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Supervisory Park Ranger (Protection)
Department of the Interior
National Park Service
Big Thicket National Preserve
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Summary
You will serve as a Supervisory Park Ranger (Protection) at Big Thicket National Preserve.
Recruitment or relocation incentives may be offered.
Learn more about this agency
Summary
You will serve as a Supervisory Park Ranger (Protection) at Big Thicket National Preserve.
Recruitment or relocation incentives may be offered.
Learn more about this agency
Overview
Help
Accepting applications
Location
1 vacancy in the following location:
Kountze, TX
No matching locations found.
Work site options
Telework eligible No Remote job No Relocation expenses reimbursed Yes-You may qualify for reimbursement of relocation expenses in accordance with agency policy. Salary $91,985 - $119,583 per year Pay scale & grade
GS 12
Promotion potential None
Learn more about pay scale and grade
Pay scale and grade determines the salary of the job.
Work schedule Full-time Travel Required 25% or less - You may be expected to travel for this position.
Appointment type Permanent
Occupations and job series
Supervisory status Yes Federal service type This job is in the Competitive Service Represented by a union No
Drug test Yes Security clearance Not Required Position sensitivity and risk Noncritical-Sensitive (NCS)/Moderate Risk
Jobs require a background check and some require a security clearance. The type depends on the job.
Background check type
Financial disclosure required Yes
Some jobs require financial disclosure to identify conflicts of interests.
Announcement number LE-MP-20260804-95417-JH-SD1 Control number 881750200
This job is open to
Help
Internal to an agency
Current federal employees of the hiring agency that posted the job announcement.
Career transition (CTAP, ICTAP, RPL)
Federal employees whose job, agency or department was eliminated and are eligible for priority over other applicants.
Land and base management
Current or former employees of a base management agency.
Clarification from the agency
This is a Merit Promotion announcement for career and career conditional National Park Service employees, CTAP eligibles and those who are eligible under the hiring paths listed above. Refer to Required Documents section for more information.
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Duties
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The Incumbent serves as Chief, Division of Visitor and Resource Protection (Chief Ranger), at Big Thicket National Preserve. The position is located at Preserve Headquarters north of Kountze, Texas, and reports directly to the Superintendent. The Chief Ranger Is responsible for organizing, planning, directing, coordination, administration of law enforcement and visitor protection activities. The Preserve contains more than 113,000 acres, divided into nine widely separated land units and six water corridors, totaling approximately 267 miles of waterways. Preserve management units encompassing more than 600 miles of boundaries are situated in seven counties in southeast Texas and are dispersed over an area of 3,600 square miles. As one of the first two National Preserves in the National Park System. Big Thicket was established "to assure the preservation of numerous representative areas typical of the Big Thicket Region, and to protect and preserve the natural values which make this biological crossroads unique In the United States.Some of the major duties you will perform include but are not limited to the following:
Requirements
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Conditions of employment
Qualifications
Requirements Continued
Probationary Period: As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you may be required to serve a 1 year probationary period 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 individuals 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.
This is a supervisory position that may require completion of a supervisory probationary period.
Qualifications:
All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement - 09/08/2026-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.
Selective Placement Factors: This position requires a special qualification that has been determined to be essential to perform the duties and will be used as a screen out element. If you do not provide evidence that you possess the following selective factor(s), you will be rated not qualified.
Minimum Qualification Requirements: To qualify for this position, you must meet the following minimum qualifications:
To qualify for this position at the GS-12 grade level:
Experience: To qualify, you must possess at least one year of specialized experience comparable in scope and responsibility to the GS-11 grade level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors). This experience includes: law enforcement or investigative work; investigating, apprehending, detaining or prosecuting individuals suspected of or convicted of crimes against the United States; protecting officials against threats to personal safety; 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; or other similar work. You must include hours.
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
Law Enforcement Commission: Must currently possess or previously held (within the past three years), a FLETC issued Land Management Police Training, full Type I Law Enforcement Commission or equivalent; or be qualified to receive a Type I Law Enforcement Commission upon appointment.
This position does not allow substituting education for experience.
Additional information
Additional vacancies may be filled using this job announcement.
If otherwise eligible and qualified, you may be offered a recruitment or relocation incentive. The decision to offer an incentive will be made on a case-by-case basis and is neither promised nor guaranteed. For information visit: Recruitment Incentive or Relocation Incentive. A continued service agreement may be required if it is determined you are eligible for a permanent change in duty station (PCS), recruitment, or relocation incentive.
All Department of the Interior (DOI) employees, their spouses, and minor children may not acquire or retain any claim, permit, lease, small tract entry, or other rights granted by the Department in Federal lands, with limited exceptions. Additional ethics prohibitions can be found here, DOI Ethics Prohibitions | U.S. Department of the Interior.
Permanent Change of Station is authorized for the incumbent if in qualifying position.
Physical Demands: Work assignments will Involve periods of low activity and sitting Interrupted by sudden periods of high intensity and very physical activity. The incumbents primary responsibility as a law enforcement officer, with arrest authority, requires peak physical condition and the ability to operate under adverse climatic conditions as well as under stressful confrontational situations. This position Is subject to Departmental and Service standard physical requirements, Physical Efficiency Battery (PEB), for commissioned law enforcement officers.
Work Environment: Most work Is sedentary and fs accomplished In an office setting, ·with prolonged periods of computer work. Field work and supervision outside of the office are required to maintain communication with others and keeping knowledge of field operations. The field environment Involves exposure to high heatt high humidity during a large part of the year and windy, humid, or cold weather for a period of 1-3 months. Other conditions include exposure to dangerous large alligators/reptiles, aggressive mammals, poisonous snakes, poisonous insects, end poisonous plants.
The duties of this position are suitable for telework only during an emergency or natural disaster.
You may be required to work on-call, evenings, weekends, holidays, overtime and shift work.
You may be required to travel overnight away from home up to 25% per month. You must obtain a government charge card for travel purposes.
First time hires to the Federal government normally start at the step 1 rate.
Applicants who include vulgar, offensive, or inappropriate language or information in their application package will be ineligible for further consideration for this position.
Expand Hide additional information
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.
This is a secondary-administrative law enforcement position under the special retirement provisions of 5 U.S. C. 8336 (c) (CSRS) and 5 U. S. C. 8412 (d) (FERS). Applicants may meet qualification requirements, but may not be eligible for special retirement coverage. If such an applicant is selected, they will be placed in the regular retirement system. To be eligible for Secondary retirement coverage under CSRS, an employee must transfer directly (without a break in service exceeding 3 days) from a primary position to a secondary position. To be eligible for Secondary retirement coverage under FERS, an employee must: 1) transfer directly (without a break in service exceeding 3 days) from a primary position to a secondary position, AND 2) complete 3 years of service in a primary rigorous position including any such service during which no FERS deductions were withheld, AND 3) must be continuously employed in a secondary position(s) since moving from a primary rigorous position, except for any break in employment from a secondary position that began with involuntary separation (not for cause). It is the responsibility of the applicant to ensure this office has enough information to determine your special retirement status to ensure you do not lose benefits (normally through submission of your work history or other documentation that demonstrates work history of approved covered positions). You must let this office know if you are in a Primary position.
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.
How you will be evaluated
You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.
Your qualifications will be evaluated based on your application materials (e.g. resume, supporting documents), the responses you provide on the application questionnaire, and the result of the additional assessment(s) required for this position.
Your resume must not exceed 2 pages. Only the document submitted as the "Resume" under the Documents section will be used to determine your qualifications/eligibility and for rating purposes. In the event you submit more than one resume, only the latest submission will be reviewed.
You will be assessed in the following competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics):
Benefits
Help
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.
This is a secondary-administrative law enforcement position under the special retirement provisions of 5 U.S. C. 8336 (c) (CSRS) and 5 U. S. C. 8412 (d) (FERS). Applicants may meet qualification requirements, but may not be eligible for special retirement coverage. If such an applicant is selected, they will be placed in the regular retirement system. To be eligible for Secondary retirement coverage under CSRS, an employee must transfer directly (without a break in service exceeding 3 days) from a primary position to a secondary position. To be eligible for Secondary retirement coverage under FERS, an employee must: 1) transfer directly (without a break in service exceeding 3 days) from a primary position to a secondary position, AND 2) complete 3 years of service in a primary rigorous position including any such service during which no FERS deductions were withheld, AND 3) must be continuously employed in a secondary position(s) since moving from a primary rigorous position, except for any break in employment from a secondary position that began with involuntary separation (not for cause). It is the responsibility of the applicant to ensure this office has enough information to determine your special retirement status to ensure you do not lose benefits (normally through submission of your work history or other documentation that demonstrates work history of approved covered positions). You must let this office know if you are in a Primary position.
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.
Required documents
Required Documents
Help
The following documents are required and must be submitted by 11:59 PM (EST) -09/08/2026-unless otherwise stated.
Failure to submit any of the above-mentioned required documents will result in loss of consideration due to an incomplete application package. It is your responsibility to ensure all required documents have been submitted.
Do not submit photographs with your application package. Do not upload Adobe portfolio documents.
If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements:
Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications. Therefore, provide only the attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.
Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.
How to Apply
Help
Please read the entire announcement and all the instructions before you begin an application. To apply for and be considered for this position, you must complete all required questionnaires, assessments and submit all required documentation as specified in the How to Apply and Required Documents section. The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (ET) on the 09/08/2026 to receive consideration. Note: You will only be marked eligible for those eligibilities that you selected and provided the appropriate supporting documentation.The application process is as follows:
Applicants who apply under this job opportunity announcement agree to have their application, associated documents and applicable personal information shared with other Bureaus/Offices within the Department of the Interior (DOI) who have vacancies within the same occupational series, grade, full performance level and in the same geographic location(s), including within the same metro/commuting area. Applying to this announcement does not replace the need to apply to other job opportunity announcements for which you wish to receive consideration.
To update your application, including supporting documentation: During the announcement open period, return to your USAJOBS account, find your application record, and click
Edit my application. This option will no longer be available once the announcement has closed.
To view the announcement status or your application status: Click on this: https://help.usajobs.gov/how-to/application/status.
Agency contact information
John Hillenbrand
Email john_hillenbrand@ios.doi.gov Address Big Thicket National Preserve
6044 FM 420 Road
Kountze, TX 77625
US
Next steps
You may check the status of your application at any time by logging in to your USAJOBS account as we will not be responding to inquiries about the status of applications as long as the system has been updated.
Once your online application is submitted you will receive a confirmation notification by email. Your application will be evaluated by the Human Resources Office to determine your eligibility for the position. After the evaluation is complete, you will receive another notification regarding the status of your application.
You can find your path with the Department of Interior at https://careers.doi.gov/.
Any exaggeration of your experience, false statements, or attempt to conceal information may disqualify you for employment consideration. We may verify all information you provide in your resume and questionnaire responses, through reference and/or background checks, and/or verification of your education. If you are selected, you will be contacted personally by the Human Resources Office posting this announcement.
Fair and transparent
The Federal hiring process is set up to be fair and transparent. Please read the following guidance.
Criminal history inquiries Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Policy
Financial suitability New employee probationary period
Privacy Act Reasonable accommodation policy
Selective Service Signature and false statements
Social security number request
Required Documents
Help
The following documents are required and must be submitted by 11:59 PM (EST) -09/08/2026-unless otherwise stated.
Failure to submit any of the above-mentioned required documents will result in loss of consideration due to an incomplete application package. It is your responsibility to ensure all required documents have been submitted.
Do not submit photographs with your application package. Do not upload Adobe portfolio documents.
If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements:
Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications. Therefore, provide only the attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.
Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.
How to Apply
Help
Please read the entire announcement and all the instructions before you begin an application. To apply for and be considered for this position, you must complete all required questionnaires, assessments and submit all required documentation as specified in the How to Apply and Required Documents section. The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (ET) on the 09/08/2026 to receive consideration. Note: You will only be marked eligible for those eligibilities that you selected and provided the appropriate supporting documentation.The application process is as follows:
Applicants who apply under this job opportunity announcement agree to have their application, associated documents and applicable personal information shared with other Bureaus/Offices within the Department of the Interior (DOI) who have vacancies within the same occupational series, grade, full performance level and in the same geographic location(s), including within the same metro/commuting area. Applying to this announcement does not replace the need to apply to other job opportunity announcements for which you wish to receive consideration.
To update your application, including supporting documentation: During the announcement open period, return to your USAJOBS account, find your application record, and click
Edit my application. This option will no longer be available once the announcement has closed.
To view the announcement status or your application status: Click on this: https://help.usajobs.gov/how-to/application/status.
Expand Hide how to apply
Agency contact information
John Hillenbrand
Email john_hillenbrand@ios.doi.gov Address Big Thicket National Preserve
6044 FM 420 Road
Kountze, TX 77625
US
Next steps
You may check the status of your application at any time by logging in to your USAJOBS account as we will not be responding to inquiries about the status of applications as long as the system has been updated.
Once your online application is submitted you will receive a confirmation notification by email. Your application will be evaluated by the Human Resources Office to determine your eligibility for the position. After the evaluation is complete, you will receive another notification regarding the status of your application.
You can find your path with the Department of Interior at https://careers.doi.gov/.
Any exaggeration of your experience, false statements, or attempt to conceal information may disqualify you for employment consideration. We may verify all information you provide in your resume and questionnaire responses, through reference and/or background checks, and/or verification of your education. If you are selected, you will be contacted personally by the Human Resources Office posting this announcement.
Expand Hide next steps
Fair and transparent
The Federal hiring process is set up to be fair and transparent. Please read the following guidance.
Criminal history inquiries Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Policy
Financial suitability New employee probationary period
Privacy Act Reasonable accommodation policy
Selective Service Signature and false statements
Social security number request
National Park Service
The Department of the Interior protects and manages the Nations natural resources and cultural heritage; provides scientific and other information about those resources; and honors its trust responsibilities or special commitments to American Indians, Alaska Natives, Native Hawaiians, and affiliated Island Communities. Click here to learn more about The Department of the Interior and its bureaus.
The mission of the National Park Service is to preserve the natural and cultural resources and values of the National Park System for the enjoyment, education, and inspiration of this and future generations. You can make a difference by bringing your unique experience, background, and perspective to our work. Click here to learn more about The National Park Service.
Agency contact information
John Hillenbrand
Email john_hillenbrand@ios.doi.gov Address Big Thicket National Preserve
6044 FM 420 Road
Kountze, TX 77625
US
Summary
You will serve as a Supervisory Park Ranger (Protection) at Big Thicket National Preserve.
Recruitment or relocation incentives may be offered.
Learn more about this agency
Overview
Help
Accepting applications
Location
1 vacancy in the following location:
Kountze, TX
No matching locations found.
Work site options
Telework eligible No Remote job No Relocation expenses reimbursed Yes-You may qualify for reimbursement of relocation expenses in accordance with agency policy. Salary $91,985 - $119,583 per year Pay scale & grade
GS 12
Promotion potential None
Learn more about pay scale and grade
Pay scale and grade determines the salary of the job.
Work schedule Full-time Travel Required 25% or less - You may be expected to travel for this position.
Appointment type Permanent
Occupations and job series
Supervisory status Yes Federal service type This job is in the Competitive Service Represented by a union No
Drug test Yes Security clearance Not Required Position sensitivity and risk Noncritical-Sensitive (NCS)/Moderate Risk
Jobs require a background check and some require a security clearance. The type depends on the job.
Background check type
Financial disclosure required Yes
Some jobs require financial disclosure to identify conflicts of interests.
Announcement number LE-MP-20260804-95417-JH-SD1 Control number 881750200
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| Location | FL |
| Salary | $91,985–$119,583 Per Year |
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