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Forestry Technician (Fire)

Department of Agriculture
Forest Service
This job announcement has closed

Summary

This announcement serves as a Forestry Aid for the Pacific Southwest Region R5.

THIS IS AN OPEN CONTINUOUS ANNOUNCEMENT. This type of announcement provides the Forest Service with a readily available source of applicants when vacancies occur. Eligibility and qualifications will be verified when there is a vacancy for the location and grade for which you applied.

Certificates will be issued Jan 24, 25 and 26 2023 in conjunction with an on site hiring event.

Event Flyer Link

Overview

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Hiring complete
Open & closing dates
01/17/2023 to 01/26/2023
Salary
$16.14 to - $16.14 per hour
Pay scale & grade
GS 4
Location
MANY vacancies in the following location:
Forest Locations State of CA
Location Negotiable After Selection
Remote job
No
Telework eligible
No
Travel Required
Occasional travel - Occasional overnight travel may be required for fire suppression or fire related assignment
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Temporary
Work schedule
Multiple Schedules
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
None
Job family (Series)
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Not Required
Drug test
No
Position sensitivity and risk
Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk
Trust determination process
Announcement number
23-EHT-OCR-R5JAN-TF0003-4DH
Control number
695596600

This job is open to

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Clarification from the agency

Applications will be accepted from any U.S. citizen. Direct Hire Authority will be used to fill this position. Veterans Preference and traditional rating and ranking of applicants does not apply to this vacancy.

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Duties

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  • Performs as a member of a fire crew assigned to suppress the full range of difficulty and complexity of fires.
  • Moves dirt, chops brush, fells small trees, etc., to build fireline using hand tools such as axe, Pulaski, shovel and McLeod, and power saws, to control spreading wildland fire.
  • May be required to rappel. Sets backfires as directed. Cleans, reconditions, and stores specialized fire tools and equipment.
  • Patrols areas of controlled fires to "mop-up" by searching out and extinguishing any remaining burning material.
  • May be assigned to other resource management activities such as fuels, recreation, timber, or reforestation when not performing fire suppression duties.
  • Serves as a skilled wildland firefighter on an organized crew during prescribed burns, monitoring and controlling the fire, and collecting data on fire weather and fire behavior.
  • May be assigned to other resource management activities such as fuels, recreation, timber, or reforestation when not performing fire suppression duties.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • You must be a US Citizen or US National.
  • Males born after 12/31/1959 must be Selective Service registered or exempt.
  • Subject to satisfactory adjudication of background investigation and/or fingerprint check
  • Direct Deposit Per Public Law 104-134 all Federal employees are required to have federal payments made by direct deposit to a financial institution of your choosing.
  • Must be 18 years of age
  • Successfully pass the E-Verify employment verification check. To learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities, visit e-Verify
  • Some Fire positions may have Conditions of Employment such as: a valid state driver's license; a commercial driver's license (CDL); pre-appointment and random drug testing; or a physical or medical examination.
  • Must pass the Work Capacity Test for certain Interagency Fire Program Management or Fire Program Management positions.
  • Willing to live/work in remote locations (volatile/unpredictable).
  • Occasional overnight travel may be required for fire suppression or fire related assignment
  • Must obtain and maintain a valid State Driver's License
  • Subject to medical screening and must meet the Federal Wildland Firefighter Medical Standards for arduous duty wildland firefighting.

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.

Your application and resume must clearly show that you possess the experience requirements. Transcripts must be provided for qualifications based on education. Provide course descriptions as necessary.

