Duties
The Pacific West Region is recruiting for TEMPORARY seasonal positions not to exceed 1039 hours work in a service year. Dates of employment will vary depending on funding, weather conditions and visitation. Within regulatory limitations, the length of initial appointment may be shortened or extended depending on work availability and funding.
The chief duties of this position include professional alpine mountaineering, aviation, technical rope rescue, avalanche forecasting, and emergency medical services. You participate as a team leader or member on patrols to climb any of the 25 main routes on Mount Rainier. Terrain consists of trails, sub-alpine meadows, rocky slopes, snow fields, glaciers, and vertical ice from 1,800 to above 14,400 feet in winter-like conditions, even in the summer. Camping and climbing at high altitude, on glaciers, even in stormy conditions is required. Conducting resource monitoring, concession monitoring, and visitor interactions will also be your responsibility. You must maintain a high level of physical fitness and are required to be able to hike to Camp Muir in typical fair-weather summer conditions in less than four hours.
The incumbent is expected to ski proficiently in the backcountry, in off-piste terrain, and in a variety of challenging un-groomed conditions. Skis are used as a main mode of travel both up and down the mountain for all but about 3-4 months on Mount Rainier.
Major duties include:
- Leading technical rope rescue and helicopter rescues in an alpine mountaineering environment within Mount Rainier, North Cascades, and Olympic National Parks. Must be proficient as a backcountry skier or snowboarder.
- Providing emergency medical services and care for patients until they can be transported for additional medical treatment.
- Coordinating and performing as an instructor in mountaineering, aviation, emergency medical services, avalanche, and technical rope rescue disciplines.
- Staffing front-country ranger stations and registering climbers where preventative search and rescue and resource protection messages are given.
- Staffing climbing high camps including helping with general upkeep, cleaning, and sanitation of backcountry facilities.
- Leading multi-day alpine mountaineering patrols at Mount Rainier and occasionally at other national parks.
Mount Rainier National Park is located in southeast Pierce County and northeast Lewis County in Washington state. It was established on March 2, 1899 as the fifth national park in the United States. The park encompasses 236,381 acres (369.35 sq mi; 956.60 km2) including all of Mount Rainier, a 14,411-foot (4,392 m) stratovolcano. The mountain rises abruptly from the surrounding land with elevations in the park ranging from 1,600 feet to over 14,000 feet (490 - 4,300 m). The highest point in the Cascade Range, around it are valleys, waterfalls, subalpine meadows, old-growth forest and more than 25 glaciers. The volcano is often shrouded in clouds that dump enormous amounts of rain and snow on the peak every year and hide it from the crowds that head to the park on weekends. The Carbon Glacier is the largest glacier by volume in the contiguous United States, while Emmons Glacier is the largest glacier by area.
About 1.8 million people visit Mount Rainier National Park each year. Mount Rainier is a popular peak for mountaineering with some 11,500 attempts per year with approximately 50% making it to the summit. Work takes place at all levels in the park from low-country ranger stations to climbing and rescue activities at the summit. Work is extremely strenuous and often conducted in poor weather. Backcountry travel is required and subject to primitive conditions and composes up to several weeks each year.
The National Park Service has determined that the duties of this position are suitable for telework only during an emergency or natural disaster.
Requirements
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 will be required to wear a uniform and comply with the National Park Service uniform standards. A uniform allowance will be provided.
- 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 up to 16 nights per month. You must obtain a government charge card for travel purposes.
- The incumbent may be assigned to work in in-park travel status at remote high camps for up to eight days at a time.
- The incumbent may be expected to work up to 100% of any given month in travel status on wildland fire, helicopter crew, emergency incidents, or other assignments.
- You will be required to possess a current EMS certification.
- Government housing MAY be available.
- Travel, transportation & relocation expenses will not be paid. Relocation expenses will be the employee's responsibility.
- 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.
Qualifications
All qualifications must be met by 11:59 EST when the 'applicant cut-off' is reached (which may be sooner than 12/12/2025).
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.
SELECTIVE FACTORS: In addition to meeting the minimum qualifications, applicants must also possess the following selective factors to be considered for this position.
- Emergency Medical Technician - Applicants must be able to enter on duty as a qualified and current Emergency Medical Technician or higher (EMT, Paramedic, etc.). You must include a copy of your certification with your application.
- United States Pro-1 Level Avalanche Certification - Applicants must enter on duty with a Pro-1 Level Avalanche Certification. If you are attending a course between the application period and entry on duty, you MUST indicate which organization will be providing the training and expected course completion date.
- Mountaineering - Applicants must enter on duty with a substantial amount of professional mountaineering experience shown by at least 20 summits of routes on peaks that demonstrate a combination of glacier, grade IV, water-ice 4+, rock class 5.6 climbs OR by a successful completion of an AMGA or IFMGA-affliated Alpine Guide Course.
- 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:
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). Examples of qualifying specialized experience include but are not limited to the following: park guide or tour leader; 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.
