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Assistant Fire Management Officer

Department of the Interior
National Park Service
Bandelier National Monument
This job announcement has closed

Summary

The incumbent serves as the Assistant Fire Management Officer for the following Park Service units; Bandelier National Monument, Valles Caldera National Preserve, Pecos National Historical Park and Fort Union National Monument.

This is a full-time permanent position.

Overview

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Job canceled
Open & closing dates
01/30/2020 to 02/13/2020
This job will close when we have received 50 applications which may be sooner than the closing date. Learn more
Salary
$64,412 to - $83,734 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 11
Location
1 vacancy in the following location:
Los Alamos, NM
Telework eligible
No
Travel Required
25% or less - You will be expected to travel for this position.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
Yes—Travel, transportation, and relocation expenses will be paid if the selectee lives outside of the local commuting area and is otherwise eligible for reimbursement of relocation expenses in accordance with the Federal Travel Regulation. Employer paid and reimbursed relocation expenses are considered taxable income. The NPS does not provide tax, legal or accounting advice. Employees should consult professional tax, legal and accounting advisers regarding concerns about the financial implications.
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-Time
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
None
Supervisory status
Yes
Security clearance
Not Required
Drug test
Yes
Position sensitivity and risk
Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk
Trust determination process
Announcement number
IM-1538-BAND-20-10709409-ST
Control number
558279400

Duties

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The Assistant Fire Management Officer supports the Fire Management Officer with all phases of the fire management program, including planning, program direction, coordination and evaluation. The AFMO supervises a Type 6 engine module, NPS helitack personnel on an interagency helitack crew, and a fuels tech. The AFMO helps the FMO ensure that the fire management program is in compliance with environmental laws, regulations, and policies. Works to coordinate program activities with federal, state, tribal and local government entities/agencies. Coordinates and initiates all fire management activities based on firefighter and public safety, cost effectiveness, and values to be protected consistent with resource objectives, by using the full range of strategic and tactical options.

The position will be duty stationed at an interagency facility located on Department of Energy property in Los Alamos, NM.

Bandelier National Monument, located on the slopes of the Jemez Mountains of northern New Mexico, is a 33,000+ acre monument established to protect the Ancestral Pueblo sites found here. Bandelier includes a designated wilderness area of 23,267 acres and an 800-acre detached archeological section. The Monument preserves numerous archeological features of a late prehistoric period, which represents the transition of the Pueblo Indians from the prehistoric Ancestral Puebloan to modern traditions. Annual visitation exceeds 200,000. Bandelier is located 45 miles from Santa Fe, 32 miles from Espanola, and 12 miles from Los Alamos. The terrain is rugged but beautiful, from 5,300 to 10,199 feet with headquarters located at 6,000 feet. Summers are hot with afternoon thunderstorms being common in late summer. Good medical facilities, schools, and shopping are available in Los Alamos and White Rock. Local cost of living is considered high. For more information about the park visit: http://www.nps.gov/band/

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • U.S. Citizenship required.
  • Appointment subject to background investigation and favorable adjudication.
  • Meet Selective Service Registration Act requirement for males.
  • Selectee will be required to participate in the Direct Deposit Electronics Funds Transfer Program.
  • 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.
  • 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 will be required to submit a Motor Vehicle Operator's License and Driving Record. You must also submit (within a State sealed envelope or submitted directly by the State authorities), and at your own expense, all certified driving records from all States that disclose all valid driver's licenses, whether current or past, possessed by you.
  • Selectees may be expected to travel in (not pilot) a small single-engine aircraft or fixed wing rotor.
  • You will be required to wear a uniform and comply with the National Park Service uniform standards. A uniform allowance will be provided.
  • You may be required to work on-call, evenings, weekends, holidays, overtime and shift work.
  • Government housing may be available.
  • If you are a new employee or supervisor in the Federal government, you will be required to complete a one-year probationary period.
  • Any individual who is currently holding, or has held within the previous 52 weeks, a General Schedule position under non-temporary appointment in the competitive or excepted service, must meet time-in-grade requirements (must have served 52 weeks at the next lower grade or equivalent in the Federal service). Time-in-grade requirements must be met by the closing date of this announcement.
  • You may be required to travel overnight away from home. You must obtain a government charge card for travel purposes.

Qualifications

All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement-02/13/2020-unless otherwise stated in this vacancy announcement.

Credit will be given for all appropriate qualifying experience. To receive credit for experience, your 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 either full-time or 40 hours per week. If a part-time work schedule is reflected, the hours must be annotated to ensure proper crediting of specialized experience.

Selective Factor: Candidates must possess a minimum of 90-days of 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 in order to be considered.

- AND -

This occupation has specific educational requirements. It is your responsibility to show how you satisfy the course requirements for the series you are applying for. If you do not provide information that clearly shows how your completed college course work meets all of the requirements, you will be rated ineligible. Your rating will be based solely on the information you submit with your application. No attempts will be made to verify with you, or the school you attended, whether or not your course work meets all of the requirements. YOU MUST SUBMIT A COPY OF ALL YOUR COLLEGE TRANSCRIPTS. If selected, a copy of your official transcripts will be required.
Basic Education: Successful completed a full 4-year course of study leading to a Bachelor's or higher degree in biological sciences, agriculture, natural resource management, chemistry, or related disciplines appropriate to the position. The following additional subject fields have been determined to be acceptable as directly related degree programs for fire management jobs in this series: wildland fire management, forestry agronomy, biochemistry, biometrics, ecology, fishery biology, general fish and wildlife administration, horticulture, natural resources management, physiology, plant physiology, rangeland management, soil science, wildlife biology, zoology, agriculture extension, animal science, botany, entomology, genetics, microbiology, pharmacology, plant pathology, plant protection and quarantine, soil conservation, toxicology, wildlife refuge management. In addition, natural resources related disciplines include chemistry, environmental sciences (not environmental or natural resources policy), hydrology, outdoor recreation if it has a natural resources emphasis, physics, fire management, earth sciences, geology, meteorology related weather, climate, physical geography if it has a natural resources emphasis, and watershed management.
- OR -
Possess a combination of education and experience, which included courses equivalent to a major (24 semester hours or equivalent) as shown above, plus appropriate experience or additional education to total four years. The nature and quality of this course work must have been such that it would serve as a prerequisite for more advance study in the field or subject-matter area. This means the required course work must show progression beyond the associate degree level in directly related coursework, such that it may be considered to be leading towards a bachelor's degree in the related field.
- AND -
In addition to meeting the above Selective Factors, you must also possess one of the following specialized experience or education qualifications:

