Summary
This position is based in the Facilities Division at Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve, which is part of the Midwest Region of the National Park Service under the Department of the Interior, located in Strong City, Kansas.
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Duties
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This position serves as chief of the facility management division, serves as a member of the management team and provides technical advice to the superintendent.
- Responsible for developing and implementing a program to ensure the maintenance and preservation of all park facilities including numerous historic nationally registered buildings, Visitor Center, roads, trails, parking areas, utility systems, and many small scale features such as fences and waysides.
- Ensures compliance with National Historic Preservation Act and National Environmental Policy Act, and other applicable law, policy, and regulations.
- Responsible for annual budget preparation and programming for all maintenance accounts.
- Prepares cost estimates and funding requests. Develops, recommends, plans, and programs for the construction, operation, maintenance, or improvement of physical facilities at the preserve.
- Manages preserve assets and projects using FMSS, PMIS and other facility management software programs.
- Serves as safety officer, structural fire coordinator, and Contracting Officer Representative for preserve facility projects.
- Supervises staff including permanent and seasonal positions. Plans and directs annual and day-to-day work for maintenance division.
Management of Tallgrass Prairie entails a unique partnership with The Nature Conservancy which requires the Facility Operations Specialist to have regular interaction with the Conservancy staff.
Physical Demands: Work is mostly sedentary in an office setting. At times, walking, hiking, climbing, bending and moderate lifting are required.
Working Conditions: The work involves regular and recurring exposure to moderate risks and discomforts associated with the operation repair and maintenance of park infrastructure and equipment. There are occasions of exposure to risk situations, such as heavy lifting, loud noises, extreme heat or cold, or biting insects or venomous snakes.
Requirements
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Conditions of employment
- 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 operate a government (or private) motor vehicle as part of your official duties. You are required to have a valid driver's license within 1 day from Entry-On-Duty. 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 work evenings, holidays, and overtime.
- You may be required to travel overnight away from home occasionally. 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.
- 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.
- Applicants must be at least (1)18 years old or (2) at least 16 years old and: (a) Have graduated from high school or been awarded a certificate equivalent to graduating from high school; or (b) Have completed a formal vocational training program; or (c) Have received a statement from school authorities agreeing with their preference for employment rather than continuing their education; or (d) Be currently enrolled in a secondary school and either work only during school vacation periods or work part-time during the school year under a formal student employment program.
- As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a one (1) year supervisory probationary period during which your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest will be evaluated.
*Additional Requirements located under Qualifications*
Qualifications
Requirements Continued
As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary period during which your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest will be evaluated.
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.
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); with few exceptions as outlined in 5 CFR 300.603(b). Time-In-Grade requirements also apply to former Federal civilian employees applying for reinstatement who have had a break in service of less than one year, as well as current employees applying for Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) appointments. Time-in-grade does not apply to new excepted service appointments and must be met by the closing date of this announcement.
All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement-07/08/2026-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.
To qualify for this position at the GS-11 grade level, you must possess one of the following minimum qualifications by close of the announcement:
EXPERIENCE: At least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-9 grade level in the Federal service in a position that provided the knowledge, skills, and abilities to successfully perform the duties of a Supervisory Facility Operations Specialist.
Examples of qualifying experience include: managing a maintenance program for office or apartment building complexes, hospitals, recreation facilities, military, or other special-purpose installations, including planning maintenance activities, and developing preventive maintenance programs; conducting surveillance activities over construction and maintenance operations performed by a variety of private contractors, including reviewing project plans and specifications for workability, informing contractors of construction and reporting requirements, and supervising operations for conformance with project plans; or performing maintenance or construction work, including estimating material and labor costs for a variety of construction or maintenance projects (such as construction or maintenance of brick, frame, structural steel, reinforced concrete, and other type of structures ranging from one-or-two story building to larger structures), directing actual work operations, and maintaining appropriate contacts with the organization funding the project.
Note: You must include hours per week worked on your resume.
-OR-
EDUCATION: Successful completion of a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree; or 3 full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree; or LL.M., if related, from an accredited college or university, in a field of study such as engineering, industrial arts, property management, or business administration. Note:
You must include transcripts.
-OR-
Successful completion of a combination of education and experience as described above. To combine education and experience, first take the number of graduate credits beyond the first two years and divide by 18. 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.
Note: 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.
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.
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.
The National Park Service has determined that the duties of this position are suitable for telework only during an emergency or natural disaster.
Documentation for the Land Management Workforce Flexibility Act (LMWFA) eligibility, You
must submit ALL SF-50s and performance information for each period of temporary/term employment that qualifies for LMWFA. Performance documentation can be obtained by contacting the supervisors for the positions you served in during your 24 months. If they did not complete performance appraisals ask them to provide a statement of performance for
each period of service. The statement must specify the dates for each employment period and your level of performance consistent with your SF_50s.
Current surplus and current or former displaced Federal individuals who have special priority selection rights under the Agency Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP) or the Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP) must be well qualified for the position to receive consideration for special priority selection. Well qualified means that the applicant meets the following: OPM qualification standards for the position; all selective placement factors, where applicable; special qualifying conditions that OPM has approved for the position, where applicable; is physically qualified with reasonable accommodation, where appropriate to satisfactorily perform the duties of the position upon entry; and is rated by the organization at least at the well qualified level on all competencies. Federal employees seeking CTAP/ICTAP eligibility must submit proof that they meet the requirements of 5 CFR 330.605(2) for CTAP and 5 CFR 330.704 for ICTAP. This includes a copy of the agency notice, a copy of their most recent Performance Rating, and a copy of their most recent SF-50 noting current position, grade level, and duty lo
