Duties
Major Duties of the Park Ranger (Protection) - Law Enforcement Instructor position include, but are not limited to the following:
- Instruct law enforcement and criminal investigation trainees from various federal agencies using classroom, practical, and virtual training methods.
- Design, update, and evaluate training courses and materials, ensuring they align with current law enforcement practices and agency standards.
- Perform law enforcement assignments, including investigations, incident response, and enforcement of federal laws, while maintaining a Type I NPS commission.
- Collaborate with DHS, other federal agencies, and academic institutions to ensure training consistency, resolve curriculum issues, and support joint training initiatives.
- Conduct research on training topics, develop best practices, write instructional content, and contribute to agency-wide training policies and standards.
Duties will be developmental in nature when filled below the full performance level.
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.
Promotion to the full performance level is neither guaranteed nor implied and will be based solely on your ability to satisfactorily perform the work of the position, existing work at the higher grade level, and recommendation by the position's supervisor.
Requirements
Conditions of employment
- U.S. Citizenship required.
- Appointment subject to background investigation & favorable adjudication.
- Meet Selective Service Registration Act requirement for males
- Required to participate in the Direct Deposit Electronics Funds Transfer Program.
- Required to submit drug test & receive negative drug test result prior to appointment. In addition, this position is subject to random testing.
- Uniform required & comply with National Park Service uniform standards, allowance provided.
- May be required to travel overnight up to 5 nights per month. You must obtain a government charge card for travel purposes, complete training & obtain/maintain a government charge card with travel &/or purchase authority.
- Ability to lift up to 50 lbs.
- Required medical standards per DO/RM57, for pre-employment, periodic physical exams, & must participate in Physical Efficiency Battery (PEB) annually.
- Required to carry firearm, maintain proficiency & be subject to Lautenberg Amendment.
Probationary Period: As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you are required to serve a 1 year probationary period during which your fitness & whether your continued employment advances the public interest will be evaluated.
This probationary period is an extension of the appointment process & therefore requires the agency to determine if continued employment would advance the public interest, meet the organization goals & mission of the agency, &/or otherwise promote efficiency of service. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, the agency will consider:
- your performance & conduct;
- the needs & interests of the agency;
- whether continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; &
- whether continued employment would advance efficiency of the Federal service.
Under applicable law, the employment of an individual serving a probationary automatically terminates when that period ends unless the agency affirmatively certifies, in writing, that the individual's employment should continue & that their appointment should be finalized. In the absence of agency action to affirmatively certify continued employment beyond the probationary 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.
*Additional Requirements located under qualifications*
Qualifications
Requirements Continued...
- Required to operate a motor vehicle as part of your official duties; a valid driver's license is required. Required to submit a Motor Vehicle Operator's License & Driving Record. Must also submit (within a State sealed envelope or submitted directly by the State authorities), & 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.
- Any individual who is currently holding, or has held within the previous 52 weeks, a General Schedule position under non-temporary appointment in the competitive or excepted service, must meet time-in-grade requirements (must have served 52 weeks at the next lower grade or equivalent in the Federal service); with few exceptions as outlined in 5 CFR 300.603(b). Time-In-Grade requirements apply to former Federal civilian employees applying for reinstatement who have had a break in service of less than 1 year, as well as current employees applying for Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) appointments. Time-in-grade does not apply to new excepted service appointments & must be met by the closing date of this announcement.
- This position is covered by enhanced retirement provisions which stipulate mandatory retirement at age 57 after 20 years of service. Applicants must be at least 21 years of age & must not have reached their 37th birthday upon appointment to this position. Exceptions allowed: 1) an applicant has prior Federal service in a primary covered position sufficient to complete 20 years of service on or before the mandatory retirement age of 57; 2) an applicant is a qualified veterans' preference eligible.
QUALIFICATIONS
All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement-12/16/2025-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, 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 & 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, 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 &/or part-time hours requirement as the service dates will be reflected.
SELECTIVE FACTORS: Applicants must meet
ALL of the following to qualify:
- Previous Law Enforcement Experience: Prior law enforcement experience, as gained by substantial service in a primary law enforcement officer position or equivalent experience outside the Federal government is a MANDATORY PREREQUISITE for incumbents of these positions. (Experience must be documented in your Resume.)
- Type I Law Enforcement Commission: Must currently possess or previously held (within the past three years), a FLERT issued Land Management Police Training (LMPT), full Type I Law Enforcement Commission or equivalent; or be qualified to receive a Type I Commission upon appointment. This will be based upon having completed approved NPS training as outlined by policy including Natural Resource Police Training (NRPT), Land Management Police Training Program (LMPT), US Park Police Integrated (USPPI), Uniformed Police Training Program (UPTP), BIA Basic Police Officer Training Program (BIA-BPOTP), or Criminal Investigator Training Program (CITP). This is required by the closing date of the announcement. Candidates who do not meet requirements by close of announcement will receive no further consideration.
