State parks hiring aides and senior park aides

OLYMPIA—Washington State Parks announces its annual recruitment for various park aide and senior park aide positions across the state. The available park aide and senior park aide positions are seasonal and non-permanent.

Each summer, State Parks employs 400 park aides and 45 senior park aides to work the busy season, which runs from April through September. Park aides register campers, maintain trails, clean campgrounds and comfort stations, and perform various custodial maintenance chores. They also may work in park offices, interact with visitors and help with interpretive and educational programs.

Senior park aides are designated as lead workers and lead other park aides.

Park aides are essential to summer operations in Washington state parks. Many former aides report receiving benefits beyond a paycheck, learning about parks and the natural and cultural resources in State Parks’ care. Park aides gain people skills by interacting with the public and working as part of a team. They also may learn everything from trail-building techniques to the use and operation of small power tools and equipment.

Most of the currently available park aide and senior park aide positions are non-permanent, meaning the position is allotted for a certain amount of time, typically five to six months and less than one year. Seasonal park aides and senior park aides come back each year for the same time period, for example, March 1 to Oct. 31. With seasonal positions, the employee has the opportunity to gain permanent status.

Applications are open now through August. Park aides earn between $14.42 - $18.48 an hour, and senior park aides earn between $17.24 - $20.32 an hour, depending on qualifications and experience. More information and online applications are at http://www.careers.wa.gov. Enter “park aide” or the name of a specific state park in the website’s search function.

The Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission is an equal opportunity employer and strives to create an inclusive working environment that respects cultural, racial, ethnic, sexual orientation, and gender identity diversity. Women, racial and ethnic minorities, persons with disabilities, persons over 40 years of age, disabled and Vietnam-era veterans, and people of all sexual orientations and gender identities are encouraged to apply. Persons needing accommodation in the application process or this announcement in an alternative format may contact the Human Resources Office at (360) 902-8565, Human Resources office, or the Washington Telecommunication Relay Service at (800) 833-6388.