Chief Ranger - Parks Department

WHAT WE OFFER

• General Salary Increase - 4% effective 12/24/2023 and 3.50% effective 12/22/2024.
• Educational Incentive - An educational incentive of 2.5% for completion of an associate's degree, 3.5% for completion of a bachelor's degree, OR 5% for completion of a graduate's degree.
• Bilingual Incentive - Incumbents may also be eligible for bilingual incentive depending upon operational need and certification of skill.
• Vacation Accrual - Initially 14 days per year; after approximately 5 years of service increasing to 19 days a year; after approximately 11 years increasing to 20 days per year and then increasing 1 day a year through 15 years of service; topping out at 26 days per year after approximately 20 years of service with a maximum accumulation of 400 hours.
• Annual Leave Redemption - After 14,560 hours (equivalent to 7 years) of continuous County service the ability to "cash in" or redeem up to 80 hours of vacation accrued in the same year after using 80 hours of vacation in the preceding 12 months.
• Deferred Compensation - Eligible to participate in the County's 401(k) Shared Savings Plan and/or the Section 457 Plan. This position is eligible for up to a 3% match on your 401(k) contributions.
• Health Plans - You are afforded a flexible credit allowance for purchasing medical, dental, and/or vision insurance from a group of authorized plans. For Plan Year 2023 tier one for employee only is $497 per pay period, tier two for employee plus one is $678 per pay period and tier three for employee plus family is $825 per pay period.
• Flexible Spending Accounts - Choice of participation in the Flexible Spending Accounts which increase spending power through reimbursement of pre-tax dollars for IRS approved dependent care and health care expenses.
• Holidays - 12 paid days per year which includes a scheduled floating holiday.

THE AGENCY
GSA is made up of Fleet Services, Facilities, Procurement, Special Services, Security and Business Support, and the Parks Department and is responsible for a broad spectrum of services to all the County departments and agencies. It requires a very diverse workforce to accomplish the GSA mission of contributing to the quality of life in Ventura County by partnering with their customers to provide expertise and cost-effective service delivery, and foster the preservation of natural resources.

THE POSITION
Under general direction, the Chief Ranger - Parks Department supervises 9 full time and 4 seasonal rangers that provide park rule enforcement, parking citation, campground management, patrol, reservation management and other guest services for County Parks. The Ventura County Parks portfolio includes 15 regional parks, 466 campsites, 7 local parks, 5 communities centers and several regional trail. From the mountains to the beach Ventura County Parks is premier southern California park system with a diverse team and broad network of professional to take your employment experience to the next level.
The ideal candidate is a positive leader with success supervising others in a park management environment. They will be an experienced park ranger with a broad range of policy enforcement and guest service skills. The applicant should be equally able to perform full days in the office and the field with a strong ability to manage a variety of daily work challenges.
PAYROLL TITLE
Staff/Services Specialist II
AGENCY/DEPARTMENT
General Services Agency -Parks Department
The eligible list established from this recruitment may be used to fill current and future Regular (including Temporary and Fixed Term), Intermittent, and Extra Help vacancies. There is currently one (1) Regular vacancy within the General Services Agency - Parks Department.
Chief Ranger - Parks Department (Staff/Services Specialist II) is represented by the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and is eligible for overtime compensation. Duties may include but are not limited to the following:

• Supervises Park Rangers, including responsibility for staff scheduling, training, and performance evaluations.
• Oversees screening, selection, training and oversight of volunteer Camp Hosts for County Parks.
• Makes frequent field visits to inspect facilities for operations needs and conditions.
• Provides staff training on local, county, and state law, ranger safety, enforcement of park ordinances, customer service, and minor maintenance tasks.
• Assists in the development and amendment of Parks policies, procedures, and ordinances.
• Provides input into planning, budget development and staffing allocations.
• Provides input into rebuttals to charge back requests, cash accounting for day use fees, and management of parks fees including refunds and charges in the field.
• Collects day use fees from ranger team to ensuring accurate accounting and document preparation for deposit of day use fees, and approves camping fee refunds.
• Acts as liaison with law enforcement agencies to collaborate on efforts of safety and security in the parks, including working to ensure adequate law enforcement patrols, and collaboration to deal with unauthorized use of park property and facilities.
• Acts as liaison to other public agencies with ranger programs to provide feedback, collaboration, and problem solving on a variety of issues.
• Provides customer service to internal and external stakeholders, including detailed email, written correspondence and phone conversations to ensure customer needs and concerns are addressed.
• Collaborates with Maintenance Supervisor to ensure proper maintenance and facility safety.
• Determines the most economic use of allocated resources, purchases materials and controls inventory.
• Serves as the lead for Commercial Activity Permits and Special Use Permits including commercial film permits and all group facility permits.
• Oversees the development of process protocols for the Department's Park Ranger ticketing program and acts as an impartial party for those who wish to contest tickets issued by the rangers.
• Performs other duties as required.

These are the entrance requirements to the examination process and assure neither continuance in the process nor placement on an eligible list.
EDUCATION, TRAINING, AND EXPERIENCE
Considerable and progressively responsible operations and staff experience related to Parks/Outdoor recreation operations, , which has led to acquisition of the knowledge, skills and abilities of the position.
The required knowledge, skills, and abilities may also be obtained by:

• Three (3) years of experience as a supervisor or lead ranger in a Parks/Outdoor recreation setting, dealing with interpretation, policy enforcement, and recreation activities as well as maintenance, custodial or repair of facilities such as campgrounds, picnic areas, restrooms, community centers, and playgrounds. OR
• Two years of experience as a Park Service Ranger II with Ventura County Parks.

