Skip to main content
U.S. flag
Back to results
 

Preservation Helper

Department of the Interior
National Park Service
Independence National Historical Park

Summary

This position is located in Independence National Historical Park, in the Facility Management Division. The primary purpose of this position is to perform a variety of simple and routine trade duties that assist journey-level Preservationists in building, maintaining, restoring, and/or preserving historic structures and landscapes.

Overview

Help
Accepting applications
Open & closing dates
03/27/2026 to 04/08/2026
Salary
$26.18 - $30.52 per hour
Pay scale & grade
WG 5
Location
4 vacancies in the following location:
Philadelphia, PA
Remote job
No
Telework eligible
No
Travel Required
Not required
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Term - 13 Months, NTE 4 years
Work schedule
Full-time - You may be required to work on-call, evenings, weekends, holidays, overtime and shift work.
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
None
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Not Required
Drug test
No
Position sensitivity and risk
Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk
Trust determination process
Financial disclosure
No
Bargaining unit status
No
Announcement number
NE-1612-INDE-26-12903783-LH
Control number
862831200

This job is open to

Help

Clarification from the agency

This position is being filled under the Field Unit Local Hiring Authority and is open to U.S. citizens and nationals who meet all eligibility requirements, including permanent and exclusive residency within the defined vicinity of the field unit as described in this announcement. Under this authority, veterans' preference and traditional rating and ranking procedures do not apply.

Videos

Duties

Help

  • Assists journey-level Preservationists in performing a variety of simple and routine trade tasks related to the building, maintenance, restoration, and preservation of historic structures and landscapes.
  • Supports preservation activities involving historic buildings, monuments, memorials, statues, markers, signs, tablets, artillery pieces, and similar resources.
  • Performs assigned work under the direct supervision and oversight of a journey-level employee.
  • Applies basic knowledge of historic preservation trades to complete tasks in accordance with established procedures and guidance.
  • Adheres to the Secretary of the Interior's Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties in all preservation-related work.
  • Performs supplemental duties across multiple trades, as assigned, to support preservation projects.
  • Assists with limited administrative tasks associated with preservation activities, as needed.
  • Contributes to the overall mission of the park's historic preservation program, with primary emphasis on the preservation of historic structures and landscapes.
  • Assist a journey-level position in masonry and wood crafting features, including special finishes and stains, repairing, replacing, and reproducing welds to historic standards.
  • Assist a journey-level position in the preservation and restoration of historic plastering, roofing, and painted surfaces including those with special finishes and colors, historic carpentry, including those with special finishes and stains.

This is a term position (more than 1 year) with an initial appointment expecting to last at least 13 months but may be extended up to a total of four years, or more based on any changes to regulations governing the number of years term appointments may last, without further competition. Term positions do not convey permanent status in the Federal service.

The National Park Service retains the right to extend the duration of this appointment after selection and/or appointment, based on changes to the regulation governing the number of years term appointments may last. This change, which may be made at the agency's sole discretion and without further competition, shall not be construed or interpreted as the granting of a right to a selectee or employee to such an extension. No extension to a term appointment shall be granted to a selectee/employee to an amount of time that exceeds the maximum number of years authorized under any present or current regulation, unless such regulation expressly allows such action.

Requirements

Help

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 may be required to operate a government (or private) motor vehicle as part of your official duties. Prior to your first official motor vehicle operation, and again every year thereafter (or more frequently if management determines such need exists), you will be required to sign an affidavit certifying to your possession of a valid State issued driver's license that is current and has not been revoked, suspended, canceled, or otherwise disqualified in any way to prohibit your operation of a motor vehicle. You will also submit a photocopy of your valid State issued driver's license prior to your first official motor vehicle operation, and again every year, or more frequently if management determines such need exists. Lastly, you may be required to 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 discloses all valid driver's licenses, whether current or past, possessed by you. Please indicate in your application whether you possess a valid State driver's license.
  • 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.
  • Government Charge Card: You may be required to complete training and obtain/maintain a government charge card with travel and/or purchase authority.

*Additional Requirements located under qualifications*

Qualifications

Requirements Continued:

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary period during which your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest will be evaluated. This probationary period is an extension of the appointment process and therefore requires the agency to determine if continued employment would advance the public interest, meet the organization goals and mission of the agency, and/or otherwise promote the efficiency of the service. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, the agency will consider:

  • your performance and conduct;
  • the needs and interests of the agency;
  • whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and
  • whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service.
Under applicable law, the employment of an individual serving a probationary or trial period automatically terminates when that period ends unless the agency affirmatively certifies, in writing, that the individual's employment should continue and that their appointment should be finalized. In the absence of agency action to affirmatively certify continued employment beyond the probationary or trial period, such appointments are terminated.

