Scientists in Parks
POSITION DETAILS
Position Title:
GIS Assistant - AmeriCorps
Conservation Legacy Program:
Stewards Individual Placements
Site Location:
Mojave National Preserve, Barstow, California
Can this position be fully remote : No
Number of positions available : 1
TERMS OF SERVICE
Duration : 12 Weeks
(not flexible)
Flexible Start Date : Yes
Start Date : 01/05/2026
End Date : 03/30/2026
AmeriCorps Slot Classification : 450 hours - this is the minimum number of hours the selected candidate must serve.
BENEFITS Segal AmeriCorps Education Award
of $1,956.35 upon successful completion of position. Living Allowance
of $600.00 per week. Relocation Allowance
of $450.00 (distributed as a one-time lump sum with first paycheck) Student Loan Forbearance
if applicable (administered by MyAmeriCorps, directly).
Student Loan Interest Payments
if applicable (administered through MyAmeriCorps, directly).
APPLICATION TIMELINE
The position will close after receiving
60
applications, or at 11:59 p.m. EDT on Sunday, 12 October, 2025, whichever occurs first. The review of applications will begin after Sunday, 12 October, 2025. Preference given to applicants who submit applications before Sunday, 12 October, 2025.
PURPOSE
This GIS Assistant is an AmeriCorps position. The GIS products for the Park are used widely for monitoring and analyzing impacts to and the status of Cultural and Natural resources. These uses range widely from revegetation projects to combat impacts from wildfires, monitoring for invasive weeds, inspecting wildlife drinkers and springs, collecting data on endangered species fatalities, cultural surveys and monitoring, monitoring for abandoned mine land mitigation needs, and reporting damages to resources. Improving the availability and usability of these supporting GIS products will help facilitate the operations of mission critical resource needs and Park operations within both the Science and Resource Stewardship division and the Park as a whole.
DESCRIPTION OF DUTIES
This position is to serve as a GIS Assistant for the Science and Resource Stewardship division at Mojave National Preserve. Duties will include reviewing existing Park GIS products for compliance with updated data standards, improve usability of GIS products, eliminating redundant and/or deprecated data, transferring content from database platforms, and creating a library of GIS products for use by the Park on the NPS' GIS platform (Portal), transferred over from our currently used platform (AGOL). You will also be given the opportunity to conduct field projects with the different divisions to get a better understanding of the uses and needs of GIS across the Park's operations.
KEYWORDS : GIS; data management;
DELIVERABLES
The bulk of the deliverables for this position will be aimed at creating a library of GIS products for use on the NPS Portal platform for use by MOJA using the existing data from the AGOL account, essentially transferring GIS products from one service to the other while performing quality assurance and control in the process. This includes cleaning data for usability for the Park and removing deprecated or redundant data.
QUALIFICATIONS
United States citizen, United States national, or a lawful permanent resident alien. Has received a high school diploma or equivalency certificate; or has not dropped out of secondary school to enroll as an AmeriCorps participant and agrees to obtain a high school diploma or its equivalent prior to using the education award. Prior to starting the position, agrees to provide information to establish eligibility and to complete a National Service Criminal History Check for the employer of record, Conservation Legacy, and a separate government security background check for the NPS site location. The applicant must be available to participate for 12 Weeks in order to be considered and participate. PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS Competency with GIS technology, and with ESRI GIS software products. Coursework showing sufficient competency in GIS technology. A degree in GIS is suggested but not required.
ADDITIONAL POSITION AND COMMUNITY INFORMATION
POSITION SETTING
The position will take place in Mojave National Preserve, a remote desert park located in south eastern California. During the winter months, the weather tends to be cold and windy with rare chances of light snow. Nighttime temperatures tend to drop dramatically but days can warm up to 50s or 60s. The duty station will likely be at the Kelso Depot, a historic train station in the preserve. There will also be opportunities to participate in the park's headquarters in Barstow as well as from our visitor information center or interagency fire center at Hole in the Wall, also in the preserve. Travel to and from the duty station, to housing, and to closest amenities would all be on maintained paved roads. Housing in the preserve is approximately one and one-half to two hours away from the closest amenities, including grocery shopping, restaurants, and medical offices. You will also have opportunities to get field experience with different divisions in a variety of locations throughout the Preserve including remote wilderness areas in the backcountry, requiring driving in areas along unmaintained dirt roads in a government vehicle. A government vehicle will be provided for projects, but a personal vehicle is required for any travel outside of normal project hours for personal shopping, business services or other personal needs, and for commuting between housing and their duty station.
