Park Ranger (PSAR) Seasonal

Clarification from the agency

This announcement is open to U.S. Citizens or Nationals; and Career transition eligibles (CTAP, ICTAP, RPL).

Major Duties:

• Conduct regularly scheduled Preventative Search and Rescue (PSAR) patrols of various park resources such as backcountry and/or wilderness areas, park trails, campgrounds, parking lots, shorelines, rivers, docks, roads, concessions, etc. in accordance with well-established procedures and precedents.
• While on patrol, provide visitors with information and education to ensure their safety, obtain their cooperation, and facilitate safe visitor use of park resources.
• Provide administrative, operational, and logistic support to PSAR-related educational activities conducted by the organization in accordance with well-established practices and precedents.
• Serve as a member of a Search and Rescue (SAR) Team on events that may require trail response, ground/hasty searches, helicopter evacuations, river rescues, body recoveries, and/or litter carries.
• Conduct regularly scheduled climbs in technical, high angle terrain for the purpose of PSAR.
• Grand Canyon, Arches, Bryce Canyon, Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, Guadalupe Mountains National Park, and Glacier National Park only: Under medical oversight, provide out-of-hospital emergency medical care for critical and emergent patients. Respond to and return safely from Emergency Medical Service (EMS) assistance/calls. EMT required in most cases.
• Devils Tower only: lead climbing routes using traditional climbing methods rated at 5.9 or higher on the Yosemite decimal system. Successfully climb the Tower to monitor recreational climbing activities and also check climbing permits.
• Zion only: Process reservations in accordance with clearly established guidelines. Explain rules and regulations to permit holders. Use automated reservation systems to process permit and reservations.

Conditions of employment

• Must be a U.S. Citizen or National.
• 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 Home | E-Verify
• Must have and maintain a valid driver's license throughout employment.
• For certain parks you must possess and maintain a EMT certification.
• You may be required to complete training and operate a four-wheel drive vehicle.
• If selected for a position/location that requires search and rescue, emergency response, use of firearms, or watercraft operation, you will be required to submit to a drug test and receive a negative drug test result prior to appointment. In addition, this position is subject to random testing for illegal drug use.
• Pre-employment medical exam may be required by park, and selectee will need to pass the Physical Efficiency Battery (PEB) after the start date.
• You are required to wear a uniform and comply with uniform standards. A uniform allowance will be provided.
• You 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.
• You must be at least 18 years of age or older to operate government vehicles.
• You may be required to work on-call, evenings, weekends, holidays, overtime and shift work.
• Depending on location government housing may be available.
• You may be required to travel overnight away from home occasionally.
• Some positions filled with this announcement may be covered by a union.

Qualifications

All qualifications must be met by 11:59 EST or when the 'applicant cut-off' is reached (which may be sooner than 10/13/2026).

To receive credit for experience, 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.

SELECTIVE FACTOR (Grand Canyon, Arches, Bryce Canyon, Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, Guadalupe Mountains National Park, and Glacier National Park only): This position performs emergency medical services, and a National Registry EMT certification or higher is required. National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians Please include the NREMT certification number and the date of expiration in your resume, or preferably, upload the certification document into your application documents. If you are working toward obtaining your certification, include a copy of your course registration that shows the expected completion date. Candidates who do not meet this requirement by close of this announcement will receive no further consideration for this position.

SELECTIVE FACTOR (Devils Tower only): This position performs climbing duties, and the ability to lead climbing routes using traditional climbing methods rated at 5.9 or higher on the Yosemite decimal system is required. If individuals cannot lead traditional climbing routes rated at 5.9 or higher, they will not be able to successfully climb the Tower to monitor recreational climbing activities and to check climbing permits. Candidates who do not meet this requirement by close of this announcement will receive no further consideration for this position.

- AND -
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:

SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: At least one full year of specialized experience comparable in scope and responsibility to the GS-04 grade level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors). This experience includes activities such as: 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. You must include hours per week worked.
-OR-
EDUCATION: Successful completion of at least four years of education above high school (120 semester hours or 180 quarter hours) 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. 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-
Successful completion of a combination of education and experience as described above. NOTE: Only education in excess of the first 60 semester hours of a course of study leading to a bachelor's degree is creditable toward meeting the specialized experience requirements. Two full academic years of study, or 60 semester hours, beyond the second year is equivalent to l year of specialized experience. For example, I have 6 months of the specialized experience described in A above (50% of the experience requirement), and 3 years of college study from an accredited institution (50% of the qualifying education) which included at least 12 semester hours of related coursework as specified in B above (50% of the related coursework required). You must include transcripts.