Upon completion of your probationary period your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

Qualifications:

To qualify for this position, you must have sufficient knowledge and ability in the following job-related factors:
  1. Ability To Do The Work Of The Position Without More Than Normal Supervision (SCREEN OUT)
  2. Ability To Interpret Instructions, Specification, etc. (includes blueprints reading)
  3. Ability To Use and Maintain Tools and Equipment
  4. Knowledge of Equipment Assembly, Installation Repair, etc.
  5. Knowledge of materials
  6. Technical Practices (theoretical precise, artistic)
  7. Use of Measuring Instructions

If your knowledge and ability in the SCREEN OUT factor above is not sufficient, you will receive no further consideration. In preparing your application, describe in detail the experience and training which you have had that specifically prepared you for this job and to perform the duties described for this job. Experience should be clearly described and documented in your resume. The qualifications reviewer will not assume performance of such duties by Job Titles alone. Address your knowledge, skills and/or abilities in the areas shown in the job-related factors.

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

There is no substitution of education for experience for Wage Grade (WG) positions.

Additional information

This position will be filled under the Field Unit Local Hiring Authority. Eligibility is limited to applicants who reside within the defined local commuting area at the time of application. For this announcement, the local commuting area is the area from which individuals can reasonably commute to the duty station under normal conditions.

The defined vicinity for this position includes the following counties within the local commuting area: Philadelphia, Montgomery, Bucks, Delaware, Berks, Lancaster, Lehigh, Northampton, and Chester in Pennsylvania; Camden, Burlington, Gloucester, Salem, Cumberland, and Mercer in New Jersey; New Castle in Delaware; and Cecil in Maryland. Residency will be verified during the hiring process.

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.

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.

Physical Demands: Duties require the incumbent to sit, stand, stoop, bend, kneel, climb, crawl, work in uncomfortable positions, and walk over rough, uneven terrain. The incumbent may be required to wears protective clothing, gloves, face shields, and/or respirator that may be uncomfortable; and the incumbent may be required to work from ladders, scaffolds, and elevated platforms. The incumbent may be occasionally expected to lift and/or carry items up to and exceeding 50 pounds in weight.

Working Conditions: Work is both indoors and outdoors. Work outside may be subject to extreme weather conditions, with wind, rain, snow, and ice, in temperatures ranging from below 0 to over 100 degrees. Depending on the geography of the park unit assigned, work may take place at elevations ranging from sea level up to 10,000 feet. The incumbent is exposed to dust, noise, vibration, cuts, and abrasions from the use of tools and equipment, and may occasionally be exposed to hazardous materials that can cause skin, eye, and respiratory irritation and burns, as well as microbiological organisms and potentially hazardous wildlife. The incumbent is expected to wear personnel protective equipment as required and comply with all safety and occupational health requirements.

The National Park Service has determined that the duties of this position are suitable for telework only during an emergency or natural disaster.

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.

Applicants will be evaluated based on how well they meet the qualification requirements for the position.

Upon receipt of a completed application package, the Servicing Human Resources Office will review your resume and supporting documentation to determine whether you meet the minimum qualification requirements described in this announcement.

Resumes must not exceed two single-sided pages. Resumes longer than two pages will not be reviewed. Applicants may submit only one resume. Only the document submitted as the "Resume" under the Documents section will be used to determine qualifications and eligibility. If more than one resume is submitted, only the most recent submission will be reviewed.

This position is being filled under the Field Unit Local Hiring Authority. Under this authority, competitive rating, ranking, and veterans' preference procedures do not apply. The Servicing Human Resources Office will determine whether applicants meet the qualification and eligibility requirements described in this announcement. Applicants who meet these requirements may be referred to the selecting official on a certificate of eligibles for consideration.

Applicants must certify that they maintain a permanent and exclusive residence within the defined vicinity of the field unit(s) listed in this announcement. Residency eligibility will be verified during the hiring process.

If your resume is incomplete or does not demonstrate that you meet the qualification requirements or specialized experience described in this announcement, you may be determined ineligible or not qualified for further consideration.

Providing false or misleading information on your resume or supporting documentation may result in removal from consideration or other action consistent with applicable federal hiring regulations.

Your resume will be reviewed for evidence of the following competencies:

  • Ability To Do The Work Of The Position Without More Than Normal Supervision (SCREEN OUT)
  • Ability To Interpret Instructions, Specification, etc. (includes blueprints reading)
  • Ability To Use and Maintain Tools and Equipment
  • Knowledge of Equipment Assembly, Installation Repair, etc.
  • Knowledge of materials
  • Technical Practices (theoretical precise, artistic)
  • Use of Measuring Instructions

National Park Service

Please visit find a park for additional park information.

Agency contact information

Sarah Hummel
Email
sarah_hummel@ios.doi.gov
Address
Independence National Historical Park
143 S Third Street
Philadelphia, PA 19106
US

Visit our careers page

Learn more about what it's like to work at National Park Service, what the agency does, and about the types of careers this agency offers.

https://www.nps.gov/aboutus/index.htm

Your session is about to expire!

Your USAJOBS session will expire due to inactivity in 8 minutes. Any unsaved data will be lost if you allow the session to expire. Click the button below to continue your session.