Summary
This position is located within the Department of the Interior, National Park Service, Midwest Region, Brown v. Board of Education National Historical Park, in Topeka, Kansas.
This position serves as the Program Manager for Interpretation, Education, Volunteer, and Visitor Services for the Brown v. Board of Education National Historical Park. Responsible for short and long-range planning and general operations including all park interpretive activities.
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Duties
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Major duties of this position include, but are not limited to the following:
- Serve as the principal advisor to park management on all matters related to the interpretive, visitor services, volunteer, and education programs.
- Manage projects from start to finish, including writing scopes of work, proposals, and budget tracking.
- Serve as a key member of the park management team, participating in decisions that affect all park divisions and operations.
- Establish long- and short-term goals for the division.
- Perform deliberative program analysis and prepare and complete a variety of reports.
- Supervise the division staff, including permanent and seasonal employees, interns, and VIPs.
- Represents the park in public meetings with various community and interest groups.
The employees of the National Park Service care for special places that are the heritage of all Americans. Since its inception in 1916, the National Park Service has been dedicated to the preservation and management of this country's outstanding natural, historical, and recreational resources. Park ranger - interpreters connect people to parks. They play a key role in ensuring that visitors have a meaningful, satisfying, and safe park experience, help visitors decide how to spend their time in the park, and inform them about the wonders that await their discovery. Park ranger - interpreters are specially trained to engage the public so that each park visitor can find a personal connection with the meanings and values found in the places and stories of that park. They help visitors explore the many dimensions of parks by introducing them to a variety of perspectives. By providing the opportunity for visitors to care about the places they visit, they promote stewardship and the opportunity for those visitors to care for park resources. National parks are among the most remarkable places in America for recreation, learning, and inspiration. The work done by park ranger-interpreters through effective interpretive and educational programs encourages the development of a personal stewardship ethic and broadens public support for preserving and protecting park resources, so that they may be enjoyed by present and future generations.
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.
- 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.
- You will be required to operate a government (or private) motor vehicle as part of your official duties; a valid driver's license is required. 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 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 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.
*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 supervisory 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 employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.
Qualifications:
All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement-08/07/2026-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.
EXPERIENCE: One year of specialized experience, at least equivalent to the GS-9 level in the Federal Service, with experience that demonstrates the ability to research, develop and present a wide variety of interpretive programs, the ability to provide leadership, guidance and direction to paid and volunteer staff, the ability to research, write, design and develop interpretive media, skill in planning, implementation and follow through of special events, projects or programs, and knowledge of the natural or cultural history.
OR
EDUCATION: A PhD or equivalent doctoral degree or 3 full years of progressively higher level graduate education in a field of study in 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, or course work in other appropriate fields that clearly provided a background of knowledge and skills necessary for successful job performance in the position.
OR
COMBINATION: A Combination of both specialized experience and education.
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.
Physical Demands: No unusual physical demands are required in the job, which includes sedentary work in an office environment, frequent meetings, attendance at conferences, planning and negotiation meetings and walking at both the Independence and Grandview Units to maintain park operations and projects. Because of continual coordination and program/project demands, some individuals may find this a stressful position. Travelling to attend meetings is common.
Duties and responsibilities require an eight-hour workday although some longer days for special events/programs may be required. Assignments include extended periods of standing at information desks, walking in variable weather over rough terrain and uneven surfaces, speaking for long periods, lifting objects up to 30 pounds, bending, sitting, and working at a computer workstation. The duties of the position may require physical exertion, especially during special events in the hot/humid summer environment, and the cold/damp winter environment.
Working Conditions: Most work is performed in an office setting and meeting room space which is climate controlled year-round. Interpretive programs, tours, special events, meetings, and site visits are performed indoors and outdoors at the parks, and at various partner or external sites. The work is performed for 40 hours per week with variable shifts. Work includes weekdays, weekends, holidays, and evenings. Some travel may be required.
This announcement may be used to fill additional positions if identical vacancies occur within 90 days of the issue date of the referral certificate.
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.
A Relocation Incentive May Be Authorized for a Federal employee when the employee must move, as directed by the National Park Service (NPS) either through a management directed reassignment or selection for employment, to a different location at least 50 miles away from the one where his/her position of record held at time of selection is currently located, due to a need of the NPS. A relocation incentive is not the same as a Permanent Change of Station (PCS) move and, as such, may be granted in conjunction with one another.
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 displaced Federal individuals who have special priority selection rights under the Agency Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP) 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
