About this role
Job SummaryThis position is located within the Department of the Interior, National Park Service, National Park Service - Southeast, Division of Interpretation & Visitor Services located in Mammoth Cave, Kentucky. You may be required to work on-call, evenings, weekends, holidays, overtime and shift work. Salary: GS-9: $61,722 - $80,2436 per annum First time hires to the Federal government normally start at the step 1 rate.
QualificationsAll qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement - 07/29/2026-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 A, B, or C defined below. GS-9: A. Specialized Experience: To qualify for the GS-9, you must possess at least one full year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-7 grade level in the Federal service, or comparable experience not gained through Federal service. Specialized experience is experience that demonstrated the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to perform successfully the duties of the position to be filled. 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 qualifying specialized experience include, but are not limited to, the following: 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 implementation of policy related to protection, conservation, or management of park areas or similar operations. -OR- B. Education: Possess two full years of graduate education or a master's degree in a field directly related to the work of the position 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. 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 include transcripts. -OR- C. Combination of education and experience: A combination of education and experience that totals 100% of the required specialized experience. 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.
Major DutiesAt the full performance level GS-9, the major duties of this position include, but are not limited to the following: Supervising a large interpretative staff that will be researching, developing, and presenting interpretive programs including evening programs both on and off-site, crawling tours through rugged off-trail cave environments. Scheduling, planning daily operations, organizing special events, supervising interns, and volunteers, overseeing development of interpretive media, and training new employees. Provide visitor orientation to park resources. Deals with visitors from various socioeconomic and ethnic backgrounds resolving visitor comments and issues. Crawling, climbing, and squeezing through small cave passages may be required at times. Must be able to deal with emergency situations. Position requires night, weekend, and holiday work. The employees of the National Park Service care for special places that are the heritage of all Americans. Since its inception in 1916, the National Park Service has been dedicated to the preservation and management of this country's outstanding natural, historical, and recreational resources. Park ranger - interpreters connect people to parks. They play a key role in ensuring that visitors have a meaningful, satisfying, and safe park experience, help visitors decide how to spend their time in the park, and inform them about the wonders that await their discovery. Park ranger - interpreters are specially trained to engage the public so that each park visitor can find a personal connection with the meanings and values found in the places and stories of that park. They help visitors explore the many dimensions of parks by introducing them to a variety of perspectives. By providing the opportunity for visitors to care about the places they visit, they promote stewardship and the opportunity for those visitors to care for park resources. National parks are among the most remarkable places in America for recreation, learning, and inspiration. The work done by park ranger-interpreters through effective interpretive and educational programs encourages the development of a personal stewardship ethic and broadens public support for preserving and protecting park resources, so that they may be enjoyed by present and future generations.RequirementsMust provide proof of U.S. citizenship. Appointment subject to background investigation and favorable adjudication. Males born after 12-31-59 must be registered for Selective Service. Direct Deposit participation required. Successfully pass the E-Verify employment verification check. To learn more, visit https://www.e-verify.gov/. Must be able to possess and maintain a valid driver's license. You are required to wear a uniform and comply with uniform standards. A uniform allowance will be provided. As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you may be required to serve a 1-year probationary period to evaluate your fitness and whether your continuation of employment advances the public interest. This probationary period is an extension of the appointment process and therefore requires the agency to determine if continued employment would advance the public interest, meet the organization goals and mission of the agency, and/or otherwise promote the efficiency of the service. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, the agency will consider: your performance and conduct; the needs and interests of the agency; whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service. Under applicable law, the employment of an individual serving a probationary or trial period automatically terminates when that period ends unless the agency affirmatively certifies, in writing, that the individual's employment should continue and that their appointment should be finalized. In the absence of agency action to affirmatively certify continued employment beyond the probationary or trial period, such appointments are terminated. Upon completion of your probationary period your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest. This is a supervisory position that may require completion of a supervisory probationary period. This position is suitable for telework only during an emergency or natural disaster.