Skip to main content
U.S. flag
 

Public Safety Dispatcher

Department of the Interior
National Park Service
Mesa Verde National Park

Summary

You will serve as a Public Safety Dispatcher with the National Park Service at Mesa Verde National Park.

Pay will vary based on the grade level for which you are selected. First time hires to the Federal government normally start at the step 1 rate.

The range of pay for the GS 05 grade level is: $40,736 - $52,957/year.
The range of pay for the GS 06 grade level is: $45,409 - $59,031/year.

Overview

Help
Location
1 vacancy in the following location:
Work site options
Telework eligible
No
Remote job
No
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Salary
$40,736 - $59,031 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 5 - 6
Promotion potential
6
Pay scale and grade determines the salary of the job.
Work schedule
Full-time
Travel Required
Occasional travel - You may be expected to travel for this position.
Appointment type
Permanent
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
Other
Position sensitivity and risk
Noncritical-Sensitive (NCS)/Moderate 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
CAHN-27-13102756-IMP-EDL
Control number
890633400

This job is open to

Help

Clarification from the agency

National Park Service (NPS-wide): This is a Merit Promotion announcement for current career and career conditional NPS employees, Career Transition eligibles (CTAP) and NPS Land Management Workforce Flexibility Act (LMWFA) eligibles. Refer to Required Documents section for more information.

Videos

Duties

Help

Some of the major duties you will perform include but are not limited to the following:

  • Public Safety Dispatching:
    • Performs dispatch and call taking services for public safety related incidents and operations. Receives and
      evaluates emergency calls for service. Obtains information through questioning and determines the priority
      of the call.
  • Radio System Operations:
    • Operates a multi-frequency radio console. Coordinates use of assigned radio frequencies, directs radio
      traffic to appropriate channels and restricts channels to emergency use as necessary. Prioritizes radio traffic
      and related communications. Serves as primary point of contact for law enforcement and other public safety
      responders monitoring traffic and assisting operations.
  • Navigates and Uses Public Safety Computer Networks in the performance of duties:
    • Serves as a certified operator of National Criminal Information Network (NCIC), National Law
      Enforcements Communications System (NLETS), and State criminal information networks (i.e., ACCESS,
      2TLETS, VCIN, etc.).
  • Monitors and coordinates responses to a variety of alarms, including: intrusion, fire, robbery, panic, and maintenance related systems.
  • Assists law enforcement officers with investigations, performing criminal and driver history background searches.
  • Prepares and processes records for retention with records management policies and procedures.

Duties will be developmental in nature when filled below the full performance level.

You may be required to travel overnight away from home occasionally. You must obtain a government charge card for travel purposes.

Requirements

Help

Conditions of employment

  • Must be a U.S. Citizen or National.
  • Appointment subject to background investigation and favorable adjudication.
  • Males born after 12-31-59 must be registered for Selective Service.
  • Direct Deposit participation required.
  • Successfully pass the E-Verify employment verification check. To learn more, visit https://www.e-verify.gov/.
  • Pre-employment and random drug testing is required. You will not be appointed to the position if a verified positive drug test is received.
  • You may be required to work on-call, evenings, weekends, holidays, overtime and shift work.

Additional Requirements located under qualifications...

Qualifications

Requirements Continued...

Probationary Period: As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you may be required to serve a one-year probationary period to evaluate your fitness and whether your continuation of employment advances the public interest.

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:

All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement - 11/12/2026-unless otherwise stated in this vacancy announcement. Competitive candidates must also meet Time-in-Grade requirements as defined in 5 CFR 300, Subpart F.

For current Federal employees, if hours worked per week are not included on your resume, you must submit a non-award SF-50 as part of your application to be used to validate your work schedule and determine the amount of specialized 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 periods of time that reflect military service, the DD-214 or Statement of Service is sufficient to meet the work schedule requirement as the service dates will be reflected. 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.

Minimum Qualification Requirements: To qualify for this position, you must meet the following minimum qualifications:

To qualify for this position at the GS-05 grade level you must meet one of the following:

Specialized Experience: To qualify, you must possess at least one full year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-04 level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors). Specialized experience demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and abilities to successfully perform the duties of a Public Safety Dispatcher. Specialized experience is defined as demonstrated experience performing work that provides familiarity with public safety policies and procedures such as, but not limited to, working as a security guard, law enforcement officer, or emergency responder (medical or search and rescue); relaying information from callers using a multi-line telephone or multi-frequency radio system to initiate a response; serving as a dispatcher for safety or non-safety services (i.e. perform dispatch functions on a fire, construction site, other). You must include hours per week worked.

-OR-

Education: Successful completion of at least four years of education above high school (120 semester hours or 180 quarter hours) from an accredited business, secretarial or technical school, junior college, college or university. You must include transcripts.

