If you have questions regarding the area or the duties of this position, please contact Rick Clark at [email protected] or 402-661-1534.

Duties

The Park Manager (Superintendent), GS-0025-15, of Indiana Dunes National Park is duty-stationed in Porter, Indiana. Indiana Dunes National Park was authorized by Congress in 1966 to preserve the particularly fragile ecosystem of the southern Lake Michigan dunes and Shoreline area. The park was expanded in 1976 and again in l980, 1986, and 1992 to its present size of over 15,000 acres. The park ranks in the top ten of NPS units in plant diversity with more than 1,200 species of native vascular plants. Landforms include marsh, fen, bog, river, lake shoreline, dunes, tallgrass prairie, oak savanna, and woodland. The park is in a rapidly developing area which is highly urbanized and industrialized. It is in three different counties and has land within 14 towns and cities. More than 10 million people live within 75 miles of the park. The park has acquired more than 6,300 tracts of land, each with its own deed, making land management extraordinarily complex. The urban setting of the area, the complexity of its environmental setting, the interrelationship with surrounding communities, and the high degree of public interest in the management and development of the park require that the Superintendent have an exceptional scope and degree of sensitivity and expertise in carrying out management responsibilities under close public scrutiny. The park has an on-going, complex land acquisition and protection program with special conditions or restrictions which require constant monitoring and negotiations with owners of land within the park's boundaries to insure the protection of those lands. There are constant pressures for additional expansion. The park has an extremely vigorous and intensive land restoration program to restore the sites to natural conditions. As Superintendent, the incumbent functions with broad and full responsibilities for park planning; development and operations; partnership building; community relations; and other external affairs. The Superintendent performs under the supervision of the Deputy Regional Director, Science and Resources Management in Omaha, Nebraska. Indiana Dunes National Park encompasses 15,000 acres of coastal wetlands, prairies, dunes, and lakeshore beaches at the southern end of Lake Michigan in Northwest Indiana. The Indiana Dunes is the most visited tourist destination in Indiana and one of the most visited NPS units. The park is proximate to some of the busiest industrial and urban landscapes yet remains one of the most biodiverse places in North America with four National Natural Landmarks. Park permanent staff number about 100 with an additional seasonal crew that almost doubles the team size. Indiana Dunes State Park is within the boundary of the park and is a key cooperator. Several NGO partners are active in advancing the park and NPS mission including Friends of Indiana Dunes, Save the Dunes, and the Shirley Heinze Land Trust. Indiana Dunes location offers every option regarding where to live from every sized community as well as rural living. Park activities include seasonal beaches, hiking, biking, birding, photography, canoeing, kayaking, fishing and really about any outdoor pursuit. The park also offers significant cultural resources including one NHL at the Bailly Homestead, several mid-century modern homes and the former US Steel summer camp now utilized as an outdoor school operated by a non-profit partner, the Dunes Learning Center. All services are available close to or in the communities where park employees live. Chicago is less than an hour away with the South Shore Line commuter rail service convenient to and from the park from four stations. Indiana Dunes enjoys a high quality of life, affordable cost of living and is within the Chicago locality pay zone.

Requirements

Qualifications

All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement-09/27/2023-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-15 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-14 grade level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors). This experience includes activities such as: managing and supervising park or similar activities with an emphasis on natural management and protection, cultural and resource preservation and protection, visitor use and interpretation, law enforcement, maintenance of physical facilities and administrative programs. You must include hours per week worked on your resume. 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 at the grade level(s) of this announcement.

Contacts

• Address Indiana Dunes National Park 1100 N Mineral Springs Rd Porter, IN 46304 US
• Name: Alyssa Medvec
• Email: [email protected]