Concessions Management Specialist

Concessions Management Specialist

Department: Department of the Interior

Location(s): Keystone, South Dakota

Salary Range: $74678 - $116362 Per Year

Job Summary: Mount Rushmore National Memorial's multi-million dollar concessions program consists of a food & beverage, a retail, and a parking facility operation. The incumbent performs analytical and operational work in support of the commercial services work and contract management.

Major Duties:

• The position oversees and evaluates large commercial service operations by applying relevant laws, regulations, policies, and contract provisions to ensure full compliance with National Park Service requirements. You will provide guidance to commercial service providers, lead or participate in planning for concessions and Commercial Use Authorizations and conduct detailed reviews of reports and programs such as maintenance, risk management, and environmental plans. You will perform on-site evaluations of facilities, monitoring operational, contractual, and safety performance data, and developing strategies for improvement. It also advises park leadership and staff on commercial services issues, stays informed about local economic trends, and develops long-term funding and management plans for concessions. Additionally, you will coordinate and evaluate the work of large-scale contractors performing property assessments and reviews annual maintenance plans against projected needs. Duties will be developmental in nature when filled below the full performance level. Promotion to the full performance level is neither guaranteed nor implied and will be based solely on your ability to satisfactorily perform the work of the position, existing work at the higher grade level, and recommendation by the position's supervisor. Physical Demands: Concession facilities include (but are not limited to) front and back of the house locations at hotels, commercial kitchens, restaurants, retail facilities, warehouses, employee housing, stable operations, marinas, and assigned landscapes. While some work is performed in an office setting, the position requires familiarity with park resources and concession facilities and services which may include may require hiking on park backcountry trails, overnight stays in the backcountry which require carrying a heavy backpack, horseback riding, bicycling, rafting, extensive walking, etc. There may be some requirements to travel on water vessels and small aircraft. Working Conditions: For work conducted in the office environment, the risks include those typically found in an office environment. Normal safety precautions typical of such places should be observed (e.g., use of safe work practices with office equipment, avoidance of trips and falls,). Travel within and away from the park area may be necessary and frequent in order to provide support for the program for the purpose of attending meetings, training programs, conferences, and site visits. For work conducted in the field, the risks involve those typical for visitors of the Park, and may include confrontations with wildlife and exposure to the elements. Depending on the Park, risks may involve those customary when working with or riding horses, being a passenger on a boat, working in and around historic structures, hiking on challenging terrain, and being a passenger or driver of a motor vehicle.

Qualifications: Requirements Continued- As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary period during which your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest will be evaluated. 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 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 probationary period your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest. All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement-03/18/2026-unless otherwise stated in this vacancy announcement. Credit will be given for all appropriate qualifying experience. 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 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. For periods of time that reflect military service, the DD-214 or Statement of Service is sufficient to meet the full and/or part-time hours requirement as the service dates will be reflected. To qualify for this position at the GS-11 grade level, you must possess at least one of the following minimum qualifications by close of the announcement: EXPERIENCE: At least one full year of specialized experience comparable in scope and responsibility to the GS-09 grade level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors). This experience includes activities such as: applying laws, regulations, policies, and contract provisions to monitor commercial service operations; participating in commercial services planning and assisting in the development of prospectus documents, operating plans, and contract updates; conducting compliance evaluations of concession operations, including facility inspections, Environmental Management Program reviews, and Risk Management Program assessments; collecting and analyzing financial, operational, and customer-feedback data to identify trends and recommend operational solutions; providing advice and customer service to staff, concessioners, and the public; supporting negotiations on contract issues; and performing asset management tasks such as facility inspections, validating Facility Management Software System data, and monitoring repair and maintenance reserve funds. You must include hours per week worked. -OR- EDUCATION: Successful completion of at least three years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. degree, or Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree, or LL.M., in a field of study directly related to the work of this position. Such fields may include business administration, economics, accounting, governmental budgeting, and public administration. (You MUST submit a copy of your transcripts indicating degree earned and credit hours in order to qualify based on education). IMPORTANT - PLEASE NOTE: If you are using education to qualify you must document your course work and/or degree completed in your resume or other application materials you submit. You must submit a copy of your transcripts, of college courses taken that identifies for each course the college or university, semester or quarter hours earned, grade received, and date completed. If you are qualifying based on education and you do not submit specific course work information as described previously, your application will be rated not qualified for consideration. You must include transcripts. -OR- Successful completion of a combination of education and experience as described above. Note, only graduate education in excess of the master's level or 2nd year is creditable when combining. You must include transcripts and resume must include hours per week worked. To qualify for this position at the GS-12 grade level, you must possess the following minimum qualifications by close of the announcement: EXPERIENCE: At least one full year of specialized experience comparable in scope and responsibility to the GS-11 grade level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors). This experience includes activities such as: evaluating large and complex commercial service operations; reviewing new or revised laws, regulations, and policies to determine impacts and developing local policy as needed; leading commercial services planning efforts and preparing detailed and specialized prospectus documents; serving as an evaluator, team lead, or chair on proposal panels; conducting and overseeing complex compliance evaluations, environmental audits, Risk Management Reviews, and preparing formal determinations and findings; performing advanced data analytics to identify significant trends, develop program-level strategies, and verify concessioner claims; serving as a primary advisor to leadership on commercial services issues; handling sensitive, complex stakeholder inquiries involving corporate officials, government representatives, and media; developing long-term financial strategies, spending plans, and conducting or reviewing rate studies with implications; leading high-stakes negotiations on complex issues; and planning, coordinating, and evaluating large-scale real property, asset management, and contractor work. This experience demonstrates mastery of complex program management functions and the ability to develop new approaches, negotiate sensitive issues, and lead major aspects of the Commercial Services Program. You must include hours per week worked. 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.

How to Apply: Please read the entire announcement and all the instructions before you begin an application. To apply and be considered for this position, you must complete all required questionnaires, assessments, and 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 closing date of the announcement to receive consideration. You must provide documentation to support your claim for each eligibility selected. Please review the required documentation listed in the eligibilities language to ensure you submit the appropriate information. 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/12908381 Click the Submit Application button prior to 11:59 PM (ET) on the announcement closing date. If you are required to complete any USA Hire Assessments, you will be notified after submitting your application. The notification will be provided in your application submission screen and via email. The notification will include your unique assessment access link to the USA Hire system and the completion deadline. Additionally, in USAJOBS you can click "track this application" to return to your assessment completion notice. Access USA Hire using your unique assessment link. Access is granted through your USAJOBS login credentials. Review all instructions prior to beginning your assessments. You will have the opportunity to request a testing accommodation before beginning the assessments should you have a disability covered under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended. Set aside at least 3 hours to take the USA Hire assessments; however, most applicants complete the assessments in less time. If you need to stop the assessments and continue later, you can re-use your unique assessment link. Your responses to the USA Hire Assessments will be reused for one year (in most cases) from the date you complete an assessment. If future applications you submit require completion of the same assessments, your responses will be automatically reused. 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. Visit the USA Hire Applicant Resource Center for practice assessments and assessment preparation resources at https://support-usahire.opm.gov/hc/en-us. 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: Click on this: https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/how-to/application/status/. Your application status page is where you can view your application status, USA Hire assessment completion status, and review your notifications sent by the hiring agency regarding your application.

Application Deadline: 2026-03-18