Park Ranger Team Lead

Role Responsibilities

Reporting to the Area Manager, this position is responsible for the planning, delivery and evaluation of Park Ranger operations within Parks sites in the Athabasca District. This leadership role oversees a team of park ranger staff to ensure operational excellence and visitor satisfaction.

This program includes visitor management activities, public safety, outdoor recreation services, natural and cultural resource management, identifying human wildlife co-existence concerns, and various administration functions. The role works to support safe and sustainable outdoor recreational experiences, while working to protect natural and cultural
resource integrity. Applying sound recreation management practices, community relationships, and key partnerships, this position resolves multi-faceted visitor conflicts through proactive prevention, education, and compliance monitoring.

The position is responsible for providing input and support for the other Regional Operations programs (Visitor Experience, Municipal Services and Maintenance) and supports the Regional Recreation and Resource management team. Efficient management of allocated staff and financial resources is a primary responsibility of this position, which
includes project and contract management, and volunteer and partner collaboration. Travel by foot, bike, motor vehicle, or off-highway vehicle to rove campgrounds, day use areas, trails and backcountry areas will be required to meet and communicate with a wide range of park users. Due to the geographical area of our parks, traveling long distance and in remote settings is a requirement.

A strong understanding of occupational health and safety related legislation, initiatives, and procedures equips the Park Ranger Team Lead to build safe operational environments and lead emergency response protocols for public and workers.

Parks sites are healthiest and most resilient with the support of the communities that use and care for them. This position will initiate and maintain constructive relationships with facility operators, volunteers, and a broad range of other stakeholders. They will work collaboratively with other area staff to ensure effective and efficient operations within their designated areas.

The Park Ranger Team Lead is part of the area level leadership team, reporting directly to the Area Manager and accountability for cooperating on program objectives with other team leads.

Please click on this link to view the job description for this position.

APS Competencies

Competencies are behaviors that are essential to reach our goals in serving Albertans. We encourage you to have an in depth understanding of the competencies that are required for this opportunity and to be prepared to demonstrate them during the recruitment process.

This link will assist you with understanding competencies:
https://www.alberta.ca/system/files/custom_downloaded_images/psc-alberta-public-service-competency-model.pdf.

BUILD COLLABORATIVE ENVIRONMENTS: By promoting collaboration and commitment, encourage broad thinking on projects, work together to eliminate barriers to progress, and facilitate open and respectful dialogue.

AGILITY: Identifies alternative approaches or courses of action in complex situations, while maintaining resilience in times of uncertainty and effectively working in a changing environment.

CREATIVE PROBLEM SOLVING: Identifies several analytical techniques and sources of knowledge to break apart complex problems, while creating a safe environment for others to voice new ideas or methods.

DEVELOP NETWORKS: Proactively building networks, connecting, and building trust in relationships with different stakeholders.

SYSTEMS THINKING: Considers and plans for how current policies, processes and methods might be affected in the short, medium, and long-term by broader trends.

Qualifications

Education and Experience: 

• A related degree in Natural Resources, Natural Science, Recreation Management, Tourism Development or other related programs.
• 4 years related experience in Park operations, Visitor management, Compliance monitoring, Resource or recreation management, leading teams and supervising seasonal or permanent staff.
• Equivalencies considered on the basis of: one year experience for one year education, or one year education for one year experience.

Additional Requirements: 

• Current Standard First aid with CPR C and AED.
• Class 5 Driver's License or equivalent.

Assets to the role include the following:

• Extensive knowledge of the Provincial Parks Acts and Regulations, as well as working knowledge of other Provincial legislation.
• Good knowledge of park management processes, plans, and policies.
• Experience with conflict management and resolution.
• Knowledge in the use of specialized devices and computer software, e.g. GPS, Microsoft office programs.
• Familiar with Incident Command Systems (ICS).
• Knowledge of Alberta flora and fauna.
• Knowledge and experience working with indigenous groups.
• Effective organizational, leadership, time and task management skills.
• Effective verbal, written communications and public presentation skills.
• Experience in front facing customer service.
• Effective interpersonal and conflict resolution skills.
• Outdoor recreation competency (navigation skills, backcountry travel, working alone).
• Strategic, project, and financial planning and management skills.
• Ability to work in outdoor remote locations.
• Ability to work independently or cooperatively and collaborate in team settings.
• Ability to set and meet timelines and to manage time, projects and workloads effectively.
• Ability to apply technical knowledge to provide creative approaches to resolution to issue.

Minimum recruitment standards outline the minimum education and experience required for appointment to a job classification.

Refer to https://www.alberta.ca/alberta-public-service-minimum-recruitment-standards.

Notes

Park Rangers often need to manage challenging or complex visitor interactions and may provide support during an emergency or incident, which at times can include exposure to stressors or even traumatic events. Applicants should be prepared for these challenges and have the ability to maintain composure and sound judgment under pressure. Support resources are available through our employee assistance programs.

This is a permanent, full-time role with 36.25 hours per week.

Additional requirements:

• Access to reliable transportation to and from place of work.
• Valid Alberta Class 5 Driver’s License or equivalent will be required.
• Adherence to Alberta Parks Uniform Policy.
• This position will require outdoor work in a variety of weather conditions.
• This position will require you to work weekends.

In your application, please include a cover letter detailing your interest and role-related experience.

Any costs associated with obtaining the required documents/checks as noted or interview travel expenses will be the responsibility of the candidate. Out-of-province applicants can obtain the required documents/checks from the province they currently reside in.

Instructions for your resume:

• Include date ranges (month and year) associated with all education and work experience.
• Indicate whether your work experience was casual, part-time (PT) or full-time (FT).
• Example:  
  Park Ranger: May 2025 – Sept 2025 (FT 5 days per week)
  Security Guard (PT 3 eight-hour shifts per week) 

Links and information on what the GoA has to offer to prospective employees:

• Working for the Alberta Public Service – https://www.alberta.ca/advantages-working-for-alberta-public-service.aspx
• Alberta Public Service Benefit Information - https://www.alberta.ca/alberta-public-service-benefits
• Public Service Pension Plan (PSPP) -  https://www.pspp.ca
• Research Alberta Public Service Careers tool - https://researchapscareers.alberta.ca
• Professional learning and development - https://www.alberta.ca/professional-development-support-directive
• Positive workplace culture and work-life balance
• Mentorship Programs.

Resources for applicants:

• https://www.alberta.ca/apply-for-jobs-with-the-alberta-public-service.aspx
• https://www.alberta.ca/alberta-public-service-hiring-process.aspx