Wildland Firefighter (Fuels Management) - Direct Hire Authority

Summary For more information about each location see "Position Information". Please ensure you read the announcement fully prior to submitting application package. Duties Provides short- and long-range planning; budgeting; and management of wildland fire, fuels management, and prescribed fire programs. Coordinates with federal, state, tribal and local government air quality officials to comply with operational procedures and reporting requirements. Adjusts model inputs such as weather and fuels indices to forecast desired fire behavior and fire effects to meet objectives. Serves as a member of an interdisciplinary team (forestry, wildlife biology, range management, geology, archeology, etc.) developing and implementing fire management plans. Coordinates and implements the technical and administrative aspects of the prescribed fire/fuels plan, ensuring that preparation, ignition, holding, mop-up, and rehabilitation are completed to the standards specified and in accordance with regulations, policies, and guidelines. Evaluates treatment effectiveness, identifies potential problems and makes changes to ensure objectives are met, within policy and guidelines. Participates in contract administration activities under the guidance of a Contracting Officer's Representative (COR). Participates in a fire management program that includes fuels management, fire suppression, monitoring, and post-fire activities. Exercises the full range of administrative and technical supervision for a supporting staff. Develops performance standards and evaluates the performance of subordinates. Requirements Conditions of employment U.S. Citizenship required. Males born after 12/31/1959 must be registered for Selective Service or exempt. Appointment subject to background investigation and favorable adjudication. Selectee will be required to participate in the Direct Deposit Electronics Funds Transfer Program. Must be 18 years of age at time of close date of announcement. Prior primary/rigorous wildland firefighting experience is required. You will be required to submit to a drug test and receive a negative drug test result prior to appointment. In addition, this position is subject to random testing for illegal drug use. Must pass the Work Capacity Test for certain Interagency Fire Program Management or Fire Program Management positions. You will be required to operate a government (or private) motor vehicle as part of your official duties; a valid driver's license is required. You may be required to wear a uniform and comply with the Wildland Fire Service uniform standards. A uniform allowance will be provided. You may be required to work on-call, evenings, weekends, holidays, overtime and shift work. Subject to frequent extended travel particularly during fire season, and you must obtain a government charge card for travel. Incumbent will be required to complete training and obtain/maintain a government charge card with travel and/or purchase authority. Willing to live/work in remote locations (volatile/unpredictable). Government housing MAY be available, is on a bid system, and is NOT guaranteed. Qualifications In order to qualify, you must meet the eligibility and qualifications requirements as defined below by the closing date of the announcement. For more information on the qualifications for this position, visit the Office of Personnel Management's General Schedule Qualification Standards. Credit will be given for all appropriate qualifying experience. To receive credit for experience, your 2 page resume MUST clearly indicate the nature of the duties and responsibilities for each position, starting and ending dates of employment (month/year), and the resume must reflect total number of hours worked (i.e., work 40+ hours a week, rather than indicating full-time or part-time, hours must be included). If part-time, the hours must be annotated to be able to pro-rate the amount of qualified specialized experience. Resumes must not exceed two single-sided pages and resumes longer than two pages will not be accepted. You may only submit one resume. Only the document submitted as the "Resume" under the Documents section will be used to determine your qualifications/eligibility and for rating purposes. In the event you submit more than one resume, only the latest submission will be reviewed. If an applicant's resume is incomplete or does not support the requirements for minimum qualifications or specialized experience a rating of "ineligible" or "not qualified" will be applied and no consideration for employment will be granted. This position has been identified as one of the key fire management positions under the Interagency Fire Program management (IFPM) Standard. This position requires selectee to meet the minimum qualification standards for IFPM prior to being placed into the position. For more information on IFPM, click here. Basic Qualification Requirements: Candidates must possess Primary/Rigorous wildland firefighting experience, gained through fire line work in containment, control, suppression or use of wildland fire. You must clearly demonstrate this experience in your resume, including the months, days, and hours per week at which the work was performed to be considered.; AND Successfully completed the Primary NWCG Core Requirements of: Prescribed Burn Boss (RXB2) AND At least one of the following: Incident Commander Type 3 (ICT3) OR Task Force Leader (TFLD) OR Helibase Manager (HEBM) In addition to the requirements described above, the following additional experience is required: For the GW-09 level: At least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS/GW-08 level, or higher, in the Federal service, or equivalent, which includes all of the following; Examples of specialized experience include: Planned and/or implemented prescribed fire or managing wildfire to ensure resource objectives can be met from a fire management standpoint; Developed and/or implemented initial attack incident management strategies and tactics to meet the stated resource objectives; Implemented mitigation measures during wildland fire activities to protect sensitive habitats, endangered species, sensitive plants, or cultural values. In order to be considered for this position, copies of your Incident Qualification and Certification System (IQCS) Master Record (or equivalent training documents) which contain documented proof of the certification or attainment of the IFPM Selective Placement Factor for this position MUST be attached to your application. Red cards are not acceptable documentation. Currency Requirement: Required to maintain currency once hired into the position. Currency of NWCG qualifications is not required for selection. If not currently qualified, the applicant must provide documented evidence that they have been fully qualified in the past and are able to regain currency within one year of being hired. Failure to provide this documentation will result in disqualification. This is a secondary-administrative firefighter position under the special retirement provisions of 5 U.S. C. 8336 (c) (CSRS) and 5 U. S. C. 8412 (d) (FERS). PLEASE NOTE: Applicants may meet