Visitor Services Information Assistant

Summary

This position is located within the Columbia River Gorge Scenic Area in Bridal Veil, Oregon. This position is responsible for the front desk operations which include the sale of passes and permits, oversight and collection of monies from visitors. For further information about the duties of this position please contact Nathaniel Brodie at [email protected]

Duties

• Duties described are at the target grade, GS-07.
• Provide guidance to the public on various areas of forest for utilization including applicable rules, regulations, security, and/or safety procedures.
• Serve as unit collection officer collecting money from purchases of timber permits, maps, and/or passes in accordance with manual and handbook requirements.
• Provide guidance to public on rules and regulations regarding various activities.
• Use word processing software to create and/or post informational handouts and flyers concerning safety, events, and other items of importance.
• Ensure the information desk at a reception area and/or visitor center is always staffed in order to provide prompt customer service to callers and visitors.

Qualifications

In order to qualify, you must meet the eligibility and qualifications requirements as defined below by the closing date of the announcement. For more information on the qualifications for this position, visit the Office of Personnel Management's General Schedule Qualification Standards. Your application and resume must clearly show that you possess the experience requirements. Transcripts must be provided for qualifications based on education. Provide course descriptions as necessary. Specialized Experience Requirement: For the GS-6 level: Applicants must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-5 grade level. Specialized Experience is defined as one or more of the following: Greet visitors and responding to phone and written inquiries personally or referring to other staff as appropriate; Maintain written records and files in electronic and/or hardcopy filing systems; Use word processing software and printing equipment to create, copy, edit, store, retrieve, and print standardized documents ensuring correct grammar, spelling, punctuation, and format; Researches, develops, revises and updates educational, recreational guides, pamphlets, fact sheets, brochures, newspaper articles, trail signage, kiosk, boards, and interpretive displays. For the GS-07 level: You must have one year specialized experience equivalent to the GS-06 in the Federal service. Specialized Experience is defined as two or more of the following: Serve as the point of contact for the dissemination of public information of a specific work program for a unit; produce brochures, promotional materials, website and social media content, news releases, and/or newsletters used in support of a public information program; Review documents for accuracy and compliance and/or formally responded to inquiries and resolved issues related to a specific work program; develop curriculum, materials, and event planning for interpretive and conservation education programs; Serve as a point of contact for the public for the sale of items such as books, maps, t-shirts, permits, passes or tickets and accounted for inventory, supplies and monies collected as part of an interpretive and conservation education program; Serves as Collection Officer for the unit, responsible for accounting, balancing, reconciling, and accurate record keeping of the visitor center funds. 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.

Requirements

Must be a U.S. Citizen or National. Males born after 12-31-59 must be registered for Selective Service or exempt. Subject to satisfactory adjudication of background investigation and/or fingerprint check. Per Public Law 104-134 all Federal employees are required to have federal payments made by direct deposit to their financial institution. Successfully pass the E-Verify employment verification check. To learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities, visit E-Verify. As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may 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. 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.

Education

There is no substitution of education for specialized experience.

How to apply

Please view Tips for Applicants - a guide to the Forest Service application process. Please read the entire announcement and all instructions before you begin. You must complete this application process and submit all required documents electronically by 11:59p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on the closing date of this announcement. Applying online is highly encouraged. We are available to assist you during business hours (7:00 a.m. - 3:30 p.m., Mountain Time Zone, Monday - Friday). If applying online poses a hardship, contact the Agency Contact listed below well before the closing date for an alternate method. All hardship application packages must be complete and submitted no later than noon ET on the closing date of the announcement to be entered into the system prior to its closing. Resumes must not exceed two pages. This agency provides reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities on a case-by-case basis. Contact the Agency Contact to request this. To begin, click "Apply" and follow the instructions to complete the Assessment Questionnaire and attach your resume and all required documents. Please verify that documents you are uploading from USAJOBs transfer into the Agency's staffing system as there is a limitation to the number of documents that can be transferred. However, once in the Agency's staffing system, you will have the opportunity to upload additional documents. Uploaded documents must be less than 5MB and in one of the following document formats: GIF, JPG, JPEG, PNG, RTF, PDF, TXT or Word (DOC or DOCX). Do not upload Adobe Portfolio documents because they are not viewable. Encrypted documents will not be accepted. Failure to submit required, legible documents may result in loss of consideration. Please ensure your resume does not exceed two pages. Applicants who submit a resume that exceeds two pages will be removed from consideration. Our office cannot be responsible for incompatible software, your system failure, etc.