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Wilderness Information Assistant and Lead Wilderness Information Assistant (Seasonal)

Department of the Interior
National Park Service
Olympic National Park

Summary

The typical anticipated Entry on Duty: April- July 2027but can be variable during these months due to weather conditions, project needs, or funding.

Open to the first 150applicants or until 10/26/2026 whichever comes first.

Overview

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Accepting applications
This job will close when we have received 150 applications which may be sooner than the closing date. Learn more
Location
Many vacancies in the following locations:
Work site options
Telework eligible
No
Remote job
No
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Salary
$21.94 - $31.79 per hour
Pay scale & grade
GS 5 - 6
Promotion potential
None
Pay scale and grade determines the salary of the job.
Work schedule
Multiple Schedules - Work schedule is dependent on the position
Travel Required
Occasional travel - You may be expected to travel for this position.
Appointment type
Temporary - Not to Exceed 1039 Hours
Occupations and job series
Supervisory status
No
Federal service type
This job is in the Competitive Service
Represented by a union
No
Drug test
Yes
Security clearance
Not Required
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
No
Some jobs require financial disclosure to identify conflicts of interests.
Announcement number
CAHQ-27-13082583-DE-DLB
Control number
889197400

This job is open to

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Clarification from the agency

This announcement is for Pacific West Region. Please refer to the "Location" section to see which National Parks are included on this announcement.

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Duties

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You work in a Wilderness Information Center providing resource orientation and information about Olympic National Park. Duties at each grade level include:

GS-05 Wilderness Information Assistant: You spend about 75% of your working hours in a Wilderness Information Center issuing Wilderness Permits, providing Leave No Trace education, dispensing Preventative Search and Rescue (PSAR) information, and collecting fees. You will also work about 25% of the time conducting uniformed wilderness patrols in Olympic National Park's 876,447 acres of federally designated Wilderness.

GS-06 Lead Wilderness Information Assistant: You spend about 50-75% of your working hours in a Wilderness Information Center issuing Wilderness Permits, providing Leave No Trace education, dispensing Preventative Search and Rescue (PSAR) information, and collecting fees. You will also work up to 50% of the time conducting uniformed wilderness patrols in Olympic National Park's 876,447 acres of federally designated Wilderness. Lead positions will assist in administrative work in the Wilderness Information Center and provide guidance to less experienced staff regarding the wilderness and backcountry operations.

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.
  • Required to participate in the Direct Deposit Electronics Funds Transfer Program.
  • 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.

Qualifications

All qualifications must be met by 11:59 EST when the 'applicant cut-off' is reached (which may be sooner than 10/26/2026).

SELECTIVE FACTOR: In order to provide accurate information regarding trail conditions and assistance to the backcountry staff, you will be expected to perform wilderness patrols of up to 15 miles per day carrying packs weighing up to 40 pounds. You will be hiking over terrain that may be rugged and will likely experience inclement weather conditions. Candidates who do not have prior experience hiking/backpacking that includes completing multiple trips of multiple days duration and having spent at least 20 nights cumulatively in the wilderness backpacking 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: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). This experience includes activities such as: 1) working as a cashier; 2) working at an information desk or in a customer service position; and 3) working with computers and record keeping. You must include hours per week worked.
-OR-
EDUCATION:
Successful completion of at least 4 years of progressively higher level undergraduate education leading to a bachelor's degree in a field for which high school graduation or the equivalent is the normal prerequisite. 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 bachelor's degree, in excess of 60 semester hours, and divide by 60 semester hours (or equivalent). Then take the number of months of full-time experience and divide by 12 months. Add the percentages together. The total must equal at least 100 percent to qualify. You must include hours per week worked and transcripts.

To qualify for this position at the GS-06 grade level, you must possess the following minimum qualifications:
EXPERIENCE: At least one full year of specialized experience comparable in scope and responsibility to the GS-05 grade level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors). This experience includes activities such as: 1) working as a cashier; 2) working at an information desk or in a customer service position; 3) working with computers to manage an equipment rental program; and 4) providing training for other employees. 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.

You must include months/years, hours per week worked and salary to receive credit for your work and/or volunteer experience. One year of specialized experience is equivalent to 12 months at 40 hours per week. Part-time hours are prorated. You will not receive any credit for experience that does not indicate exact hours per week or is listed as "varies". No additional credit is given for overtime. In describing the nature of your duties (your experience), please be clear and concise. We will not make assumptions regarding your experience. The Office of Personnel Management Qualification Standards are available for review at: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/.

