Gardener Leader at National Park Service

About the role

This position is the leader of the Landscape & Grounds Maintenance Team and performs various duties related to maintaining and preserving the maintained landscapes, cultural landscapes, and associated features at Liberty and Ellis Islands. As a Gardener Leader, you will perform the following duties: Provides daily instruction or guidance, while working alongside front line employees of the ground's maintenance staff. Provides continuity of operations in the absence of the supervisor. Assists with training and mentoring staff. Monitoring work quality and/or safety. Coordinating daily workload priorities designated by the supervisor to subordinate staff. Checks work in progress and upon completion to determine/ensure supervisor's instructions are being followed and to meet deadlines. Leads and performs a sequence of grounds operations tasks, to include trash collection; litter/debris management; snow removal; etc. Manages a wide variety and range of gardening work, to include flower, shrub & plant maintenance; turf management; tree care maintenance; and integrated pest management. Assists with the preparation of preservation maintenance documents. All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement-08/28/2026-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 Interpret Instructions, Specifications, etc. (other than blueprints) Ability To Lead Or Supervise Ability To Use and Maintain Tools and Equipment Dexterity and Safety Knowledge of materials Technical Practices (theoretical precise, artistic) Use of Measuring Instruments SCREENOUT: Have experience independently performing and/or instructing in common ornamental gardener WL-7 duties such as planning and implementing seasonal plantings; identifying garden maintenance needs including needed soil amendments; diagnosing and addressing common tree and shrub diseases and insect issues; applying pesticides, herbicides, and fungicides; assessing conditions of trees and shrubs and performing pruning work to maintain health; assessing condition and implementing common turf improvement practices such as aeration, over-seeding, fertilizing, laying sod, etc. 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. Must provide proof of U.S. citizenship. 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 possess and maintain a valid driver's license throughout employment. You are required to wear a uniform and comply with uniform standards. A uniform allowance will be provided. You may be required to complete training, obtain and maintain a government credit card with travel and purchase authority. You may be required to work evenings, weekends, holidays, overtime and shift work. As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you may be required to serve a one-year probationary period to evaluate your fitness and whether your continuation of employment advances the public interest. This probationary 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 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 probation or trial period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.