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Police Officer (Private - Experienced Officer - Up to 55K Recruitment and Retention Bonus)

National Park Service · Department of the Interior · Washington, District of Columbia

💵 $73,177–$131,716 per year⏳ Closes Dec 28, 2026
Federal agencySP-01
At a glance

A job with National Park Service in Washington, District of Columbia. It pays $73,177–$131,716 per year at grade SP-01. Applications close on Dec 28, 2026 — 58 days left.

Working pattern
On site
Who can apply
Career transition (CTAP, ICTAP, RPL), Open to the public
Clearance
Secret

Main duties

  • Safeguarding the National Park Service icons and symbols of democracy as well as other parks and jurisdictional areas around the Washington Metropolitan Area.
  • Prevent, detect, and investigate criminal activity.
  • Pursue and ensure criminal actors are apprehended.
  • Cooperate with and assist members of the Force, as well as other law enforcement agencies.
The original posting

Full details

About the role

The United States Park Police is the law enforcement arm of the Department of the Interior and the National Park Service tasked with investigating and apprehending criminal actors. The agency is committed to deploying precision-based enforcement, intelligence-led operations, and rapid response capabilities to address emerging threats to the homeland.

What you will do

  • Safeguarding the National Park Service icons and symbols of democracy as well as other parks and jurisdictional areas around the Washington Metropolitan Area.
  • Prevent, detect, and investigate criminal activity.
  • Pursue and ensure criminal actors are apprehended.
  • Cooperate with and assist members of the Force, as well as other law enforcement agencies.
  • United States Park Police officers are expected to regularly work with state, local and federal partners to enhance safety and reduce crime.
  • Specialty Units are available to officers depending on competitive selection process and completion of training.
  • The United States Park Police offers the following full-time specialized units with enhanced technician pay.
  • Motorcycle Unit Aviation Unit Special Weapons and Tactics (S.W.A.T.) K-9 Unit Marine Patrol Unit Major Crimes Unit Crime Scene Identification Unit- Narcotics and Vice Unit Traffic Safety Unit Horse Mounted Patrol Intelligence and Counterterrorism Branch Physical Security/ Icon Protection Unit Multi-Agency Task Force positions Dignitary Protection

Requirements

  • U.S. Citizenship required.
  • Meet Selective Service Registration Act requirement for males Selectee will be required to participate in the Direct Deposit Electronics Funds Transfer Program.
  • High School Graduate or earned General Education Development (GED) Appointment subject to background investigation and favorable adjudication.
  • Achieve and maintain a "Secret" level security clearance.
  • You will be required to submit to a drug test and receive a negative drug test result prior to appointment You will be required to pass a pre-employment medical exam.
  • Must meet vision requirements (For distance, corrected 20/20 or better binocularly with at least 20/40 in each eye.
  • Uncorrected distant visual acuity should be 20/100 or better binocularly.
  • For colorblindness: Applicant must be able to pass the Test for Color Deficiency.) If you are a new employee or supervisor in the Federal government, you will be required to complete a one-year probationary period.
  • A valid driver's license (Real ID) is required at the time of application.
  • Must be able to legally possess firearms.
  • You will be required to maintain firearms proficiency.
  • Must not have any Felony Convictions; Must not have any current, pending criminal charges.
  • Must not have any convictions of Domestic Violence Multiple misdemeanor conviction's may also be subject to disqualification Meet the age requirements outlined above.
  • Continued Condition of Employment For Probationary Period - See Additional Information *Additional Requirements located under qualifications*

Education

To qualify based on education, you must submit a legible copy of transcripts from an accredited institution with your name, school name, credit hours, course level, major(s), and grade-point average or class ranking.

Transcripts do not need to be official, but if you are selected for this position and you used your education to qualify, you must provide official transcripts before you begin work.

If you are using education completed in foreign colleges or universities to meet qualification requirements, you must show that your education credentials have been evaluated by a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign education programs and such education has been deemed equivalent to that gained in an accredited U.S. education program; or full credit has been given for the courses at a U.S. accredited college or university.

How you will be evaluated

You will be evaluated based on how well you meet the qualifications listed in this vacancy announcement. Your qualifications will be evaluated based on your application materials (e.g., resume, supporting documents), the responses you provide on the application questionnaire, and the result of the additional assessments required for this position.

Please follow all instructions carefully; errors or omissions can affect your rating. All online portions of the hiring process require a desktop or laptop with video and audio capabilities.

