Visual Information Specialist Job

Vacancy No. NPS-IRA-25-12594037-DE Department National Park Service
Salary $62,184.00 to $88,926.00 Grade 9 to 9
Perm/Temp Temporary FT/PT Full-time
Open Date 11/1/2024 Close Date 11/7/2024
Job Link Apply Online Who may apply Public
Locations:
Wilberforce, OHMiddletown, VA


Summary

These are term positions (more than 1 year) with an initial appointment expecting to last at least 13 months but may be extended up to a total of four years. Term positions do not convey permanent status in the Federal service.
There is one vacancy at each of the following locations:

  • Cedar Creek and Belle Grove National Historical Park (CEBE)
  • Charles Young Buffalo Soldiers National Monument (CHYO)

This job is open to

Clarification from the agency

U.S. Citizens; Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP) and Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP) within the local commuting area.

Duties

Cedar Creek and Belle Grove National Historical Park (CEBE)- Annual Salary Range $82,764- $107,590
Cedar Creek & Belle Grove NHP is a partnership with five organizations identified in the park's enabling legislation. The park is within the Shenandoah Valley Battlefields National Historic District, a national heritage area. The park comprises a battlefield and interprets the Civil War, but also the Shenandoah Valley as a transportation corridor, as an agricultural region, and its peopling and settlement going back to prehistory. The park's year-round staff is six people, plus two to three seasonal employees. The staff work closely with partner organizations, who own most of the park's protected lands, to preserve resources and serve visitors. An important goal is to use the park's resources to learn and share more about the difficult histories of African Americans, Native Americans, and others.

Charles Young Buffalo Soldiers National Monument (CHYO)- Annual Salary Range: $75,236- $97,805
The Monument is located in Wilberforce, Ohio which is in southwestern Ohio area. It is a 30-minute drive to Dayton, Ohio. Small towns and farm communities are interspersed within nearby historic towns which house Wilberforce University, Central State University, Cedarville University, and Antioch College. An abundance of cultural and recreational activities available all year long. The area has a typical Midwest weather with normal temperatures ranging from 0 degrees in the winter to 90 degrees in the summer.

Major Duties:

  • Provides visual and audio production services to all park divisions using nationally established guidelines and industry standards.
  • Plans the visual aspects of printed materials such as photographs, illustrations, diagrams, graphs, objects, models, slides, and charts used in books, magazine, pamphlets, exhibits, live or video recorded speeches or lectures, and other means of communication such as web content where the general format and specific themes to be illustrated are predetermined.
  • Prepares layouts of two and three-dimensional models, artifacts, specimens, dioramas, murals, audio visual presentations. Uses electronic devices to activate displays or that enable viewers to access information. May create special effects by the use of special lighting, ripple tanks, projections or video displays, or incorporate narration, music and sound effects.
  • Assists in development of exhibits, prepares interpretive media such as streaming video, computer animations, touch screen interactive kiosks, and maintains media utilizing universal design methods.
  • Responsible for carrying out the visual information aspects of a public affairs program.
  • Supports public outreach through multi-media work, communicated by means of printed material, exhibits and oral presentations.
  • Ensure digital content meets basic laws and The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA compliance section 508 as applicable).

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 may be required to operate a government (or private) motor vehicle as part of your official duties. Prior to your first official motor vehicle operation, and again every year thereafter (or more frequently if management determines such need exists), you will be required to sign an affidavit certifying to your possession of a valid State issued driver's license that is current and has not been revoked, suspended, canceled, or otherwise disqualified in any way to prohibit your operation of a motor vehicle. You will also submit a photocopy of your valid State issued driver's license prior to your first official motor vehicle operation, and again every year, or more frequently if management determines such need exists. Lastly, you may be required to 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 discloses all valid driver's licenses, whether current or past, possessed by you. Please indicate in your application whether you possess a valid State driver's license.
  • You will be required to wear a uniform and comply with the National Park Service uniform standards. A uniform allowance will be provided.
  • CHYO: You may be required to work on-call, evenings, weekends, holidays, overtime and shift work.
  • You will be required to complete a one-year trial period.
  • CHYO: You may be required to travel overnight away from home up to 1 nights per month. You must obtain a government charge card for travel purposes.
  • CHYO: You may be required to complete training and obtain/maintain a government charge card with travel and/or purchase authority.

