What are the responsibilities and job description for the Training Specialist position at U.S. Department of the Interior?
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Duties
Coordinates and acts as liaison with area tribal colleges, other educational institutions, and cultural heritage organizations to develop programs to meet their needs, as well as achieve NPS objectives.
Plans, develops, coordinates, and implements cultural training and education programs for Wind Cave National Park and other parks in the Black Hills. Analyzes and evaluates cultural training programs and proposals in regard to the policy and mission of the National Park Service and the Department of the Interior.
Establishes and maintains working relationships between Wind Cave, other parks in the Black Hills, and the broader training and educational community regarding the development and implementation of new cultural training curricula specific to Tribal Nations affiliated with National Parks. Works with relevant knowledge holders, including scientific and historic resource personnel as well as tribal culture-bearers, to develop demonstration and research projects with culturally relevant educational components. Assists with long range planning for the development of interpretive facilities including planning documents, exhibits and trails.
May assist in the negotiation and preparation of cooperative agreements, memoranda of understanding, or other collaborative instruments between the National Park Service and tribal or other cultural heritage organizations as appropriate to achieve culturally relevant training and educational programming are effectively delivered.
Physical Demands: Work is often active and requires walking, bending, stretching, and driving of vehicles. Working with various educational institutions may be physically and intellectually demanding.
Working Conditions: Work will often be conducted in an office setting, but exposure to outdoors will be frequent. Heat, humidity, and hazardous plants and animals represent the environmental factors affecting this position.
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Requirements
Conditions of Employment
All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement-01/06/2025-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 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 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.
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.
Selective Factor (Screen out)
This position requires the selectee provide documented experience (in resume) of engaging with citizens of Tribal Nations, Tribal educational institutions, and/or cultural heritage organizations to develop culturally relevant presentations, demonstrations, and other educational and/or training materials.
- AND -
To Qualify For This Position At The GS-11 Grade Level, You Must Possess At Least 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). Examples of specialized experience include:
-OR-
EDUCATION: Successful completion of at least three (3) years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. degree, or Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree in education or another field of study directly related to the work of this position. Major study -- education or a subject area related to the position to be filled. (You MUST submit a copy of your transcripts indicating degree earned and credit hours in order to qualify based on education). You must include transcripts.
-OR-
Successful completion of a combination of education and experience as described above. For example, I have six months of specialized experience (50% of the experience requirement), and 45 semester hours, or 68 quarter hours of directly related graduate education (50% of the education requirement). (You MUST submit a copy of your transcripts indicating degree earned and credit hours in order to qualify based on education). 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.
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.
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.
Reasonable Accommodation (RA) Requests: If you believe you have a disability (i.e., physical or mental), covered by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended, that would interfere with completing the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, you will be granted the opportunity to request a RA in your online application. Requests for RA for the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments and appropriate supporting documentation for RA must be received prior to starting the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments. Decisions on requests for RA are made on a case-by-case basis. If you meet the minimum qualifications of the position, after notification of the adjudication of your request, you will receive an email invitation to complete the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, based on your adjudication decision. You must complete all assessments within 48 hours of receiving the URL to access the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, if you received the link after the close of the announcement. To determine if you need a RA, please review the Procedures for Requesting a Reasonable Accommodation for Online Assessments here: https://help.usastaffing.gov/Apply/index.php?title=Reasonable_Accommodations_for_USA_Hire
Documentation for the Land Management Workforce Flexibility Act (LMWFA) eligibility, submission of 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 (dates should match the dates on the SF-50s)
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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.
A review of your resume and supporting documentation will be made and compared against your responses to the Occupational Questionnaire to determine if you are qualified for this job. If your resume is incomplete or does not support the responses provided in the Occupational Questionnaire, or if you fail to submit all required documentation, you will be rated 'ineligible', 'not qualified', or your score may be adjusted accordingly. If a determination is made that you have inflated your qualifications or experience, you may lose consideration for this position. Please follow all instructions carefully; errors or omissions may affect your rating.
You Will Be Evaluated Based On How Well You Meet The Qualifications Listed In This Vacancy Announcement. Your Qualifications Will Be Evaluated Based On Your Application Materials (e.g., Resume, Supporting Documents), Your Responses On The Application Questionnaire, And Your Responses To All Assessments Required For This Position. You Will Be Assessed On The Following Competencies (knowledge, Skills, Abilities, And Other Characteristics):
Candidates Will Be Rated And Ranked Using Category Rating Procedures. These Procedures Place Candidates With Veteran's Preference Above Non-preference Eligibles Within Each Category. Veterans With a Service Connected Disability Of At Least 10 Percent Are Listed In The Highest Quality Category, Except When The Position Being Filled Is Scientific Or Professional At The GS-09 Grade Level Or Higher. Under Category Rating, Candidates Will Be Rated And Ranked Into One Of Three Categories:
Duties
Coordinates and acts as liaison with area tribal colleges, other educational institutions, and cultural heritage organizations to develop programs to meet their needs, as well as achieve NPS objectives.
Plans, develops, coordinates, and implements cultural training and education programs for Wind Cave National Park and other parks in the Black Hills. Analyzes and evaluates cultural training programs and proposals in regard to the policy and mission of the National Park Service and the Department of the Interior.
Establishes and maintains working relationships between Wind Cave, other parks in the Black Hills, and the broader training and educational community regarding the development and implementation of new cultural training curricula specific to Tribal Nations affiliated with National Parks. Works with relevant knowledge holders, including scientific and historic resource personnel as well as tribal culture-bearers, to develop demonstration and research projects with culturally relevant educational components. Assists with long range planning for the development of interpretive facilities including planning documents, exhibits and trails.
