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Park Ranger

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

Summary

This position is located in Christiansted National Historic Site, in the Visitor and Resource Protection Division.

The is a Career/Career Conditional Appointment.

Open to the first 100 applicants or 05/13/2022 whichever comes first. All applications submitted by 11:59 (EST) on the closing day will receive consideration.

Overview

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Reviewing applications
Open & closing dates
05/02/2022 to 05/13/2022
This job will close when we have received 50 applications which may be sooner than the closing date. Learn more
Salary
$44,545 to - $72,970 per year
Pay scale & grade
GL 5
Location
1 vacancy in the following location:
Saint Croix, VI
Remote job
No
Telework eligible
No
Travel Required
25% or less - 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
Confidential
Drug test
Yes
Position sensitivity and risk
Moderate Risk (MR)
Trust determination process
Announcement number
SE-1630-CHRI-22-11426064-MP
Control number
651984000

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Duties

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This is a non-supervisory law enforcement position in the Visitor and Resource Protection Division. As a Commissioned Ranger, you will be responsible for performing law enforcement duties including detection, investigation, apprehension, and prosecution under applicable laws, rules, and regulations enacted to insure the protection and safe use of National park resources. You will also educate, interpret, and inform visitors about resources, conservation, laws, and regulations. Collateral duties may include: field training, emergency medical services, special response, technical rescue, swift water rescue, and helicopter rescue.

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

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.
  • Must possess a Type II or higher Law Enforcement Commission.
  • Complete the initial online assessment and USAHire Assessment, if required
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • 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. 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.
  • 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.
  • 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 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. You must obtain a government charge card for travel purposes.
  • Applicants must be at least 21 years old.

Qualifications

All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement-05/13/2022-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.

Selective Factors: Applicants must meet ALL of the following to qualify:

  • Must currently possess, previously held (within the past three years), or be able to obtain a valid Type II (seasonal) or higher National Park Service (NPS) Law Enforcement Commission, or equivalent, by 05/13/2022. More information can be found in the 'Education' section of this job announcement.
  • 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; 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.
  • Must have a current, valid State Driver's License by 05/13/2022.
  • Selectee will travel by motorized and non-motorized boats; and must be able to successfully complete the Department of the Interior Motorboat Operator Certification Course.
- AND -

To qualify for the GL-05 level, 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-04 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 specialized experience could include Park Guide or tour leader; 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; or other similar work. You must include hours per week worked.
  • EDUCATION: Possess 4 years of study above high school leading to a bachelor's degree with 24 semester hours in one of the following fields: 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, behavioral sciences, sociology, or other closely related subjects pertinent to the management and protection of natural and cultural resources. Course work in fields other than those specified may be accepted if it clearly provides applicants with the background of knowledge and skills necessary for successful job performance in the position to be filled. One year of full time graduate education is defined as 18 semester hours. You must include transcripts.
-OR-
  • Successful completion of a COMBINATION of education and experience as described above. Only graduate education can be credited towards the education requirement. 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

Law Enforcement Commission: This position requires applicants to possess, previously held (within the past three years), or be able to possess byu 05/13/2022 a valid Type II (seasonal) or higher level National Park Service (NPS) Law Enforcement Commission (or equivalent), which requires completing training from an accredited institution, which currently consists of over 650 class hours and lasts on average 17 weeks. Please visit the Association of National Park Rangers' Seasonal Law Enforcement Training Program (SLETP) for additional information on approved training courses and equivalency for commissioning.

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.

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: This work regularly includes long periods of standing, hiking and/or climbing, in many cases on uneven, steep, rough, slippery, and/or rugged terrain. Strenuous exertion is frequently required in law enforcement, firefighting, search and rescue, medical and related emergency activities. Lifting or carrying equipment weighing over 50 pounds such as firefighting or search and rescue equipment is required. In some assignments, heavy packs may have to be carried long distances over mountainous, desert, or snow-covered terrain.

Duties involve performing physically rigorous assignments, oftentimes in isolated outdoor environments, frequently while exposed to severe weather conditions. Dangerous persons must be physically confronted, subdued, and apprehended many of whom are known to carry weapons. Prisoners must be kept under physical restraint during transport and processing. Criminal investigations often must be carried out without regard to fixed work schedules, days off, or opportunities for proper rest or nutrition.

Duties require manual dexterity with comparatively free motion of finger, wrist, elbow, shoulder, hip, and knee joints. Arms, hands, legs, and feet must be sufficiently intact and functioning in order for incumbent to perform the duties satisfactorily. Sufficiently good vision in both eyes, with or without glasses, is required to perform the duties satisfactorily. Near vision, corrected with glasses, must be sufficient to read printed material the size of typewritten characters. Hearing without aid, as measured by an audiometer, must not exceed 35 decibels at 1000, 2000 and 3000 Hz levels. Physical fitness requirements must be met prior to and on a continuing basis during employment. There is a high-stress component to much of the incumbent's work assignments.

WORKING CONDITIONS: While some work may be performed in an office setting, most of the work is performed outdoors in all kinds of weather and climatic conditions. The work is performed at various hours of the day and night and for prolonged periods during emergency situations. Park Rangers are frequently exposed to high risk and potentially dangerous situations in law enforcement and emergency types of situations requiring use of a wide range of personal protective gear (some of which may be uncomfortable, hot, or inconvenient to wear), adherence to specific safety procedures, and other precautions. Long periods of surveillance work may be required in cramped, or unpleasant locations and under unpleasant conditions. Shift work is often required. Emergency law enforcement operations will require entry into hazardous environments; exposure to dangerous persons, animals, and substances; and potential exposure to infectious diseases.

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, Criminal Law, Flexibility, Integrity/Honesty, Oral Communication, Personnel Security and Safety, Reading Comprehension, Reasoning, Stress Tolerance, and Technical Competence

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.

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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