The purpose of the position is to facilitate and induce visitor: understanding of park resources, enjoyment of the park and its resources; behavior consistent with resource protection and to gain friendly compliance with the laws and rules of the park; and encourage visitors to develop a sense of stewardship for park resources. This position performs a variety of horse management related functions that necessitate the knowledge requirements for working around wild horses present on the island.

Duties

The incumbent will educate visitors about the need to maintain a safe distance from the island's wild horses by sharing information about how and why to observe the horses safely. When horse-human interactions present safety concerns, the incumbent will intervene to educate visitors and, as necessary, use a variety of techniques to move horses and horse bands out of the lifeguarded beach areas and the visitor parking areas to reduce visitor-horse conflict and safety issues. Incumbent is responsible for observing, being aware of, and reporting to appropriate staff flagrantly inappropriate human horse interactions. The incumbent is required to work outdoors for up to eight hours a day, 40 hours a week. Incumbent collects and compiles a variety of data. These data include but are not limited to the number and location of visitor contacts, human-horse interactions location of various bands of horses, observations about specific horse behaviors and weather. Three Horse Management GS-0025-05 Park Rangers will work with two to three interns performing Horse Management duties throughout the Maryland district of Assateague Island National Seashore. Horse Management Park Rangers provide visitor orientation, information and education regarding safe wildlife viewing distance, food storage regulations and preempt and prevent negative visitor-horse interactions. These staff members patrol the developed area of the national seashore, including roads, parking areas, lifeguarded protected beaches and campgrounds. Their duties are performed autonomously while maintaining communication with contact stations, law enforcement rangers, lifeguards, pony patrol and camp host volunteer staff via radio.

Requirements

Qualifications

All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement-11/24/2023-unless otherwise stated in this vacancy announcement. Credit will be given for all appropriate qualifying experience. To receive credit for experience, your resume MUST clearly indicate the nature of the duties and responsibilities for each position, starting and ending dates of employment (month/year), and the resume must reflect full and/or part-time or total number of hours worked (i.e., work 40+ hours a week, rather than indicating full-time). If part-time, the hours must be annotated to be able to pro-rate the amount of qualified specialized experience. To qualify for this position at the GS-05 grade level, you must possess at least one of the following minimum qualifications by close of the announcement: EXPERIENCE: Possess one year of specialized experience, equivalent in level of difficulty and responsibility to that of at least the GS-4 grade level in the Federal service. Specialized experience is experience that equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities needed to successfully perform the duties of this position. Experience may have been in technical, administrative, or scientific work, fish and wildlife management, recreation management, law enforcement, or other park related work. Examples of specialized experience include, but are not limited to, general knowledge of program areas such as visitor services, visitor and resource protection, interpretation, horse health and behavior, visitor safety, etc. The position works within the well-established Division of Interpretation and Education and has some limited responsibility for modifying work methods appropriate to conducting resource monitoring and visitor services surrounding the wild horses of Assateague. The incumbent is required to follow established procedures and precedents and select or adapt procedures to meet the conditions of varying circumstances. You must include hours per week worked. -OR- EDUCATION: Have four years of education above high school (120 semester hours or 180 quarter hours) leading to a bachelor's degree with major study of 24 semester hours of course work in a related field. (Related fields of study include 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, sociology, or other closely related subjects pertinent to the management and protection of natural and cultural resources.) IMPORTANT - PLEASE NOTE: If you are using education to qualify you must document your course work and/or degree completed in your resume or other application materials you submit. You must submit a copy of your transcripts, or a complete list of college courses taken that identifies for each course the college or university, semester or quarter hours earned, grade received, and date completed. If you are qualifying based on education and you do not submit specific course work information as described previously, your application will be rated not qualified for consideration. (A copy of your official transcripts will be required before entrance on duty, if selected). You must include transcripts. -OR- COMBINATION: Have an equivalent combination of education and experience. NOTE: Only education in excess of the first 60 semester hours of a course of study leading to a bachelor's degree is creditable toward meeting the specialized experience requirements. Two full academic years of study, or 60 semester hours, beyond the second year is equivalent to l year of specialized experience. For example, I have 6 months of the specialized experience described above (50% of the experience requirement), and 3 years of college study from an accredited institution (50% of the qualifying education) which included at least 12 semester hours of related coursework as specified above (50% of the related coursework required). You must include 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

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.

Contacts

• Address Assateague Island National Seashore 7206 National Seashore Lane Berlin, MD 21811 US
• Name: Mary Dignard
• Phone: 978-895-0319
• Email: [email protected]