Student Trainee

Clarification from the agency

Open to all qualified students who are U.S. citizens and meet the eligibility requirements for the Pathways Internship Program as described below.

Duties

Presents guided talks, walks, tours, and other programs to diverse audiences. Applies broad subject-matter knowledge of the site's natural and cultural resources, features, and history to present a variety of formal and informal interpretive and educational programs. Assists with living history demonstrations, community outreach programs, and special events. Conducts roving interpretation at park overlooks, along trails, and in other areas. Operates Park vehicles including large passenger vans to conduct guided tours, roving interpretation, and other duties. Serves as a front-line representative of the National Park Service to meet and greet visitors in the visitor center and on park grounds, providing orientation, information, and assistance. Welcomes visitors and provides general information about sites of public interest, facilities for public use, pertinent rules and regulations, and other matters. Assists with visitor center operations including opening and closing; staffing the front desk; answering phone calls; conducting gift shop sales; making tour reservations; and other duties. Interacts daily with the public, providing excellent customer service while answering recurring questions and dealing effectively with a high volume and diversity of visitors under a variety of circumstances. Facilitates and promotes protection of park resources, staff, and visitors through effective communication and interpretation of park rules, regulations, and safety information. Conducts research using primary and secondary sources to gain knowledge about the park's history and resources, synthesizes the information, and effectively conveys that information to park visitors. Helps create social media content, program fliers, and other interpretive materials. Operates a computer and uses e-mail, Word, Excel, and other software to respond to visitor information requests, help create interpretive materials, and complete other duties.

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. Pathways participant agreement is required. 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 may be required to complete training and operate a four-wheel drive vehicle. 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 evenings, weekends, holidays, and overtime. This position has a mixed work schedule based on the varying workload, and your work schedule is subject to change from part-time to full-time as workload dictates. The entire period served under the Intern Program counts as a trial period. You may be required to travel overnight away from home up to 1-3 nights per month. You must obtain a government charge card for travel purposes.

Qualifications

Requirements Continued: You may be required to complete training and obtain/maintain a government charge card with travel and/or purchase authority. 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 the closing date of this announcement-08/30/2024-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-0099-04 grade level, you must possess one of the following minimum qualifications by close of the announcement:

EXPERIENCE: Possess at least six (6) months of General Experience and six (6) months of Specialized Experience equivalent to at least the GS-03 level for a total of one year of experience. General Experience is (1) Any type of work that demonstrates the ability to perform the work of the position, or (2) experience that provided a familiarity with the subject matter or processes of the broad subject area of the occupation. Specialized Experience is experience that involved oral presentation of historical, scientific, or program information to groups; or developing and/or revising technical, historical, or scientific information for oral presentation to groups. Examples of specialized experience could include but are not limited to Park Guide or tour leader; naturalist; environmental educator or teacher; or other similar work. (Excess specialized experience can be substituted for general experience; but excess general experience cannot be substituted for required specialized experience.) You must include hours per week worked.

-OR-

EDUCATION: Successful completion of at least two years of education above high school (60 semester hour or 90 quarter hours) which included at least 12 semester hours of directly related courses, such as American history, science, public speaking, parks & recreation, education, or communications. You must include transcripts.

-OR-

Successful completion of a combination of education and experience as described above. To combine education and experience, first take the percentage of education completed. Then take the number of months of full-time experience and divide by 12 months to get the percentage of experiance. Add the percentages together. The total must equal at least 100 percent to qualify. You must include 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.

You must include months, years and hours per week worked to receive credit for your work and/or volunteer experience. One 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".

Education

To qualify based on education, you must submit a legible copy of transcripts from an 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.

You will NOT be considered under Pathways unless you provide supporting information from your school. Documentation may be provided in letter format from your academic advisor, school counselor, admission office, etc. to prove enrollment OR it may be provided in the form of several official documents from your school such as a copy of your official transcripts and a copy of your class schedule for next semester. Copies of documents from your school website are acceptable if they contain all relevant information as listed above. Letters from advisors or other school officials must be on school letterhead.

If you are using 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.

---