GS-04: Applicants must have six months of general experience (any type of work that demonstrated the ability to perform the work of the position, or experience that provided a familiarity with the subject matter or processes of the broad subject area of the occupation) AND six months of specialized experience that is directly related to the work of the position; OR successful completion of 2 years of study that included at least 12 semester hours in any combination of courses such as forestry, agriculture, crop or plant science, range management or conservation, wildlife management, watershed management, soil science, natural resources (except marine fisheries and oceanography), outdoor recreation management, civil or forest engineering, or wildland fire science (no more than 3 semester hours in mathematics is creditable); OR an appropriate combination of experience and education above high school as described above. The education must have been obtained in an accredited business, secretarial or technical school, junior college, college or university and include courses that are related to the occupation of the position.

Examples of General Experience includes: Performed farm/ranch labor, such as feeding/tending livestock or general maintenance of farm/ranch facilities and/or worked in a greenhouse, nursery or landscaping e.g., planting, moving, watering, and tending plants and/or animal caretaker in a laboratory, zoo or pet store and/or volunteer work at a park, hospital, community sports league, local fire department, etc.

Examples of specialized experience include: Used hand tools or power equipment to create a fire line and/or remove debris. Inventoried and/or restocked engines or fire caches to maintain fire readiness. Served on a crew to suppress the full range of fires.


Selective Placement Factors

  • Incumbent is subject to medical screening and must meet the Federal Wildland Firefighter Medical Qualification Standards for arduous duty wildland firefighting.
  • Incumbent must obtain and maintain a valid State Driver's License.
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.


WORK CAPACITY TEST (WCT) for Wildland Firefighters: This position participates in wildland firefighting activities. Based on the type of work performed, TAKING and PASSING the WCT at the ARDUOUS level is a condition of employment, which means you must maintain the required level of physical fitness in order to remain in the position. The Arduous fitness (Pack) Test requires completing a three (3) mile hike within forty-five (45) minutes, while carrying a forty-five (45) pound pack. You are strongly encouraged to consult with your physician and begin training immediately if applying for this position. This announcement constitutes the required 30 days advanced notice for testing requirements.

To receive consideration for this position, you must provide updated required documents and meet all qualification requirements by the closing date of this announcement.

Additional information

This position is temporary, has a Not-to-Exceed date and will be filled for up to 6 months or as a not to exceed (NTE) 1 year, however an extension of the appointment may be possible without further competition. The appointment may also end early due to lack of work or lack of funds.

https://www.fs.usda.gov/main/r5/about-region/offices

The duty station for this position will be at one of the duty locations listed in this announcement. Salary range as shown is the locality pay Rest of U.S. (RUS). Pay rates vary by location. Please visit the Office of Personnel Management's website for additional information on pay rates.

Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP), Reemployment Priority List (RPL), or Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP): To exercise selection priority for this vacancy, CTAP/RPL/ICTAP candidates must meet the basic eligibility requirements and all selective factors.

Selections made under this authority will be processed as new appointments to the civil service. Current civil service employees would be given a new appointment.

Positions filled from this announcement may be a bargaining or a non-bargaining unit position represented by either NFFE, AFGE or NAGE.

Recruitment or Relocation Incentive may be authorized. Final determination to pay an incentive will be made by the hiring official at time of job offer.

The Forest Service may use certain incentives and hiring flexibilities, currently offered by the Federal government, to attract highly qualified candidates. Additional information is available at https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leave/pay-and-leave-flexibilities-for-recruitment-and-retention/

Forest Service daycare facilities may be available.

Government Housing may be available.

How you will be evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

This is a Direct-Hire Authority position, all applicants who meet the minimum qualifications, to include any selective placement factor(s), if applicable, will be referred to the selecting official. Before a certificate is issued to the selecting official, the resume is reviewed to ensure that you meet all the qualification requirements. A rating will not be used; veteran's preference does not apply due to the existence of the Direct Hire authority for this position.

Note: If, after reviewing your resume and/or supporting documentation, a determination is made that you have inflated your qualifications and or experience, your score may be adjusted to more accurately reflect your abilities, or you may be found ineligible. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your rating. Providing inaccurate information on Federal documents could be grounds for non-selection or disciplinary action up to including removal from the Federal service.

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