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Outdoor Recreation Planner

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

Summary

This position is located in Grand Canyon National Park, in the Planning, Environment, and Projects Division.

Overview

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Job canceled
Open & closing dates
06/14/2024 to 06/28/2024
Salary
$59,966 to - $94,317 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 9 - 11
Locations
1 vacancy in the following locations:
Grand Canyon National Park
Flagstaff, AZ
Grand Canyon National Park
Grand Canyon, AZ
Remote job
No
Telework eligible
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Travel Required
Occasional travel - You may be expected to travel for this position.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
Yes—Travel, transportation, and relocation expenses will be paid if the selectee lives outside the local commuting area and is otherwise eligible for reimbursement of relocation expenses in accordance with the Federal Travel Regulation. This reimbursement is taxable income. The NPS 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).
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-time
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
11
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Not Required
Drug test
No
Position sensitivity and risk
Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk
Trust determination process
Announcement number
IM-1541-GRCA-24-12442424-ST
Control number
795606500

This job is open to

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Clarification from the agency

All current or former career/career-conditional federal employees with competitive/reinstatement eligibility; Eligible applicants under: Veterans' Employment Opportunity Act (VEOA); CTAP/ICTAP within the local commuting area; Special Hiring Authorities; Current or former time-limited employees under PL-114-47, Land Management Workforce Flexibility Act (LMWFA); All former PLC members meeting PLC requirements.

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Duties

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Major Duties:

  • Serves as a planning team member on multidisciplinary teams of professionals responsible for a variety of park planning projects and studies.
  • Assists with project management/planning phases by helping develop project objectives, milestones, and timelines and assists with tracking workflows and budgets.
  • Reviews, analyzes, evaluates, and coordinates matters related to recreation planning, development, and use.
  • Researches and analyzes data and information including analysis of land uses, demographics, outdoor recreation trends, visitor use, socioeconomic or demographic conditions/factors, and natural, cultural, and recreation features related to park planning and compliance.
Additional Duties for GS-11:
  • Develops statements of scopes of work, cost estimates, and similar performance measures as needed for contracted projects.
  • Develops strategies to maximize effective public and partner involvement in planning or evaluation process.
  • Evaluates results of planning effort and implements changes as needed to improve processes.
Duties will be developmental in nature when filled below the full performance level.

South Rim Area Information:
This position is stationed at Grand Canyon National Park at the South Rim located in Northern Arizona. The South Rim is located approximately 60 miles north of Williams and 82 miles Northwest of Flagstaff at an elevation of 7,000 feet. Temperatures range from approximately 90 degrees in the summer to 0 degrees in the winter. Annual precipitation averages around 13 inches.

Grand Canyon Village has schools K-12, a daycare center, post office, general store, churches, a recreation center with gym, a public library, a clinic with resident physicians, and several restaurants. The park community consists of some 2,500 people, including employees of the NPS and concessionaires and their family members. There are often employment opportunities for family members in the park and surrounding areas. The park community is small enough that many employees choose to walk or bike from their homes to work. Complete shopping, educational, medical, and professional services are available in Williams and Flagstaff. Flagstaff has a population of about 75,000 and has multiple K-12 public and private schools, Northern Arizona University, and diverse community, medical and other support services. Recreational opportunities include hiking, backpacking, fishing, cross-country and downhill skiing, and golfing in nearby communities.

South Rim Housing: Permanent and Term employees with a Full Performance Level (FPL) of a GS-09 or WG-8 and above will be provided the option of accepting assigned housing, participating in the normal bid system, or accepting shared housing. Permanent and Term employees with an FPL of GS-08 or WG-7 and below may be provided the option of participating in the normal bid system or accepting shared housing. Any employee assigned to shared housing may continue to bid into non-shared housing.

Flagstaff Area Information:
This position is stationed at the Grand Canyon National Park offices in Flagstaff, Arizona.
Flagstaff is located about 70 miles from the park and has a population of about 75,000. Flagstaff has an elevation of 7,000 ft. and includes multiple K-12 public and private schools, Northern Arizona University, a diverse community, medical and other support services. The rental and home markets in Flagstaff is relatively expensive and limited. Summers in Flagstaff are warm with temperatures in the 80's and frequent monsoon thunderstorms. Winters are cold, with low temperatures near zero and snow averaging around 90 inches. Recreational opportunities in both areas cross all four seasons in environments ranging from low deserts to high mountains and include hiking, backpacking, fishing, cross-country and downhill skiing, and golfing in nearby communities. 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.
  • 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); with few exceptions as outlined in 5 CFR 300.603(b). Time-In-Grade requirements also apply to former Federal civilian employees applying for reinstatement who have had a break in service of less than one year, as well as current employees applying for Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) appointments. Time-in-grade does not apply to new excepted service appointments. Time-in-grade requirements must be met by the closing date of this announcement.
  • 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 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.
  • 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 18 years old.