-OR-

Combination of experience and education as listed above. To combine experience and education, first take the number of months of full-time specialized experience and divide by 12. Multiply the resulting decimal by 100. Then take the number of credit hours completed (in excess of the first 60) and divide by 60. Multiply the resulting decimal by 100. Add the percentages together. The total must equal at least 100 percent to qualify. You must include hours per week and transcripts.

To qualify for this position at the GS-06 grade level you must meet one of the following:


Specialized Experience: To qualify, you must possess at least one full year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-05 level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors). Specialized experience demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and abilities to successfully perform the duties of a Public Safety Dispatcher. Specialized experience is defined as demonstrated experience providing dispatch and/or call taking services related to public safety (medical, law enforcement, search and rescue, fire or other emergencies/public safety related); operating computer systems such as, but not limited to, National Criminal Information Network (NCIC), National Law Enforcement Telecommunications System (NLETS), Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD), or similar systems that aid in public safety dispatching to run queries and document communications. You must include hours per week worked.

-OR-

Education: Successful completion of at least one year of graduate level education directly related to the work of the position. You must include transcripts.

-OR-

Combination of experience and education as listed above. To combine experience and education, first take the number of months of full-time specialized experience and divide by 12. Multiply the resulting decimal by 100. Then take the number of credit hours completed and divide by 18. Multiply the resulting decimal by 100. Add the percentages together. The total must equal at least 100 percent to qualify. You must include hours per week and 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

You must submit a copy of your transcript(s) to support claimed education if substituting education for experience. Transcripts must include your name, school name, grades, credit hours earned, major(s), grade point average or class ranking, and date the degree was conferred, if applicable. A typed list of courses, grades, semester/quarter hours, GPA, etc. will not be accepted. Non-submission may result in being rated not qualified for the position. Unofficial transcripts are acceptable, but if you are selected for this position and you used your education to qualify, you must provide official transcripts before you begin work.

Foreign Education: To receive credit for education completed outside the United States, you must show proof that the education has been submitted to a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign educational credentials and such education has been deemed at least equivalent to that gained in conventional U.S. education programs. For more information on how foreign education is evaluated, visit: https://www.ed.gov/about/initiatives/international-affairs/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications

Additional information

Additional vacancies may be filled using this job announcement.

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.

If otherwise eligible and qualified, you may be offered a recruitment or relocation incentive. The decision to offer an incentive will be made on a case-by-case basis and is neither promised nor guaranteed. For information visit: Recruitment Incentive or Relocation Incentive. A continued service agreement may be required if it is determined you are eligible for a recruitment or relocation incentive.

All 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, DOI Ethics Prohibitions | U.S. Department of the Interior.

Physical Demands: Incumbent must function efficiently in a confined space for extended periods with no breaks and no opportunity to leave the confines of the Communications Center. The dispatcher is considered an "essential employee," meaning he/she is required to work most holidays, report for duty during adverse weather conditions, and be expected to work for long hours exceeding normally scheduled shifts in case of emergencies. Position is sedentary with high amounts of stress. Incumbent is subject to shift work, rotating shift work, and uncommon tours of duty. Work requires use of the voice in vocal communications for periods of hours at a time. Voice must be clear, audible, and tone effective with words plainly spoken and understandable. Incumbent must be able to hear clearly and discern a variety of audible communications and signals simultaneously. Incumbent must be able to read critical information from multiple sources, including computer screen, fax, and written log quickly and accurately. The work is of an emergency nature and is emotionally stressful. Incumbent must possess manual dexterity sufficient to operate computer terminals/keyboards and related equipment and to maintain written logs. Work involves occasional lifting of boxes and supplies up to weights of 50 pounds.

Work Environment: The work is normally performed in a well-lighted and temperature-controlled room. Noise levels are routinely high due to electronic equipment, telephones, radios, and other discussions ongoing in the performance of duties. The setting is typically confined and secure, and entrance and egress is controlled. During the training period and/or on other occasions, the incumbent will be assigned to accompany field law enforcement personnel in patrol vehicles to learn or gain a more detailed familiarization with agency field operating procedures and jurisdictional boundaries. Incumbent may not leave the center unless relieved by another qualified dispatcher.

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.

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 assessment(s) required for this position. To be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process.

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.

You will be assessed in the following competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics):

  • Public Safety and Security
  • Stress Tolerance
  • Technology Application
  • Telecommunications

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 assessment(s), including a Structured Interview. These assessments measure the critical competencies listed above that are required to successfully perform the job.

All qualified non-competitive applicants and the best-qualified Merit Promotion applicants will be referred to the hiring manager for consideration.

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

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). To be considered under CTAP, you must be well-qualified, score at least 85 (i.e., meet the minimum qualification requirements, including any selective placement factors; education, and experience requirements), and be able to perform the duties of the position upon entry.

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 Service Delivery Team 1, Unit B (IMR)
Email
StaffingTeam1_IMR@ios.doi.gov
Address
Mesa Verde National Park
PO Box 8
Mesa Verde National Park, CO 81330
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.youtube.com/embed/nKonBsAFNbY

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.