To qualify for this position at the GS-11 grade level, you must possess all of the following minimum qualifications by close of the announcement:
- EXPERIENCE: At least 1 full year of specialized experience comparable in scope & responsibility to the GS-09 grade level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors). Experience at this level must include all of the following: 1) Delivering law enforcement & criminal investigation training in a classroom or practical setting using diverse instructional methods & technologies to enhance student learning & interagency collaboration; 2) Conducting federal or equivalent law enforcement duties, including investigations, apprehensions, & enforcement of laws in complex or high-risk environments; 3) Participating in the development & evaluation of training programs & curricula, including researching & writing instructional materials, lesson plans, & best practices documents; & 4) Collaborating with multiple law enforcement agencies & academic partners to coordinate training delivery, resolve instructional challenges, & ensure alignment with national policy & agency standards. You must include your resume with hours worked per week annotated.
- -OR-
- EDUCATION: Successful completion of at least 3 full academic years of progressively higher level graduate education or Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree related to the occupation. You must include transcripts.
- -OR-
- Successful completion of a combination of education & experience as described above. You must include your resume with hours worked per week annotated, as well as transcripts.
To qualify for this position at the GS-12 grade level, you must possess all of the following minimum qualifications by close of the announcement:
- EXPERIENCE: At least 1 full year of specialized experience comparable in scope & responsibility to the GS-11 grade level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors). Experience at this level must include all of the following: 1) Leading the design, development, & delivery of advanced law enforcement & criminal investigation training, including curriculum development, instructional design, & evaluation of training effectiveness for interagency audiences; 2) Performing complex federal law enforcement duties, including criminal investigations, enforcement operations, & incident response involving sensitive or high-profile cases; 3) Serving as a subject matter expert & liaison with federal, state, & local law enforcement agencies & academic institutions to develop national training standards & policy recommendations; & 4) Conducting research & authoring professional training
materials, including best practices, policy guidance, & instructional content that influence agency-wide law enforcement training & doctrine. You must include your resume with hours worked per week annotated.
You must include months, years & hours per week worked to receive credit for your work &/or volunteer experience. 1 year of specialized experience is equivalent to 12 months at 40 hours per week. Part-time hours are prorated. You will not receive any credit for experience that does not indicate exact hours per week or is listed as "varies". Experience listed as full-time will be credited at 40 hours per week.
Volunteer Experience: Experience refers to paid & unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) & other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religious; spiritual; community, student, social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, & skills & can provide valuable training & 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
This announcement may be used to fill additional positions if identical vacancies occur within 90 days of the issue date of the referral certificate.
Physical Demands: Work includes both general classroom work under controlled environment conditions, and outdoors in all kinds of climatic weather conditions. May be required to assist with field practical exercises that require moderate physical exertion. This work requires walking, standing, bending, sitting and carrying small packages or containers. Travel to field locations to coordinate training activities may be involved. Work may also involve considerable physical exertion while demonstrating a variety of law enforcement techniques and methods. If assigned to the Physical Techniques Division (PTD), the work environment includes highly strenuous work both inside and outside. Work in the PTD requires a significant amount of running, physical exertion, exercising, weightlifting and the demonstration and employment of physical defense tactics with students. Law Enforcement/Criminal Investigative assignments require long hours conducting surveillance, investigations, apprehension, transport of prisoner, etc, is required by the incumbent. Carrying of heavy objects is a normal requirement for the position. Incumbent is subject to hostile environment and is subject to injury. Duties involve performing physical rigorous assignment, often in isolated outdoor environments, frequently exposed to severe weather conditions. Dangerous persons must be physically confronted, subdued and apprehended; many of who are known to carry weapons. Prisoners must be kept under physical restraint during transport and processing. Criminal investigations and emergency incidents often must be managed without regard to fixed work schedules, days off, or opportunities from proper rest or nutrition. Physical fitness requirements must be met prior to and on a continuing basis during employment. Position is required to meet and continuously maintain the physical/medical standards as set forth in the requirements of D.O. #57; and successfully participate in the physical efficiency battery test. There is a high stress component to much of the incumbent's work assignments.