Qualifications

All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement-06/28/2024-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-09 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-07 grade level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors). This experience includes activities such as: (1) researching and/or replying to requests from special interest groups, and questions from the general public regarding outdoor recreation programs; (2) performing fact finding, analytical, or interpretive work to support assignments; (3) analyzing data related to existing and potential recreation resources in order to identify prominent trends; (4) preparing data summaries and basic drafts of supporting material for inclusion in resource study reports. You must include hours per week worked.
-OR-
EDUCATION: Successful completion of at least a Masters or equivalent graduate degree, or have successfully completed two (2) full years of progressively higher level graduate education (36 semester hours) leading to such a degree, or possess a LL.B degree or J.D., related to this position. Qualifying graduate education must include: Major study in outdoor recreation planning or a related field such as: sociology, forestry, landscape architecture, economics, biological science, park administration, earth science, natural resource management and conservation, civil engineering, urban planning, or recreation. Applicants who qualify on the basis of graduate work in related disciplines must have one or more courses in outdoor recreation. You must include transcripts.
-OR-
Successful completion of a combination of education and experience as described above. For example, six months of specialized experience (50% of the experience requirement), plus 27 semester hours of directly-related graduate level education in an accredited educational institution (50% of the qualifying education) equals 100%. The total must equal at least 100 percent to qualify. Only graduate education in excess of the amount required for the next lower grade level may be used to qualify applicants for positions at grades GS-9 and GS-11. You must include transcripts.

To qualify for this position at the GS-11 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-09 grade level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors). This experience includes activities such as: 1) coordinating with managers, planners, and resource specialists to identify recreation program needs; (2) monitoring studies and surveys, to identify trends and patterns in the development and management of recreation resources; (3) conducting outreach to promote recreational opportunities on public land; (4) representing an agency at management and professional conferences for the purpose of advancing advocacy for public lands stewardship. You must include hours per week worked.
-OR-
EDUCATION: Successful completion of at least a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree, or have successfully completed three (3) full years of progressively higher level graduate education (54 semester hours) leading to such a degree, or possess a LL.M degree, related to this position. Qualifying graduate education must include: Major study in outdoor recreation planning or a related field such as: sociology, forestry, landscape architecture, economics, biological science, park administration, earth science, natural resource management and conservation, civil engineering, urban planning, or recreation. Applicants who qualify on the basis of graduate work in related disciplines must have one or more courses in outdoor recreation. You must include transcripts.
-OR-
Successful completion of a combination of education and experience as described above. For example, six months of specialized experience (50% of the experience requirement), plus 45 semester hours of directly-related graduate level education in an accredited educational institution (50% of the qualifying education) equals 100%. The total must equal at least 100 percent to qualify. Only graduate education in excess of the amount required for the next lower grade level may be used to qualify applicants for positions at grades GS-9 and GS-11. 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.

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: Work is mostly sedentary, but incumbent is expected to travel when necessary and work in outdoor settings, which require hiking and enduring various, occasionally extreme, environmental conditions. Situations may arise with considerable time constraints and long hours.

Working Conditions: Work is performed primarily in an office environment, meeting room, or similar setting. Travel may be frequent and involves the normal risks and discomforts of automobile, bus, rail, or air transportation travel. During periods of fieldwork the employee may be exposed to a variety of climates, altitudes, and other environmental factors.

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

Documentation for the Land Management Workforce Flexibility Act (LMWFA) eligibility, You must submit ALL SF-50s and performance information for each period of temporary/term employment that qualifies for LMWFA. Performance documentation can be obtained by contacting the supervisors for the positions you served in during your 24 months. If they did not complete performance appraisals ask them to provide a statement of performance for each period of service. The statement must specify the dates for each employment period and your level of performance consistent with your SF-50s.

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:

  • Manages and Organizes Information
  • Oral Communication
  • Planning and Evaluating
  • Project Management


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 subject matter expert 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.

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