GS-401-11:Specialized Experience: At least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-09 level in the Federal service. Specialized experience is experience that equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities needed to successfully perform the duties of this position. For this position at the GS-11 level, specialized experience must have included the fire program management elements as described below: (1) Reviewing and evaluating fire management plans for ecological soundness and technical adequacy. (2) Conducting field inspections before and after prescribed or wildland fires to determine if resource objectives were achieved and/or to evaluate the effectiveness of actions taken, and; (3) Developing analyses on the ecological role of fire and its use and/or exclusion, and smoke management. In addition to fire program management, experience must have included either: (1) Prescribed fire/fuels management experience in a broad range of activities such as: professional forest or range inventory methods and procedures (e.g., Brown's planar intercept for dead and downed fuels; live fuel loading assessments); analysis of fuel loadings and determination of appropriate fuel treatment methods and programming; land use planning and environmental coordination; evaluation of prescribed burn plans or fire management plans to ensure fire containment is possible and identification of appropriate suppression contingencies in containment is not obtained, or; (2) Fire management operations which has included analyzing and applying fire management strategies; plus experience in at least five of the following activities: mobilization and dispatch coordination; fire prevention and education; training; logistics; equipment development and deployment; fire communications systems; suppression and preparedness; aviation. OR
Education: Possess at least three (3) years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. degree or Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree in a field related to the position being filled as described above. OR
Combination: Possess a combination of education and experience. For example, six months of specialized experience (50% of the experience requirements), and 45 semester hours or 68 quarter hours of graduate education in the fields of study described (50% of the education requirement).


Volunteer Experience: 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.

Education

You must submit a legible copy of transcripts from an accredited institution with your name, school name, credit hours, course level, major(s), and grade-point average or class ranking. Transcripts do not need to be official, but if you are selected for this position and you used your education to qualify, you must provide official transcripts before you begin work.

If you are using education completed in foreign colleges or universities to meet qualification requirements, you must show that your education credentials have been evaluated by a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign education programs and such education has been deemed equivalent to that gained in an accredited U.S. education program; or full credit has been given for the courses at a U.S. accredited college or university.

Additional information

Physical Demands: Normally the work is sedentary but often requires physical exertion while overseeing fire suppression activities including walking over rough, steep, uneven terrain in all types of weather. The incumbent is faced with emergency situations at all hours and must respond quickly. The position may require long shifts or multi-day assignments under primitive living conditions during emergencies. During fire season, extended fire assignments away from the unit may be required under very stressful conditions.

Working Conditions: Most work is performed in an office setting. Field work is sometimes performed. Temperatures are frequently extreme, both from weather and fire conditions where the presence of smoke and/or dust conditions are frequently severe.

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. To be eligible for Secondary retirement coverage under CSRS, an employee must transfer directly (without a break in service exceeding 3 days) from a primary position to a secondary position. 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 position.




If you are unable to apply online or need to fax a document that you do not have in electronic form, view the following link for information regarding an Alternate Application. Click the following link for more information, https://help.usastaffing.gov/Apply/index.php?title=Alternate_Application_Information.

How you will be evaluated

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

A review of your resume and supporting documentation will be made and compared against your responses to the Assessment Questionnaire to determine if you are qualified for this job. If your resume is incomplete or does not support the responses provided in the Assessment Questionnaire, or if you fail to submit all required documentation, you will be rated 'ineligible', 'not qualified', or your score will be adjusted accordingly. If a determination is made that you have inflated your qualifications or experience, you can lose consideration for this position. Please follow all instructions carefully; errors or omissions can affect your rating.

Candidates who apply under Competitive Merit Promotion procedures will undergo a quality review to determine if they are highly qualified based on the content of their resume and their responses to the questionnaire. Best qualified candidates will be referred if all required supporting documentation has been provided.

Candidates who apply under Noncompetitive Merit Promotion procedures will undergo a quality review to determine if they are minimally qualified based on the content of their resume and their responses to the questionnaire. Qualified candidates will be referred if all required supporting documentation has been provided.

You will be evaluated on the following competencies:

  • Fire Management
  • Influencing/Negotiating
  • Leadership
  • Planning and Evaluating
  • Public Safety and Security


Please submit 1) a copy of your most recent performance appraisal/evaluation and 2) a list of any awards (e.g. superior performance awards, special act or achievement awards, quality step increase, etc.) you received in the last 5 years. Any performance appraisal/evaluation and award documentation you provide will be forwarded to the selecting official. The selecting official will review this documentation and give it due weight consideration during the overall selection process.

If you do not have your most recent performance appraisal/evaluation, please submit a statement as to why it is not available. Please indicate if any prior performance appraisals/evaluations were at an acceptable level.

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