Clarification from the agency

Open to all U.S. Citizens. ICTAP/CTAP eligibles.

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.

Duties:

The Communications Center provides primary telecommunications and logistical support for daily and emergency operations, law enforcement information gathering and dissemination, wildfire response and maintenance operations; is the 9-1-1 public emergency answering point; and serves as a primary contact for other federal and state agencies. The Center provides full services 24 hours per day, seven days per week, and 365 days per year.

This position is located in the Emergency Communications Center (ECC) within the Division Visitor and Resource Protection, Headquarters, Blue Ridge Parkway (BLRI) and answers directly to the Communications Center Manager. The ECC provides dispatch services for all public safety functions as well as primary telecommunications and logistical support for the Park's day-to-day and emergency operations (law enforcement, fire, EMS, search and rescue and maintenance). The ECC maintains on-site access (query and input) to NCIC/NLETS/DCI Law Enforcement Telecommunications systems.

The incumbent operates computerized dispatch consoles and related equipment in the course of serving as the primary point of contact for law enforcement, emergency medical, fire and search and rescue incidents. The employee must be proficient in the use of CAD, law enforcement records management systems like IMARS or Mark 43, and a number of state and national public safety computer networks.

The incumbent routinely communicates and relays information with local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies around the country to acquire or share law enforcement information. Relays and disseminates information for law enforcement officers, all park division staff, residents, visitors and business contacts.

Duties will be developmental in nature when filled below the full performance level.

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.
• 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.
• 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. You will be required to submit a Motor Vehicle Operator's License and Driving Record. You must also 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.
• You may be required to work on-call, evenings, weekends, holidays, overtime and shift work.
• You may be required to travel overnight away from home. You must obtain a government charge card for travel purposes.
• 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.
• You must be able to obtain and maintain a current NCIC/DCIN certificate.

Qualifications

Requirements Continued...

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary period during which your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest will be evaluated.

This probationary period is an extension of the appointment process and therefore requires the agency to determine if continued employment would advance the public interest, meet the organization goals and mission of the agency, and/or otherwise promote the efficiency of the service. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, the agency will consider:

• your performance and conduct;
• the needs and interests of the agency;
• whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and
• whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service.

Under applicable law, the employment of an individual serving a probationary or trial period automatically terminates when that period ends unless the agency affirmatively certifies, in writing, that the individual's employment should continue and that their appointment should be finalized. In the absence of agency action to affirmatively certify continued employment beyond the probationary or trial 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.

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. To receive credit for experience, your resume MUST clearly indicate the nature of the duties and responsibilities for each position, starting and ending dates of employment (month/year), and the resume must reflect full and/or part-time or total number of hours worked (i.e., work 40+ hours a week, rather than indicating full-time). If part-time, the hours must be annotated to be able to pro-rate the amount of qualified specialized experience.

To qualify for the GS-05 grade level, you must possess the following minimum qualifications:

EXPERIENCE: At least one full year of general experience comparable in scope and responsibility to the GS-04 grade level in the Federal service. This experience includes activities such as but not limited to: Extensive database and records management with frequent interruptions; reception, registration, or call center duties with a multi-line phone system in a busy environment, customer service or front desk duties with rude or agitated customers, and monitoring and/or responding to radio communications. Must be able to obtain and maintain a valid NCIC certificate. You must include hours per week worked.

-OR-

EDUCATION: Successful completion of at least 4 years of education above high school (120 semester hours or 180 quarter hours) leading to a bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university. PLEASE NOTE: If you are using education to qualify, you must submit a copy of your college transcripts, you will NOT receive consideration if it is not submitted. You must include transcripts.

-OR-
Successful completion of a combination of general experience as described above and education as described above which total at least one year. For example, 6 months of specialized experience (50% of the specialized experience) and 90 semester hours of college education (50% of the education) would qualify an applicant for this position. Only education in excess of the first 60 semester hours (i.e., beyond the second year) is creditable toward meeting the specialized experience requirement. Note: If you are using education to qualify, you must submit a copy of your college transcripts.

To qualify for the GS-06 grade level, you must possess the following minimum qualifications:

EXPERIENCE: At least one full year of specialized experience comparable in scope and responsibility to the GS-05 grade level in the Federal service. This experience includes activities such as, but not limited to: Office support positions and non-emergency and emergency call takers in direct support of law enforcement, fire, or medical personnel, wilderness conservation and hunting regulations, probation and parole, or the courts; Work participating in emergency services (i.e. Emergency Medical Technician, Emergency Medical Dispatcher, Emergency Medical Services (EMS), law enforcement, structural/wildland fire, search and rescue (SAR) response, dispatching for emergency services, and patrolling wilderness areas). Must be able to obtain and maintain a valid NCIC certificate. You must include hours per week worked.

To qualify for the GS-07 grade level, you must possess the following minimum qualifications:

EXPERIENCE: At least one full year of specialized experience comparable in scope and responsibility to the GS-06 grade level in the Federal service. Specialized experience includes at least two of the following: A) Serving as a certified operator of the National Criminal Information Network (NCIC) system; B) Serving as a certified Emergency Medical Dispatcher or EMS Specialist: C) Using a computer aided dispatch (CAD) system; AND having served as a Public Safety Dispatcher performing any of the following: Receiving and prioritizing both emergency and non-emergency calls for law enforcement, fire, and EMS incidents. Coordinating the appropriate response to emergency and non-emergency incidents and updating responders appropriately; Querying and relaying driver and vehicle information, person cautions, wants, and warrants for law enforcement contacts and investigations. Must be able to obtain and maintain a valid NCIC certificate. You must include hours per week worked.

To qualify for the GS-08 grade level, you must possess the following minimum qualifications:

EXPERIENCE: At least one full year of specialized experience comparable in scope and responsibility to the GS-07 grade level in the Federal service. This experience includes activities such as: Serving as a senior dispatcher in a complex dispatch environment of multiple units, jurisdictions, and/or agencies, provides training and/or assistance to problems encountered by lower-level or newer dispatchers, and informs them on the proper policies and procedures as required. Provides technical guidance, orientation, and training to new employees or lower-level dispatchers. Troubleshoots radio and computer-aided dispatch (CAD) system issues and notifies the appropriate personnel or Dispatch Supervisor of the issues. Must be able to obtain and maintain a valid NCIC certificate. You must include hours per week worked.

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.

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 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:

• Applies Technology to Tasks
• Customer Service
• 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.

The following documents are required and must be submitted by 11:59 PM (EST) on 12/16/2025:

1. Resume which includes a list of all significant jobs held and duties performed, dates specified in month and year format, and the resume must reflect full and/or part-time or total number of hours worked (i.e., work 40+ hours a week, rather than indicating full-time). If part-time, the hours must be annotated to be able to pro-rate the amount of qualified specialized experience. If military or civilian, please include your rank and/or grade. 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.
2. Complete All Required Assessments.
3. Other Supporting Documents, if applicable, such as:
   • Veterans Preference Documentation:
     • If you are a Discharged, Non-Disabled Veteran, you must submit a copy of your DD-214 showing character of discharge (Member 4 copy), or other Documentation of Service and Separation under Honorable Conditions, as listed on the SF15. If you don't have your DD-214, you may request it after discharge from the National Archives.
     • 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.
     • If you are a Disabled Veteran, Purple Heart Recipient, or Mother 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.ebenefits.va.gov or call 1-800-827-1000 to establish proof of disability.
4. Documentation that you meet Selective Factors.
5. College transcripts, if qualifying based on education.
6. 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.

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.

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