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Supervisory Park Ranger (Chief of Park Operations)

Department of the Interior
National Park Service
Everglades and Dry Tortugas National Parks

Summary

This position is located in Everglades and Dry Tortugas National Parks, in the Office of the Superintendent. Incumbent is a required occupant on Garden Key in Dry Tortugas National Park.

Open to the first 50 applicants or until 07/13/2026 whichever comes first. All applications submitted by 11:59 (EST) on the closing day will receive consideration.

Overview

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Accepting applications
Posted today · Apply by 07/13/26
Due by 11:59 p.m. ET on July 13, 2026
This job will close when we have received 50 applications which may be sooner than the closing date. Learn more
Location
1 vacancy in the following location:
Work site options
Telework eligible
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Remote job
No
Relocation expenses reimbursed
Yes—You may qualify for reimbursement of relocation expenses in accordance with agency policy.
Salary
$13,356 - $147,365 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 13
Promotion potential
None
Pay scale and grade determines the salary of the job.
Work schedule
Full-time
Travel Required
25% or less - You may be expected to travel for this position.
Appointment type
Permanent
Occupations and job series
Supervisory status
Yes
Federal service type
This job is in the Competitive Service
Represented by a union
No
Drug test
No
Security clearance
Other
Position sensitivity and risk
Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk
Jobs require a background check and some require a security clearance. The type depends on the job.
Background check type
Financial disclosure required
Yes
Some jobs require financial disclosure to identify conflicts of interests.
Announcement number
SE-1628-DRTO-26-12995452-ST
Control number
874647600

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Duties

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As a Supervisory Park Ranger (Chief of Park Operations) your duties will include but are not limited to the following:

This position serves as a core member of the Everglades and Dry Tortugas National Parks leadership team, serving as the onsite Chief of Park Operations at Dry Tortugas. The Chief of Park Operations works directly for the Deputy Superintendent and manages all day-to-day field operations in a remote and logistically complex environment. The incumbent directly supervises an interdisciplinary team who are based in Key West or at Fort Jefferson on Garden Key, while also coordinating a broad range of administrative work and routine support teams who are based at various duty stations throughout Everglades and Dry Tortugas National Parks. This unified management model requires consistent collaboration and communication with geographically dispersed staff and the Park Leadership Team (PLT).

Dry Tortugas National Park is located 68 miles away from Key West, surrounded by open water along the Florida Straits. There are no major services available on island. Given Dry Tortugas' remote, island-based setting-accessible only by boat or seaplane-the Chief of Park Operations must manage significant logistical, operational, and administrative challenges. The incumbent resides on-island at Fort Jefferson on Garden Key and may periodically work from Key West or park offices in Homestead, Florida.

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 and must be met by the closing date of this announcement.
  • 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 may be required to complete training and operate a four-wheel drive vehicle.
  • Occupancy of government quarters is required.
*Additional Requirements located under qualifications*

Qualifications

Requirements Continued...

  • 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.
  • You may be required to travel overnight away from home up to5 nights per month. 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.
  • Incumbent must be able to obtain Motorboat Operator Certification (MOCC) within 6 months of EOD. This is necessary to travel to various locations throughout the park.
  • The position to which you will be appointed is subject to a financial disclosure reporting requirement and you will be required to complete a new entrant Confidential Financial Disclosure Report (OGE Form 450) within 30 days of your appointment.
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 your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement-07/13/2026-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-0025-13 grade level, you must possess 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-12 grade level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors). Specialized experience is defined as 1) Providing leadership, supervision, expertise and support for a team of technical experts; 2) Implementing short- and long-range goals to a major park program; 3); Managing the safety of day-to-day field operations; 4) Collaborating with internal and external audiences to improve operations and project deliverables. You must include hours per week worked.

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.

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.

Education

There is no substitution of education for experience at the grade level(s) of this announcement.

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 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.

Physical Demands: Work is primarily in an office environment but may involve periods of strenuous activity when involved in field activities. Work demands range from moderate periods of office work (walking, standing, sitting, and lifting) to more strenuous periods of physical and mental activity. Incumbent must be capable of lifting objects of up to 40 pounds. The work requires being outdoors, walking, standing, bending, climbing stairs in high temperatures and humidity. Incumbent will frequently operator and travel on power boats and may be on the water for extended periods during hot, cold, or inclement weather in all hours of the day. Mosquitoes and biting insects are prevalent in the wet season. Travel to other areas is occasionally required. A valid driver's license is required.

Working Conditions: The work is performed in an office environment and in the field, which involves everyday risks and discomforts requiring normal safety precautions typical of office settings, meeting and training rooms, passenger vehicles and power boats. Incumbent must also work in environments outside of office settings and require work outdoors, day or night, in all types and conditions of weather and terrain. Prolonged periods of rigorous physical exertion may be required when responding to onsite emergencies, incidents, search and rescue, etc.

The park's facilities can present challenging access issues due to their historic nature with deteriorating walls, narrow stairs, and multiple levels with no elevator access.

To access the park, the incumbent must travel 68 miles by water (occasionally in rough seas) or by sea plane. There are no major services, amenities or cell service available on island. Food, fuel, equipment and gear must be shipped to the park via boat. Starlink internet is available.

Periodic travel is required to attend training, meetings, and/or conferences; which will require incumbent to travel 2+ hours one way from Key West to park headquarters in Homestead, FL

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.

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.

Resumes must not exceed two single-sided pages and resumes longer than two pages will not be accepted. You may only submit one resume. Only the document submitted as the "Resume" under the Documents section will be used to determine your qualifications/eligibility and for rating purposes. 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:

  • Decision Making
  • Leadership
  • Managing Human Resources
  • Partnering
  • 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 successful completion of additional assessments, including a structured 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.

National Park Service

Please visit find a park for additional park information.

Agency contact information

Jody Solis-Mitchell
Phone
000-000-0000
Email
jody_solis-mitchell@ios.doi.gov
Address
Dry Tortugas National Park
33 East Quay Rd
Key West, FL 33041
US

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