Park Ranger (Mountaineering) (Seasonal) presso Department of the Interior

Other

Duties

These positions are located in Denali National Park and Preserve in the Ranger Division. The typical season for these positions is March through September, but may vary during these months due to weather conditions, project needs, or funding. The duties of this position include, but are not limited to the following: Leads extended, high altitude mountain patrols on Denali and elsewhere in the Alaska Range, accompanied by appropriately trained Volunteers in Parks (VIPs). Performs or directs search and rescue operations involving high altitude technical climbing, use of emergency medical techniques, coordination of helicopter and fixed wing aircraft, coordination of other resources from numerous agencies and sources. Performs aerial and ground backcountry patrols to enforce park regulations. Ground patrols involve backpacking in winter and summer. Winter travel also may involve use of skis, snow machine, or dog sled. The summer travel involves small river craft such as packraft and raft. Operates a visitor contact station and provides information and interpretation of the park to the general public, issues park use permits and provides expert advice and assistance to mountaineers heading into the park from Talkeetna. Provides liaison between the NPS and park concessionaires and business use licensees. Participates in the planning of district operations by providing input to supervisor regarding park operations, needs, requirements, etc. Gathers, compiles, and reports mountaineering and resource management data. Drafts replies to mountaineering related correspondence and maintains patrol reports. Investigates accidents and prepares accident and incident reports. Physical Demands: Work requires standing, backpacking, mountaineering, expert skiing, and 5.9/WI 4 climbing, on and over a variety of rough, uneven, rocky, hazardous surfaces for days at a time; driving vehicles and snow-machines, operating rafts and packrafts; and lifting (150 pounds) and carrying moderate to heavy loads (in excess of 50 pounds) while hiking or climbing at altitudes of up to 20,310 feet. Incumbent must have the agility, mental alertness, physical strength and stamina typically associated with the aforementioned tasks in wilderness survival and travel and with high altitude mountaineering. Working Conditions: Most work is performed outdoors, at high altitudes (20,310 feet), in a wide range of weather conditions (from 70 degrees to -40). Regular and recurring exposure to moderate and sometimes severe discomfort is experienced. Work may be performed at various hours of the day and night and for prolonged periods during emergency situations. The incumbent is frequently exposed to high risk and potentially dangerous situations, with the possibility of serious injury or accidental death. Selectees may be moved between duty stations within park boundaries. Government housing is available. Please visit find a park for additional park information.

Requirements

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 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 on-call, evenings, weekends, holidays, and overtime. You may be required to travel overnight away from home up to 25 nights per month. You may be required to complete training and obtain/maintain a government charge card with travel and/or purchase authority. You will be required to have a Wilderness First Responder (WFR), Emergency Medical Technician (EMT), Paramedic (EMTP), or higher-level, medical certification and training by entrance on duty. (If EMT/EMTP level, must be national registry.) You will be required to have an Avalanche Professional Level 1, or higher-level, Avalanche certification and training by entrance on duty.

Qualifications

All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement-11/28/2025-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 number of hours worked per week, full-time, or part-time. If you indicate part-time, you MUST indicate the number of hours worked per week so that your qualifying experience can be prorated for credit. You must meet the following Selective Factors/Screen Outs. Candidates who do not meet these requirements AND support them in their applications, as described below, by close of this announcement (unless otherwise stated), will receive no further consideration for this position. Mountaineering and Climbing (screen out): You must have experience in high altitude mountaineering and technical climbing that includes having led or guided a minimum of two (2) mountaineering expeditions that reached 17,200 ft, or higher, one of which must have been on Denali (Mt. McKinley). This experience must have been gained as a guide, assistant guide, trip leader, or search and rescue member and cannot have been obtained by being a trip participant or client on a guided expedition. You must list previous climbs that you have led, and your climbing/mountaineering experience and altitudes reached in your application package, or you will be rated ineligible. -AND- Wilderness First Responder (WFR) or higher-level medication certification (screen out): You must have a Wilderness First Responder (WFR), Emergency Medical Technician (EMT), Paramedic (EMTP), or higher-level, medical certification and training by entrance on duty. (If EMT/EMTP level, must be national registry.) Include a copy of your certificate showing the level and expiration date or list your medical certification AND expiration date in your resume, or the level AND date you anticipate completing your course for certification. Proof of certification will be required before entrance on duty. If you do not include this information in your application, you will be rated ineligible. -AND- Avalanche certification (screen out): You must have an Avalanche Professional Level 1, or higher-level, Avalanche certification and training by entrance on duty. Include a copy of your certificate showing the level and completion date or list your Avalanche certification level AND completion date in your resume, or the level AND date you anticipate completing your course for certification. Proof of certification will be required before entrance on duty. If you do not include this information in your application, you will be rated ineligible. -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: SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: One year of specialized experience comparable in scope and responsibility to the GS-5 level in the federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors). Examples of specialized experience include high-altitude technical climbing; gathering, compiling, and reporting mountaineering and resource management data; and visitor assistance in a park or recreation area. You must include hours worked per week in your resume. -OR- EDUCATION: One full year of graduate study in one of the following fields: natural resource management, natural sciences, earth sciences, history, archeology, anthropology, park and recreation management, law enforcement/police science, social sciences, museum sciences, business administration, public administration, behavioral sciences, sociology, or other closely related subjects pertinent to the management and protection of natural and cultural resources. Coursework in fields other than those specified may be accepted if it clearly provides applicants with the background of knowledge and skills necessary for successful job performance in the position to be filled. (One year of graduate education is 18 semester hours or 27 quarter hours.) You must include a copy of your transcripts with your application and the hours worked per week in your resume. -OR- COMBINATION OF SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE AND EDUCATION: 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 include a copy of your transcripts with your application and the hours worked per week in your resume. Volunteer 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.

Other 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. Alaska currently does not have a state income tax. Salary and COLA subject to annual review and adjustment. Travel, transportation, and relocation expenses will not be paid. All travel, transportation, and relocation expenses associated with reporting for duty in this position will be the sole responsibility of those selected. 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 1039 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 1039 hours. The limit also can be exceeded by working a single temporary seasonal appointment that exceeds 1039 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. A Recruitment Incentive May Be Authorized for a newly selected employee when appointed to a permanent, temporary, or term position. A Federal employee who is transferring to the National Park Service from another component, bureau or Federal agency and who does not meet the conditions under 5 CFR §575.102 is not eligible for a recruitment incentive. A Relocation Incentive May Be Authorized for a Federal employee when the employee must move, as directed by the National Park Service (NPS) either through a management directed reassignment or selection for employment, to a different location at least 50 miles away from the one where his/her position of record held at time of selection is currently located, due to a need of the NPS. A relocation incentive is not the same as a Permanent Change of Station (PCS) move and, as such, may be granted in conjunction with one another.