Summary This position is located at the New River Gorge National Park and Preserve, in rural southern West Virginia. The primary purpose of this position is to provide guide services to visitors. The work involves giving talks, interpreting natural and historic features, answering questions, guiding tours, and providing miscellaneous services to visitors. APPLICANT LIMIT: This announcement is limited to the first 75 applicants or the closing date, whichever comes first. Responsibilities As a GS05 Park Guide for the Interpretive Division at the New River Gorge National Park and Preserve, you will be responsible for: Providing pre-established talks normally following a prescribed outline and requiring application of broad subject-matter knowledge of the features of interest particular to the site. Serve as a front-line representative of an organization greeting customers/visitors, answering questions in person and telephonically, and responding to comments and complaints following established guidelines. Communicating with a high volume of visitors or customers in face-to-face public/customer contact including the general public, education groups, and community organizations. Answering a wide variety of visitor questions at the information desk and throughout the park. Answering questions from the public in person, by phone, or in writing and conveying a variety of standard information, i.e., providing directions, resource information such as safety rules or policies, available activities and events, times, local sights. Provide current and accurate information to visitors on recreational opportunities, facilities and services, and park resources. Performing opening and closing procedures for visitor center according to established procedures. Utilizes GSA and park vehicles. Requirements 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 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. Qualifications All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement-01/16/2025-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: At least one full year of specialized experience comparable in scope and responsibility to the GS-04 grade level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors). This experience includes activities such as: 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. You must include hours per week worked. -OR- EDUCATION: Successful completion of at least 4-year course of study above high school leading to a bachelor's degree with courses related to the occupation. You must include transcripts. -OR- Successful completion of a combination of education and experience as described above. To combine education and experience, first take. 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. 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 Career-Seasonal appointments are permanent positions and include the same benefits as Career appointments, but do not provide work on a year-round basis. You will work from approximately August to July, and you will be in a non-pay status for the remainder of the year. You will be in non pay status in pay periods 16 and 17. 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 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. 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. This position is located in rural southern West Virginia. The temperatures range from below freezing in the winter to above 90 degrees during the peak of the summer. The region routinely sees abundant precipitation in the form of rain and snow and the humidity can be high during the summer months. Rental housing is available in the local community and is moderately priced. There are multiple small cities and towns in the area that provide a wide range of amenities. Outdoor recreation opportunities are abundant in the area and include but are not limited to hiking, mountain biking, climbing, whitewater rafting, fishing, and hunting.