Park Ranger (Interpretation)

Summary You will serve as a Park Ranger (Interpretation) with the National Park Service at Manhattan Project National Historical Park. Pay will vary based on grade level and/or duty location for which you're selected. First time hires to the Federal government normally start at the step 1 rate. This announcement will fill two vacancies. One vacancy will be filled in Richland, Washington and one vacancy will be filled in Los Alamos, New Mexico. Responsibilities Career-Seasonal appointments are permanent positions and include the same benefits as Career appointments, but do not provide work on a year-round basis. For Richland, Washington, you will work from approximately January through mid-December, and you will be in a non-pay status for the remainder of the year. The salary range for Richland, Washington is $50,460 - $80,243 per year. For Los Alamos, New Mexico, you will work from approximately mid-January through December, and you will be in a non-pay status for the remainder of the year. The salary range for Los Alamos, New Mexico is $51,007 - $81,114 per year. Some of the major duties you will perform include but are not limited to the following: Researches, develops, and presents formal and informal interpretive programs and services that connect park natural, cultural, and historical resource meanings to visitor interests. Staff visitor centers, contact stations, and roving locations to orient visitors and provide accurate resource, safety, and facility information. Develops and presents curriculum-based education programs and interpretive media for school groups and the visiting public. Promotes resource stewardship and Leave No Trace principles to foster appropriate visitor behavior and protect park resources. Evaluates interpretive program effectiveness, plans new offerings, and (at the full performance level) leads interpretive themes and provides work direction to seasonal staff and volunteers. Requirements 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/. 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 occasionally. You must obtain a government charge card for travel purposes. Must possess and maintain a valid driver's license throughout employment. You must have the ability to lift 50 pounds. You are required to wear a uniform and comply with uniform standards. A uniform allowance will be provided. You are required to complete training, obtain and maintain a government credit card with travel and purchase authority. Probationary Period: As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you may be required to serve a 1-year probationary 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 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-07 grade level, you must possess at least one of the following minimum qualifications by close of the announcement: Specialized Experience Requirement: To qualify, you must possess 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). Experience may have been in technical, administrative, or scientific work, fish and wildlife management, recreation management, law enforcement, or other park-related work. Specialized experience is defined as demonstrated experience: Independently researching, developing, and presenting formal interpretive programs (guided walks, talks, evening programs) that connect park resource meanings to visitor interests; providing interpretive and informational services to a broad range of audiences; and preparing interpretive media or materials. You must include hours per week worked. -OR- Education: Successful completion of at least 1 full academic year of graduate education related to the occupation. Major study - natural resource management, natural sciences, earth sciences, history, archeology, anthropology, park and recreation management, law enforcement/police science, social sciences, museum sciences, business administration, public administration, behavioral sciences, sociology, or other closely related subjects pertinent to the management and protection of natural and cultural resources. Course work in fields other than those specified may be accepted if it clearly provides applicants with the background of knowledge and skills necessary for successful job performance in the position to be filled. You must include transcripts. -OR- Superior Academic Achievement (SAA): Successfully completed a bachelor's degree in a directly related field AND meet one of the following: (1) Class Standing: rank in the upper 3rd of the graduating class in the college, university, or major subdivision, based on the completed courses; OR (2) Grade-Point Average (GPA): earn a GPA of (a) 3.0 or higher out of a possible 4.0 ("B" or better) based on 4 years of education, or based on courses completed during the final 2 years of the curriculum -or- (b) 3.5 or higher out of a possible 4.0 ("B" or better) based on the average of the required courses completed in the major field, or the required courses completed during the final two years. Note: GPA will be rounded to one decimal place, for example, 2.95 = 3.0, 2.94 = 2.9; OR (3) Membership in a National Scholastic Honor Society. You must include transcripts. Combination of education and experience. To combine education and experience, first take the number of months of qualifying, full-time work experience and divide by 12. Multiply the resulting decimal by 100. Then take the number of graduate credits 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. To qualify for this position at the GS-09 grade level, you must possess at least one of the following minimum qualifications by close of the announcement: Specialized Experience Requirement: To qualify, you must possess at least one full year of specialized experience comparable in scope and responsibility to the GS-07 grade level in the federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors). Experience may have been in technical, administrative, or scientific work, fish and wildlife management, recreation management, law enforcement, or other park-related work. Specialized experience is defined as demonstrated experience: Performing interpretive work such as developing new interpretive programs and media aligned to park themes and goals; evaluating the effectiveness of interpretive services and adjusting content and delivery; serving as a lead for an interpretive theme, site, or program; and training or providing work direction to seasonal staff, interns, or volunteers. You must include hours per week worked. -OR- Education: Successful completion of at least 2 full academic years of progressively higher-level graduate education. -OR- Master's or equivalent graduate degree related to the occupation. Major study - natural resource management, natural sciences, earth sciences, history, archeology, anthropology, park and recreation management, law enforcement/police science, social sciences, museum sciences, business administration, public administration, behavioral sciences, sociology, or other closely related subjects pertinent to the management and protection of natural and cultural resources. Course work in fields other than those specified may be accepted if it clearly provides applicants with the background of knowledge and skills necessary for successful job performance in the position to be filled. You must include transcripts. -OR- Combination of education and experience. To combine education and experience, first take the number of semester hours or equivalent earned towards a graduate degree, in excess of 18 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. 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. Reasonable Accommodation (RA) Requests: If you believe you have a disability (i.e., physical or mental), covered by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended that would interfere with completing the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, you will be granted the opportunity to request a RA in your online application. Requests for RA for the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments and appropriate supporting documentation for RA must be received prior to starting the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments. Decisions on requests for RA are made on a case-by-case basis. If you meet the minimum qualifications of the position, after notification of the adjudication of your request, you will receive an email invitation to complete the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, based on your adjudication decision. You must complete all assessments within 48 hours of receiving the URL to access the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments if you received the link after the close of the announcement. To determine if you need a RA, please review the Procedures for Requesting a Reasonable Accommodation for Online Assessments. (https://appsupport-usastaffing.opm.gov/hc/en-us/sections/45063131363475-Reasonable-Accommodation-Information) 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: The work requires some physical exertion and can involve extensive periods of standing and walking, in some cases over rough surfaces or inclines outdoors or in caves, and carrying backpacks, tools, rescue equipment, or other loads. Some employees may engage in firefighting, search and rescue, and other strenuous activities; these employees may be required to lift or carry equipment weighing more than 50 pounds over long distances. Employees who participate in all-risk operations will be required to meet fitness requirements on a continuing basis. Work Environment: The work can include moderate risks or discomforts that require safety precautions (e.g., exposure to extreme temperatures, climates, rough terrain, wild animals, pests, and/or insects). The incumbent may be required to use protective clothing or gear, such as masks, boots, gloves, etc. Some employees may be engaged in all-risk operations and be exposed to high risk and potentially dangerous situations which require a range of safety and other precautions. The duties of this position are suitable for telework only during an emergency or natural disaster.