Park Ranger (PSAR)

Full Job Description

This position is located in Grand Canyon National Park, in the Visitor and Resource Protection Division.

This is a term position (more than 1 year) with an initial appointment expecting to last at least 13 months but may be extended up to a total of four years.

Term positions do not convey permanent status in the Federal service. Requirements Continued...

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-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.

All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement-02/11/2026-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.

SELECTIVE FACTOR: This position performs emergency medical services, and a National Registry EMT certification or higher is required.

National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians Please include the NREMT certification number and the date of expiration in your resume, or preferably, upload the certification document into your application documents.

If you are working toward obtaining your certification, include a copy of your course registration that shows the expected completion date.

Candidates who do not meet this requirement by close of this announcement will receive no further consideration for this position.

- AND - To qualify for this position at the GS-09 grade level, you 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-07 grade level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors).

This experience includes activities such as: 1) Working in Emergency Medical Services, Search and Rescue, or Law Enforcement or investigative work, 2) Park Ranger or providing education and outreach, 3) Forestry and/or fire management work in a park, recreation, or conservation area, 4) and 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 such as volunteer administrative support.

You must include hours per week worked.

-OR- EDUCATION: Successful completion of at least a Master's degree or equivalent graduate degree or successfully completed at least two full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree such as 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, emergency management, or other closely related subjects pertinent to the management and protection of natural and cultural resources, OR LL.B.

or J.D., if related. Such education must demonstrate the knowledge, skills and abilities necessary to do the work. You must include transcripts.

-OR- Successful completion of a combination of education and experience as described above.

For example, I have six months of the specialized experience described above (50% of the experience requirement), and 27 semester hours or 41 quarter hours of directly-related graduate level college study in an accredited institution (50% of the qualifying education).

NOTE: Only education in excess of the first 18 hours of graduate-level education is credible. 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. Major Duties:

Provide technical and administrative supervision and oversight to 70+ volunteers tasked with performing PSAR related duties. Research, compile, and analyze data on park-level PSAR operations.

Establish measurable benchmarks to evaluate the effectiveness of specific PSAR operations.

Monitor risk in organizations PSAR program, work with supervisor to implement changes or needed adjustments to internal controls.

Work with higher-graded employees to design, print and distribute PSAR materials, draft project proposals to address PSAR program needs, and identify potential opportunities for third party agreements benefiting the program.

Develop and deliver a wide variety of training activities for new staff, volunteers, and park partners. Term projects: Emergency response (EMS and SAR). Assist with cyclical training.

PSAR Volunteer management (specifically getting us moved to vol.gov in 2026, helping to enhance GRCA's PSAR volunteer team via engagement and training, and help plan for a 30-year PSAR retrospective in 2027).

Help to revamp trail head safety signage and address park-wide PSAR messaging.

Help schedule, manage, and oversee the rotation of PSAR staff that will cycle over on rotations to the north rim to support their 2026 operation.

Area Information: This position is stationed at Grand Canyon National Park at the South Rim located in Northern Arizona.

The South Rim is located approximately 60 miles north of Williams and 82 miles Northwest of Flagstaff at an elevation of 7,000 feet.

Temperatures range from approximately 90 degrees in the summer to 0 degrees in the winter. Annual precipitation averages around 13 inches.

Grand Canyon Village has schools K-12, a daycare center, post office, general store, churches, a recreation center with gym, a public library, a clinic with resident physicians, and several restaurants.

The park community consists of some 2,500 people, including employees of the NPS and concessionaires and their family members.

There are often employment opportunities for family members in the park and surrounding areas. The park community is small enough that many employees choose to walk or bike from their homes to work.

Complete shopping, educational, medical and professional services are available in Williams and Flagstaff.

Flagstaff has a population of about 75,000 and has multiple K-12 public and private schools, Northern Arizona University, and diverse community, medical and other support services.

Recreational opportunities include hiking, backpacking, fishing, cross-country and downhill skiing, and golfing in nearby communities.

South Rim Housing: Permanent and Term employees with a Full Performance Level (FPL) of a GS-09 or WG-8 and above will be provided the option of accepting assigned housing, participating in the normal bid system, or accepting shared housing.

Permanent and Term employees with an FPL of GS-08 or WG-7 and below may be provided the option of participating in the normal bid system or accepting shared housing.

Any employee assigned to shared housing may continue to bid into non-shared housing.