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Summary This position is located in Carlsbad Caverns National Park, in the Visitor and Resource Protection Division. Responsibilities - The incumbent serves as Chief Ranger. As the chief of the division, the incumbent is responsible for planning, directing, and executing all park programs dealing with visitor and resource protection. The incumbent is the principal advisor to the Superintendent relative to visitor and resource protection issues and assists the Superintendent with a variety of park management assignments. - Directly supervises one GS-11 Supervisory Protection Ranger, one GS-9 Revenue and Fees Business Manager, and one GS-07 Safety Technician and indirectly supervises four GL-9 Park Rangers (Protection), one GS-6 Lead Visitor Use Assistant, and seven GS-5 Visitor Use Assistant positions. - Plans work schedules and sequences of operations on a long-range basis. Revises work schedules and goals to meet changes in workload, and assures coordination of work schedules and operations among subordinate units and with other divisions when activities affect the whole park. - Reviews resource requirements data and other material for proper determination of what staffing, equipment, space requirement, materials and other resources are needed to accomplish the mission of the division. Adjusts figures based on overall determination of needs. - This position may also provide law enforcement support to National Park Service units within a close geographic range. Area Information: Carlsbad Caverns National Park is located 27 miles from the city of Carlsbad in southeastern New Mexico. The Park, at an elevation of 4400 feet, has a semi-arid climate with hot summers, mild winters, abundant sunshine, low humidity, and approximately 10 inches of rainfall per year. Carlsbad (population 29,000) has all amenities and services including medical and dental facilities, motels, banks, restaurants, churches, grocery stores, department stores, and several recreation facilities. Schools include K-12, and New Mexico State University - Carlsbad Campus. Other services can be found in Albuquerque (280 miles), El Paso, Texas (170 miles), Lubbock, Texas (180 miles), or Midland/Odessa, Texas (150 miles). Recreation opportunities are plentiful with Guadalupe Mountains National Park located 50 miles from the city of Carlsbad, two state parks (Brantley Lake and Living Desert Zoo), and the Lincoln National Forest within an hour's drive. Note: A government van pool provides service between Carlsbad, NM and Carlsbad Caverns National Park for staff on the core shift. Requirements Conditions of Employment 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. 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. 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. Selectee will be required to carry a firearm while performing duties and maintain firearm proficiency. Selectee 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. 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. Prior to appointment, the people selected for these positions must be determined physically fit by an authorized physician to perform strenuous and physically demanding duties, pass a medical examination, and pass the Physical Efficiency Battery (PEB). The PEB is a fitness test consisting of five different components: 1) agility run - measures the ability to get up from the ground and sprint while changing directions; 2) bench press - measures upper body strength for one repetition; 3) 1.5 mile run - measures cardio/respiratory fitness; 4) sit and reach - measures flexibility in the lower back, legs and shoulders; and 5) body composition - measures body fat. Prior to appointment, selectees will be tested in all five components, and must pass the agility run, bench press and 1.5 mile run in the 25th percentile. Requirements continued in the qualification section of this announcement. Qualifications All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement-05/09/2025-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: Must currently possess a valid Type I National Park Service (NPS) Law Enforcement Commission, or equivalent, by 05/09/2025. More information can be found in the 'Education' section of this job announcement. This is a covered secondary law enforcement position under the special retirement provisions of 5 U.S. C. 8336(c) (CSRS) and 8412(d) (FERS). Applicants for this position must possess experience gained by substantial service in a primary law enforcement position. - AND - Applicants must possess at least one 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-11 grade level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors). 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 could include: Law enforcement or investigative work; investigating, apprehending, detaining or prosecuting individuals suspected of or convicted of crimes against the United States; protecting officials against threats to personal safety; 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. 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. 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. Requirements Continued: Applicants must be at least 21 years old. 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. 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. 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, overtime and shift work. If you are a new supervisor in the Federal government, you will be required to complete a one-year probationary period. You may be required to travel overnight away from home. You must obtain a government charge card for travel purposes. You may be required to complete training and obtain/maintain a government charge card with travel and/or purchase authority. Education Law Enforcement Commission: This position requires applicants to possess, previously held (within the past three years), or be able to possess 05/09/2025 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' Seasonal Law Enforcement Training Program (SLETP) 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. 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: Although most of the duties do not involve unusual physical activity, the incumbent is occasionally required to exert strenuous physical effort in law enforcement activities, search and rescue, emergency services, wildland and structural fire control, etc. The employee must meet the required fitness standards for law enforcement personnel. Incumbent must be in good physical and emotional health, capable of sustained strenuous physical activity and effective decision making under extremely stressful conditions. Some activities will occur in physically dangerous areas or settings, such as cliff ledges and during inclement weather events. Development and documentation of programs is sedentary, which entails the ability to concentrate and write for long periods of time with some walking, bending, standing and light lifting. Some assignments involve substantial outdoor work with exposure to adverse weather, the discomfort and minor hazards of manual work, and the intermittent hazards involved in firefighting, rescue, law enforcement, and low-level flying in fixed wing aircraft and helicopters. Strenuous exertion is required in law enforcement, backcountry foot patrols, search and rescue, law enforcement, etc. Working Conditions: Many duties will be performed indoors in an office setting and the employee will often be working for long periods at a desk. However, the incumbent may be called upon to work different shifts, weekends, and holidays and/or during peak visitor use periods. Trips to the field are required to maintain effective communication with subordinates and to assure compliance with established goals and objectives as set forth in the annual work programs. The work environment involves potential exposure to extreme outdoor weather/temperature conditions of all kinds and involves high risk of exposure to potentially dangerous situations such as law enforcement physical confrontations, high angle rescue hazards, fire protection on uncontrolled fires and wildlife encounters. Some work, occasionally, is performed outdoors where the incumbent may be subject to severe terrain and weather variances (including high winds and monsoonal rain, storms, and flooding and snowstorms). Law enforcement and emergency duties require exposure to potentially dangerous situations including venomous desert dwellers, prescribed or wildland fires, hostile park visitors, etc. Employee may be travelling through rough terrain. Assignments require working at altitudes between 3,000 to 6,500 feet in elevation. Is required to wear the complete prescribed NPS uniform and personal appearance in compliance with established uniform standards. May be required to callback duty after hours or during certain periods. 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.