Visitor Services Assistant (Seasonal)

US National Park Service; Springfield (IL); On-site; USD 32,000 - 40,000; Full time

Job summary

US National Park Service is seeking Visitor Services Assistants to greet visitors, answer questions, and provide accurate guidance at park sites. You will monitor locations and maintain cooperative relationships with park partners and concessions during roving patrols.

The role requires clear communication, the ability to instruct groups, and skills in handling information for reporting purposes. This is a GS-05 level opportunity with federal benefits and straightforward qualifications.

Qualifications

• Specialized experience includes providing information or assistance to the public in a business or recreation setting.
• Instructing groups of people or individuals.
• Compiling and analyzing information to report; greeting the public and providing directions.

Responsibilities

• Answer questions and offer guidance to visitors.
• Monitor sites and maintain relations with park partners and concessions during roving patrols.

Skills

Public information

Customer service

Group instruction

Data reporting

Education

Four years of education above high school

Equivalent combination of experience and education

Education credit beyond GS-04 level

Tools

Excel

Access

Word

Job description

Visitor Services Assistants serve as representative to answer questions and offer guidance. Monitor sites and maintain relations with park partners and concessions while on roving patrols.

Likely Entry On Duty

March - May 2027.

Open to the first 100 applicants or until 10/26/2026 whichever comes first. All applications submitted by 11:59 (EST) on the closing day will receive consideration. All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement-10/26/2026 (unless otherwise stated in this vacancy announcement).

Credit will be given for all appropriate qualifying experience. To receive credit for experience, your 2 page resume MUST clearly indicate the nature of the duties and responsibilities for each position, starting and ending dates of employment (month/year), and the resume must reflect full and/or part-time or total number of hours worked (i.e., work 40+ hours a week, rather than indicating full-time). If part-time, the hours must be annotated to be able to pro-rate the amount of qualified specialized experience. Resumes must not exceed two single-sided pages and resumes longer than two pages will not be accepted. You may only submit one resume. 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.

To qualify for this position at the GS-05 level, you must possess one of the following:

• A. One year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-04 level in the federal service. Specialized experience demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of a Visitor Services Assistant. Specialized experience includes providing information or assistance to the public in a business or recreation setting; instructing groups of people or individuals; compiling and analyzing information to report; greeting the public, disseminating information, providing directions, fee collection, and using software programs such as, word processing, spreadsheet, or database (e.g. Excel, Access, Word, or similar operating systems).
• B. Four years of education above high school (120 semester hours or 180 quarter hours). This education was obtained in an accredited business, secretarial or technical school, junior college, college, or university.
• C. Equivalent combination of experience and education that, together, equal 100% of the qualification standards listed above when combined. NOTE: only education in excess of what is required for the GS-04 (60 semester hours) will be creditable towards meeting specialized experience for the GS-05. For example, if you have 80 semester hours of college coursework, only 20 semester hours (those beyond 60 semester hours) will be used to qualify at the GS-05 level.

Qualifying experience may be obtained in the private or public sectors. The OPM Qualification Standards Handbook is available for review at: OPM Qualification Standards.

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.