Working Conditions: While much of the work is performed in an office/classroom setting, some of the work is performed outdoors in all kinds of weather and climatic conditions. The work is performed at various hours of the day and night and for prolonged periods of time, sometimes during emergency situations. The incumbent is frequently exposed to high risk and potentially dangerous situations in law enforcement and emergency types of situations requiring use of a wide-range of personal protective gear (some of which may be uncomfortable, hot, or inconvenient to wear.), Adherence to specific safety procedures, and other precautions is required. Incumbent is required to obtain and maintain a valid state operator's license in order to operate required motorized vehicles. May be required to fly in either fixed-wing or rotary-wing aircraft and/or may be required to operate and/or ride in all types of watercraft. Emergency law enforcement operations will require entry into hazardous environments, exposure to dangerous persons animals, and substances and potential exposure to infectious diseases.
Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.
A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.
Review our benefits
Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.
How you will be evaluated
You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.
You will be evaluated based on how well you meet the qualifications listed in this vacancy announcement. Your qualifications will be evaluated based on your application materials (e.g., resume, supporting documents), the responses you provide on the application questionnaire, and the result of the additional assessments required for this position. 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.
Resumes must not exceed two single-sided pages and resumes longer than two pages will not be accepted. You may only submit one resume. 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 who apply under Competitive Merit Promotion procedures will undergo a quality review to determine if they are highly qualified based on the content of their resume and their responses to the questionnaire. Best qualified candidates will be referred if all required supporting documentation has been provided.
Candidates who apply under Noncompetitive Merit Promotion procedures will undergo a quality review to determine if they are minimally qualified based on the content of their resume and their responses to the questionnaire. Qualified candidates will be referred if all required supporting documentation has been provided.
You will be evaluated on the following competencies:
- Decision Making
- Oral Communication
- Partnering
- Technical Competence
In order to be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process. In addition to the application and application questionnaire, this position requires successful completion of additional assessments, including a panel resume review. These assessments measure the critical competencies listed above that are required to successfully perform the job.
Please submit 1) a copy of your most recent performance appraisal/evaluation and 2) a list of any awards (e.g. superior performance awards, special act or achievement awards, quality step increase, etc.) you received in the last 5 years. Any performance appraisal/evaluation and award documentation you provide will be forwarded to the selecting official. The selecting official will review this documentation and give it due weight consideration during the overall selection process.
If you do not have your most recent performance appraisal/evaluation, please
submit a statement as to why it is not available. Please indicate if any prior performance appraisals/evaluations were at an acceptable level.
Required Documents
The following documents are required and must be submitted by 11:59 PM (EST) on 12/16/2025.
- Resume which includes a list of all significant jobs held and duties performed, with dates specified in month and year format, and indicate hours worked per week. If military or civilian, please include your rank and/or grade. Your resume must clearly show how long your have held each grade in a federal position.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. Headers may be slightly larger but must remain legible. 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
- Complete All Required Assessments.
- Merit Promotion Eligibility Documentation such as:
- Federal employees or former federal employees must submit a copy of their latest or last SF-50 "Notification of Personnel Action" reflecting career or career-conditional status in the competitive service, shows position title, series, grade and an additional SF-50 showing highest permanent grade ever held, if not reflected on your latest SF-50. Examples of acceptable SF-50s include: Promotion, Within Rate Increases (WRI/WGI), or Appointment SF-50s. Do not submit an Award SF-50. Time in grade will be determined by reviewing your resume and required SF-50s. Your last Federal performance appraisal plan for your last position must reflect a rating of Fully Successful or equivalent. If the SF-50 showing highest permanent grade ever held has an effective date within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate you possess the one-year time-in-grade, as required by this announcement. In this instance, your resume must clearly show that you held that grade for one-year
- Documentation for the Land Management Workforce Flexibility Act eligibility, which includes ALL Appointment AND Termination SF-50s for EACH appointment as well as ALL performance evaluations, for each qualifying period of temporary employment claimed.
- Performance Appraisals and Awards:
-
- All applicants must submit their most recent performance appraisal showing the official rating of record and signed by a supervisor. If submitting a performance appraisal not dated within the last18 months, a statement as to why it is the most recent must be submitted. If no performance appraisal is available, applicants must submit a statement as to why it is not available (including if any prior performance appraisals/evaluations were at an acceptable level).
- Documentation that you meet Selective Factors.
- College transcripts, if qualifying based on education.
- Documentation for Interagency/Career Transition Assistance Plan consideration if you are a displaced Federal employee within the local commuting area. You must include: 1) Proof you are a displaced Federal employee, 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 rated well-qualified or above 85 on the rating criteria for this position.
- 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 any badges, licenses, etc.
Do not upload Adobe portfolio documents. Adobe portfolio documents are not viewable by our agency's staffing offices.
If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements:
Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications. Therefore, provide only the attendance and/or degrees from
schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.
Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.