VEHICLE AND DRIVER'S LICENSE REQUIREMENTS
Applicant must have a valid driver's license to drive a government vehicle. A personal vehicle is REQUIRED for this position. HOUSING
Park housing is available and will be provided at no cost to the participant.
There are options for dorms with private rooms with shared bathrooms, common areas and kitchens. Depending on availability, private single bedroom apartments might also be available. Note that housing is within the preserve itself and about an hour and a half from the Barstow headquarters, there is no Park housing options available within proximity of Barstow HQ.
The dorms have shared kitchen items (pans, cups, plates, silverware, etc.) and cleaning items. There is shared laundry as well, but you will have to bring your own detergent. The dorms have Starlink SIP participantet and cell service. You must provide your own bedding (twin sized), pillows, towels, and any other essential toiletries.
HOW TO APPLY
Apply online, all Scientists in Parks positions are listed at: https://conservation-legacy.breezy.hr/. Complete the application for this position, highlighting why you are interested in the position and how your background and experience will help you succeed in this position. Be prepared to upload your resume and unofficial transcript as part of completing the application questionnaire.
Once you begin applying for a position, the application must be completed in one sitting. You cannot save and return later to complete it. Applicants can apply for up to five Scientists in Parks positions per season. You need to complete a separate application for each position in order to be considered. You should receive a confirmation email after successfully submitting an application. Sometimes institutional email filters/settings can redirect or block emails related to the application. We recommend watching spam, junk, and promotional email folders in case your email service delivers messages there. Please visit How to Apply for additional resources and information about applying (i.e., learn what materials to have ready for applying, find a worksheet that previews application questions, etc.). Learn more about Scientists in Parks at: https://www.scientistsinparks.org/.
ADDITIONAL DETAILS
PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS
Conservation Legacy is committed to the full inclusion of all qualified individuals and will ensure that persons with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodations to perform essential functions. Some positions may require periodic overnight travel, non-traditional hours, ability to move across varied terrain, use program-specific tools and a range of technology on an infrequent or frequent basis. Exerting up to 25 pounds of force occasionally to lift, carry, push, pull, or otherwise move objects. Ability to safely drive an organizational vehicle may also be required for some positions.
TIME REQUIREMENTS
This position is expected to serve full time each week, but exact service schedules may vary. Lunch breaks will not be counted towards AmeriCorps service hours. Member may be required to participate in national, state, or local service projects or events as part of their service term. ORIENTATION AND TRAINING
Orientation that includes training on AmeriCorps prohibited and unallowable activities. Pertinent training from the NPS site location throughout the term of service. Free professional development webinars led by Conservation Legacy staff.
EVALUATION AND REPORTING
As an AmeriCorps member, performance will be evaluated on whether the member has completed the required number of hours, the member has satisfactorily completed assignments, and if the member has met other performance criteria that were clearly communicated at the beginning of the term of service.
Reporting requirements include, but are not limited to, bi-weekly timesheets and accomplishment tracking.
Stewards Individual Placements (Stewards), a program of Conservation Legacy, provides individuals with AmeriCorps service and career opportunities to strengthen communities and preserve our natural resources. Participants serve with federal agencies, tribal governments, and nonprofits to provide institutional capacity, develop community relationships, and support ecosystem health. Stewards in partnership with the Mojave National Preserve will host a GIS Assistant.
Conservation Legacy is an equal opportunity employer, and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, pregnancy, age, national origin, disability status, genetic information, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. We also consider qualified applicants regardless of criminal histories, consistent with legal requirements.
If you need assistance and/or a reasonable accommodation due to a disability during the application or recruiting process, please send a request to Scientists in Parks using the email address at the base of the home page, under "Questions? Contact us!"
