Park Ranger

Greets and welcomes patrons of Okaloosa County Parks. Engages in educational and enforcement activities to create positive impressions of the County while also promoting safe and equitable use of designated County park areas and facilities. Encourages compliance with County contracts, rules and regulations, city ordinances, and state statutes.

• Greets and welcomes County park patrons; engages residents, visitors, and vendors by providing general information; performs educational efforts regarding public safety and compliance with County rules and regulations, state statutes and other matters of importance as directed.
• Reviews and understands vendor agreements and permits; may assist in identifying/marking permit areas and resolving disputes.
• Assists with monitoring vendor activities on the beach and may create written reports/documentation of vendor activities related to fees owed.
• Investigates complaints and County rule violations (i.e., public safety concerns, rights-of-way and easements, contract compliance, encroachment, ordinance violations).
• Engages with the public to ensure compliance of County ordinances concerning leashed/unleashed pets on the beach.
• Issues notices, citations, warnings and orders, to include Notice of Violation, Correction Notice, Stop Work Order, Notice of Hearing, Notice of Compliance and Notice of Non-Compliance.
• Documents necessary incidents, contacts, warnings and enforcements actions.
• Prepares cases for judicial process and attends court proceedings as necessary.
• Works in conjunction with other departments who are engaged in tourism, parks/facility operations and maintenance, public safety and code compliance tasks (i.e., Beach Safety, law enforcement, medical emergencies, building and fire codes, County health and sanitation codes).
• Responds to emergency situations and may render first aid/CPR and/or assist in coordination and crowd control.
• Performs other duties as assigned.

High school diploma or GED supplemented by two (2) years' customer service experience in a problem-solving environment which required extensive face-to-face interaction. Requires experience in rule, policy or standards review and compliance process; a working knowledge of public safety, codes, ordinances and regulation enforcement functions preferred; or an equivalent combination of education, training and experience that provides the required knowledge, skills and abilities.

Public Safety, Law Enforcement, Security and/or USLA Lifeguard experience preferred. Local knowledge of Okaloosa County, tourism, and the beach environment is also preferred.

Requires a valid driver license. CPR & First-Aid certification required, or must be obtained within three (3) months of hire.

Must be able to exert 20 to 50 pounds of force occasionally, or 10 to 25 pounds of force frequently, or greater than negligible up to 10 pounds of force constantly to lift, carry, push, pull or otherwise move objects. Requires prolonged periods of standing and walking. Must be able to traverse irregular or uneven terrain frequently. Requires full range of body motion in manipulation of limbs and torso for operation of all terrain and/or 4x4 vehicles and inspection tasks.

Must be able to work for sustained periods of exposure to outside atmospheric conditions. Requires normal or corrected-to-normal eyesight for driving in beach conditions which may include obscured people or animals partially-buried in sand. This position may encounter perilous animals during execution of their duties, such as typical wildlife consistent with public beaches and/or parks, leashed or unleashed pets, and various marine life.

Physical demands are in excess of…