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Park Ranger (Protection)

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

Summary

This position is a Park Ranger (Protection) performing visitor and resource protection in the Southeast Utah Group Parks and Monuments (Arches and Canyonlands National Parks, Hovenweep and Natural Bridges National Monuments). The duty station is Moab, Utah. The primary duty of this position is the enforcement of criminal laws through education, investigation, apprehension, and detention of individuals suspected or convicted of violating these laws.

For questions, contact Perrin_Pring@nps.gov

Overview

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Reviewing applications
Open & closing dates
08/21/2025 to 08/29/2025
Salary
$73,939 to - $96,116 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 11
Location
Canyonlands National Park
Moab, UT
1 vacancy
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—Employer paid and reimbursed relocation expenses are considered 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
None
Job family (Series)
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Not Required
Drug test
Yes
Position sensitivity and risk
Noncritical-Sensitive (NCS)/Moderate Risk
Trust determination process
Financial disclosure
No
Bargaining unit status
No
Announcement number
IM-1539-CANY-25-12782778-MP
Control number
843836200

This job is open to

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Clarification from the agency

Current Department of the Interior 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, and mentoring others in these duties.
  • Plan, direct, or participate 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 certified training official or a project team leader for one or more functional area including emergency medical services, search and rescue, physical safety, safety, LE training, aviation, or structural or wildland fire.
  • Serve as a court liaison from origination through case closure.

Physical Demands: Strenuous exertion is frequently required in law enforcement, search and rescue, medical and related emergency activities. Lifting or carrying equipment weighing over 50 pounds, such as emergency equipment, or search and rescue equipment is required. There is a physical, mental, and emotional high-stress component to much of the incumbent's work assignment. Position is required to meet and continuously maintain the physical/medical standards as set forth in the requirements of D.O. #57.

Work Environment: The work is performed at various hours of the day and night and for prolonged periods during emergency situations. The incumbent is frequently exposed to high-risk and potentially dangerous situations in law enforcement and emergency situations requiring use of a wide range of personal protective gear, adherence to specific safety procedures and other precautions.

Area Information: Headquarters offices for the Southeast Utah Group is in Moab, Utah. A town of approximately 6,000 residents sitting at a 4,000 ft elevation, Moab provides all basic amenities including doctors, dentists, hospital, schools (K-12), churches, and shopping. Temperatures in spring and fall are mild, but summer temperatures exceed 100F. Opportunities to hike, bike, kayak, raft, rock climb, and motor-recreate are numerous and varied.

For more information, see the park's website: Canyonlands National Park (U.S. National Park Service.

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 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.

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.
  • Must possess or be able to successfully obtain and maintain Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) Certificate within 6 months of entrance on duty.
  • Must have a current, valid State Driver's License within 30 days of appointment and maintain.
  • Applicants must be at least 21 years old.

All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement-08/29/2025-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. (You must provide a copy of your commission with the number and expiration date.)
  • Maximum Entry Age (MEA): This position is covered by the special retirement provisions of 5 U.S.C. 8336 (c) and 5 U.S.C. 8412 (d). Applicants must not have reached their 37th birthday by the appointment date to this position. (Exception: This age restriction does not apply to those who have sufficient prior Federal civilian service in a covered position to permit retirement on or before the mandatory retirement age of 57 or those who are eligible for veterans' preference.)
- 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.

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.

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.

Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.

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.

Please limit your resume to no more than 2 pages. If more than 2 pages are submitted, only the first 2 pages will be reviewed to determine your eligibility/qualifications. You can only submit one resume; Only the resume submitted under the "Resume" "Document Type" will be used to determine your qualifications and for rating purposes. Only one resume will be used to evaluate your qualifications. In the event you submit more than one resume, only the latest submission will be reviewed.

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
  • Interpersonal Skills
  • Leadership
  • Resource Protection
  • Written Communication

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 (SME) 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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