Review Vacancy
AgencyParks, Recreation & Historic Preservation, Office of
TitleProgram Research Specialist 1 / Program Research Specialist Trainee 1/2 (NS) NYS HELPS
Occupational CategoryOther Professional Careers
Bargaining UnitPS&T - Professional, Scientific, and Technical (PEF)
Salary RangeFrom $53764 to $85138 Annually
Duties Description The core functions of the GIS and Data Bureau, Statistics Section within the Division for Environmental Stewardship and Planning (DESP) at OPRHP include obtaining, maintaining, and interpreting descriptive statistics about the State Park System. The bureau collects data such as park attendance and revenue as well as information about park users (demographics). The Section also performs subject-specific data collection (surveys; camping, golf, marina, trail user data; visitor satisfaction ratings; and activity participation.)
The Statistics Section receives survey requests from agency staff and guides stakeholders through the survey development process. This includes the statistical analysis of survey results, the rendering of appropriate charts and descriptive analysis, and the creation of useful products for both public-facing audiences as well as internal use.
The Section also collects data through surveys, inventory, and data mining, utilizing that data to inform decision making within the agency. It provides services and analysis to support comprehensive planning, statewide planning, and budgetary decisions. The bureau is also responsible for maintaining various databases and producing reports about individual state parks and the state park system.
The Program Research Specialist 1, SG-18 will report to a Program Research Special 2, SG-23. Duties include but are not limited to the following:
• Works with business units to develop and build models in support of analytic use cases.
• Reviews and suggests improvements to current or planned systems and processes.
• Conducts surveys general population, facility specific, topic specific and professional surveys in the following subject areas:
o Visitor use and preference surveys in support of master plans including: general visitor survey as well as a general citizen survey conducted every 5 years in support of the federally mandated Statewide Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan (SCORP) and the 5-year Statewide Historic Preservation Plan.
• Performs data extraction, aggregation, and quality checks from multiple sources and tables in support of trend identification and root cause analysis.
• Formats raw data, performs preliminary analysis, proofs data and reports, and implements quality control measures.
• Documents studies and preliminary analysis performed.
• Compares disparate datasets produced by other State Park staff to determine similarities, differences, and trends, such as attendance, revenue, or water quality results year-over-year.
• Conducts economic or market analysis in support of capital and planning projects.
• Summarizes results into accurate and informative reports of data analysis to be provided to agency staff.
• Collaborates with staff to develop innovative business solutions
• Other duties as assigned.
Minimum Qualifications If Civil Service Eligible list(s) exist, they will be canvassed. Candidates must be reachable on the current eligible list(s) to be considered for appointment. You may also apply if you are eligible for appointment or reinstatement by one of the following qualifications:
If you have previous or current employment at a NYS agency, to be considered for this position, a review of your state history is needed. Please provide the last four digits of your social security number in your email response or on your resume. If you are not comfortable providing this information in your response, a representative from our office may contact you.
NY HELPS or 55-b/c Qualifications:
This title is part of the New York Hiring for Emergency Limited Placement Statewide Program (NY HELPS).*
To be considered for appointment through NY HELPS, or 55-b/c, candidates must meet the open-competitive minimum qualifications for this position. The qualifications are:
Program Research Specialist Trainee 1, SG-14:
A bachelor's degree or higher*** including or supplemented by nine semester credit hours in biostatistics, data analysis, or data modeling, economics, econometrics, mathematics**, research methods, or statistics.
Program Research Specialist Trainee 2, SG-16:
A bachelor's degree or higher*** including or supplemented by nine semester credit hours in biostatistics, data analysis, or data modeling, economics, econometrics, mathematics**, research methods, or statistics, and one year of professional research experience performing the collection, manipulation (e.g., data construction, merging data files, data cleaning, working with data files containing different levels of data) and evaluation of quantitative data.
Program Research Specialist 1, SG-18:
Either 1. A bachelor's degree*** including or supplemented by nine semester credit hours in biostatistics, data analysis, data modeling, economics, econometrics, mathematics**, research methods, or statistics and two years of professional research experience performing the collection, manipulation (e.g., data construction, merging data files, data cleaning, working with data files containing different levels of data) and evaluation of quantitative data directed toward review, analysis, and presentation related to program operations.
