Park Ranger Jobs in Rutherford, NJ (NOW HIRING)

Summary
This is an Open-Continuous announcement for permanent public safety positions has been opened due to an exemption to the 2025 Civilian Hiring Freeze. This is an open continuous announcement. Applicants will be referred throughout the announcement period. Final application disposition will be completed once all positions are filled or announcement reaches the closing date. The first cut-off date is 11:59 pm (EST), December 23, 2025.
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Duties
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The primary purpose of this position is to perform park ranger duties associated with preventing search and rescue incidents from occurring in park units. Work may include patrols, education, technical search and rescue, resource monitoring, emergency medical services, all-hazard incident response, outreach, and administrative support. Duties include:

• Coordinate the day-to-day operations of a park level PSAR organization, to include PSAR-related program areas such as patrols, education, technical search and rescue, resource monitoring, emergency medical services, all-hazard incident response, rock climbing, mountaineering, outreach, administration, and/or training.
• Provide advisory services to internal (e.g., staff, management) and external (e.g., visitors, community residents, commercial operators, public municipalities, Federal or state agencies) organizations regarding well-precedented matters affecting the management of PSAR.
• Coordinate and maintain effective working relationships with internal and external organizations and stakeholders invested in PSAR.
• Under medical oversight, provide out-of-hospital emergency medical care for critical and emergent patients as an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT).
• Serve as a member of an All-Hazard Incident Management Team on incidents that may range in complexity from Type 1-5. Such incidents include but are not limited to emergency medical services incidents, special law enforcement operations, or natural disasters.

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.
• Complete the initial online assessment and USAHire Assessment, if required.
• 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. Time-in-grade requirements must be met by the closing date of this announcement.
• You will be required to submit to a drug test and receive a negative drug test result prior to appointment. In addition, this position is subject to random testing for illegal drug use.
• Pre-employment medical clearance.
• Must possess a valid Driver's License.
• You will be required to wear a uniform and comply with the National Park Service uniform standards. A uniform allowance will be provided.
• You may be required to work on-call, evenings, weekends, holidays, overtime and shift work.
• If you are a new employee or supervisor in the Federal government, you will be required to complete a one-year probationary period.
• You will be required to possess a current Emergency Medical Technician-Basic certification.
• You will be required to possess a current CPR card.
• Must have the ability to lift up to 50 pounds.

Qualifications
All qualifications must be met by the cut date of each application pull, the first being December 23rd. Additional application pulls may be made in 15 day increments.
Please limit your resume to no more than 2 pages. If more than 2 pages are submitted, only the first 2 pages will be reviewed to determine your eligibility/qualifications.
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 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 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.
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.
SELECTIVE FACTOR: This position performs emergency medical technician work, and a current valid National registry EMT or New York or New Jersey State EMT certification AND a valid CPR card are required. Candidates who do not meet this requirement by close of this announcement will receive no further consideration for this position. You MUST provide proof of these certifications with your application.
- AND -
To qualify for this position at the GS-09 grade level, you must possess the following minimum qualifications by close of the announcement:
Experience: One year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-07 level in Federal Service. Specialized experience demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to perform the position's duty to be filled successfully. For this position specialized experience is experience performing day-to-day park duties related to preventative search and rescue; advising visitors on best practices for visiting the park; and responding to hazardous incidents including medical emergencies, law enforcement operations or natural disasters.
-OR-
Education: 2 full academic years of progressively higher-level graduate education or master's or equivalent graduate degree related to the occupation.
-OR-
Combination: Successful combination of graduate level education and specialized experience as described above.
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.
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 location. Please annotate your application to reflect that you are applying as a CTAP/ICTAP eligible. If you are selected for Federal employment, you will be required to fill out a Declaration of Federal Employment, OF-306, prior to being appointed to determine your suitability for Federal employment and to authorize a background investigation. Failing to answer all questions truthfully and completely or providing false statements on your application may be grounds for not hiring you, or for firing you after you begin work. Also, you may be punished by fine or imprisonment (U.S. Code, Title 18, section 1001).
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.
Physical Demands: The work requires considerable and strenuous physical exertion such as climbing, hiking, and lifting heavy objects. Work may be performed on uneven, steep, rough, slippery, and/or rugged terrain. EMS and search and rescue involve walking long distances over rough terrain, carrying heavy loads, and using technical rescue equipment. Going without sleep for long periods of time is a common occurrence.
Working Conditions: Work is performed in an office setting, classroom, in the field, on trails, and in remote backcountry or wilderness settings. Search and Rescue and EMS work involves frequent exposure to potentially dangerous situations and/or hazardous environments to include hazardous flight landings and takeoffs, extreme outdoor weather conditions, and/or exposure to communicable diseases. Various levels of personal protective clothing are required to perform functions safely.
The National Park Service has determined that the duties of this position are suitable for telework only during an emergency or natural disaster.
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 online application. Requests for RA for the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments and appropriate supporting documentation for RA must be received prior to starting the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments. Decisions on requests for RA are made on a case-by-case basis. If you meet the minimum qualifications of the position, after notification of the adjudication of your request, you will receive an email invitation to complete the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, based on your adjudication decision. You must complete all assessments within 48 hours of receiving the URL to access the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, if you received the link after the close of the announcement. To determine if you need a RA, please review the Procedures for Requesting a Reasonable Accommodation for Online Assessments here: https://appsupport.usastaffing.gov/hc/en-us/sections/28980686389652-Reasonable-Accommodation-Information
Documentation for the Land Management Workforce Flexibility Act (LMWFA) eligibility, submission of 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 (dates should match the dates on the SF-50s).
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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.