State Parks Planning Assistant

Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation - Division of State Parks

Closes On: 06/11/2025

Hiring Range: $20.00 - $24.00 per hour

https://www.dcr.virginia.gov/jobs?j=2025-05-22-13-19-57-060509-3vb 

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The Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) is the state’s lead conservation agency, and it takes a diverse agency to conserve resources for a diverse commonwealth.

Virginia’s award-winning state park system, a division of DCR, boasts an incredible and diverse array of natural, cultural, historical, and recreational resources including parks in the mountains, on the ocean, on the Chesapeake Bay, on 8 major rivers, on 4 major lakes, 4 rail trails, 3 battlefield sites, and 32 sites listed on the National Historic Registry. Our parks encompass over 75,000 acres, offering campsites, cabins, trails, shorelines, lakes and ponds, international dark sky sites, and over 20,000 educational programs and workshops each year.

Job Summary:

As the State Parks Planning Assistant, you will assist our State Parks Planner in facilitating the development of park resource plans and other products in a manner ensuring suitability and long-term viability of the Commonwealth's cultural and natural resources. In this position, you will:
 

• Lead the development, management and routine updating of Natural Resource Management Plans for Virginia State Parks, including plan preparation, coordination with Resource Management and Operations staff, field work, writing, and data management utilizing ESRI Hub and GIS StoryMaps.
• Assist the State Parks Planner with the development, writing, design, editing, and/or review of manuals, reports, documents, guidelines and policy in partnership with a variety of Virginia State Parks teams including but not limited to Resource Management, Operations, Business Revenue & Administration, and Visitor Experience.
• Aid the State Parks Planner through the DCR Master Planning process, including but not limited to the development, writing, design, editing, and/or review of natural, cultural and physical resource summaries, visitor experience planning summaries, comprehensive trail planning, and other State Parks planning products.
• Attend staff meetings and employee training as required.
• Provides additional field support for the Resource Management Team such as assistance with field work, studies, surveys, data collection, and maintaining various geospatial and non-geospatial databases on an as-needed basis.

DCR’s Mission is to conserve the natural, scenic, historic, and cultural resources of the Commonwealth. We invite you to learn more about DCR’s efforts to CONSERVE.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Demonstrated skills in document writing, design, editing and review intended for a variety of internal or external audiences.
• Expressed knowledge of parks planning, natural resource planning, comprehensive trail planning, and/or master planning processes and products.
• Ability to work independently and as part of a team.
• Basic knowledge of Microsoft applications including Microsoft Suite, including Word, Excel, Access, Outlook, PowerPoint, and Teams.

Additional Considerations:

• Academic background or experience in Planning, Park Planning, Resource Management, Landscape Architecture, Environmental Science, Environmental Studies, Geographic Information Systems or a related field.
• Experience in local, state or regional park planning or equivalent.
• Demonstrated Geographic Information Systems (GIS) skills and abilities, including familiarity with ESRI software products such as ArcPro and ArcGIS Online.