Duties
Hot Springs National Park was authorized by Act of Congress on April 20, 1832, as Hot Springs Reservation, and in fact, it is the oldest protected area within the National Park System. The first National Park Service director was referred to Hot Springs National Park as "America's first national park." The thermal springs flowing down the side of Hot Springs Mountain are the primary resource of the park, but unlike thermal features, such as geysers of Yellowstone, the hot springs have not been preserved in their unaltered state, but are protected and managed to conserve the production of uncontaminated thermal water for public use.
Hot Springs National Park is uniquely situated in that it is both surrounded by, and surrounds, different parts of the city of Hot Springs (pop. 35,000) and Garland County (pop. 140,000). The park is not only well known for its thermal springs and related bathing activities, but also for its mountain lands and over 26 miles of mountain trails. Hot Springs National Park is also recognized as a significant historical resource and representative of an important stage in the development of the American conservation movement. Bathhouse Row, a national historic landmark district, showcases one of the few collections of historic bathhouses remaining in the United States. The park contains over 5500 acres. The park website is http://www.nps.gov/hosp
Hot Springs National Park receives approximately 3.2 million visitors who take advantage of the baths, massages and hiking trails, while others collect drinking water at park jug fountains, stroll along Bathhouse Row taking in the history and culture of the "American Spa", or drive to scenic overlooks on the park's mountain roads.
Little Rock, a major metropolitan area, is approximately 50 miles to the northeast. Memphis, TN is 3 hours from the park and Dallas, TX is approximately 5 hours away.
The county hosts six K-12 school districts with 2 being in the city of Hot Springs. Housing is readily available and affordable. The city is home to 2 excellent hospitals, with a contingency of physicians and specialists. Hot Springs has excellent dining and shopping. City of Hot Springs website: http://www.hotsprings.org
The duties of this position will include, but are not limited to:
- Provide proper care and maintenance of maintained landscapes that include, but not limited to, park lawns, flowers, shrubs, and trees.
- Transplanting trees
- Determining quantities of plants, seeds, and other materials needed for proper preparation and growth
- Selects and sprays areas with approved herbicides, fungicides and insecticides to control plant diseases
- Maintains landscapes such as mows, weed-eats, and edges lawns; trims shrubs, trees and hedges;
- Maintains areas with appropriate fertilization methods to ensure healthy growth.
- Knowledge of plant and gardening procedures and standard methods to use, and technical knowledge of chemicals and amounts for proper use.
- Knowledge of the use of farm-type equipment with attachments as well as hand and power equipment used to maintain landscapes.
Physical Demands: The work requires frequent walking, standing, pushing of carts and wheelbarrows, bending, and stooping. The incumbent occasionally climbs ladders to prune or trim vegetation and lifts heavy objects such as bags of fertilizer, grass seed, etc.
Working Conditions: The work is done outside or in greenhouse. In working outside, the gardener is subject to discomfort from long periods in the sun, and sometimes in chilly or rainy weather. On a regular basis the conditions will involve working in air contaminated with chemical dust and sprays being applied to trees and shrubs. The incumbent will be required to wear protective clothing during pesticide/herbicide application; as well as normal safety items such as gloves, boots, glasses, etc. Because of the duties performed there is the chance of minor injuries such as bruises, cuts, and scrapes and occasional possibility of broken bones from falls.
How You Will Be Evaluated
You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.
A review of your resume and supporting documentation will be made and compared against your responses to the Assessment Questionnaire to determine if you are qualified for this job. If your resume is incomplete or does not support the responses provided in the Assessment Questionnaire, or if you fail to submit all required documentation, you will be rated 'ineligible', 'not qualified', or your score will be adjusted accordingly. If a determination is made that you have inflated your qualifications or experience, you can lose consideration for this position. Please follow all instructions carefully; errors or omissions can affect your rating.
Candidates will be rated and ranked using Category Rating procedures. These procedures place candidates with veteran's preference above non-preference eligibles within each category. Veterans with a service connected disability of at least 10 percent are listed in the highest quality category, except when the position being filled is scientific or professional at the GS-09 grade level or higher. Under Category Rating, candidates will be rated and ranked into one of three categories:
- Best Qualified - applicants possessing experience that substantially exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors and are highly proficient in all requirements of the job and can perform effectively in the position
- Well Qualified - applicants possessing experience that exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors and are proficient in most of the requirements of the job
- Qualified - applicants possessing experience that meets the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors and are proficient in some, but not all of the requirements of the job.
You will be evaluated on the following competencies:
- Ability To Do The Work Of The Position Without More Than Normal Supervision (SCREEN OUT)
- Ability To Interpret Instructions, Specifications, etc. (other than blueprints)
- Ability To Use and Maintain Tools and Equipment
- Dexterity and Safety
- Drivers license
- Knowledge of materials
- Technical Practices (theoretical precise, artistic)
- Use of Measuring Instruments
How to Apply
To apply for this position: You must complete the occupational questionnaire and submit the documentation specified in the Required Documents section below. To receive consideration, the complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (EST) on 11/21/2024.
You must provide documentation to support your claim for each eligibility selected. Please review the required documentation listed in the eligibilities language to ensure you submit the appropriate information. Note: You will only be marked eligible for those eligibilities that you selected and provided the appropriate supporting documentation.
WE DO NOT ACCEPT HARD-COPY OR E-MAIL APPLICATION PACKAGES.
- Select Apply. If you are not logged in, you will be prompted to login or create an account.
- Prompted to Start the Application Process by selecting "Start Application."
- Select or add the resume you want to use for this application. Click here on how to build a resume in USAJOBS.
- Select documents you want included in this application.
- Review package to acknowledge your documents were reviewed.
- Select if you want to include your demographic information.
- After reading and certifying the application is true and submitted in good faith, select "Continue to Agency Site."
- Follow onscreen prompts and instructions to complete your application.
- Add the supporting documents by indexing your documents with the dropdown.
- Upload any missing required documents or optional documents.
- Review and Submit Application.
- While logged in, you can check the status of your application by selecting "+" next to the job title for this position.
- You can review or revise your application at any point during the open period of the announcement.
- To update an application, you should log into your USAJOBS account and select "+" next to the job title for this position. Select "Update Application" for this job.
- Note: When you click Update Application, you will be prompted to re-select your documents from USAJOBS. Documents submitted with the first application will no longer be associated with the applicant record. So it is important that you select all documents you want to use in the re-application.
- To ensure compliance with an applicable preliminary nationwide injunction, which may be supplemented, modified, or vacated, depending on the course of ongoing litigation, the Federal Government will take no action to implement or enforce the COVID-19 vaccination requirement pursuant to Executive Order 14043 on Requiring Coronavirus Disease 2019 Vaccination for Federal Employees. Therefore, to the extent a Federal job announcement includes the requirement that applicants must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 pursuant to EO 14043, that requirement does not currently apply.
Next steps
Once the Occupational Questionnaire is received you will receive acknowledgement that your submission was successful. If you are among the most qualified candidates and your name is referred to the hiring official, you may be contacted directly for a possible interview. You will be notified of the status of your Application Package at the time candidates are referred for consideration, and when the selection process is complete.