Qualifications

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.

All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement-11/07/2024-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 this position at the GS-09 grade level, you must possess at least one or all 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-07 grade level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors) such as: Providing visual and audio production services using nationally established guidelines and industry standards (basic laws, ADA compliance (section 508), conservation principles, and knowledge of accessibility design standards for web and non-web products); Plans, prepares, creates, and designs visual materials (photographs, illustrations, diagrams, graphs, models, slides, charts, signage, pamphlets, handouts, exhibits, web content live or video recorded, speeches, or lectures); Uses computer technology to communicate information visually; directing, filming, editing, and/or producing videos, and web page design using design software such as Adobe Creative Suite (Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Premiere); Plans, creates, designs exhibits and/ or displays coordinating, publicizing, and managing special events. You must include hours per week worked.
-OR-
EDUCATION: Successful completion of a master's or equivalent graduate degree -OR- two full years of progressively high-level graduate education leading to such a degree or LL.B. or J.D., if related. Major study -- commercial art, fine arts, art history, industrial design, architecture, drafting, interior design, photography, visual communication, or other fields related to the position.
IMPORTANT - PLEASE NOTE: You must include a copy of your transcripts with your application.
-OR-
Successful completion of a combination of specialized experience as described above and education as described above. To combine education and experience, first take only graduate level education in excess of the amount required for the next lower grade level to combined with experience. 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.
IMPORTANT - PLEASE NOTE: You must include a copy of your transcripts with your application, and you must include the number of hours worked per week in your resume.

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.

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

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.

Physical Demands: The work is normally sedentary and requires long periods of stationary work at a computer work-station. Work also requires moderate physical exertion fabricating exhibits and signs, working from ladders, and lifting and working with maintenance staff installing signs and exhibits. Field visits are necessary for onsite inspection of phases of the production of a visual product. The incumbent occasionally must lift moderately heavy objects and operates hand tools and power tools such as hammers, screwdrivers, levels, rivet guns, saws, drills, etc.

Working Conditions: Work is normally performed in a typical office setting, however, when work is performed outside the office, it may be in field environments or at dirty, dusty, cold, hot, wet or some otherwise uncomfortable locations indoors and outdoors, where the exhibit or display is located. Work involves moderate risks or discomforts such as working with power tools.

The National Park Service has determined that the duties of this position are suitable for telework and the selectee may be allowed to telework with supervisor approval.

Benefits

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.

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
  • Communications and Media
  • Planning and Evaluating
  • Web Technology
  • Writing


In order to be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process.

Required Documents

The following documents are required and must be submitted by 11:59 PM (EST) on 11/07/2024:

  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.
  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. College transcripts, if qualifying based on education.
  5. 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 80 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.

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.

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 11/07/2024. 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.

  1. Select Apply. If you are not logged in, you will be prompted to login or create an account.
  2. Prompted to Start the Application Process by selecting "Start Application."
  3. Select or add the resume you want to use for this application. Click here on how to build a resume in USAJOBS.
  4. Select documents you want included in this application.
  5. Review package to acknowledge your documents were reviewed.
  6. Select if you want to include your demographic information.
  7. After reading and certifying the application is true and submitted in good faith, select "Continue to Agency Site."
  8. Follow onscreen prompts and instructions to complete your application.
  9. Add the supporting documents by indexing your documents with the dropdown.
    • Upload any missing required documents or optional documents.
  10. Review and Submit Application.
  11. While logged in, you can check the status of your application by selecting "+" next to the job title for this position.
  12. 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.

Agency contact information

Kay Marie Boblenz
Learn more about this agency

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.


Note: We cannot accept applications on behalf of Federal Agencies. Application instructions are listed within the Job Description.


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