Park Ranger (Protection)

Full Job Description

This announcement is intended for applicants who have prior sworn law enforcement experience and who qualify to attend the National Park Service (NPS) Basic Academy Bridge Training Program in lieu of the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC), Land Management Police Training (see Qualifications section).

This is an excepted service appointment, that confers competitive status after two years and upon meeting all performance and OPM qualification requirements. Requirements Continued...

You may be required to work on-call, evenings, weekends, holidays, overtime and shift work. Applicants must be at least 21 years old. Must not have reached your 37th birthday prior to employment.

Exception to mandatory age requirement: Applicants who have prior Federal service in a primary covered position sufficient to complete 20 years of service on or before the mandatory retirement age of 57 OR if an applicant is a qualified veteran and is preference eligible, in which case the mandatory entry age is waived and their corresponding retirement age may be higher than 57 after completing 20 years of service.

Subject to a respirator fit test. Respirators must be worn in compliance with 29 CFR 1910.134, which requires a good facial seal.

You may be required to travel overnight away from home up to 10 nights per month.

You may be required to complete training and obtain/maintain a government charge card with travel and/or purchase authority.

Within two years of appointment, you must obtain and maintain a National Registry Emergency Medical Technician certification.

Within two years of appointment, you must obtain and maintain a Structural Firefighter Level I and II certification. You will be required to operate a small watercraft less than 26 feet in length.

Operation includes transport of personnel (including visitors), tools, materials and supplies to job and work sites.

In performing this duty, you will be required to have a current Department of Interior Motorboat Operator Certification Course (DOI-MOCC) certificate.

Eligible for conversion to competitive service after two years and upon meeting all requirements.

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a two-year trial period, during which your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest will be evaluated.

This trial 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 trial period your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

Career-Seasonal appointments are permanent positions and include the same benefits as Career appointments, but do not provide work on a year-round basis.

You will work from approximately mid-December to mid-November, and you will be in a non-pay status for the remainder of the year.

Additional Information: NPS Basic Academy Bridge Training Program and Field Training & Evaluation Program (FTEP) Information -If selected, you are required to attend and pass the 4-week Bridge Training at the Albright Training Center, South Rim, Grand Canyon, AZ (location subject to change).

Housing and per diem will be provided. You will be employed and paid by your park while attending training. Upon Bridge Training completion, you must complete and pass the required FTEP.

FTEP may or may not occur at your employing park. Failure of the Bridge Training or FTEP may result in termination of employment or a requirement to attend a full basic academy.

If your Police Training Program is not eligible for the NPS Basic Academy Bridge Course, you will be required to attend and complete the FLETC, Land Management Police Training.

All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement 01/16/2026 unless otherwise stated in this vacancy announcement.

SELECTIVE FACTOR: Applicants must meet ALL of the following to qualify: This is a primary position covered by enhanced retirement provisions which stipulate mandatory retirement at age 57 after 20 years of service.

Applicants must be at least 21 years of age, and must not have reached their 37th birthday upon appointment to this position.

Two exceptions are allowed: 1) an applicant has prior Federal service in a primary covered position sufficient to complete 20 years of service on or before the mandatory retirement age of 57; or 2) an applicant is a qualified veterans' preference eligible, in which case the MEA is waived and their corresponding retirement age may be higher than 57 after completing 20 years of service.

Must have a current, valid State Driver's License by 01/16/2026.

Applicants must have worked in a sworn officer position within the last 3 years AND successfully completed a Police Training Program certified by, sponsored by, or approved by, a local, state, tribal, or Federal agency, or by the military, OR must have successfully completed a Police Training Program certified by, sponsored by, or approved by, a local, state, tribal, or Federal agency, or by the military within the last 3 years.

-AND- ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS: Special knowledge or expertise concerning the park's or preserve's natural and/or cultural resources and the management thereof is required.

Local knowledge of the resources and the typical conditions that affect the work to be accomplished will be applied in the performance of duties.

-AND- To be eligible your resume must clearly show periods of time having lived or worked in or near the area of consideration. The area of consideration can be found in the below paragraph.

Areas considered "near" Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve is the area within the State of Alaska that extends from Dixon Entrance on the south to Icy Bay on the north.

(See map of local hire geographic area) -ALSO- The following are the competencies identified for this position.

Applicants are not required to address these competencies in a separate document but are encouraged to include in their resumes experience related to these competencies.

Knowledge of a full range of advanced law enforcement techniques and procedures: including patrol operations, law enforcement, and criminal investigations.

Knowledge of investigative principals and techniques sufficient to perform investigations, interviews, interrogation, and able to establish probable cause and reasonable suspicion to conduct searches and make arrests and seizures under the various laws and regulations enforced.

Knowledge of the rules of evidence and methods used to maintain the evidence chain of custody (e.g., Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure).

Knowledge of and efficiency in the use of firearms, non-lethal weapons, self-defense techniques, control methods, electronic surveillance, intrusion detection devices, and communication devices.

Knowledge of search and rescue (SAR) activities, techniques and procedures including the organization, theory, planning, and operation of various types of land, sea, lake, river, wilderness mountain, and urban searches or rescues as required.

Skill in dealing effectively and tactfully with a diverse range of people (including distraught and hostile individuals) under stressful emergency situations. Major Duties:

Duties of the position include, but are not limited to the following: Enforce Federal laws, regulations and policies; patrol front country and backcountry sites.

Emergency response, including medical services, search and rescue, and wildland/structural fire suppression.

Facilitate visitor stewardship and orientation; wilderness management; boundary enforcement; protection of natural and cultural resources (e.g.

wildlife, plants, archaeological sites, and historic buildings).

Assist with preliminary investigations of felonies, crimes, and violations of park rules, public use, safety requirements, and motor vehicle accidents.

Crowd control activities; proactively protects park resources from all forms of degradation.

Conduct law enforcement investigations into misdemeanor violations; under the supervision of a Type I commissioned personnel, investigate felony violations and fatalities.

Conduct law enforcement investigations into misdemeanor, felony violations and fatalities. Provide specialized knowledge of resource protection, resource education, and public use management.

Please visit find a park for additional park information.

Additional Requirement: Prior to selection or appointment, you 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. Learn more about the PEB here.

You can look up required scores for your age and gender for PEB here. Learn more about the Medical Standards Program here. Learn more about FLETC Physical Performance Requirements (PPRs) here.