OR
2. A master's degree or higher*** including or supplemented by nine semester credit hours in biostatistics, data analysis, or data modeling, economics, econometrics, *mathematics, research methods, or statistics AND one year of professional research experience performing the collection, manipulation (e.g., data construction, merging data files, data cleaning, working with data files containing different levels of data) and evaluation of quantitative data directed toward review, analysis, and presentation related to program operations.
**Qualifying mathematics courses will include actuarial science, finance, and mathematics.
***Your degree must have been awarded by a college or university accredited by a regional, national, or specialized agency recognized as an accrediting agency by the U.S. Department of Education/U.S. Secretary of Education (https://ope.ed.gov/dapip/#/home). If your degree was awarded by an educational institution outside the United States or its territories, you must provide independent verification of equivalency. This information can be found at http://www.cs.ny.gov/jobseeker/degrees.cfm. Candidates are responsible for the evaluation fee.
If you are a veteran or an individual with a disability and would like to apply for the Department of Civil Service’s 55-b/c Program, please visit https://www.cs.ny.gov/rp55/ for more information.
Subsequent 55-b/c Qualifications:
A subsequent 55-b/c appointment may be considered if you have at least one year of permanent or contingent-permanent qualifying service and have a current Civil Service 55-b/c letter of eligibility.
Reassignment Qualifications:
Current NYS Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation Employees only, with at least one year of permanent or contingent-permanent qualifying service as a/an Program Research Specialist I, SG-18; if you have less than one year, you must be reachable on the current Program Research Specialist I, SG-18 eligible list for this location, if one exists.
52.6 Transfer Qualifications:
At least one year of permanent or contingent-permanent qualifying service in a title that Civil Service has deemed transfer eligible to the position.
Note: The transfer cannot be a second consecutive transfer resulting in an advancement of more than two salary grades.
For all transfers noted, a comprehensive list of titles approved for transfer is available through Civil Service GOT-IT at https://careermobilityoffice.cs.ny.gov/cmo/gotit/.
70.1 Transfer Qualifications:
At least one year of permanent or contingent-permanent qualifying service in a title that Civil Service has deemed transfer eligible to the position.
Note: The transfer cannot be a second consecutive transfer resulting in an advancement of more than two salary grades.
For all transfers noted, a comprehensive list of titles approved for transfer is available through Civil Service GOT-IT at: https://careermobilityoffice.cs.ny.gov/cmo/gotit/.
Additional Comments If you have previous or current employment at a NYS agency, to be considered for this position, a review of your state history is needed. Please provide the last four digits of your social security number in your email response or on your resume. If you are not comfortable providing this information in your response, a representative from our office may contact you.
Benefits:
The NYS Office of Parks, Recreation & Historic Preservation offers a generous benefits package that includes but is not limited to:
Paid Time Off:
• PEF: 44 days - 13 Vacation days, 13 Sick days, and 5 Personal Leave days,13 Holidays.
• PEF: Three (3) days of professional leave annually to participate in professional development.
Health Care Benefits:
• Eligible employees and dependents can pick from a variety of affordable health insurance programs.
• Family dental and vision benefits at no additional cost.
• Health Insurance Opt-Out: This program may be available to eligible employees who have other employer sponsored health insurance coverage.
Additional Benefits:
• New York State Employees’ Retirement System (ERS) Membership
• NYS Deferred Compensation
• Health Insurance coverage in retirement
• Health Care Spending Account (HSA)
• Dependent Care Advantage Account
• Adoption Advantage Account
• Access to NY 529 and NY ABLE College Savings Programs, as well as U.S. Savings Bonds
• Tuition Assistance programs for CSEA/PEF and M/C employees
• Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF)
• Paid Parental Leave
To learn more about our benefits, visit: https://parks.ny.gov/employment/benefits.aspx.
Telecommuting may be available - will be discussed at interview.
