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Park Guide (Bilingual)

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

Summary

These positions are located in Carlsbad Caverns National Park, in the Division of Interpretation and Visitor Services.

Career-Seasonal appointments are permanent positions and include the same benefits as Career appointments, but do not provide work on a year-round basis. You will work from approximately April through December. It's anticipated that these positions will be in non-pay status for one pay period between late December and early April.

Overview

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Hiring complete
Open & closing dates
05/30/2024 to 06/12/2024
This job will close when we have received 50 applications which may be sooner than the closing date. Learn more
Salary
$39,576 to - $51,446 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 5
Location
2 vacancies in the following location:
Carlsbad, NM
Remote job
No
Telework eligible
No
Travel Required
Occasional travel - You may be expected to travel for this position.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-time
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
None
Job family (Series)
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Not Required
Drug test
No
Position sensitivity and risk
Noncritical-Sensitive (NCS)/Moderate Risk
Trust determination process
Announcement number
IM-1538-CAVE-24-12430052-DE
Control number
793309100

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Duties

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MAJOR DUTIES:
Prepares and presents a variety of formal and informal interpretive programs including guided tours through developed areas of the cavern as well as tours into undeveloped, limited access areas. Several of the tours are strenuous and require extended periods of time underground, crawling through tight passageways and climbing on uneven and slippery surfaces. Presents various interpretive programs to large and varied audiences, including international visitors, and school groups. Presents evening programs at the Bat Flight Amphitheater about the park's large population of resident bats.

Other duties include working at the visitor information desk, roving interpretation in the cavern and on the surface, providing orientations to visitors at elevators and the Natural Entrance before entering the cavern, presenting PowerPoint programs on park themes, assisting with special events, operating audiovisual equipment and computers. Collateral duties and special projects such as developing temporary exhibits will be assigned. When needed, provides first aid to visitors and assists with medical emergencies or carry-outs. Cleaning bio-hazardous materials such as human waste and other bodily fluids from cave trails may be required. The Hepatitis B shot series will be offered.

Collect entrance and tour fees in accordance with all NPS and U.S. Treasury regulations governing the handling of government funds.

Successful candidates must be able to speak and understand Spanish at a fluent level. Candidate interviews for this position will be conducted in Spanish.

AREA INFORMATION/HOUSING INFORMATION:
Carlsbad Caverns National Park is located 27 miles from the city of Carlsbad in southeastern New Mexico. The Park, at an elevation of 4400 feet, has a semi-arid climate with hot summers, mild winters, abundant sunshine, low humidity, and approximately 10 inches of rainfall per year. Carlsbad (population 29,000) has all amenities and services including medical and dental facilities, motels, banks, restaurants, churches, grocery stores, department stores, and several recreation facilities. Information about Carlsbad and the Carlsbad area can be found at the Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce. Schools include K-12, and New Mexico State University - Carlsbad Campus. Other services can be found in Albuquerque (280 miles), El Paso, Texas (170 miles), Lubbock, Texas (180 miles), or Midland/Odessa, Texas (150 miles). Recreation opportunities are plentiful with Guadalupe Mountains National Park located 50 miles from the city of Carlsbad, two state parks (Brantley Lake and Living Desert Zoo), and the Lincoln National Forest within an hour's drive. Please note: A government van pool provides service between Carlsbad, NM and Carlsbad Caverns National Park for staff on the core shifts.

Government housing is not available.

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 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 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 occassionally. 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-06/12/2024-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.

SELECTIVE FACTOR: This position prepares and presents a variety of formal and informal interpretive programs including guided tours in Spanish, and the ability to speak and understand Spanish at a fluent level is required. Candidates who do not meet this requirement by close of this announcement will receive no further consideration for this position.
- AND -
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). 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. Examples of specialized experience include, but are not limited to, Park Guide or tour leader; naturalist; environmental educator or teacher; or other similar work. You must include hours per week worked.
-OR-
EDUCATION: Successful completion of at least four years of education above high school (120 semester hour or 180 quarter hours) leading to a bachelor's degree with courses related to the occupation, such as American history, science, public speaking, parks and recreation, education, or communications. You must include transcripts.
-OR-
Successful completion of a combination of education and experience as described above. NOTE: 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. For example, 6 months of the specialized experience described above (50% of the experience requirement), and 3 years of college study from an accredited institution (50% of the qualifying education) which included at least 12 semester hours of related coursework as specified above (50% of the related coursework required). 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.

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 not suitable for telework.

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:
  • Customer Service
  • Education and Training
  • Flexibility
  • Interpersonal Skills
  • Oral Communication
  • Public Service Motivation


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 technical expertise assessment. These assessments measure the critical competencies listed above that are required to successfully perform the job.

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