- AND -
To qualify for this position at the GS-07 grade level, you must possess at least one of the following minimum qualifications by close of the announcement:

SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: At least one full year of specialized experience comparable in scope and responsibility to the GS-05 grade level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors). This experience includes activities such as: Park Ranger, law enforcement; EMT or paramedic; 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. You must include hours per week worked.
-OR-
EDUCATION: Successful completion of one year of graduate level study (18 semester hours) 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, emergency management, 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-
Successful completion of a combination of education and experience as described above. experience. For example, if you have 6 months of the specialized experience described above (50% of the experience requirement), and at least 1 semester (9 semester hours) of college graduate study in a directly related field from an accredited institution (50% of the qualifying education requirement), then you would meet 100% of the qualification requirements. You must include 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.

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 lowered and/or adjusted accordingly. If a determination is made that you have inflated your qualifications or experience, you can lose consideration for this position.

Your resume must not exceed 2 pages. Only the document submitted as the "Resume" under the Documents section will be used to determine your qualifications/eligibility and for rating purposes. In the event you submit more than one resume, only the latest submission will be reviewed.

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 the following 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 assessed in the following competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics):

• First Response
• Interpersonal Skills
• Physical Strength and Agility
• Risk Management

Current or former displaced Federal employees who are surplus, displaced, or involuntarily separated have special priority selection rights under the Agency Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP) or the Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP). To be considered under CTAP/ICTAP, you must be well-qualified, score at least 85 (i.e., meet the minimum qualification requirements, including any selective placement factors; education, and experience requirements), and be able to perform the duties of the position upon entry.

Overstating your qualifications and/or experience in your application materials or application questionnaire may result in your removal from consideration. Cheating on an assessment may also result in your removal from consideration. Providing false or misleading information on your resume or supporting documentation may result in removal from consideration or other action consistent with applicable federal hiring regulations. Applicants who include vulgar, offensive, or inappropriate language or information in their application package will be ineligible for further consideration for this position.

The following documents are required and must be submitted by 11:59 PM (ET) on 10/13/2026 - unless otherwise stated in this vacancy announcement:

1. Resume which includes a list of all significant jobs held and duties performed, with dates in month-year format (include month/day/year format if needed for 52 weeks of experience), and indicate hours worked per week (or full-time). Your resume must clearly show how long you have held each grade/rank. Resumes must not exceed two single-sided pages and resumes longer than two pages will not be accepted. The minimum font size is 10-point for all body text. All resumes must maintain a minimum 0.5-inch margins on all sides to ensure readability and prevent excessive content compression. Including supplemental pages or attachments disguised as resume extensions are prohibited and will not be reviewed to determine your eligibility/qualifications. Your 2-page resume must contain information sufficient to make a valid determination that you fully meet the specialized experience requirements. If you have federal experience, you should include series, and grade for each position held, and if experience is part of a career ladder position, you must clearly distinguish the job duties and length of time working for each grade level. More information on how to write a Federal Resume: https://help.usajobs.gov/faq/application/documents/resume/what-to-include
2. Complete All Required Assessment.
3. Documentation that you meet selective factors.
4. All college transcript(s), if qualifying based on education. Please submit both undergraduate and graduate level transcripts, as applicable.
5. Veterans Preference Documentation, if applicable. Veterans must submit a copy of your latest Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty, DD-214 (member 4 copy) or other Documentation of Service and Separation under Honorable Conditions, as listed on the SF15. If you are a Disabled Veteran, Purple Heart Recipient, or Parent or Spouse of a Disabled or Deceased Veteran, you must submit all additional proof required by the SF15, and if applicable, a completed SF15. You may request a copy of your Department of Veterans Affairs letter from www.va.gov/records/ or call 1-800-827-1000. If you are a veteran within 120 days of discharge, you must submit signed documentation from the Armed Forces certifying: 1) your expected release/retirement from active duty, 2) under honorable conditions, 3) your pay grade/rank/rate at time of discharge, 4) dates of active-duty service, 5) any campaign or expeditionary medals received, & 6) dated within 120 days of your separation.
6. Interagency Career Transition (ICTAP) and Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP): You MUST submit proof of eligibility including 1) copy of the agency notice, e.g., RIF Separation Notice, Notice of Proposed Removal, etc.; 2) SF-50s (Notifications of Personnel Action) showing career/conditional tenure competitive status, promotion potential and duty location; and 3) your most recent performance appraisal. To exercise selection priority, displaced or surplus Federal employees must be well qualified. For more information visit: USAJOBS Help Center - Career Transition Programs (CTAP, ICTAP, RPL).

Failure to submit any of the above-mentioned required documents will result in loss of consideration due to an incomplete application package. It is your responsibility to ensure all required documents have been submitted.

Do not submit photographs with your application package. Documents with photographs may not be seen by hiring officials - you must remove your image from all documents.

Do not upload Adobe portfolio documents. Adobe portfolio documents are not viewable by our agency's staffing offices.

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