*NY HELPS PROGRAM:
For the duration of the NY HELPS Program, this title may be filled via a permanent non-competitive appointment, which means no examination is required but all candidates must meet the minimum qualifications of the title for which they apply.
At a future date (within one year of permanent appointment), it is expected employees hired under NY HELPS will have their non-competitive employment status converted to competitive status, without having to compete in an examination. Employees will then be afforded with all of the same rights and privileges of competitive class employees of New York State. While serving permanently in a NY HELPS title, employees may take part in any promotion examination for which they are qualified.
Employees appointed via the NY HELPS program are restricted for promotional appointment until their position is covered-in to the competitive class by the New York State Civil Service Commission (CSC), or they otherwise obtain permanent competitive status. The CSC has covered-in employees who were appointed via NY HELPS on a permanent or contingent permanent basis between June 26, 2024 and June 11, 2025. You may wish to apply if you received a permanent NY HELPS appointment to a qualifying title within these timeframes and are interested in this opportunity. Your eligibility for promotion will be reviewed by Human Resources. Employees with a permanent NY HELPS appointment occurring effective June 12, 2025 or later will be addressed with a subsequent cover-in.
This position may require a background check and/or medical exam prior to appointment.
Depending on each applicant's experience and/or current salary if employed by New York State already, the appointment may be made to the Program Research Specialist Trainee 1, Program Research Specialist Trainee 2, or the Program Research Specialist 1 titles. Included below is a breakdown of the salary at each level of the traineeship:
• Program Research Specialist Trainee 1, SG-NS (equated to SG-14): $53,764 - $68,630/yr
• Program Research Specialist Trainee 2, SG-NS (equated to SG-16): $59,994 - $76,359/yr
• Program Research Specialist, SG-18: $66,951- $85,138/yr
Note: For all transfers noted, a comprehensive list of titles approved for transfer is available through Civil Service GOT-IT at https://careermobilityoffice.cs.ny.gov/cmo/gotit/.
Some positions may require additional credentials or a background check to verify your identity.
Email Address employment@parks.ny.gov
Address
Notes on ApplyingTO APPLY:
Please be advised that New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation does not use E-Verify and does not offer sponsorship for employment visas statuses (i.e. H-1B, Self-Sponsorship, STEM OPT). Candidates sponsored for employment by an organization should be aware of their sponsorship status and the relevant expiration date(s) of that sponsorship before applying to this position.
All candidates must submit a written resume and cover letter which clearly demonstrates how they meet the minimum qualifications for the position. Please submit your resume and cover letter as a Word or PDF attachment. We are unable to open documents from Google Docs, Google Drive, OneDrive, Apple Pages, and/or “the cloud”.
Your application must be received by August 6, 2026 and submitted via email to: employment@parks.ny.gov
Please use the email subject line: Vacancy ID 220487 - Program Research Specialist 1/Program Research Specialist Trainee 1/2 – DESP – Albany. Failure to do so may result in not being considered for the position.
It is the responsibility of each applicant to accurately describe their experience and demonstrate that they meet the minimum qualifications. Failure to demonstrate that you meet the minimum qualifications and operating needs may result in your resume not being considered for this position.
Candidates from diverse backgrounds are encouraged to apply. The NYS Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer committed to ensuring equal opportunity for persons with disabilities and workplace diversity.
New York State (NYS) is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer. NYS Law prohibits discrimination because of age, race, creed, color, national origin, sexual orientation, military status, sex, disability, predisposing genetic characteristics, marital status, domestic violence victim status, carrier status, gender identity or prior conviction records, or prior arrests, youthful offender adjudications or sealed records unless based on a bona fide occupational qualification or other exception.
Executive Order 31 commits New York State government to becoming a model employer for people with disabilities, increasing the participation of people with disabilities in state service, and ensuring equal access to opportunities. OPRHP encourages people with disabilities to apply. We provide reasonable and religious accommodations for any part of the application and hiring process. If you have a disability or special need that requires accommodation, please send a request to the Equal Opportunity Unit at ReasonableAccommodation@parks.ny.gov or (518) 486-7754.