Position Title:
GIS Assistant - AmeriCorps
Conservation Legacy Program:
Stewards Individual Placements
Site Location:
Mojave National Preserve, Barstow, California
Can this position be fully remote : No
Number of positions available : 1
TERMS OF SERVICE
Duration : 12 Weeks
(not flexible)
Flexible Start Date : Yes
Start Date : 01/05/2026
End Date : 03/30/2026
AmeriCorps Slot Classification : 450 hours - this is the minimum number of hours the selected candidate must serve.
BENEFITS Segal AmeriCorps Education Award
of $1,956.35 upon successful completion of position. Living Allowance
of $600.00 per week. Relocation Allowance
of $450.00 (distributed as a one-time lump sum with first paycheck) Student Loan Forbearance
if applicable (administered by MyAmeriCorps, directly).
Student Loan Interest Payments
if applicable (administered through MyAmeriCorps, directly).
APPLICATION TIMELINE
The position will close after receiving
60
applications, or at 11:59 p.m. EDT on Sunday, 12 October, 2025, whichever occurs first. The review of applications will begin after Sunday, 12 October, 2025. Preference given to applicants who submit applications before Sunday, 12 October, 2025.
PURPOSE
This GIS Assistant is an AmeriCorps position. The GIS products for the Park are used widely for monitoring and analyzing impacts to and the status of Cultural and Natural resources. These uses range widely from revegetation projects to combat impacts from wildfires, monitoring for invasive weeds, inspecting wildlife drinkers and springs, collecting data on endangered species fatalities, cultural surveys and monitoring, monitoring for abandoned mine land mitigation needs, and reporting damages to resources. Improving the availability and usability of these supporting GIS products will help facilitate the operations of mission critical resource needs and Park operations within both the Science and Resource Stewardship division and the Park as a whole.
DESCRIPTION OF DUTIES
This position is to serve as a GIS Assistant for the Science and Resource Stewardship division at Mojave National Preserve. Duties will include reviewing existing Park GIS products for compliance with updated data standards, improve usability of GIS products, eliminating redundant and/or deprecated data, transferring content from database platforms, and creating a library of GIS products for use by the Park on the NPS' GIS platform (Portal), transferred over from our currently used platform (AGOL). You will also be given the opportunity to conduct field projects with the different divisions to get a better understanding of the uses and needs of GIS across the Park's operations.
KEYWORDS : GIS; data management;
DELIVERABLES
The bulk of the deliverables for this position will be aimed at creating a library of GIS products for use on the NPS Portal platform for use by MOJA using the existing data from the AGOL account, essentially transferring GIS products from one service to the other while performing quality assurance and control in the process. This includes cleaning data for usability for the Park and removing deprecated or redundant data.
QUALIFICATIONS
United States citizen, United States national, or a lawful permanent resident alien. Has received a high school diploma or equivalency certificate; or has not dropped out of secondary school to enroll as an AmeriCorps participant and agrees to obtain a high school diploma or its equivalent prior to using the education award. Prior to starting the position, agrees to provide information to establish eligibility and to complete a National Service Criminal History Check for the employer of record, Conservation Legacy, and a separate government security background check for the NPS site location. The applicant must be available to participate for 12 Weeks in order to be considered and participate. PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS Competency with GIS technology, and with ESRI GIS software products. Coursework showing sufficient competency in GIS technology. A degree in GIS is suggested but not required.
ADDITIONAL POSITION AND COMMUNITY INFORMATION
POSITION SETTING
The position will take place in Mojave National Preserve, a remote desert park located in south eastern California. During the winter months, the weather tends to be cold and windy with rare chances of light snow. Nighttime temperatures tend to drop dramatically but days can warm up to 50s or 60s. The duty station will likely be at the Kelso Depot, a historic train station in the preserve. There will also be opportunities to participate in the park's headquarters in Barstow as well as from our visitor information center or interagency fire center at Hole in the Wall, also in the preserve. Travel to and from the duty station, to housing, and to closest amenities would all be on maintained paved roads. Housing in the preserve is approximately one and one-half to two hours away from the closest amenities, including grocery shopping, restaurants, and medical offices. You will also have opportunities to get field experience with different divisions in a variety of locations throughout the Preserve including remote wilderness areas in the backcountry, requiring driving in areas along unmaintained dirt roads in a government vehicle. A government vehicle will be provided for projects, but a personal vehicle is required for any travel outside of normal project hours for personal shopping, business services or other personal needs, and for commuting between housing and their duty station.
