Supervisory Park Ranger

Clarification from the agency

Current National Park Service Career or Career-Conditional Employees in the competitive service; Land Management Workforce Flexibility Act (LMWFA) eligibles; Veterans' Employment Opportunity Act (VEOA); CTAP eligibles in the local commuting area, Former Public Land Corps (PLC) Members

Duties

The position serves as the Chief Ranger of the Division of Visitor and Resource Protection (V&RP) of both Morristown National Historical Park and Thomas Edison National Historical Park. The Chief Ranger is responsible for leadership and management of the Visitor and Resource Protection program and is a key member of the park's leadership team. The incumbent directs all law enforcement, fire, physical security, safety, emergency services, medical services and visitor and resource protection of the parks. Serves as a subject matter expert and advisor to the superintendent on all matters of law enforcement and visitor/resource protection. This is an administrative position in an organization having a law enforcement mission. A Type I Law Enforcement Commission is required, and the incumbent must meet physical fitness standards to maintain commission.

The Visitor and Resource Protection Program at the two parks is unique considering that they are located 23 miles apart in northern New Jersey. Each park has its own unique issues of physical security, resource protection, and trail use. Morristown NHP is made up of four non-contiguous park areas spread approximately 5 miles apart from park headquarters in Morristown to surrounding communities and is located within two counties. Thomas Edison NHP is located within the urban core of the Township of West Orange. The Chief Ranger provides direct supervision and leadership to the following subordinate staff: five permanent Law Enforcement Officers (GL-09).

REQUIREMENTS

U.S. Citizenship required. Appointment subject to background investigation and favorable adjudication. Meet Selective Service Registration Act requirement for males Subject to pre-employment physical and drug testing. Must possess a Type I Law Enforcement Commission. Direct Deposit: New employees of the Department of the Interior must identify a financial institution for direct deposit of net pay within 30 days of entrance on duty. Time-in-Grade: 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). Time-in-grade requirements must be met by the closing date of this announcement. Time-In-Grade requirements also apply to former Federal civilian employees applying for reinstatement as well as current employees applying for Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) appointment.

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

REQUIREMENTS CONT.

Firearm Proficiency: Selectee(s) will be required to carry a firearm while performing duties and maintain firearm proficiency. Security Investigation: Selectee(s) must be free of any domestic violence convictions. Appointment will be subject to the applicant's successful completion of a background security investigation and favorable adjudication. Failure to successfully meet these requirements will be grounds for termination. Drug Test: 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. Physical Fitness: Prior to appointment, you must be determined physically fit by an authorized government physician to perform strenuous and physically demanding duties; and also pass a medical examination (which includes vision, hearing, cardiovascular, and mobility of extremities) given by an authorized government physician. You will also be required to undergo periodic medical examinations throughout employment. Driver's License: 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. Vehicle Operation: You may be required to complete training and operate a four-wheel drive vehicle. Uniform: You will be required to wear a uniform and comply with the National Park Service uniform standards. A uniform allowance will be provided. Minimum Age: Applicants must be at least 21 years old. Financial Filer Requirement: The position to which you will be appointed is subject to a financial disclosure reporting requirement and you will be required to complete a new entrant Confidential Financial Disclosure Report (OGE Form 450) within 30 days of your appointment.

Qualifications

All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement-09/02/2024-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, you 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 and 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, 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 Factors: Applicants must meet ALL of the following to qualify: Law Enforcement Commission: Must currently possess, previously held (within the past three years), or be able to obtain a valid Type I National Park Service (NPS) Law Enforcement Commission, or equivalent, by entrance on duty . More information can be found in the 'Education' section of this job announcement. Secondary Administrative: This is a secondary-administrative law enforcement position under the special retirement provisions of 5 U.S. C. 8336 (c) (CSRS) and 5 U. S. C. 8412 (d) (FERS). PLEASE NOTE: Applicants may meet qualification requirements but may not be eligible for special retirement coverage. If such an applicant is selected, they will be placed in the regular retirement system. To be eligible for Secondary retirement coverage under CSRS, an employee must transfer directly (without a break in service exceeding 3 days) from a primary position to a secondary position. To be eligible for Secondary retirement coverage under FERS, an employee must: 1) transfer directly (without a break in service exceeding 3 days) from a primary position to a secondary position, AND 2) complete 3 years of service in a primary rigorous position including any such service during which no FERS deductions were withheld, AND 3) must be continuously employed in a secondary position(s) since moving from a primary rigorous position, except for any break in employment from a secondary position that began with involuntary separation (not for cause). It is the responsibility of the applicant to ensure this office has enough information to determine your special retirement status to ensure you do not lose benefits (normally through submission of your work history or other documentation that demonstrates work history of approved covered positions). You must let this office know if you are in a Primary position . - AND -

Applicants must possess all the following minimum qualifications by close of the announcement: EXPERIENCE: One-year specialized experience comparable to the GS-11 level in the federal service. Specialized experience is experience that equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills and abilities needed to successfully perform the duties of this position. Examples of specialized experience include, but are not limited to, 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 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

Law Enforcement Commission: This position requires applicants to possess, previously held (within the past three years), or be able to possess by entrance on duty a valid Type I National Park Service (NPS) Law Enforcement Commission (or equivalent), which requires completing training from an accredited institution, which currently consists of over 650 class hours and lasts on average 17 weeks. Please visit the Association of National Park Rangers' for additional information on approved training courses and equivalency for commissioning.

There is no substitution of education for experience at the grade level of this announcement.

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