After determination of your minimum qualifications, you may be selected to continue with the following assessment process: Phase I WRITTEN EXAMINATION- Applicants must successfully pass a written examination online.

Applicants must score 70% or better in each section on the written examination to continue in the hiring process.

Applicants requiring special testing accommodations must indicate so at the time of testing scheduling. The Police Office Selection Test (POST) will test the applicant's knowledge of basic math, reading and grammar. PHYSICAL READINESS TEST (PRT) - Applicants must perform hand release push-ups, an agility run, as well as a 1.5-mile run.

Applicants must pass each event with a 70% or better to move to the next phase in the hiring process.

MEDICAL REVIEW - Applicants must complete Medical Review form by a Certified Medical Physician of choice. Applicants that pass all assessments will be referred to the selecting official for consideration in selections for the Police Officer, SP-0083-01.

Medical Examination will be used to determine if a candidate is medically qualified to perform the functional requirements of a law enforcement officer Phase II FORMS SCREENING REVIEW and BACKGROUND INVESTIGATION Applicants will be required to upload additional documents relevant to the background investigation process via a secure drop box.

Selected applicants will participate in a virtual interview or in person with a USPP background investigator. During this process, the applicant shall provide any additional information requested by their investigator in a timely manner.

Failure to do so may result in removal from the hiring process.

Credit Check Fingerprint Check PASS A QUALIFICATION REVIEW PANEL - The Qualification Review is a virtual interview conducted by a panel of Force officials. Applicants are evaluated on their responses to qualification and scenario questions. Applicants who successfully pass the Panel Interview, Background Investigation, and Medial review will be issued a Tentative Job Offer.

SELECTIONS FOR HIRE- Selected applicants will be subjected to a urinalysis/drug screening prior to being officially hired. The drug screening must be passed successfully.

Applicants must successfully complete and pass all components of the US Park Police full background investigation and Security investigation.

You will be evaluated on the following competencies: See next steps for addition information.

Documents you must provide

  • Resume which includes a list of all significant jobs held and duties performed, dates specified in month and year format, 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.
  • If military or civilian, please include your rank and/or grade.
  • Resumes must not exceed two single-sided pages and resumes longer than two pages will not be accepted.
  • The minimum font size is 10-point for all body text.
  • Headers may be slightly larger but must remain legible.
  • All resumes must maintain a minimum 0.5-inch margins on all sides to ensure readability and prevent excessive content compression.
  • Including supplemental pages or attachments disguised as resume extensions are prohibited and will not be reviewed to determine your eligibility/qualifications.
  • Complete All Required Assessments.
  • Other Supporting Documents, if applicable, such as: Veterans Preference Documentation: If you are a Discharged, Non-Disabled Veteran, you must submit a copy of your DD-214 showing character of discharge (Member 4 copy), or other Documentation of Service and Separation under Honorable Conditions, as listed on the SF15.
  • If you don't have your DD-214, you may request it after discharge from the National Archives.
  • If you are a veteran within 120 days of discharge, you must submit signed documentation from the Armed Forces certifying: 1) your expected release/retirement from active duty, 2) under honorable conditions, 3) your pay grade/rank/rate at time of discharge, 4) dates of active duty service, 5) any campaign or expeditionary medals received, & 6) dated within 120 days of your separation.
  • If you are a Disabled Veteran, Purple Heart Recipient, or Mother or Spouse of a Disabled or Deceased Veteran, you must submit all additional proof required by the SF15, and if applicable, a completed SF15.
  • You may request a copy of your Department of Veterans Affairs letter from *** or call *** to establish proof of disability.
  • Documentation that you meet selective placement factors.
  • College transcripts, if qualifying based on education.
  • Documentation for Interagency/Career Transition Assistance Plan consideration if you are a displaced Federal employee within the local commuting area.
  • You must include: 1) Proof you are a displaced Federal employee, e.g., RIF Separation Notice, Notice of Proposed Removal, etc; 2) SF-50s (Notifications of Personnel Action) showing career/conditional tenure competitive status, promotion potential and duty location; and 3) your most recent performance appraisal.
  • To exercise selection priority, displaced or surplus Federal employees must be rated well-qualified or above 85 on the rating criteria for this position.
  • Do not submit photographs with your application package.
  • Documents with photographs may not be seen by hiring officials - you must remove your image from any badges, licenses, etc. Do not upload Adobe portfolio documents.
  • Adobe portfolio documents are not viewable by our agency's staffing offices.

