Animal Caretaker MVO

Summary

You will serve as a Animal Caretaker MVO with National Park Service at North Cascades in the Maintenance Division. You may be required to work on-call, evenings, weekends, holidays, overtime and shift work. This position has a mixed work schedule based on the varying workload, and your work schedule is subject to change from part-time to full-time as workload dictates.

Duties

• This is a term position. It may be extende contingent upon the availability of future park funding. If additional funding is not secured, the appointment will expire at the conclusion of the 13-month term. Career or career-conditional selectees will be converted to a Tenure 3 (Indefinite) appointment in accordance with applicable regulations. All applications received by 11:59 p.m. EST on the closing date will be considered. This is a Merit Promotion announcement for a term appointment for National Park Service employees, Career Transition eligibilities (CTAP), Current or former time-limited employees eligible under Land Management Workforce Flexibility Act (LMWFA) and those who are eligible under the hiring paths listed above. Refer to Required Documents section for more information Animal Caretaking: Responsible for the care, selection, purchasing, training, and all aspects of stock management of a herd of up to 12 animals, Responsible for basic veterinary care of animals, Responsible for recognizing more serious animal injuries or illnesses and obtaining and coordinating the required medical care. Responsible for securing or performing regular farrier services. Incumbent must be fully competent in properly trimming and shoeing of horses and mules, and performing complete farrier duties at regular intervals without causing injury to stock or people. Must ensure stock is properly shod before heading out into the backcountry. Incumbent oversees all barn and corral operations, including the cleaning, maintenance, and organization of the barn and corral. Responsible for keeping accurate purchase records, veterinary records, and condition reports for individual animals. Animal Packing: Responsible for safely leading strings of up to 8 head over rough mountain trails, requiring long days on the trail and spending up to eight consecutive nights camped in remote backcountry settings. Responsible for assembling and balancing loads of various types of equipment ( chainsaws, hand tools, gasoline, lumber, camping gear, food, propane tanks, etc.) for transport by pack animals over rough mountain trails in inclement weather. Motor Vehicle Duties: Responsible for safely operating motor vehicles up to and including a 5-ton tractor type vehicle to pull 8-head gooseneck stock trailer over rough, narrow mountain roads and on highways to deliver stock and supplies to various locations. Incumbent is required to obtain and maintain a valid State "Class A" Commercial Driver's License. Some of the major duties you will perform include but are not limited to the following: Incumbent will be required to operate a computer to check email, submit travel documents, online training, and enter hours worked into QuickTime. Incumbent will be required to adhere to park policy when using two-way radios and cell phones and to perform all functions and duties in a safe and efficient manner. Organization and clear, concise communication with the Trails Supervisor about equipment and supply needs is mandatory in this position. Incumbent may be required to perform trail maintenance duties when not executing packer duties. This could include duties such as trail opening, tread and drainage work, and maintaining backcountry camps. Incumbent may be required to assist with long-line helicopter work. Performs Other Duties as Assigned

Qualifications

Requirements Continued...Qualifications: All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement-09/11/2026-unless otherwise stated in this vacancy announcement. 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. To qualify for this position, you must have sufficient knowledge and ability in the following job-related factors: Ability to do the Work of an Animal Packer (MVO) without More than Normal Supervision (SCREEN OUT) Operation of Motor Vehicles Technical Practices (theoretical, precise, artistic) Ability to Interpret Instructions, Specifications, etc. (other than blueprints) Ability to Use and Maintain Tools and Equipment Knowledge of Materials Dexterity and Safety Use of Measuring Instruments If your knowledge and ability in the SCREEN OUT factor above is not sufficient, you will receive no further consideration. In preparing your application, describe in detail the experience and training which you have had that specifically prepared you for this job and to perform the duties described for this job. Experience should be clearly described and documented in your resume. Your resume must support your response to the assessment questionnaire, and if it does not, your application will be marked as not eligible. The qualifications reviewer will not assume performance of such duties by Job Titles alone. Address your knowledge, skills and/or abilities in the areas shown in the job-related factors. You must meet at least 2 points on the screen-out element(s) and obtain an average of at least 2 points on all of the job elements to be considered qualified for this position. 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.

Requirements

Must be a U.S. Citizen or National. Appointment subject to background investigation and favorable adjudication. Males born after 12-31-59 must be registered for Selective Service. Direct Deposit participation required. Successfully pass the E-Verify employment verification check. To learn more, visit https://www.e-verify.gov/. Must be able to obtain a valid Class A Commercial Drivers License (CDL) with Hazardous Materials endorsement with in 6 months of employeement. Must possess and maintain a valid driver's license throughout employment. Pre-employment and random alcohol and drug testing are required. You will not be appointed to the position if a verified positive test is received. You are required to wear a uniform and comply with uniform standards. A uniform allowance will be provided. You are required to complete training, obtain and maintain a government credit card with travel and purchase authority. As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you may be required to serve a trial period to evaluate your fitness and whether your continuation of employment advances the public interest. This trial 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 individual's 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 trial period your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest. *Additional Requirements located under qualifications*

Education

There is no substitution of education for experience for Federal Wage System (FWS) positions.

How to apply

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 09/11/2026-unless otherwise stated in this vacancy announcement 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: Click the Apply Online button. Answer the questions presented in the application and attach all necessary supporting documentation. To PREVIEW the application questionnaire, select the following link: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/13052235 Click the Submit Application button prior to 11:59 PM (ET) on the announcement closing date. 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, visit https://help.usajobs.gov/how-to/application/status.