This position is located in Big Bend National Park, in the Visitor and Resource Protection Division. Open to the first 30 applicants or 10/15/2023 whichever comes first. All applications submitted by 11:59 (EST) on the closing day will receive consideration. Occupancy of government quarters is required for this position.

Duties

The is a non-supervisory park ranger performing visitor and resource protection, and public use management in Big Bend National Park and the Rio Grande Wild and Scenic River with a focus on High Intensity Drug Traffic Activities (HIDTA) operations. Serves as a commissioned Law Enforcement Ranger responsible for performing law enforcement duties. Under the guidance and direct supervision of the Deputy Chief Park Ranger, serves as the HIDTA Ranger of the entire park. Responsible for regular law enforcement and emergency services (Search and Rescue-SAR) within the park as needed. Serves as a professional level technical consultant to field rangers on HIDTA and serves as a training officer. Prepares and executes the HIDTA budget, quarterly report, serves as a member of the Lonestar HIDTA group and interacts with other federal, state, and local agencies in the administration and enforcement of HIDTA operations. Works with minimal supervision and assists in normal park operations as needed and when possible. Area Information: Big Bend National Park encompasses 801,000 acres of the Chihuahuan Desert with more biodiversity than almost any other national park and a dark sky designation. Elevation in the park varies from 7825 to 1850 ft. The climate is generally pleasant with hot summers (90-110+ degrees F.) and mild winters (30-50 degrees F.). Recreational opportunities include hiking, bird watching, photography, backcountry camping, bicycling, and river rafting. The park has a post office, gas stations, camper stores, restaurant, library, gym, and lodge. The gateway town of Terlingua has lodging, restaurants, hardware store, small grocery and gift stores, churches and a bank. Lajitas has limited shopping, lodging, restaurants, golf course and churches. Alpine, Texas (100 miles from PJ) has most necessities, including supermarkets, variety of stores, a hospital, pharmacies, churches, a movie theater, and a university. The nearest larger cities are Midland/Odessa (225 miles) and El Paso (325 miles). Daycare, Schools and Community: There are 250 people in the park community including NPS, Concession, Border Patrol, Postal Service, and School staff, and their families in 5 housing areas. San Vicente public school (SVISD) (www.svisd.com) is a state-accredited elementary (Pk-8) located at Panther Junction. The daycare program is currently free, subject to change (contact Dr. Jessi Milam at 432-244-3131 or [email protected] for more information). SVISD has a 3:1 student to teacher ratio and is an "A" rated academic curriculum with a variety of extracurricular activities including archery, STEM, gifted & talented, summer programs, and a computer lab. Terlingua has a state-accredited high school (no bus service). An active employee/community association sponsors social events throughout the year. Please visit our website for more information at: https://go.nps.gov/bigbendareainfo.

Requirements

Qualifications

Prior to appointment, you must be determined physically fit by an authorized government physician to perform strenuous and physically demanding duties; and also pass a medical examination (which includes vision, hearing, cardiovascular, and mobility of extremities) given by an authorized government physician. You will also be required to undergo periodic medical examinations throughout employment. Prior to appointment, the individual selected for this position must be determined physically fit by an authorized physician to perform strenuous and physically demanding duties, pass a medical examination, and pass the Physical Efficiency Battery (PEB). The PEB is a fitness test consisting of five different components: 1) agility run - measures the ability to get up from the ground and sprint while changing directions; 2) bench press - measures upper body strength for one repetition; 3) 1.5 mile run - measures cardio/respiratory fitness; 4) sit and reach - measures flexibility in the lower back, legs and shoulders; and 5) body composition - measures body fat. Prior to appointment, selectees will be tested in all five components, and must pass the agility run, bench press and 1.5 mile run in the 25th percentile. All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement-10/15/2023-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 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 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. 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). Time-in-grade requirements must be met by the closing date of this announcement. Time-In-Grade requirements also apply to former Federal civilian employees applying for reinstatement as well as current employees applying for Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) appointment. 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. Selective Factors: Applicants must meet ALL of the following to qualify: Must currently possess, previously held (within the past three years), or be able to obtain a valid Type I National Park Service (NPS) Law Enforcement Commission, or equivalent. This is a secondary-administrative law enforcement position under the special retirement provisions of 5 U.S. C. 8336 (c) (CSRS) and 5 U. S. C. 8412 (d) (FERS). Applicants for this position must possess experience gained by substantial service in a primary law enforcement position. - AND - Applicants must possess at least one of 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/GL-09 grade level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors). Specialized experience is experience that equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities needed to successfully perform the duties of this position. Examples of specialized experience could include: performing senior law enforcement, fire management, search and rescue, and emergency medical services duties for the protection, conservation, use, and management of natural and/or cultural resources in park areas or similar operations, which involved the application of law enforcement and fire management authorities and procedures to protect visitors and resources; management or program specialist work involving the development and/or implementation of policy related to the law enforcement, fire management and visitor protection in park areas or similar operations; or other similar work. You must include hours per week worked. -OR- EDUCATION: Successful completion of at least three full years of graduate level study leading to a Doctorate, Ph.D., or equivalent degree at an accredited college or university in directly-related fields such as natural resource management, natural sciences, earth sciences, history, archaeology, anthropology, park and recreation management; law enforcement/police science, social sciences, museum sciences, business administration, public administration, behavioral sciences, or sociology. 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 graduate degree, in excess of 36 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. 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

Law Enforcement Commission: This position requires applicants to possess, previously held (within the past three years), or be able to possess by entrance on duty a valid Type I National Park Service (NPS) Law Enforcement Commission (or equivalent), which requires completing training from an accredited institution, which currently consists of over 650 class hours and lasts on average 17 weeks. Please visit the Association of National Park Rangers' Seasonal Law Enforcement Training Program (SLETP) for additional information on approved training courses and equivalency for commissioning.

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.

This is a secondary-administrative law enforcement position under the special retirement provisions of 5 U.S. C. 8336 (c) (CSRS) and 5 U. S. C. 8412 (d) (FERS). PLEASE NOTE: Applicants may meet qualification requirements but may not be eligible for special retirement coverage. If such an applicant is selected, they will be placed in the regular retirement system. To be eligible for Secondary retirement coverage under CSRS, an employee must transfer directly (without a break in service exceeding 3 days) from a primary position to a secondary position. To be eligible for Secondary retirement coverage under FERS, an employee must: 1) transfer directly (without a break in service exceeding 3 days) from a primary position to a secondary position, AND 2) complete 3 years of service in a primary rigorous position including any such service during which no FERS deductions were withheld, AND 3) must be continuously employed in a secondary position(s) since moving from a primary rigorous position, except for any break in employment from a secondary position that began with involuntary separation (not for cause). It is the responsibility of the applicant to ensure this office has enough information to determine your special retirement status to ensure you do not lose benefits (normally through submission of your work history or other documentation that demonstrates work history of approved covered positions). You must let this office know if you are in a Primary position.

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 here: https://help.usastaffing.gov/Apply/index.php?title=Reasonable_Accommodations_for_USA_Hire

Contacts

• Address Big Bend National Park Big Bend National Park Big Bend National Park, TX 79834 US
• Name: Vicki Duran
• Phone: 0000000000
• Email: [email protected]