Job opening: Park Ranger (Alpine Rescue and Mountaineering)
Salary: $32 - 42 per hour
Published at: Feb 15 2024
Employment Type: Full-time
These positions are located in Mount Rainier National Park, in the Division of Visitor and Resource Protection.
Career-Seasonal appointments are permanent positions and include the same benefits as Career appointments, but do not provide work on a year-round basis. You will work from approximately late February through late October, and you will be in a non-pay status for the remainder of the year.
Duties
Thes positions requires the mastery of a broad array of special technical skills, as well as leadership attributes in high-risk operations, with less than weekly oversight provided by a GS-11 supervisor. Incumbents are expected to enter on duty with a professional level of climbing and winter mountaineering background and experience. Major duties include:
Staffing high camps and performing climbing patrols on Mount Rainier
Conducting training and teaching advanced mountaineering techniques
Performing alpine rescues, conducting emergency medical services, as well as a broad array of aviation/helicopter insertion and extraction techniques including Human External Cargo (short haul) operations.
Overseeing daily operations of up to 10 rangers and mentoring individual rangers.
Duties related to visitor services and resource protection make up a third of the position. The incumbent makes visitor contacts and ensures that visitors are complying with park regulations.
A Recruitment Incentive May Be Authorized for a newly selected employee when appointed to a permanent, temporary, or term position. A Federal employee who is transferring to the National Park Service from another component, bureau or Federal agency and who does not meet the conditions under 5 CFR §575.102 is not eligible for a recruitment incentive.
This announcement may be used to fill additional positions if identical vacancies occur within 90 days of the issue date of the referral certificate.
Mount Rainier National Park is located in southeast Pierce County and northeast Lewis County in Washington state. It was established on March 2, 1899 as the fifth national park in the United States. The park encompasses 236,381 acres (369.35 sq mi; 956.60 km2) including all of Mount Rainier, a 14,411-foot (4,392 m) stratovolcano. The mountain rises abruptly from the surrounding land with elevations in the park ranging from 1,600 feet to over 14,000 feet (490 - 4,300 m). The highest point in the Cascade Range, around it are valleys, waterfalls, subalpine meadows, old-growth forest and more than 25 glaciers. The volcano is often shrouded in clouds that dump enormous amounts of rain and snow on the peak every year and hide it from the crowds that head to the park on weekends. The Carbon Glacier is the largest glacier by volume in the contiguous United States, while Emmons Glacier is the largest glacier by area.
About 1.8 million people visit Mount Rainier National Park each year. Mount Rainier is a popular peak for mountaineering with some 11,500 attempts per year with approximately 50% making it to the summit. Work takes place at all levels in the park from low-country ranger stations to climbing and rescue activities at the summit. Work is extremely strenuous and often conducted in poor weather. Backcountry travel is required and subject to primitive conditions and composes up to several weeks each year.
Qualifications
All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement-02/29/2024-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.
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: In addition to meeting the minimum qualifications, applicants must also possess the following selective factors to be considered for this position.
1) This position performs alpine rescue and mountaineering and requires applicants to have at least 20 professional ascents of routes on peaks over 14,000 feet where at least half the routes are typified by overwhelming glaciated terrain OR have completed an American Mountain Guides Association (AMGA) or IFMGA-affiliated (International Federation of Mountain Guide Associations) Advanced Alpine Guide Course or an Advanced Ski Guide Course. Applicants must document how they meet this requirement to be considered qualified for this position (best done in a separate climbing resume or log to reflect professional ascents). Candidates who do not meet this requirement by close of this announcement will receive no further consideration for this position.
2) This position requires applicants to have an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) Certification or higher through the National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians (NREMT) or the equivalent through a State Emergency Medical Service Organization. Candidates who do not meet this requirement by entry on duty will receive no further consideration for this position.
3) This position requires applicants to be a certified Helicopter Crewmember (HECM) or Helicopter All-Hazards Crewmember (HEAC). Candidates who do not meet this requirement by close of this announcement will receive no further consideration for this position.
4) Applicants must enter on duty with a Pro-1 Level Avalanche Certification. If you are attending a course between the application period and entry on duty, you MUST indicate which organization will be providing the training and expected course completion date.
- AND -
To qualify for this position at the GS-09 grade level, you must possess all 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-07 grade level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors).This experience MUST include: 1) Climbing alpine mountaineering routes in a professional capacity (ex: Park Ranger, Mountain Guide, or Instructor); 2) Performing emergency medical services at the Emergency Medical Technician level or higher; and 3) Managing search and rescue activities in remote areas and in various terrains and elevations. 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 a master's or equivalent graduate degree related to the occupation. Related coursework includes: 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 submit a copy of your transcripts as proof of any claimed education.
-OR-
Successful completion of a combination of education and experience as described above. You must submit a copy of your transcripts as proof of any claimed education.
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.
ICTAP/CTAP Statement: Current surplus and current or former displaced Federal individuals who have special priority selection rights under the Agency Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP) or the Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP) must be well qualified for the position to receive consideration for special priority selection. Well qualified means that the applicant meets the following: OPM qualification standards for the position; all selective placement factors, where applicable; special qualifying conditions that OPM has approved for the position, where applicable; is physically qualified with reasonable accommodation, where appropriate to satisfactorily perform the duties of the position upon entry; and is rated by the organization at least at the well qualified level on all competencies.
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 Mount Rainier National Park
55210 238th Avenue East
Ashford, WA 98304
US
- Name: Alexis Brooks
- Email: [email protected]
Map