Duties

The incumbent serves as the Chief of Interpretation (COI) for the Division of Interpretation, Education and Visitor Services at George Washington Birthplace National Monument and Thomas Stone National Historic Site. The COI is a key member of a high-functioning, collaborative Management Team and reports directly to the superintendent. The duties of the position include:

• Develop and manage a vision, goals, and objectives for the division, as well as oversee and schedule all operations.
• Develop long-range plans based on management goals and assessment of program needs and priorities, including park planning for the 250 th anniversary of the American Revolution.
• Evaluate programs and services, taking steps toward improvement or change.
• Recruit, hire, supervise, mentor, and coach permanent, temporary, and volunteer staff.
• Set, monitor, and enforce standards for performance and conduct.
• Train and ensure staff/volunteer competence in 21 st century interpretive/educational techniques, interpreting sensitive topics, reviewing scholarly research, putting complex resources into appropriate perspective, modeling inclusivity, and understanding diverse points of view.
• Manage websites and social media for two parks ensuring accurate, engaging, and timely content.

• Develop, write, design layout, and produce content for interpretive and educational, brochures, waysides, exhibits, etc.
• Serve as a technical advisor for large interpretive projects, including two significant projects to design and replace exhibits and waysides throughout GEWA and THST.
• Work collaboratively with other team members to perform interpretive operations in museum spaces, historic structures, and on the GEWA farm.
• Write project proposals to secure funding for interpretive or educational projects.
• Lead partnerships with other federal, state and local agencies/organizations, as well as the park's cooperating association.
• Serve as the Public Information Officer, providing accurate information to the press through oral interviews and written press releases.
• Lead with an eye toward job safety, health, and wellness of all employees.

Area Information: George Washington Birthplace National Monument is located in Virginia's Northern Neck in Westmoreland County. The location is approximately 70 miles northeast of Richmond, Virginia; 35 miles east of Fredericksburg, Virginia; and 70 miles southeast of Washington, DC. Often referred to as Historyland, the area contains significant cultural resources. Natural resources are abundant, as well including a wide variety of wildlife and both the Potomac and Rappahannock rivers. The area is quiet and rural, with quaint towns along main thoroughfares and beautiful scenery in between. Public schools for areas in which the majority of employees reside include fully accredited Elementary and High Schools. There are small shopping centers located in the local area and major shopping, a university, and hospitalization is easily accessible within a 45 minute drive. Spring in the Northern Neck is green and beautiful, followed by humid summers, colorful falls, and relatively mild winters. The temperate climate, rich history, beautiful scenery and peaceful environment are why people love this area.

George Washington Birthplace National Monument , located south of Colonial Beach Virginia, encompasses 550 acres of the former Popes Creek Plantation, which was where George Washington was born and is the American ancestral home of the Washington Family. In addition to a working Colonial Revival farm, visitor center, several historic structures, curatorial facility and maintenance complex, the park also has picnic grounds and a public beach. Numerous recreational activities take place in the park including fishing, kayaking and horseback riding. Annual visitation to the Monument is 130,000.

Thomas Stone National Historic Site , located in LaPlata Maryland, encompasses 328 acres of Stone's plantation, Haberdeventure. Stone was one of the four Maryland signers of the declaration of Independence and is representative of a group of individuals whose choices led to the birth of our nation. In addition to Stone's mansion, the park has other historic buildings, a visitor center and a maintenance facility. Local area residents routinely use the park's walking trails. Annual visitation is 6,500.

Additional Information: For additional information regarding this announcement or how to apply, please contact the HR Office at number or email provided in the announcement. For specific questions pertaining to the position being advertised, please contact Melissa_Cobern@nps.gov or 804-224-1732, ext. 224. Email is the preferred method of inquiry as it provides the fastest response time. When inquiring by email please include the announcement number in the subject line.

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). Time-in-grade requirements must be met by the closing date of this announcement. Time-In-Grade requirements also apply to former Federal civilian employees applying for reinstatement as well as current employees applying for Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) appointment.
• 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 may be required to submit a Motor Vehicle Operator's License and Driving Record. You may also be required to 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.
• Government housing is not available.
• 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 may occasionally be required to travel overnight away from home. 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.

Qualifications

All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement-07/12/2022-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.

To qualify for this position at the GS-11 grade level, you must possess one of the following minimum qualifications by close of the announcement:

EXPERIENCE: At least one full year of specialized experience comparable in scope and responsibility to the GS-09 grade level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors). This experience includes activities such as: coordinating, managing, or directing interpretive and education programs; developing long range program plans; developing educational programs; managing interpretive staff or other similar work. This experience may have been gained serving as a lead interpretive ranger, educator or teacher in a park, historic site, recreation or conservation area . You must include hours per week worked.
-OR-
EDUCATION: Successful completion of at least 3 full academic years of progressively higher level graduate education, or Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree related to the occupation. Major course of study may 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 transcripts.
-OR-
Successful completion of a combination of education and experience as described above. 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

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 is primarily sedentary and requires long periods of sitting and concentration during the planning and preparation of budget and operating programs, planning the review of education and interpretive activities and counseling of employees. Some walking and climbing of stairs is required to perform normal operations. Long periods of walking and standing may be required during program presentation and special events.

Working Conditions: Most work is performed in an office setting. The incumbent may be exposed to varying conditions from winter snow and ice to hot, humid summer temperatures.

The National Park Service has determined that the duties of this position are suitable for telework and the selectee may be allowed to telework with supervisor approval.

Travel, transportation, and relocation expenses will be paid if the person selected for the position is from outside the local commuting area and is otherwise eligible for reimbursement of relocation expenses under the Federal Travel Regulations. Please read Federal Travel regulations 302-2.6 for requirements on relocation eligibility and relocation expenses entitlements.

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.

If you are unable to apply online or need to fax a document that you do not have in electronic form, view the following link for information regarding an Alternate Application. Click the following link for more information, https://help.usastaffing.gov/Apply/index.php?title=Alternate_Application_Information .