qualification requirements but may not be eligible for special retirement coverage. If such an applicant is selected, they will be placed in the regular retirement system. FERS TRANSITION REQUIREMENT: To be eligible for Secondary retirement coverage under FERS, an employee must: 1) transfer directly (without a break in service exceeding 3 days) from a primary position to a secondary position, AND 2) complete 3 years of service in a primary rigorous position including any such service during which no FERS deductions were withheld, AND 3) must be continuously employed in a secondary position(s) since moving from a primary rigorous position, except for any break in employment from a secondary position that began with involuntary separation (not for cause). It is the responsibility of the applicant to ensure this office has enough information to determine your special retirement status to ensure you do not lose benefits (normally through submission of your work history or other documentation that demonstrates work history of approved covered positions). You must let this office know if you are in a Primary coverage position. Substantial wildland firefighting experience is required to meet qualifications for secondary (administrative) covered positions. The Department of Interior defines wildland firefighting experience as: On-the-line wildland firefighting experience gained through containment, control, suppression, or use of wildland fire. This experience can be met by serving in a temporary, seasonal, or equivalent private sector fire position. Periods of wildland firefighting experience, gained through militia and rural fire departments, can also be credited. Wildland fire is defined as any non-structure fire that occurs in the wildland. Two distinct types of wildland fire have been defined and include wildfire and prescribed fires as follows: Wildfire: Unplanned ignitions or prescribed fires that are declared wildfires. Prescribed Fires: Planned ignitions. This description includes only fire line experience on a Prescribed Fire; it does not include experience in the planning stages. Prescribed fire experience must be supplemented by fire suppression experience to be creditable as previous wildland firefighting experience. You must clearly demonstrate this experience in your resume, including the months, days and hours per week at which the work was performed in order to be considered. Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religious; spiritual; community, student, social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. To receive consideration for this position, you must provide updated required documents and meet all qualification requirements by the closing date of this announcement. Education IMPORTANT - PLEASE NOTE: There is no qualifying education for the 0456 series. Position Information: Incumbent serves as an experienced leader within a wildland fire module, exercising execution, supervision and leadership for fire management activities in fire preparedness, fuels management and prevention, and fire suppression, monitoring, and post-fire. Work may also include all-hazard and emergency response activities. **PLEASE NOTE - these positions are covered under the new GW pay table specific to Wildland Firefighters GW Wildland Firefighter Pay Tables. There are a total of two positions being filled in the following areas: One position being filled at Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks; duty location Sequoia NP, CA. This position is covered under the Fresno locality pay table: Fresno Pay Table. For additional questions regarding the duties or location for this position, please contact either Leif Mathiesen at [email protected], or Cristian Lopez at [email protected]. One position being filled at Yosemite National Park; duty location El Portal, CA. This position is covered under the Fresno locality pay table: Fresno Pay Table. For additional questions regarding the duties or location for this position, please contact Russ Mitchell at [email protected]. In order to be considered for any, or all locations, please ensure desired locations are selected. Additional information This notice is being issued to recruit personnel to occupations for which a critical hiring need has been identified. To assist in filling these positions, OPM has granted the Department of the Interior "Direct Hire Authority". This announcement may be used to fill additional positions if identical vacancies occur within 90 days of the issue date of the referral certificate. A selectee receiving a first appointment to the Federal Government (Civil Service) is entitled only to the lowest step of the grade for which selected (step 1). The display of a salary range on this vacancy shall not be construed as granting an entitlement to a higher rate of pay. A Recruitment Incentive May Be Authorized for a newly selected employee when appointed to a permanent, temporary, or term position. A Federal employee who is transferring to the National Park Service from another component, bureau, or Federal agency and who does not meet the conditions under 5 CFR 575.102 is not eligible for a recruitment incentive. A Relocation Incentive May Be Authorized for a Federal employee when the employee must move, as directed by the National Park Service (NPS) either through a management directed reassignment or selection for employment, to a different location at least 50 miles away from the one where his/her position of record held at time of selection is currently located, due to a need of the NPS. A relocation incentive is not the same as a Permanent Change of Station (PCS) move and, as such, may be granted in conjunction with one another. Physical Demands: Arduous exertion for protracted periods of time such as, but not limited to, extensive running, walking, climbing, kneeling, stooping, pulling hoses, jumping and twisting, prolonged standing, walking over uneven ground, and recurring bending, reaching, lifting and carrying items weighing over 50 pounds and shared lifting and carrying of heavier items, and similar activities requiring at least average agility and dexterity. Working Conditions: Forest, range, and desert environments in steep terrain where surfaces may be extremely uneven, rocky, covered with thick tangled vegetation, smoky conditions, etc. Temperatures commonly exceed 100 degrees F and may fall below freezing. Risks include smoke inhalation, fire entrapment, snake or insect bites and stings, exposure to excessive machinery noise, and falling and rolling material. Employee must adjust and cope with exposure to weather elements,, dust and smoke, poor bivouac and eating situations under an unpredictable set of circumstances. Firefighters may be required to live in backcountry camps for extended periods of time. The hazardous nature of the work requires that personal protective equipment (PPE) be worn (e.g.: boots, hard hat, gloves, flame resistant clothing). Work may require travel by fixed-wing or rotor-wing aircraft. Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution. Benefits A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits. Review our benefits Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.