This job description is for a GS 5 position as an interpreter at Mesa Verde National Park. The salary is about $15 per hour and the position requires working a 5 day, 8 hour schedule with 2 days off. Duties include leading tours for up to 60 people, staffing information desks, answering visitor questions, and assisting with emergencies. Training is two weeks and housing is not provided. The work environment involves extensive outdoor activity in variable weather conditions at elevations from 7,000 to 8,500 feet above sea level.

1. 2010 GS 5 Job Descriptions
Mesa Verde National Park
Job logistics
--Salary: about $15.00 (GS 5).
--Work schedule: 5-day week, 8 hours/day with 2 days off
--Uniform: Class A summer uniform includes a Stetson, non-reflective sunglasses
--Training: Two weeks (not negotiable)
--Housing: is not available
Major Duties include:
• intensive public contact work. Incumbent will:
-Independently research, prepare and present original guided thematic interpretive tours of prehistoric (500-
1300AD) Ancestral Puebloan cliff dwellings and mesa top sites with up to 60 people;
-Work an intensive schedule that involves timeliness, rotating shifts, evenings, weekends and holidays, with little
opportunity for annual leave;
-Staff an information desk and self-guided cliff dwellings: greeting visitors, answering repetitive questions and
protecting cultural resources;
-Assist with and/or handle first aid emergencies; and
-Wear the National Park Service uniform.
List of programs, tours and other various duties:
*Campground/Lodge evening programs
*Cliff dwelling Tours – Cliff Palace, Balcony House and
Long House
*Self-guided Roving– Spruce Tree House, Step House
and Mesa Top Sites
*Special Tours, Talks and Programs
*Far View Visitor Center Desk
*Museum Desk
*Wetherill Mesa Information Kiosk
*Office/Project Days
Work environment
--An amazing location: Mesa Verde National Park, located in southwest Colorado, elevations vary from 7,000 to over
8,500 feet above sea level, the park receives 4000+ visitors each day from diverse nationalities, ages, educational
backgrounds, etc.
--Physical Demands: Duties require extensive walking, standing, and climbing steep inclines and high ladders, extensive
work performed outdoors in the elements (it’s hot!), and challenging variable shifts. Strenuous physical exertion may be
required during medical assists. Rangers must be able to communicate effectively with a hand-held radio.
--Potential discomforts: Work is primarily preformed outdoors, often under a variety of conditions that include
temperature/weather extremes (very hot!, arid, and dusty summers with occasional monsoon rains, or cold, windy, snowy
winters with blizzard conditions); and repetitive questions.
--Must be physically able to climb wooden ladders up to 32 feet in height, crawl through tunnels, and negotiate
uneven steps and trails.