Supervisory Park Ranger (Interpretation) (Deputy Chief of Interpretation)

National Park Service

$85K — $102K *
Education, Government & Non-Profit
Less than 5 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • 5-7 years of experience in interpretive services or visitor management in a park setting
  • Demonstrated ability to supervise and manage teams, including seasonal and volunteer staff
  • Experience in developing and executing educational and public programs
  • Strong communication skills for diverse audiences
  • Background in administrative and budget management within a federal agency

Responsibilities

  • Oversee the Interpretive Operations Branch and supervise site operations
  • Coordinate with divisions and operational partners to enhance visitor services
  • Direct visitor centers and interpretive programming
  • Ensure health and safety compliance for staff and visitors
  • Assist in administrative management and budget oversight

Benefits

  • Comprehensive federal employee benefits package
  • Access to health care options for you and your family
  • Paid vacation and sick leave
  • Retirement and savings plans
  • Uniform allowance provided
Full Job Description
Summary

You will serve as the Supervisory Park Ranger (Interpretation) (Deputy Chief of Interpretation) at Golden Gate National Recreation Area with National Park Service. This position oversees the Interpretive Operations Branch which includes permanent & seasonal staff located at 4 park sites. This includes coordinating operations across divisions and partners, directing visitor centers, implementing public programming, ensuring health and safety of employees, and managing collaborative projects.

Duties

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Some of the major duties you will perform include but are not limited to the following:

  • The purpose of this position is to serve as the Deputy Chief of Interpretation for Golden Gate National Recreation Area, including Fort Point National Historic Site and Muir Woods National Monument.
  • This position oversees the Interpretive Operations Branch, directly supervising four Interpretive Site Supervisors, each of whom supervise a cadre of permanent, career seasonal, and seasonal rangers and guides, as well as interns and volunteers.
  • Responsibilities include coordinating site operations with other divisions and operational partners, directing visitor centers and contact stations, implementing audience centered interpretation and relevant public programming, ensuring the health and safety of employees, and managing multiple complex partnerships and collaborative projects.
  • This position also assists with the overall administrative management of the division, which also includes Education, Community Engagement, Interpretive Services, and Volunteer and Intern Branches, as well as a budget analyst and administrative assistant.


Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • Must provide proof of U.S. citizenship.
  • Appointment subject to background investigation and favorable adjudication.
  • Males born after 12-31-59 must be registered for Selective Service.
  • Direct Deposit participation required.
  • Successfully pass the E-Verify employment verification check. To learn more, visit https://www.e-verify.gov/.
  • Must possess and maintain a valid driver's license throughout employment.
  • You are required to wear a uniform and comply with uniform standards. A uniform allowance will be provided.
  • You are required to complete training, obtain and maintain a government credit card with travel and purchase authority.


As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you may be required to serve a 1-year probationary period to evaluate your fitness and whether your continuation of employment advances the public interest.

This probationary period is an extension of the appointment process and therefore requires the agency to determine if continued employment would advance the public interest, meet the organization goals and mission of the agency, and/or otherwise promote the efficiency of the service. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, the agency will consider: your performance and conduct; the needs and interests of the agency; whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service.

Under applicable law, the employment of an individual serving a probationary or trial period automatically terminates when that period ends unless the agency affirmatively certifies, in writing, that the individual's employment should continue and that their appointment should be finalized. In the absence of agency action to affirmatively certify continued employment beyond the probationary or trial period, such appointments are terminated. Upon completion of your probationary period your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

This is a supervisory position that may require completion of a supervisory probationary period.

Qualifications

All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement - 09/04/2026-unless otherwise stated in this vacancy announcement. Competitive candidates must also meet Time-in-Grade requirements as defined in 5 CFR 300, Subpart F.

For current Federal employees, if hours worked per week are not included on your resume, you must submit a non-award SF-50 as part of your application to be used to validate your work schedule and determine the amount of specialized 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 periods of time that reflect military service, the DD-214 or Statement of Service is sufficient to meet the work schedule requirement as the service dates will be reflected. 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.

To qualify for this position at the GS-13 grade level:

Experience: To qualify, you must possess at least one full year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-12 level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors). Specialized experience is defined as demonstrated experience: Examples of specialized experience include, but are not limited to, supervising volunteers, interns, and youth work groups and assisting with oversight of seasonal staff, implementing a visitor services program, providing visitor services and develops guidelines and operating methods that reflect a thorough understanding of agency policies and objectives, developing and conducting interpretive presentations, and training staff and volunteers; presenting to a wide variety of audiences using a variety of fully developed interpretive skills, techniques, and tools delivered in person and through interpretive media and technology. Experience may have been in technical, administrative, or scientific work, fish and wildlife management, recreation management, law enforcement, or other park related work, which include, but are not limited to, tour leader; environmental educator or teacher; 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 worked.

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

This position does not allow substituting education for experience.

Additional information

Additional vacancies may be filled using this job announcement.

Physical Demands: This position spends periods standing, walking, talking, and using computer equipment. Work requires walking, bending and stretching during delivery of school and public programs; inspection, audit, training and study of educational environments. Work can be stressful when faced with short deadlines, conflicting priorities, handling of sensitive personnel issues and 24/7 nature of operations.

Work Environment: Work is performed both within the office environment and outdoors in other Golden Gate sites with moderate risks and discomfort in windy, foggy and/or inclement weather. Duties also involve travel to

Bay Area sites, as well as travel to professional conferences and meetings within and outside the immediate Bay Area. Work week is generally Monday through Friday but can often involve weekend and holiday work when urgent matters arise.

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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.

Benefits

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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.

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