

For more information about this position please contact Adia Cotter at adia_cotter@nps.gov or 907-459-3732

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.
  • 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 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 travel overnight away from home however travel is not anticipated. You must obtain a government charge card for travel purposes.
  • This is a Fee Collection position which requires a higher level of background investigation.

Qualifications

All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement-09/27/2021-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 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.

To qualify for this position at the GS-04 grade level, you must possess at least one of the following minimum qualifications by close of the announcement:

EXPERIENCE: You must possess at least Six (6) months of general experience and six (6) months of specialized experience for a total of one year of experience comparable in scope and responsibility to the GS-3 level in the federal government (obtained in either the public or private sectors). General experience is any type of work that demonstrates the applicant's ability to perform the work of the position, or experience that provided a familiarity with the subject matter or processes of the broad subject area of the occupation. Experience may include, but are not limited to: selling merchandise, collecting and accounting for fees or other monies, greeting visitors, disseminating information, providing directions, or other work which required dealing with people on a recurring basis and that indicates the ability to acquire the knowledge and skills needed to perform the duties of this position. Specialized experience is experience that involved oral presentation of historical, scientific, or program information to groups; or developing and/or revising technical, historical, or scientific information for oral presentation to groups. Some examples of specialized experience could include park guide or tour leader, naturalist, environmental educator or teacher, or other similar work. You must include the number of hours worked per week within your resume.

-OR-

EDUCATION: You must have successfully completed two years of education above high school (60 semester hour or 90 quarter hours) which included at least 12 semester hours of related courses, such as in American history, science, public speaking, parks & recreation, education or communications. You must include a copy of your transcripts.

-OR-

Successful completion of a combination of education and experience: You must have an equivalent combination of education and experience. For example, I have 6 months of general or specialized experience (50% of the experience requirements for this position and grade level) combined with one year of education as outlined above (50% of the education required to qualify), which included at least 6 semester hours of related courses such as American history, science, public speaking, parks & recreation, education or communications (50% of the related courses required). You must include a copy of your transcripts and include the number of hours worked per week within your resume.

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

EXPERIENCE: You must possess at least one year of specialized experience comparable in scope and responsibility to the GS-4 level in the federal government (obtained in either the public or private sectors). Specialized experience is experience that equipped the applicant with the knowledge, skills and abilities needed to successfully perform the duties of the position. Examples of specialized experience include oral presentation of historical, scientific, or program information to groups; or developing and/or revising technical, historical, or scientific information for oral presentation to groups. Examples of specialized experience could include park guide or tour leader, naturalist, environmental educator or teacher, or other similar work. You must include the number of hours worked per week within your resume.

-OR-

EDUCATION:
You must have at least four years of education above high school leading to a bachelor's degree with courses related to the occupation such as American history, science, public speaking, parks & recreation, education or communications. One year of full-time academic study is defined as 30 semester hours; 45 quarter hours; or the equivalent in a college or university. You must include a copy of your transcripts.

-OR-

Successful completion of a combination of education and experience:
You must have an equivalent combination of education and experience. To combine education and experience, first take the number of semester hours (or equivalent), in excess of the first 60 semester hours earned towards your degree which included related courses such as American history, science, public speaking,parks & recreation, education or communications, 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 two percentages. The total must equal at least 100 percent in order to meet this description. You must include a copy of your transcripts and include the number of hours worked per week within your resume.

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 Authorized for 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.

Physical Demands: The work requires standing for long periods of time, walking for long distances, climbing and descending steep inclines, bending, and lifting moderately heavy items. Mental stress and physical fatigue occur due to high volume of personal contacts, occasional emergency responses, and repetitive nature of interpretive programs.

Working Conditions: Work is performed both indoors and outdoors resulting in exposure to a variety of weather conditions.

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

Alaska currently does not have a state income tax.

In the event of an accident while traveling in a government aircraft, the payable benefits of a private life insurance policy may be affected.

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 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:

  • Education and Training
  • Interpersonal Skills
  • Technology Application
  • Manages and Organizes Information (GS-5 level only)
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 panel resume review. 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.

Do not upload Adobe portfolio documents. Adobe portfolio documents are not viewable by our agency's staffing offices.

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