Park Ranger Interpretation Jobs in California (NOW HIRING)

Summary
This position is located within the Department of the Interior, National Park Service at Golden Gate National Recreation Area,
The primary purpose of this position is to interpret, support, facilitate, inform and manage resources, connect visitors, learning objectives, compliance and safety, resources and understanding.
Pay will vary based on grade level and/or duty location for which you're selected. First time hires to the Federal government normally start at the step 1 rate.
Learn more about this agency
Duties
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As a Park Ranger (Interpretation), you will perform the following duties:

• Presents formal structured programs (e.g., walks, talks, tours, events, and presentations).
• Identifies training needs and provides constructive feedback; coaches others on how to perform tasks; and acts as a mentor.
• Develops and formally presents training sessions on interpretive/educational topics for employees who work with the public.
• Develops improve interpretation materials (e.g., signs, waysides, publications, exhibits, and audio content).
• Responds to visitor's inquiries for information, direction, and/or guidance.
• Provides curriculum-based education programs.
• Assists with the administration of the education operations including scheduling, providing training and guidance to seasonal employees and volunteers, record keeping, correspondence, and educational materials, including Junior Ranger programs, and other youth projects and advertises park education opportunities.

Duties will be developmental in nature when filled below the full performance level.
Requirements
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Conditions of employment

• Must be a U.S. Citizen or National.
• 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 https://www.e-verify.gov/.
• Must possess and maintain a valid driver's license throughout employment.
• You are required to wear a uniform and comply with uniform standards. A uniform allowance will be provided.
• You are required to complete training, obtain and maintain a government credit card with travel and purchase authority.

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you may be required to serve a 1-year to evaluate your fitness and whether your continuation of employment advances the public interest.
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.
Qualifications
Qualifications:
All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement - 09/04/2026-unless otherwise stated in this vacancy announcement. Competitive candidates must also meet Time-in-Grade requirements as defined in 5 CFR 300, Subpart F.
For current Federal employees, if hours worked per week are not included on your resume, you must submit a non-award SF-50 as part of your application to be used to validate your work schedule and determine the amount of specialized 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 periods of time that reflect military service, the DD-214 or Statement of Service is sufficient to meet the work schedule requirement as the service dates will be reflected. 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.
Minimum Qualification Requirements: To qualify for this position, you must meet the following Individual Occupational Requirements:
To qualify for this position at the GS-05 level:
Experience: To qualify, 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 may have been in technical, administrative, or scientific work, fish and wildlife management, recreation management, law enforcement, or other park related work. Examples of specialized experience include, but are not limited to, Park Guide or tour leader; law enforcement or investigative work; archeological or historical preservation research work; forestry and/or fire management work in a park, recreation, or conservation area; 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. You must include hours per week worked.
-OR-
Education: Successful completion of at least a 4-year course of study above high school leading to a bachelor's degree with 24 semester hours of related course work in a major study 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, or other closely related subjects pertinent to the management and protection of natural and cultural resources. You must include transcripts.
-OR-
Combination of education and experience: Combination of education and specialized experience as described above. To calculate your percentage of qualifying graduate education, divide your number of semester hours in excess of 60 semester hours by 120, or the number your school uses to represent one year of full-time graduate academic study. To calculate your percentage of experience, divide your months of qualifying specialized experience by 12. Add the two percentages. They must equal at least 100% to qualify using this option. Note: You must include a copy of your academic transcripts with your application if qualifying on education and you must include hours per week worked on your resume.
To qualify for this position at the GS-07 level:
Experience: To qualify, you must possess at least one full year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-07 level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors). Specialized experience may have been in technical, administrative, or scientific work, fish and wildlife management, recreation management, law enforcement, or other park-related work. Examples of specialized experience could include park guide or tour leader; law enforcement or investigative work; archeological or historical preservation research work; forestry and/or fire management work in a park, recreation, or conservation area; management, assistant, or program specialist work involving the development and/or implementation of policy related to protection, conservation, or management of park areas or similar operationsYou MUST include hours per week worked in your resume.
-OR-
Education: Successful completion of at least one full year of graduate study in a related filed or achieved superior academic achievement. Related fields include 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, or other closely related subjects pertinent to the management and protection of natural and cultural resources. You must include a copy of your transcripts.
-OR-
Combination of education and experience: Combinations of successfully completed education and specialized experience may be used to meet total experience requirements. To compute this percentage, first divide the total months of qualifying experience by 12. Then divide the number of completed post high school semester hours of education (that are in excess of 120 semester hours) by 120. Add the two percentages together; the total percentage must equal at least 100 percent to qualify. NOTE: Only post high school education in excess of more than four-years may be used to qualify for this position and must include 24 semester hours of related course work such as those listed above. You must include a copy of your transcripts.
To qualify for this position at the GS-09 level:
Experience: To qualify, you must possess at least one full year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-07 level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors). Specialized experience may have been in technical, administrative, or scientific work, fish and wildlife management, recreation management, law enforcement, or other park-related work. Examples of specialized experience could include park guide or tour leader; law enforcement or investigative work; archeological or historical preservation research work; forestry and/or fire management work in a park, recreation, or conservation area; management, assistant, or program specialist work involving the development and/or implementation of policy related to protection, conservation, or management of park areas or similar operations You MUST include hours per week worked in your resume.
-OR-
Education: Successful completion of at least 2 full academic years of progressively higher-level graduate education or master's or equivalent graduate degree in a major 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, or other closely related subjects pertinent to the management and protection of natural and cultural resources. You must include a copy of your transcripts.
-OR-
Qualifications continued in "Education" section.
Education
QUALIFICATIONS (continued):
Combination of education and experience: Combinations of successfully completed education and specialized experience may be used to meet total experience requirements. To compute this percentage, first divide the total months of qualifying experience by 12. Then divide the number of completed graduate education semester hours of education (that are in excess of 18 semester hours) by 36. Add the two percentages together; the total percentage must equal at least 100 percent to qualify. NOTE: Only graduate education in excess of more than one-year may be used to qualify for this position and must be in a major subject such as those listed above. You must include your 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.
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. For more information on how foreign education is evaluated, visit: https://www.ed.gov/about/initiatives/international-affairs/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications
Additional information
Additional vacancies may be filled using this job announcement.
Promotion to the full performance level is neither guaranteed nor implied and will be based solely on your ability to satisfactorily perform the work of the position, existing work at the higher grade level, and recommendation by the position's supervisor.
Reasonable Accommodation (RA) Requests: If you believe you have a disability (i.e., physical or mental), covered by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended that would interfere with completing the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, you will be granted the opportunity to request a RA in your