Park Ranger (Interpretation)

You will serve as a Park Ranger (Interpretation) with the National Park Service. This position is located in the Division of Interpretation & Visitor Services section of Big Bend National Park. GS-07 Salary: $50,460 (Step 01) to $65,599(Step 10). GS-09 Salary: $61,722 (Step 01) to $80,243 (Step 10). First time hires to the Federal government normally start at the step 1 rate.

Some of the major duties you will perform include but are not limited to the following: Provides general and in-depth information to visitors, writes backcountry permits, and handles government funds while working in park visitor center. Uses a variety of multimedia technologies to produce content for park newspaper, websites, social media sites, and exhibits that are informational and interpretive in nature.

Researches, develops, and conducts formal and informal interpretive programs for a diverse audience. Serves as Lead for one of the park's social media presence. Manages an outlying visitor center to include recruiting, training, managing, and auditing volunteer staff. Compiles scientific and/or historical research from a variety of sources, while acknowledging the potential impact of the interpreter's bias.

Develops daily work schedules that include tours of duty and location of assignments for the supervisor's approval. Reviews existing park policies, standards, methods, and procedures. Duties will be developmental in nature when filled below the full performance level.

All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement - 10/29/2026-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 the following minimum qualifications: To qualify for this position at the GS-07 grade level: 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).

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: independently planning and presenting interpretive talks, guided walks, educational programs, or demonstrations for diverse audiences; researching and developing interpretive or educational program content, presentations, exhibits, or informational materials using established resource information; providing visitor orientation and information while explaining park resources, regulations, recreational opportunities, and safety practices; assisting in evaluating visitor programs by gathering participant feedback, maintaining program statistics, or recommending improvements; working collaboratively with coworkers, volunteers, interns, teachers, or partner organizations to support interpretive or educational programming.

(You must include hours worked per week on resume). -OR- Education : Successful completion of at least 1 full academic year of graduate education (18 semester hours or 27 quarter hours) related to the occupation in directly related fields 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- 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. (You must include transcripts). -OR- Combination of education and experience as listed above . To combine education and experience, first take the number of months of qualifying, full-time work experience and divide by 12. Multiply the resulting decimal by 100. Then take the number of graduate credits completed and divide by 18. Multiply the resulting decimal by 100. Add the percentages together. The total must equal at least 100 percent to qualify. ( Y ou must include hours worked per week on resume and include transcripts) . To qualify for this position at the GS-09 grade level: 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). 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: supervising volunteers, interns, and youth work groups and assisting with oversight of seasonal staff; implementing a visitor services program; providing visitor services and developing guidelines and operating methods that reflect a thorough understanding of agency policies and objectives; developing and conducting interpretive presentations and training staff and volunteers; presenting to a wide variety of audiences using a variety of fully developed interpretive skills, techniques, and tools delivered in person and through interpretive media and technology. (You must include hours worked per week on resume). -OR- Education : Successful completion of at least one of the following: (1) two full academic years (36 semester hours or 54 quarter hours) of progressively higher-level graduate education OR (2) a master's or equivalent graduate degree related to the occupation. Directly related fields 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- Combination of education and experience as listed above . To combine education and experience, first take the number of months of qualifying, full-time work experience and divide by 12. Multiply the resulting decimal by 100. Then take the number of graduate credits completed, in excess of 18 graduate semester hours, and divide by 18. Multiply the resulting decimal by 100. Add the percentages together. The total must equal at least 100 percent to qualify. Y ou must include hours worked per week on resume and include transcripts . Volunteer Experience: Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, Ameri. Corps) 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.

You must submit a copy of your transcript(s) to support claimed education if substituting education for experience. Transcripts must include your name, school name, grades, credit hours earned, major(s), grade point average or class ranking, and date the degree was conferred, if applicable. A typed list of courses, grades, semester/quarter hours, GPA, etc.

will not be accepted. Non-submission may result in being rated not qualified for the position. Unofficial transcripts are acceptable, but if you are selected for this position and you used your education to qualify, you must provide official transcripts before you begin work. Foreign Education: To receive credit for education completed outside the United States, you must show proof that the education has been submitted to a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign educational credentials and such education has been deemed at least equivalent to that gained in conventional U.

S.

Education

programs. For more information on how foreign education is evaluated, visit: https://www.ed.gov/about/initiatives/international-affairs/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications