Lead Public Safety Dispatcher

Summary

These positions are located in Yosemite National Park, in the Division of Visitor Protection.

Occupancy Of Government Quarters Is Required.

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Duties

Major Duties include:

• Directs and manages the daily operations of a high-functioning, 24/7 Emergency Communications Center (ECC), ensuring the seamless processing of 9-1-1 emergency calls and dispatching of resources to complex all-risk incidents. Ensures effective response to all-hazard incidents including law enforcement, emergency medical services, wildland fire, structure fire, search and rescue (SAR), maintenance, and natural disaster coordination.
• Provides leadership and supervision to a team of 7 dispatchers, overseeing recruitment, training, and career development. Assists in creating and developing the training program for dispatchers, identifying development and training needs to provide career growth opportunities. Regularly assesses the performance of each dispatcher, ensuring adherence to ECC standards, compliance with certification requirements, and alignment with National Park Service (NPS) goals.
• Provides technical leadership in telecommunications support, database management, and investigative analysis functions within the ECC. Manages and oversees the operation, maintenance, and upgrading of essential communication technologies, including Computer-Aided Dispatch (CAD) systems, Records Management Systems (RMS), and radio communication infrastructure.
  
  
  

You will be required to work on-call, evenings, weekends, holidays, overtime and shift work.

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.

Yosemite National Park, California, known worldwide for its spectacular natural beauty is the backdrop for this position. Sitting astride the Sierra Nevada Mountains, the park covers 1,182 square miles of varied wilderness ecosystems, from river valleys to alpine meadows to lofty 13,000 foot high peaks. Yosemite Valley is located 208 miles from San Francisco, 81 miles from Merced, and 94 miles from Fresno. Shopping, medical, postal and laundry services are available in the park. Elevation at the Valley floor is approximately 4,000 feet and 2,200 feet in El Portal. The park is open year-round with the majority of activities occurring during the busy season March through October.

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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.
• If you are a new employee in the Federal government, you will be required to complete a one-year probationary period.
• You may be required to complete training and obtain/maintain a government charge card with travel and/or purchase authority.
• Applicants must be at least (1)18 years old or (2) at least 16 years old and: (a) Have graduated from high school or been awarded a certificate equivalent to graduating from high school; or (b) Have completed a formal vocational training program; or (c) Have received a statement from school authorities agreeing with their preference for employment rather than continuing their education; or (d) Be currently enrolled in a secondary school and either work only during school vacation periods or work part-time during the school year under a formal student employment program.
  
  
  

Qualifications

All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement-04/22/2025-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.

To qualify for this position at the GS-09 grade level, you must possess 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-08 grade level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors). Specialized experience may include: handle 9-1-1 telephone, fire, law enforcement, medical, search and rescue, maintenance and other emergency service calls; assist in providing technical and administrative supervision to all dispatchers and specialized technical support for related functional programs and projects; thoroughly familiar with and able to administer all agencies policies and procedures governing dispatch for law enforcement, fire, aviation, search and rescue, medical and other emergent situations; assist in the implementation, administration, integration and oversight of information flow across various telecommunications platforms (e-mail systems, network computers, facsimiles, telephones, alarms, recording devices, radios, Computer Aided Dispatch) in the Communications Center; integrate proper law enforcement dispatching and oversees that subordinates properly utilize a complex law enforcement telecommunications system interface with local, state, national and international law enforcement communications networks and able to create and develop a training system that will show opportunities and deadlines. You must include hours per week worked.

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.

CTAP/ICTAP Statement: 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.

• Documentation for Interagency/Career Transition Assistance Plan consideration if you are a displaced Federal employee within the local commuting area. You must include: 1) Proof you are a displaced Federal employee, e.g., RIF Separation Notice, Notice of Proposed Removal, etc; 2) SF-50s (Notifications of Personnel Action) showing career/conditional tenure competitive status, promotion potential and duty location; and 3) your most recent performance appraisal. To exercise selection priority, displaced or surplus Federal employees must be rated well-qualified or above 85 on the rating criteria for this position.
  
  
  

Education

There is no substitution of education for experience at the grade level of this announcement.

Additional information

For more information about these positions, please contact:

Chrissy Mitchell, Emergency Communications Center Manager, Yosemite National Park

Christine_Mitchell@nps.gov

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 Recruitment Incentive May Be Authorized for a newly selected employee when appointed to a permanent, temporary, or term position. A Federal employee who is transferring to the National Park Service from another component, bureau or Federal agency and who does not meet the conditions under 5 CFR

• 575.102 is not eligible for a recruitment incentive.
  
  
  

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.

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: Must function efficiently in a confined space for extended periods with no breaks and no opportunity to leave the confines of the Communications Center.

• The dispatcher is considered an "essential employee," required to work most holidays, report for duty during adverse weather conditions, and be expected to work long hours exceeding normally scheduled shifts in case of emergencies.
• The position is sedentary with high amounts of stress.
  
  
  

Subject to shift work, rotating shift work, and uncommon tours of duty.

• Work requires the use of the voice in vocal communications for periods of hours at a time.
• The voice must be clear, audible, and tone effective with words plainly spoken and understandable.
• Must be able to hear clearly and discern a variety of audible communications and signals simultaneously.
• Must be able to read critical information from multiple sources, including computer screens, faxes, and written logs quickly and accurately.
• The work is of an emergency nature and is emotionally stressful.
• Must possess manual dexterity sufficient to operate computer terminals/keyboards and related equipment and to maintain written logs.
• Occasional lifting of boxes and supplies up to weights of 50 pounds.
  
  
  

Working Conditions: Work is normally performed indoors.

• Noise levels are routinely high due to electronic equipment, telephones, radios, and other discussions ongoing in the performance of duties.
• The setting is typically confined and secure, and entrance and egress are controlled.
• During the training period and/or on other occasions, the incumbent will be assigned to accompany field law enforcement personnel in patrol vehicles to learn or gain a more detailed familiarization with agency field operating procedures and jurisdictional boundaries.
• The incumbent may not leave the center unless relieved by another qualified dispatcher.
  
  
  

Telework: The National Park Service has determined that the duties of this position are NOT suitable for telework.

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