May assist in the negotiation and preparation of cooperative agreements, memoranda of understanding, or other collaborative instruments between the National Park Service and tribal or other cultural heritage organizations as appropriate to achieve culturally relevant training and educational programming are effectively delivered.
Physical Demands: Work is often active and requires walking, bending, stretching, and driving of vehicles. Working with various educational institutions may be physically and intellectually demanding.
Working Conditions: Work will often be conducted in an office setting, but exposure to outdoors will be frequent. Heat, humidity, and hazardous plants and animals represent the environmental factors affecting this position.
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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.
- Complete the initial online assessment and USAHire Assessment, if required.
- Selectee will be required to participate in the Direct Deposit Electronics Funds Transfer Program.
- If you are a new employee or supervisor in the Federal government, you will be required to complete a one-year probationary period.
All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement-01/06/2025-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 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 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.
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.
Selective Factor (Screen out)
This position requires the selectee provide documented experience (in resume) of engaging with citizens of Tribal Nations, Tribal educational institutions, and/or cultural heritage organizations to develop culturally relevant presentations, demonstrations, and other educational and/or training materials.
- AND -
To Qualify For This Position At The GS-11 Grade Level, You Must Possess At Least 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). Examples of specialized experience include:
- Teaching or instructing in an adult education program, secondary school, college, military installation, or industrial establishment on cultural sensitivity, the culture and history of Tribal Nations and the cultural significance of the resources.
- Supervising or administering a training program.
- Collaborating with stakeholders and leadership to develop training objectives, creating lesson plans or other course materials to support learning objectives, and analyzing feedback and evaluation data to determine the effectiveness of delivered materials.
- Work with American Indian Tribes and non-native individuals and organizations with respect for cultural similarities and differences.
-OR-
EDUCATION: Successful completion of at least three (3) years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. degree, or Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree in education or another field of study directly related to the work of this position. Major study -- education or a subject area related to the position to be filled. (You MUST submit a copy of your transcripts indicating degree earned and credit hours in order to qualify based on education). You must include transcripts.
-OR-
Successful completion of a combination of education and experience as described above. For example, I have six months of specialized experience (50% of the experience requirement), and 45 semester hours, or 68 quarter hours of directly related graduate education (50% of the education requirement). (You MUST submit a copy of your transcripts indicating degree earned and credit hours in order to qualify based on education). 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.
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.
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.
Reasonable Accommodation (RA) Requests: If you believe you have a disability (i.e., physical or mental), covered by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended, that would interfere with completing the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, you will be granted the opportunity to request a RA in your online application. Requests for RA for the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments and appropriate supporting documentation for RA must be received prior to starting the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments. Decisions on requests for RA are made on a case-by-case basis. If you meet the minimum qualifications of the position, after notification of the adjudication of your request, you will receive an email invitation to complete the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, based on your adjudication decision. You must complete all assessments within 48 hours of receiving the URL to access the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, if you received the link after the close of the announcement. To determine if you need a RA, please review the Procedures for Requesting a Reasonable Accommodation for Online Assessments here: https://help.usastaffing.gov/Apply/index.php?title=Reasonable_Accommodations_for_USA_Hire
Documentation for the Land Management Workforce Flexibility Act (LMWFA) eligibility, submission of 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 (dates should match the dates on the SF-50s)
Read more
- Help 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.
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.
A review of your resume and supporting documentation will be made and compared against your responses to the Occupational Questionnaire to determine if you are qualified for this job. If your resume is incomplete or does not support the responses provided in the Occupational Questionnaire, or if you fail to submit all required documentation, you will be rated 'ineligible', 'not qualified', or your score may be adjusted accordingly. If a determination is made that you have inflated your qualifications or experience, you may lose consideration for this position. Please follow all instructions carefully; errors or omissions may affect your rating.
You Will Be Evaluated Based On How Well You Meet The Qualifications Listed In This Vacancy Announcement. Your Qualifications Will Be Evaluated Based On Your Application Materials (e.g., Resume, Supporting Documents), Your Responses On The Application Questionnaire, And Your Responses To All Assessments Required For This Position. You Will Be Assessed On The Following Competencies (knowledge, Skills, Abilities, And Other Characteristics):
- Attention to Detail
- Communications and Media
- Customer Service
- Decision Making
- Education and Training
- Flexibility
- Integrity/Honesty
- Interpersonal Skills
- Planning and Evaluating
- Reading Comprehension
- Self-Management
- Stress Tolerance
- Teamwork
Candidates Will Be Rated And Ranked Using Category Rating Procedures. These Procedures Place Candidates With Veteran's Preference Above Non-preference Eligibles Within Each Category. Veterans With a Service Connected Disability Of At Least 10 Percent Are Listed In The Highest Quality Category, Except When The Position Being Filled Is Scientific Or Professional At The GS-09 Grade Level Or Higher. Under Category Rating, Candidates Will Be Rated And Ranked Into One Of Three Categories:
- Best Qualified - applicants possessing experience that substantially exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors and are highly proficient in all requirements of the job and can perform effectively in the position
- Well Qualified - applicants possessing experience that exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors and are proficient in most of the requirements of the job
- Qualified - applicants possessing experience that meets the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors and are proficient in some, but not all of the requirements of the job.