You must include hours per week worked.
-OR-
EDUCATION: Successful completion of at least one full year of graduate study in one of the following fields: 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, behavior sciences, sociology or other closely related subjects pertinent to the management and protection of natural and cultural resources.
IMPORTANT - PLEASE NOTE: If you are using education to qualify you must document your course work and/or degree completed in your resume or other application materials you submit. You must submit a copy of your transcripts that identifies for each course the college or university, semester or quarter hours earned, grade received, and date completed. If you are qualifying based on education and you do not submit specific course work information as described previously, your application will be rated not qualified for consideration.
-OR-
COMBINATION of education and experience as described above. To combine education and experience, first take the number of semester hours (or equivalent) earned towards a graduate degree and divide by 18 semester hours (or equivalent). Then take the number of months of full-time experience and divide by 12 months. Add the percentages together. The total must equal at least 100 percent to qualify.
You must submit a copy of your 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.
CTAP/ICTAP Statement: Current surplus and current or former displaced Federal individuals who have special priority selection rights under the Agency Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP) or the Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP) must be well qualified for the position to receive consideration for special priority selection. Well qualified means that the applicant meets the following: OPM qualification standards for the position; all selective placement factors, where applicable; special qualifying conditions that OPM has approved for the position, where applicable; is physically qualified with reasonable accommodation, where appropriate to satisfactorily perform the duties of the position upon entry; and is rated by the organization at least at the well qualified level on all competencies. Federal employees seeking CTAP/ICTAP eligibility must submit proof that they meet the requirements of 5 CFR 330.605(2) for CTAP and 5 CFR 330.704 for ICTAP. This includes a copy of the agency notice, a copy of their most recent Performance Rating, and a copy of their most recent SF-50 noting current position, grade level, and duty location. Please annotate your application to reflect that you are applying as a CTAP/ICTAP eligible. If you are selected for Federal employment, you will be required to fill out a Declaration of Federal Employment, OF-306, prior to being appointed to determine your suitability for Federal employment and to authorize a background investigation. Failing to answer all questions truthfully and completely or providing false statements on your application may be grounds for not hiring you, or for firing you after you begin work. Also, you may be punished by fine or imprisonment (U.S. Code, Title 18, section 1001).
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
For more information on the position, please contact:
Stefan Lofgren, Climbing Program Manager, stefan_lofgren@nps.gov or 253-732-2099
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.
This announcement may be used to fill additional positions if identical vacancies occur within 90 days of the issue date of the referral certificate.
Non-Competitive Rehire Eligibility: Temporary seasonal employees can only maintain their non-competitive rehire eligibility if they work no more than a combined total of Temporary NTE less than 1040 hours anywhere in the National Park Service (NPS) within their established service year. Accordingly, non-competitive rehire eligibility allows for re-appointment to the same position or another position appropriate for temporary appointment with the same qualification requirements (5 CFR 316.402[b][7]), based on series and grade, anywhere in the major subdivision (NPS).
If you have held a temporary seasonal appointment in the past 12 months and have already worked the maximum temporary appointment less than 1040 hours during that period, you are still welcome to apply. However, please be aware that exceeding the limit of 1040 hours in your established service year will result in the loss of your non-competitive rehire eligibility.
The limit can be exceeded by working multiple temporary seasonal positions that result in a combined total greater than 1040 hours. The limit also can be exceeded by working a single temporary seasonal appointment that exceeds 1040 hours, unless granted an exception by OPM.
Employment may be terminated at any time due to fluctuations in funding levels, project needs, employee performance, or other considerations.
Physical Demands: The work requires regularly climbing on steep, even vertical, snow and icy surfaces (snowfields and glaciers) from sea level to the summit on Mount Rainier (14,500 feet) is often exhausting. Activities require: carrying heavy (50 lbs.) backpacks, lifting and carrying heavy (50 lbs.) objects, walking and/ or hiking and/or backcountry ski distances up to 15 miles per day, and working at night. Due to the nature of mountaineering, work can occur any time during the day, and emergencies can arise that require the employee to work through the night in an "initial attack" capacity. The incumbent should be able to climb from Paradise to Camp Muir in 3 hours or less in normal summer conditions.
Working Conditions: Work is performed inside and outside. Weather conditions may include sub-freezing temperatures, severe winds with gusts as high as 100 mph, freezing rain and fog, snow, and intense sun and heat from solar radiation. High camps are situated at approximately 10,000 feet, and field activities will climb to altitudes of approximately 14,500 feet, and possible camp at that altitude. Terrain at work sites may include glaciers, crevasses, steep to vertical snow slopes, steep to overhanging ice cliffs, talus slopes, and vertical rock. Work conditions will require close occupancy with other rangers in the field for up to eight days in a row. Many nights during an eight-day shift will be spent on the mountain camping in a tent, sleeping bag, and using foam pads for a mattress.
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.
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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 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 two categories:
- 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:
- First Response
- Risk Management
- Stamina
- Technical Competence