Interpretation and Visitor Services Team Member – AmeriCorps

Position Title: Interpretation and Visitor Services Team Member – AmeriCorps

Conservation Legacy Program: Stewards Individual Placements

Site Location: Whitman Missions National Historical Site

328 Whitman Mission Road, Walla Walla, WA 99362

Terms of Service:

• Start Date: 08/11/2026
• End Date: 06/11/2027
• AmeriCorps Slot Classification: 1200 Hours

Purpose:

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 Whitman Mission National Historic Site will host an Interpretation and Visitor Services Team Member.

This Interpretation and Visitor Services Team Member is an AmeriCorps position that will play a crucial role in providing interpretation and education services to the public inside the park visitor center, and outside on the park grounds and trails. This person will also help further ongoing interpretive and educational projects that the park is already invested in including, but not limited to, long-range interpretive planning efforts, a new junior ranger activity book, and work with the park’s Tribal partners. Additionally, the position will assist the larger NPS team by performing certain essential maintenance duties, including tasks like emptying trash and spot-cleaning the visitor center. To serve in this position, the Conservation Legacy participant will be expected to research the history of Whitman Mission National Historic Site (WHMI) to develop and present interpretive programs to the public and education programs to visiting schools, regularly hike park trails, engage the public through formal programs and informal contacts, and provide orientation to visitors while at the front desk of the visitor center.

This position will increase NPS operations and visitor services capacity at Whitman Mission NHS, enabling more visitors and students to experience the nationally significant historic, cultural, and natural resources that the park protects and interprets. The member will be part of the NPS team at Whitman Mission by serving as a front line of interpretation, by providing interpretive and education programs, and by assisting the park in long-range projects.

 Description of Duties:

• Regularly roves park grounds
• Greets and orients all visitors who enter the visitor center, providing them with orientation, information and informal interpretation of the site’s historic, cultural and natural resources.
• Maintains appearance and cleanliness of visitor center and work areas.
• Records park statistics and responds to visitor information requests.
• Research, using primary and secondary sources, history and culture and historic events relating to Whitman Mission NHS.
• Create clear outlines for interpretive and education programs for students and the general public.
• Deliver interpretive and education programs to visitors.
• Give feedback to coworkers and receive feedback from coworkers on interpretive and educational programming.
• Working with supervisor and team to develop content and activities for kids’ activity booklet.
• Working and interacting with Tribal Partners on joint interpretive products.
• Providing feedback on written interpretive products and activities.

 Qualifications:

• Willing to undergo and must pass the required criminal history checks.
• Comfortable speaking in front of audiences.
• Position requires frequent sitting, standing, walking, hiking, carrying, using hands to handle or feel, reaching with hands and arms, talking and hearing. Required to stoop, kneel, climb stairs, and/or crouch. Ability to hike over rough terrain.
• Ability to frequently move up to 15 lbs., ability to move up to 30 pounds occasionally.
• Willing to work in both outdoor and indoor conditions. Work environment conditions can change frequently.
• Bachelor’s or Associate’s Degree.
• United States citizen, United States national, or a lawful permanent resident alien
• At least 17 years of age
• Has received a high school diploma or equivalency certificate; or has not dropped out of elementary or 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
• Agrees to provide information to establish eligibility and to complete a National Service Criminal History Check.

Preferred Qualifications:

• A valid driver’s license.
• Interest in Native American history and the National Park Service.
• Ability and willingness to talk about complex and nuanced topics.
• Ability and willingness to work with school-aged visitors, and visitors of all ages and backgrounds.
• Ability to clearly communicate with co-workers and visitors from a wide range of backgrounds using verbal and non-verbal cues.
• Background in reading/researching, writing, and communication with various groups is ideal.

Additional Position and Community Information

• Whitman Mission National Historic Site is located 6 miles west of Walla Walla, Washington (population 34,000) in the Walla Walla Valley. There is a government housing facility available for this position. The park housing is a shared 3-bedroom, 1.5-bathroom house. Each bedroom is single occupancy, so the maximum capacity for the house is 3 people. At the park, there is cell phone reception throughout, however there is no government provided internet at the house. The government housing is located on park grounds in a rural area, approximately 6 miles West of the town of Walla Walla. To get to the town of Walla Walla, a car is necessary. In town, there are ample grocery stores, one hospital, lots of doctors and physician offices, a vibrant downtown with music, shops, and restaurants, and other stores (Wal-Mart) and activities (movie theater, bowling alley, etc.).
• It will be essential for the person in this position to have a personal vehicle.

Our Commitment:

Conservation Legacy is committed to the full consideration of all qualified individuals and will ensure that persons with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodations to perform essential job functions. Physical requirements may include periodic overnight travel, non-traditional work 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. The ability to safely drive an organizational vehicle may also be required for some positions. If you need assistance and/or reasonable accommodation due to a disability during the application or recruiting process, please send a request to the hiring manager.  

Time Requirements:

• Typically, this position is expected to serve [blank-day] to [blank-day], but exact service schedules may vary. A half hour lunch break will not be counted towards AmeriCorps service
• Member may be required to participate in national, state, or local service projects or events as part of their service term.

Orientation and Training:

• Member will receive an orientation that includes training on AmeriCorps prohibited and unallowable activities.
• Professional Development Fund of $2,000 for Training and Travel

Benefits:

• Segal AmeriCorps Education Award of $5,176.50
• Living Allowance of $645.00 per week.
• Additional Benefit of $160.00 per week.
• Childcare Coverage if Eligible
• Loan forbearance if Eligible
• Interest Payments if Eligible

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.

Supervisor Name and Contact Information:

Stewards Individual Placements Contact information: Emma Nehan-Springstead, enehan@conservationlegacy.org

Whitman Missions Program Contact: Kate Kunkel-Patterson, Kate_Kunkel-Patterson@nps.g

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 reasonable accommodations due to a disability during the application or recruiting process, please send a request to the hiring manager