Volunteer
Job Description
ADDRESS: Denali National Park & Preserve
DEPT: National Park Service
DATES: 5/16/2021 – 9/15/2021
DESCRIPTION:
Denali National Park and Preserve hosts the largest volunteer program in the Alaska Region, and we need your help! With over 500 individual volunteers each year who donate in excess of 65,000 hours of service, there’s a lot of work to do behind the scenes. Join us to support volunteers in this spectacular location.
Denali National Park and Preserve hosts the largest volunteer program in the Alaska Region, and we need your help! With over 500 individual volunteers each year who donate in excess of 65,000 hours of service, there’s a lot of work to do behind the scenes. Join us to support volunteers in this spectacular location.
In addition, the Denali National Park Volunteer Office also serves as the Alaska Region Volunteer Program Office. We assist, serve and advise the other 14 volunteer program managers at National Park Service sites in the state which have volunteer programs.
We need to process personnel paperwork, welcome and orient volunteers, respond to inquiries, support volunteer supervisors, plan large events, celebrate volunteer accomplishments, help with the program’s digital and online presence, assist with US and intra-park mail delivery and pick up, and assist visitors at the Savage River area, performing informal wildlife education and disseminating park and area information.
This is generally an office position three days per week and one day in the field per week.
Housing is an RV/trailer site with full hook-ups (electricity, water, sewage and propane). Some funds for reimbursement to help defray the cost of traveling to Denali are authorized, amount is dependent upon length of stay.
Volunteer will work three days per week in the Volunteer Office performing administrative and clerical duties and one day per week in the Savage River area roving, greeting and educating park visitors.
- Assist with creating and maintaining two internal websites (Microsoft Sharepoint sites) for the Alaska Region’s volunteer program and for Denali National Park and Preserve’s volunteer program
- Welcome new volunteers and provide orientation to the park and volunteer program
- Assist volunteers and supervisors in completing volunteer service agreements and other paperwork
- Enter information from individual and group volunteers into the program database (currently in Microsoft Access)
- File paperwork
- Answer phones, e-mail and other inquiries as appropriate
- Provide support to volunteer supervisors
- Provide support at special events
- Maintain the volunteer uniform and supply cache
- Process NPS and U.S. mail at least once per week per current standard operating procedures
- Assist with administrative duties (property, procurement, etc.) as needed
- Assist visitors, answer questions and perform informal interpretation about the park and surrounding areas
- Wear the Denali National Park and Preserve volunteer uniform and represent the park and the NPS proudly.
- Have fun!
Volunteer must have excellent customer service and interpersonal skills, most of the duties of this position involve helping people (volunteers, park employees and visitors) by answering phones and emails and greeting visitors to the Volunteer Office and in the Savage River area.
Volunteer must have computer skills and be able to perform data entry, answer emails, help maintain two intranet sites (one for the region, one for the park), assist with the program’s social media pages and the park’s public-facing website.
This position requires an adjudicated background check to have access to federal computer networks and federal buildings.
A current, valid state-issued driver’s license is required to drive government-owned vehicles.
- Clerical/Office Machines
- Drivers License
- General Assistance
- Office/Clerical
- Visitor Information
- Working with People
This position is located in the Administration Building in the Headquarters area of the park. The building has heat, a bathroom, break area, refrigerator, microwave, toaster oven, coffee maker, electric tea pot and assorted plates and cutlery.
You will have your own work station and laptop computer, you’ll also have your own NPS e-mail account and have access to the Denali Volunteer Program e-mail account. You will share an office phone line with the other volunteer working with us this summer.
For outdoor work at Savage River and mail delivery days, expect to dress in layers, weather can be unpredictable here in Denali. Temperatures can range from the 30’s to the 80’s, and it can rain, snow, sleet or be sunny all in the same day.
The weeks before and the weeks after the Summer Solstice (June 21) it will be light 24 hours per day. Expect to lose time (suddenly realize is midnight and you haven’t eaten dinner yet) and sleep. Try to maintain your regular schedule and have blackout curtains or coverings for your bedroom windows.
The nearest urban area is Fairbanks, which is 120 miles (two hours) north of the park entrance, however, a grocery store (Three Bears Alaska) opened December 2017; it is located in Healy, about 11 miles north of the park entrance.