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.

There is no substitution of education for experience at the GS-06 and GS-07 grade level 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 salary range on this vacancy does not grant an entitlement to a higher rate of pay.

Additional vacancies may be filled using this job announcement.

Click here for the OPM Salaries and Wages to calculate locality pay.

Non-Competitive Rehire Eligibility: Temporary seasonal employees can only maintain their non-competitive rehire eligibility if they work no more than a combined total of Temporary NTE 1039 hours anywhere in the National Park Service (NPS) within their established service year. Accordingly, non-competitive rehire eligibility allows for re-appointment to the same position or another position appropriate for temporary appointment with the same qualification requirements (5 CFR 316.402[b][7]), based on series and grade, anywhere in the major subdivision (NPS).

If you have held a temporary seasonal appointment in the past 12 months and have already worked the maximum temporary appointment combined total of 1039 hours during that period, you are still welcome to apply. However, please be aware that exceeding the limit of 1039 hours in your established service year will result in the loss of your non-competitive rehire eligibility.

The limit can be exceeded by working multiple temporary seasonal positions that result in a combined total greater than 1039 hours. The limit also can be exceeded by working a single temporary seasonal appointment that exceeds 1039 hours, unless granted an exception by OPM.

*This position may be filled under a temporary seasonal appointment not-to-exceed 1560 hours rather than 1039 hours depending on the park and program*

Employment may be terminated at any time due to fluctuations in funding levels, project needs, employee performance, or other considerations.

Physical Demands: Standing for long periods of time, walking, bending, lifting of moderately heavy items and sedentary work is required. Mental stress and physical fatigue occur due to high volume of personal contacts and the responsibility of dealing with visitors who may ignore safety precautions. Wilderness training patrols involve periods of time away from the comforts of civilization, hiking with heavy backpacks in the steep, rugged environment of the Olympic Wilderness. Wilderness training patrols normally are between 1 and 8 days in duration. Incumbent must be able to hike up to 15 miles per day over rugged terrain carrying a 40 pound pack.

Working Conditions: Work is often performed indoors and outdoors in a variety of weather conditions and terrain including but not limited to·snow, steep terrain, stream crossings, heavy rain, cold temperatures and warm temperatures. Includes weekday, weekend, and holiday work and variable shifts. Duties may be performed alone in isolated locations.

The National Park Service has determined that the duties of this position are not suitable for telework.

All Department of Interior (DOI) employees, their spouses, and minor children may not acquire or retain any claim, permit, lease, small tract entry, or other rights granted by the Department in Federal lands, with limited exceptions. Additional ethics prohibitions can be found here, https://www.doi.gov/ethics/ethics-prohibitions.

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.

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.

Your resume must not exceed 2 pages. 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 will be rated and ranked using Category Rating procedures. These procedures place candidates with veterans' 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:
  • Interpersonal Skills
  • Leadership
  • Manages Resources
  • Stamina
  • Technical Competence
  • Technology Application

Current or former displaced Federal employees who are surplus, displaced, or involuntarily separated have special priority selection rights under the Agency Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP) or the Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP). To be considered under CTAP/ICTAP, you must be well-qualified. To meet the definition of well-qualified, you must (1) score at least 85 on the assessment questionnaire; (2) meet the minimum qualification requirements (education, experience or a combination therein), including any selective placement factors; and (3) be able to perform the duties of the position upon entry with reasonable accommodation, when applicable.

Overstating your qualifications and/or experience in your application materials or application questionnaire may result in your removal from 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. Applicants who include vulgar, offensive, or inappropriate language or information in their application package will be ineligible for further consideration for this position.

National Park Service

The Department of the Interior protects and manages the Nation's natural resources and cultural heritage; provides scientific and other information about those resources; and honors its trust responsibilities or special commitments to American Indians, Alaska Natives, Native Hawaiians, and affiliated Island Communities. Click here to learn more about the Department of the Interior and its bureaus.

The mission of the National Park Service (NPS) is to preserve the natural and cultural resources and values of the National Park System for the enjoyment, education, and inspiration of this and future generations. You can make a difference by bringing your unique experience, background, and perspective to our work. Click here to learn more about the National Park Service.

Agency contact information

DOI Seasonal Temp Team
Email
seasonaltempteam@ios.doi.gov
Address
Seasonal Staffing Office-Pacific West Region
333 Bush Street - Suite 500
San Francisco, CA 94104
US

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