NECESSARY SPECIAL REQUIREMENT

• One (1) year of supervisor or lead worker responsibilities.
• Experience preparing reports and correspondence.
• Willing and able to work weekends.
• Must possess or obtain and maintain a current valid California Driver License.
• Must possess CPR and First Aid Certification at time of hire.
• Must possess PC 832 certificate at time of hire

DESIRED

• Bachelor's degree in Outdoor Recreation or a related field

Supplemental Information: Duties include frequent visits to park sites regardless of weather conditions, the ability to handle emergency situations and call in appropriate assistance to manage persons conducting illegal activities, and availability to possibly respond to emergencies during nonregular scheduled work hours.
KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, and ABILITIES
Knowledge of:

• Principles and practices of effective supervision.
• Vulnerable populations (homeless), and de-escalation techniques.
• Hazards and safety precautions applicable to park environment.
• Process improvement techniques.
• CPR and related first aid techniques.
• Techniques, processes and methods to plan, organize and direct work to meet workload demands.
• Automated systems, such as reservation systems and office software.
• Codes, regulations and policies related to Parks.
• Principles of effective public relations.

Skill in

• Prioritizing multiple tasks.
• Applying existing guidelines or recommending new approaches to the development and modification of work plans, methods, and procedures for the work unit or function.

Ability to:

• Understand and interpret codes, laws, regulations and policies related to Parks.
• Supervise staff, promote teamwork and oversee projects.
• Exercise independent judgment; think strategically and collaboratively, understand the unit's goals; draw logical conclusions and make appropriate recommendations or adjustments as needed.
• Explain department policies and procedures and serve as departmental resource and liaison.
• Develop and implement necessary work processes and related procedures.
• Perform statistical analysis and data interpretation and create related reports.
• Assist in developing or enhancing office automation applications.
• Organize and prioritize work assignments.
• Read and interpret technical material; and, complete required forms accurately and completely.
• Effectively interact with vulnerable populations and apply de-escalation techniques to problem situations, resolve problems, and mediates conflicts encountered during daily operations.
• Communicate effectively both verbally and in writing.
• Work with frequent interruptions and changes in priorities.
• Quickly recognize and analyze irregular events.

FINAL FILING DATE
This is a continuous recruitment and may close at any time; therefore, apply as soon as possible if you are interested in it. Your application must be received by County of Ventura Human Resources in Ventura, California, no later than 5:00 p.m. on the closing date.
To apply on-line, please refer to our web site at www.ventura.org/hr. If you prefer to fill out a paper application form, please call (805) 654-5129 for application materials and submit them to County of Ventura Human Resources, 800 South Victoria Avenue, L-1970, Ventura, CA 93009.
Note to Applicants: It is essential that you complete all sections of your application supplemental questionnaire thoroughly and accurately to demonstrate your qualifications. A resume and/or other related documents may be attached to supplement the information in your application and supplemental questionnaire; however, it/they may not be submitted in lieu of the application.
NOTE TO TRANSFER CANDIDATES: If presently permanently employed in another "merit" or "civil service" public agency/entity in the same or substantively similar position as is advertised, and if appointed to that position by successful performance in a "merit" or "civil service" style examination, then appointment by "Lateral Transfer" may be possible. Ifinterested, please click here for additional information.
SUPPLEMENTAL QUESTIONNAIRE - qualifying
All applicants are required to complete and submit the questionnaire for this examination at time of filing. This questionnaire may be used throughout the examination process toassist in determining each applicant's qualifications and acceptability for the position.
APPLICATION SCREENING - qualifying
All applications will be reviewed to determine whether or not the stated requirements are met. Those individuals meeting the stated requirements will be invited to continue to the next step in the screening and selection process.
TRAINING & EXPERIENCE EVALUATION: A Training and Experience Evaluation (T&E) is a structured evaluation of the job application materials submitted by a candidate, including the written responses to the supplemental questionnaire. The T&E is NOT a determination of whether the candidate meets the stated requirements; rather, the T&E is one method for determining who are the better qualified among those who have shown that they meet the stated requirements. In a T&E, applications are either scored or rank ordered according to criteria that most closely meet the business needs of the department. Candidates are typically scored/ranked in relation to one another; consequently, when the pool of candidates is exceptionally strong, many qualified candidates may receive a score or rank which is moderate or even low resulting in them not being advanced in the process.
NOTE: The selection process will likely consist of an Oral Exam, which may be preceded or replaced with the score from a Training and Experience Evaluation (T&E), contingent upon the size and quality of the candidate pool. In a typical T&E, your training and experience are evaluated in relation to the background, experience and factors identified for successful job performance during a job analysis. For this reason, it is recommended that your application materials clearly show your relevant background and specialized knowledge, skills, and abilities. It is also highly recommended that the supplemental questions within the application are completed with care and diligence.
ORAL EXAMINATION - 100%: A job-related Oral Examination will be conducted to evaluate and compare participating candidates' knowledge, skills, and abilities in relation those factors which job analysis has determined to be essential for successful performance of the job. Candidates must earn a score of seventy percent (70%) or higher to qualify for placement on the eligible list. If there are three (3) or fewer qualified applicants, an examination will not be conducted. Instead, a score of seventy percent (70%) will be assigned to each application, and each applicant will be placed on the eligible list.
Candidates successfully completing the exam process may be pl...