VEHICLE AND DRIVER'S LICENSE REQUIREMENTS
Applicant must have a valid driver's license to drive a government vehicle. A personal vehicle is REQUIRED for this position. HOUSING
Park housing is available and will be provided at no cost to the participant.
There are options for dorms with private rooms with shared bathrooms, common areas and kitchens. Depending on availability, private single bedroom apartments might also be available. Note that housing is within the preserve itself and about an hour and a half from the Barstow headquarters, there is no Park housing options available within proximity of Barstow HQ.
The dorms have shared kitchen items (pans, cups, plates, silverware, etc.) and cleaning items. There is shared laundry as well, but you will have to bring your own detergent. The dorms have Starlink SIP participantet and cell service. You must provide your own bedding (twin sized), pillows, towels, and any other essential toiletries.
HOW TO APPLY
Apply online, all Scientists in Parks positions are listed at: https://conservation-legacy.breezy.hr/. Complete the application for this position, highlighting why you are interested in the position and how your background and experience will help you succeed in this position. Be prepared to upload your resume and unofficial transcript as part of completing the application questionnaire.
Once you begin applying for a position, the application must be completed in one sitting. You cannot save and return later to complete it. Applicants can apply for up to five Scientists in Parks positions per season. You need to complete a separate application for each position in order to be considered. You should receive a confirmation email after successfully submitting an application. Sometimes institutional email filters/settings can redirect or block emails related to the application. We recommend watching spam, junk, and promotional email folders in case your email service delivers messages there. Please visit How to Apply for additional resources and information about applying (i.e., learn what materials to have ready for applying, find a worksheet that previews application questions, etc.). Learn more about Scientists in Parks at: https://www.scientistsinparks.org/.
ADDITIONAL DETAILS
PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS
Conservation Legacy is committed to the full inclusion of all qualified individuals and will ensure that persons with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodations to perform essential functions. Some positions may require periodic overnight travel, non-traditional hours, ability to move across varied terrain, use program-specific tools and a range of technology on an infrequent or frequent basis. Exerting up to 25 pounds of force occasionally to lift, carry, push, pull, or otherwise move objects. Ability to safely drive an organizational vehicle may also be required for some positions.
TIME REQUIREMENTS
This position is expected to serve full time each week, but exact service schedules may vary. Lunch breaks will not be counted towards AmeriCorps service hours. Member may be required to participate in national, state, or local service projects or events as part of their service term. ORIENTATION AND TRAINING
Orientation that includes training on AmeriCorps prohibited and unallowable activities. Pertinent training from the NPS site location throughout the term of service. Free professional development webinars led by Conservation Legacy staff.
EVALUATION AND REPORTING
As an AmeriCorps member, performance will be evaluated on whether the member has completed the required number of hours, the member has satisfactorily completed assignments, and if the member has met other performance criteria that were clearly communicated at the beginning of the term of service.
Reporting requirements include, but are not limited to, bi-weekly timesheets and accomplishment tracking.
Stewards Individual Placements (Stewards), a program of Conservation Legacy, provides individuals with AmeriCorps service and career opportunities to strengthen communities and preserve our natural resources. Participants serve with federal agencies, tribal governments, and nonprofits to provide institutional capacity, develop community relationships, and support ecosystem health. Stewards in partnership with the Mojave National Preserve will host a GIS Assistant.
Conservation Legacy is an equal opportunity employer, and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, pregnancy, age, national origin, disability status, genetic information, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. We also consider qualified applicants regardless of criminal histories, consistent with legal requirements.
If you need assistance and/or a reasonable accommodation due to a disability during the application or recruiting process, please send a request to Scientists in Parks using the email address at the base of the home page, under "Questions? Contact us!"