Benefits

Benefit Information: Working for the U.S. Park Police offers a comprehensive benefits package that includes, in part, paid vacation, sick leave, holidays, life insurance, health insurance benefits, premium pay, and eligibility for retirement with 20 years of service at age 50, or 25 years of service at any age.

Sick Leave - Employees earn 104 hours of sick leave per year that accrues without limit. 12 weeks of paid parental leave is also granted to eligible employees. Annual Leave - Employees earn annual leave at the following rates: 13 days per year for the first three years of service, 20 days after three years of service, and 26 days every year after 15 years of service.

Employees may carry over a maximum of 240 hours of annual leave from one calendar year to the next; Overtime - Officers working overtime are eligible to earn monetary pay or compensatory time at a rate of 1.5 times their derived hourly pay; Premium Pay - Officers working the hours between 6:00 PM and 6:00 AM are eligible to earn Night Differential at a rate of 10% of their derived hourly pay.

Sunday premium is earned at a rate of 25% of their derived hourly pay; Retirement - The Federal Law Enforcement Retirement System offered by the United States Park Police is a special variant of the Federal Employee Retirement System (FERS) offered to most U.S. government employees.

What to expect next

Once the Occupational Questionnaire is received you will receive acknowledgement that your submission was successful. If you are among the most qualified candidates and your name is referred to the hiring official, you may be contacted directly for a possible interview.

You will be notified of the status of your Application Package at the time candidates are referred for consideration, and when the selection process is complete. Upon submission of your application, you will receive an email acknowledging receipt of your application.

Please be advised that your application will not be considered complete unless all the required documents have been received. Best qualified applicants will receive further instructions from the United States Park Police Applicant Processing team at, ***. This is an open/continuous announcement.

Applicants will be referred to USPP on a weekly basis. Candidates will be rated and ranked using Category Rating procedures. These procedures place candidates with veteran's preference above non-preference eligibles within each category.

Veterans with a service-connected disability of at least 10 percent are listed in the highest quality category.

Under Category Rating, candidates will be rated and ranked into one of three categories: Best Qualified - applicants possessing experience that substantially exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors and are highly proficient in all requirements of the job and can perform effectively in the position Well Qualified - applicants possessing experience that exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors and are proficient in most of the requirements of the job Qualified - applicants possessing experience that meets the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors and are proficient in some, but not all of the requirements of the job.

Additional information

A selectee receiving a first appointment to the Federal Government (Civil Service) is entitled only to the lowest step of the grade for which selected The display of a salary range on this vacancy shall not be construed as granting an entitlement to a higher rate of pay.

A Recruitment Incentive May Be Authorized for a newly selected employee when appointed to a permanent, temporary, or term position. A Federal employee who is transferring to the National Park Service from another component, bureau or Federal agency and who does not meet the conditions under 5 CFR §575.102 is not eligible for a recruitment incentive.

This announcement may be used to fill additional positions if identical vacancies occur within 90 days of the issue date of the referral certificate. Physical Demands: The physical demands of this position require that all candidates pass an extensive physical examination, take a physical performance test, and meet the age requirements promulgated under the authority of 5 U.S.C.

3307. The incumbent must possess the psychomotor skills required to drive a vehicle in normal and emergency situations; fire a weapon accurately under extremely varied conditions; maintain agility, endurance and strength; and show dexterity in self-defense and apprehension (e.g. safely taking a person into custody with a minimum of force).

Working Conditions: The incumbent will be expected to work alone in areas where there is a probability that a person may be armed while attempting to commit a crime, and in an attempt to evade arrest, the situation may lead to an assault on the officer.

The incumbent will be expected to work independently in an arduous duty position in situations where there is inherit risks of injury while fulfilling the essential functions of their position. In order to be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process.

In addition to the application and application questionnaire, this position requires successful completion of additional assessments, including a panel resume review and structured interview. These assessments measure the critical competencies listed above that are required to successfully perform the job.

All information and documents submitted should be true, correct, and provided in good faith. Any information given may be investigated. False statements, deception or fraud in this application or its supporting materials, or in any document or interview associated with the examination process may result in fines or imprisonment (18 U.S.C.

1001) or removal and debarment from Federal service (5 CFR part 731).

How to apply

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Details on this page reflect the source posting as of Nov 1, 2026. Closing dates and salary ranges can change without notice — the official listing is always authoritative. How our coverage works.

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