Summary These positions are temporary seasonals not to exceed 1039 hours work in a service year. This is an open continuous announcement with an established initial cut-off date of December 6, 2024. Please see Next Steps for additional information. Responsibilities As a Park Ranger (Interpretation), your duties may include: Presenting formal and informal talks (maps, visitor center displays, roving contacts) Film introductions Operating theater and audiovisual equipment Performing tasks associated with front-line Visitor and Information Centers Interacting with the public and answering a variety of questions Providing visitor information and trip planning for Alaska's National Parks Leading interpretive guided walks or hikes Mentoring and leading other seasonal staff Performing routine site safety inspections and reporting problems Maintaining inventory and stocking of printed materials Positions in Anchorage, Denali Park, and Fairbanks may sell Park Passes and collect and account for money. Positions with fee collection and/or government money handling duties require a higher background check than the non-fee positions. Positions in King Salmon and Brooks Camp (Lake and Peninsula County) have positions with and without fee collections duties. Some positions may sell Park Passes and collect and account for money. Positions with fee collection and/or government money handling duties require a higher background check than the non-fee positions. Vacancies are available in: Anchorage: Anchorage Alaska Public Lands Information Center Brooks Camp (Lake and Peninsula County): Katmai National Park and Preserve Copper Center: Wrangell - St. Elias National Park and Preserve Denali Park: Denali National Park and Preserve Fairbanks: Fairbanks Alaska Public Lands Information Center King Salmon: Katmai National Park and Preserve Seward: Kenai Fjords National Park Skagway: Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park Anticipated season beginning and ending dates: Anchorage: May through September Brooks Camp (Lake and Peninsula County): May through September Copper Center: May through September Denali Park: April through September Fairbanks: April through September King Salmon: May through September Seward: May through September Skagway: April through October Government housing: Will be available in Brooks Camp (Lake and Peninsula County), King Salmon, and Skagway. May be available in Copper Center, Denali Park, and Seward. Is not available in Anchorage or Fairbanks. An additional cost of living allowance will be added to the pay for these duty stations: 1.69% for Anchorage and Fairbanks 3.21% for Brooks Camp (Lake and Peninsula County), Copper Center, Denali Park, King Salmon, Seward, and Skagway. Pay is subject to review and adjustment. Selectees may be moved between duty stations within park boundaries. Please apply under Lake and Peninsula County for vacancies at Katmai National Park and Preserve's Brooks Camp. 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. Requirements Conditions of Employment U.S. Citizenship required. Appointment subject to background investigation and favorable adjudication. Meet Selective Service Registration Act requirement for males. Selectee will be required to participate in the Direct Deposit Electronics Funds Transfer Program. Driver's License requirements for Copper Center, Denali Park, Fairbanks, Seward, and Skagway duty stations: You will be required to operate a government (or private) motor vehicle as part of your official duties; a valid driver's license is required. Important: Please, do not provide a copy of your driver's license at this time. If selected for a position, you may be required to submit a Motor Vehicle Operator's License and Driving Record. You may be asked to submit (within a State sealed envelope or submitted directly by the State authorities), and at your own expense, all certified driving records from all States that disclose all valid driver's licenses, whether current or past, possessed by you. Uniform requirements: You will be required to wear a uniform and comply with the National Park Service uniform standards. A uniform allowance will be provided. Travel requirements for Copper Center: You may be required to travel overnight away from home up to 5 nights per month. You must obtain a government charge card for travel purposes. For the other duty stations, the job may require travel from time-to-time, but not on a regular basis. The travel may be for training or other work-related duties. You may be required to work on-call, evenings, weekends, holidays, overtime and shift work. Applicants must be at least (1) 18 years old or (2) at least 16 years old and: (a) Have graduated from high school or been awarded a certificate equivalent to graduating from high school; or (b) Have completed a formal vocational training program; or (c) Have received a statement from school authorities agreeing with their preference for employment rather than continuing their education; or (d) Be currently enrolled in a secondary school and either work only during school vacation periods or work part-time during the school year under a formal student employment program. Qualifications All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement-02/28/2025-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-05 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-4 grade level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors). Specialized experience is experience that equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, abilities, and competencies 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, Park Guide or tour leader; environmental educator or teacher; 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 other similar work. To be creditable, this experience must have been equivalent in level of difficulty and responsibility to that of at least the GS-4 grade level in the federal service. You must include hours per week worked. -OR- EDUCATION: Successful completion of at least four years of education above high school leading to a bachelor's degree with major study or 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. You must include transcripts. -OR- Successful completion of a combination of education and experience as described above. To combine education and experience, first take the number of semester hours (or equivalent), in excess of the first 60 semester hours earned towards your degree, and divide by 60 semester hours (or equivalent). Then take the number of months of full time experience and divide by 12 months. Add the two percentages. The total must equal at least 100 percent in order to meet this description. You must include transcripts and you must also include hours worked per week. When describing the nature of your duties (e.g., your paid or unpaid work or volunteer experience), please be extremely clear, thorough, and specific. We will not make assumptions regarding your experience. Make sure your resume includes detailed information to support your qualifications and answers to the job questionnaire. For additional information on what to include in your resume, click here. For information on what you should leave out of your resume, click here. The following five-minute video may also be helpful for creating and updating your federal resume: click here. 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. Additional Information A selectee receiving a first appointment to the Federal Government (Civil Service) is entitled only to the lowest step of the grade for which selected. The display of a salary range on this vacancy shall not be construed as granting an entitlement to a higher rate of pay. 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. A Relocation Incentive May Be Authorized for a Federal employee when the employee must move, as directed by the National Park Service (NPS) either through a management directed reassignment or selection for employment, to a different location at least 50 miles away from the one where his/her position of record held at time of selection is currently located, due to a need of the NPS. A relocation incentive is not the same as a Permanent Change of Station (PCS) move and, as such, may be granted in conjunction with one another. This announcement may be used to fill additional positions if identical vacancies occur within 90 days of the issue date of the referral certificate. Non-Competitive Rehire Eligibility: Temporary seasonal employees can only maintain their non-competitive rehire eligibility if they work no more than a combined total of Temporary NTE less than 1039 hours anywhere in the National Park Service (NPS) within their established service year. Accordingly, non-competitive rehire eligibility allows for re-appointment to the same position or another position appropriate for temporary appointment with the same qualification requirements (5 CFR 316.402[b][7]), based on series and grade, anywhere in the major subdivision (NPS). If you have held a temporary seasonal appointment in the past 12 months and have already worked the maximum temporary appointment less than 1039 hours during that period, you are still welcome to apply. However, please be aware that exceeding the limit of 1039 hours in your established service year will result in the loss of your non-competitive rehire eligibility. The limit can be exceeded by working multiple temporary seasonal positions that result in a combined total greater than 1039 hours. The limit also can be exceeded by working a single temporary seasonal appointment that exceeds 1039 hours, unless granted an exception by OPM. Employment may be terminated at any time due to fluctuations in funding levels, project needs, employee performance, or other considerations. Physical Demands: The work involves extensive periods of standing and walking, in some cases over rough surfaces or inclines, carrying backpacks, tools, rescue equipment, etc. Working Conditions: The work is performed in settings in which there is regular and recurring exposure to moderate discomforts and unpleasantness, e.g., high or low temperatures, confined spaces or adverse weather conditions. The National Park Service has determined that the duties of this position are suitable for telework only during an emergency or natural disaster. Alaska currently does not have a state income tax. In the event of an accident while traveling in a government aircraft, the payable benefits of a private life insurance policy may be affected.