Summary
You will serve as a Park Guide at Navajo National Monument.
This is a Career-Seasonal appointment: Career-Seasonal appointments are permanent positions and include the same benefits as permanent appointments, but do not provide work on a year-round basis. You will work for approximately 11 months, and you will be in a non-pay status for the remainder of the year. You will be in a non-pay status from approximately Late January to Mid February.
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Duties
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Interpretive Park Guides assist Park Rangers with visitor contacts and conduct visitor center duties that include:
- Perform opening and closing procedures for a visitor center according to established procedures
- Serve as front-line representative of the organization to greet customers and answer questions
- Provide direction, information, and orientation about services or activities of interest to the public
- Educate visitors regarding rules, regulations, and safety concerns to gain compliance
- Present talks, guided tours, programs, and hands-on activities to inform or educate audiences
- Provide positive interactions with a diverse public representing different cultures, ages, social, ethnic, and economic groups
- Other duties will include: Operate standard office equipment and operate computers with various programs; Conduct guided hikes in the backcountry for visitors and/or other individuals or groups; Staff visitor center and inform visitors about park facilities and resources; Work with volunteers and interns to conduct visitor use services and other activities; Perform other assigned duties including community outreach activities; Perform a variety of duties and assignments in the visitor center and in backcountry; and may occasionally assist at sister parks, Hubbell Trading Post NHS and Canyon de Chelly NM.
Area and Park Information:The Monument is located on a remote sandstone plateau in NE Arizona on the Navajo Nation at an elevation of 7300 feet. The upland area is semi-arid, with pinon and jumper forest and associated semi-desert plants and animals with isolated areas of alpine timber in nearby canyons. Deep canyons originate near each separate unit of the Monument, where well-preserved ancestral Puebloan cliff dwellings are found. Daytime temperatures range from 85 degrees to 95 degrees during the summer and from 15 degrees to 35 degrees during winter. Limited shopping, emergency response and Indian Health Service health center are available in Kayenta, AZ (35 miles distance). Major shopping, medical hospital, and dental facilities are available in Farmington, NM and Flagstaff, AZ (about 150 miles distance).
Please note that no housing is available in the park or surrounding reservation.
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 www.dhs.gov/EVerify/.
- Must possess and maintain a valid driver's license throughout employment.
- You are required to wear a uniform and comply with the uniform standards. A uniform allowance will be provided.
- You may be required to work on-call, evenings, weekends, holidays, overtime and shift work.
- First time hires to the Federal government normally start at the step 1 rate.
- You may be required to complete training and obtain/maintain a government charge card with travel and/or purchase authority.
- You 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.
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.
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.
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.
Qualifications:
All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement-08/11/2026-unless otherwise stated in this vacancy announcement. All candidates must also meet Time-in-Grade requirements.
To receive credit for experience, 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-05 grade level:
- Specialized Experience Requirement: you must possess at least one full year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-04 level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors). Specialized experience is defined as demonstrated experience: Experience that involved oral presentation of historical, scientific, or program information to groups; or developing and/or revising technical, historical, or scientific information for oral presentation to groups. Examples of specialized experience include, but are not limited to, Park Guide or tour leader; naturalist; environmental educator; or other similar work. You must include hours per week worked. -OR-
- Education: Successfully completed four years of study above high school (120 semester hour or 180 quarter hours) leading to a bachelor's degree with courses related to the occupation, such as American History, science, public speaking, parks and recreation, education or communications. You must include transcripts. -OR-.
- Combination of education and experience. To combine experience and education, first take the number of months of full-time experience and divide by 12. Multiply the resulting decimal by 100. Then take the number of credit hours completed beyond 60 and divide by 60. Multiply the resulting decimal by 100. Add the percentages together. 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.
Education
You must submit a copy of your transcript(s) to support claimed education if substituting education for experience. Transcripts must include your name, school name, grades, credit hours earned, major(s), grade point average or class ranking, and date the degree was conferred, if applicable. A typed list of courses, grades, semester/quarter hours, GPA, etc. will not be accepted. Non-submission may result in being rated not qualified for the position. Unofficial transcripts are acceptable, but if you are selected for this position and you used your education to qualify, you must provide official transcripts before you begin work.
Foreign Education: To receive credit for education completed outside the United States, you must show proof that the education has been submitted to a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign educational credentials and such education has been deemed at least equivalent to that gained in conventional U.S. education programs. Recognition of Foreign Qualifications | U.S. Department of Education. https://www.ed.gov/about/initiatives/international-affairs/recognition-of-foreign-qualification
Additional information
This position will be filled under the Field Unit Local Hiring Authority. Eligibility is limited to applicants who reside within the defined local commuting area at the time of application. For this announcement, the local commuting area is the area from which individuals can reasonably commute to the duty station under normal conditions. The defined vicinity for this position is:
within 100 miles of Navajo National Monument, End of AZ Highway 564, Shonto, AZ 86054. You must provide proof of residency within the defined vicinity (e.g. mortgage or property deed, lease/rental agreement, utility bill, insurance policy, etc.). See the
Required Documents section for information on how to verify current residence.
Additional vacancies may be filled using this job announcement.
Physical Demands: The work requires standing for long periods of time, walking for long distances, climbing and descending steep inclines, bending, and lifting moderately heavy items. Mental stress and physical fatigue occur due to high volume of personal contacts, occasional emergency responses, and repetitive nature of interpretive programs.
Working Conditions: Work is performed both indoors and outdoors resulting in exposure to a variety of weather conditions.
All Department of Interior (DOI) employees, their spouses, and minor children may not acquire or retain any claim, permit, lease, small tract entry, or other rights granted by the Department in Federal lands, with limited exceptions. Additional ethics prohibitions can be found here, https://www.doi.gov/ethics/ethics-prohibitions.
The duties of this position are suitable for telework only during an emergency or natural disaster.
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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.
