Park Ranger (Interpretation)

All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement - 11/12/2026-unless otherwise stated in this vacancy announcement. Competitive candidates must also meet Time-in-Grade requirements as defined in 5 CFR 300, Subpart F. 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 periods of time that reflect military service, the DD-214 or Statement of Service is sufficient to meet the work schedule requirement as the service dates will be reflected.

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.

Minimum Qualification Requirements: To qualify for this position, you must meet the following minimum qualifications: To qualify for this position at the GS-07 level, you must possess at least one of the following minimum qualifications: Experience: To qualify, you must possess at least one full year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-05 level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors).

Specialized experience is defined as demonstrated experience that 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 could include park guide or tour leader; law enforcement or investigative work; archeological or historical preservation research work; forestry and/or fire management work in a park, recreation, or conservation area; management, assistant, or program specialist work involving the development and/or implementation of policy related to protection, conservation, or management of park areas or similar operations.

You must include hours per week worked in your resume. -OR- Education: Successful completion of at least one full year of graduate education in a major study such as 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. (One year of graduate education is 18 semester hours, 27 quarter hours, or the number your school uses to represent one year.) You must include a copy of your transcripts. -OR- Superior Academic Achievement (SAA): Successfully completed a bachelor's degree in a directly related field AND meet one of the following: (1) Class Standing: rank in the upper 3rd of the graduating class in the college, university, or major subdivision, based on the completed courses; OR (2) Grade-Point Average (GPA): earn a GPA of (a) 3.0 or higher out of a possible 4.0 ("B" or better) based on 4 years of education, or based on courses completed during the final 2 years of the curriculum -or- (b) 3.5 or higher out of a possible 4.0 ("B" or better) based on the average of the required courses completed in the major field, or the required courses completed during the final two years.

Note: GPA will be rounded to the one decimal place, for example, 2.95 = 3.0, 2.94 = 2.9; OR (3) Membership in a National Scholastic Honor Society. -OR- Combination of education and experience: Successful completion of a combination of education and experience as described above. To compute this percentage, first divide the total months of qualifying experience by 12. Then divide the number of completed post high school semester hours of education (that are in excess of 120 semester hours) by 120.

Add the two percentages together; the total percentage must equal at least 100 percent to qualify. NOTE: Only post high school education in excess of more than four-years may be used to qualify for this position and must include 24 semester hours of related course work such as those listed above. You must include hours per week and transcripts.

To qualify for this position at the GS-09 level, you must possess at least one of the following minimum qualifications: Experience: To qualify, you must possess at least one full year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-07 level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors).

Specialized experience is defined as demonstrated experience that 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 could include park guide or tour leader; law enforcement or investigative work; archeological or historical preservation research work; forestry and/or fire management work in a park, recreation, or conservation area; management, assistant, or program specialist work involving the development and/or implementation of policy related to protection, conservation, or management of park areas or similar operations.

You must include hours per week worked in your resume. -OR- Education: Master's or equivalent graduate degree or have successfully completed 2 full academic years of progressively higher level graduate education with major field of study in 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. -OR- Combination of education and experience: Combinations of successfully completed education and specialized experience may be used to meet total experience requirements.

To compute this percentage, first divide the total months of qualifying experience by 12. Then divide the number of completed graduate education semester hours of education (that are in excess of 18 semester hours) by 36. Add the two percentages together; the total percentage must equal at least 100 percent to qualify. NOTE: Only graduate education in excess of more than one-year may be used to qualify for this position and must be in a major subject such as those listed above.

You must include a copy of your 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.

As a Park Ranger (Interpretation), you will perform the following duties: Develops and conducts interpretive programs. Guides visitors on established tours and design new tour options. Coordinates special events and interpretive programming. Produces content for social media channels and website. Provides public orientation of surrounding areas of interest and local events. Assists the public in planning visits to and recommends activities in the area.

Provides visitors information related to the cultural, historical, and/or natural resources of interest of the park, area, facility, etc. Guides both small and large groups during train rides and throughout the museum complex, providing an engaging and informative experience. Trains staff and volunteers in interpretive principles and park operations to ensure a cohesive and knowledgeable team. Duties will be developmental in nature when filled below the full performance level.