Job opening: Park Ranger Interpretation
Salary: $59 966 - 77 955 per year
Relocation: YES
Published at: Jun 13 2024
Employment Type: Full-time
This position is located in Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve, in the Interpretive Division.
Duties
Interpretation and Education
Manages the development of interpretive materials by subordinate staff for use in a variety of venues.
Continuously evaluates the need for new or revised park publications, drafts brochure text, designs layouts, analyzes funding sources and stays within prescribed budget.
Plans, designs, develops, and improves interpretive materials such as signs, waysides, publications, exhibits, and audio, video, and other digital content.
Develops and presents a variety of formal and informal audience and learner centered interpretive experiences.
Oversees planning and development of interpretive programming, including coordination with the Chief of Interpretation and local partners as appropriate.
Visitor Services and Facility Operations
Oversees all aspects of the Interpretive operations at the Visitor Center and other public venues.
Engages in and monitors visitor services provided by seasonal employees, park interns, and Interpretation and Visitor Services volunteers.
Responds to electronic, telephone, or written inquiries from the public.
Orients, educates, and informs visitors regarding access and opportunities to participate in and contribute to memorable experiences.
Supervise less than 20%
Directly supervises seasonal employees and park interns, and Interpretation and Visitor Services volunteers.
Performs supervisory functions, including but not limited to planning, scheduling, evaluations, and operations.
Responsible for on-the-job safety and health of all employees and volunteers supervised.
Will Coordinate the Park's Volunteer Program.
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, 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 weighting more then 50 pounds over long distances. Employees who participate in all-risk operations will be required to meet fitness requirement on a continuing basis.
Working Conditions: 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.
AREA INFORMATION:
Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve is a treasure of visual, geological and biological surprises --- a high mountain valley holding the tallest dunes in North America and flanked by some of the highest peaks in the Rocky Mountains; unique wind-powered geologic systems; insects physically adapted to life in the sand and found nowhere else; alpine lakes and tundra; disappearing creeks; interdunal wetlands and much more!
Nestled in southern Colorado, North America's tallest dunes rise over 750 feet high against the rugged Sangre de Cristo Mountains. This geologic wonderland, containing over 30 square miles of massive dunes, became a national monument in 1932. With the passage of the Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve Act, resources now also include alpine lakes and tundra, six peaks over 13,000 feet in elevation, ancient spruce and pine forests, large stands of aspen and cottonwood, grasslands and wetlands --- all habitat for diverse wildlife and plant species. The city of Alamosa, Colorado, is 35 miles from the park and offers a full range of shopping, medical facilities and other amenities.
Government Housing is not available.
Qualifications
All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement-06/27/2024-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 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-9 grade level, you 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-7 grade level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors). This experience includes activities such as: coordinating or directing visitor center, nature center, or visitor service operation; prepare and provide interpretation, education or outreach programs; and serve as coach for staff providing education, interpretation or outreach activities. Experience may have been in technical, administrative, or scientific work, fish and wildlife management, recreation management, law enforcement, or other park-related work such as Law enforcement or investigative work, archeological or historical preservation research work, forestry and/or fire management work in a park, recreation, or conservation area. To be creditable, this experience must have been equivalent in level of difficulty and responsibility to that of at least the GS-7 grade level in the federal service. You must include hours per week worked.
-OR-
EDUCATION: Successful completion of at least two full academic years of progressively higher level graduate education, or a master's or equivalent graduate degree in one of the following fields: natural resource management, natural sciences, marine biology/sciences, earth sciences, history, archeology, anthropology, park and recreation management, law enforcement/police science, social sciences, wetlands ecology, or other closely related subjects pertinent to the management and protection of natural and cultural resources. (Two years of graduate education is 36 semester hours or 54 quarter hours). You must include transcripts.
-OR-
Successful completion of a combination of education and experience as described above. For example, I have 6 months of the specialized experience described in 1A above (50% of the experience requirement), and 18 semester hours or 27 quarter hours of directly-related graduate level college study in an accredited institution (50% of the qualifying education). 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 Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve
11500 Hwy 150
Mosca, CO 81146
US
- Name: Tammy Ice
- Phone: (000)000-0000
- Email: [email protected]
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