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Forestry Technician (Fire Dispatch)

Department of the Interior
Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs
This job announcement has closed

Summary

This position is being re-advertised. Applicants who applied previously need not to reapply unless submitting updated and/or additional information.

This position is located with the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Southwest Region in Durango, Colorado. The incumbent is to service as a Senior Fire Dispatcher in support of fire suppression activities.

Overview

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Hiring complete
Open & closing dates
10/30/2020 to 11/29/2020
Salary
$38,921 to - $56,222 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 6 - 7
Location
1 vacancy in the following location:
Durango, CO
Telework eligible
No
Travel Required
Occasional travel - You may be expected to travel for this position.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
Yes—You may qualify for reimbursement of relocation expenses in accordance with agency policy.
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-time - Seasonal
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
7
Job family (Series)
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Other
Drug test
Yes
Position sensitivity and risk
Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk
Trust determination process
Announcement number
ST-10863062-20-AG
Control number
573424500

Duties

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  • Perform and direct others in receiving fire reports, determining location, land status and current fire information.
  • Coordinate aviation dispatch operations (e.g., aircraft capabilities and limitations, flight planning, aviation safety.
  • Determine appropriate resource response to incidents and requests from the field and dispatches personnel, equipment, aircraft, and/or supplies.
  • Process and interpret weather information (e.g. spot weather forecast, weather station observations, current and forecasted weather, lightning detection and fuel moisture.
  • Organizes and review completed records of all orders placed and actions taken to ensure adherence to established operation procedures.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • U.S. Citizenship Required
  • Indian Preference applies
  • You will be required to have federal payments made by Direct Deposit
  • You may be required to successfully complete a probationary/trial period
  • A background security investigation will be required for all new hires. Appointment will be subject to the applicant's successful completion of a background security investigation and favorable adjudication.
  • If you are a male applicant born after 12/31/1959 and are required to register under the Military Selective Service Act, the Defense Authorization Act of 1986 requires that you be registered or you are not eligible for appointment in this agency.
  • Incumbent is required to operate a government motor vehicle, must possess a valid driver's license, and have a safe driving record within the 3 year period immediately preceding submittal of GSA Form 3607.
  • This position is subject to both pre-employment and random drug testing as a condition of employment. Applicants will not be appointed to the position if a verified positive drug test is received.

Qualifications

EXPERIENCE AND EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS: (OPM Operating Manual, Qualification Standards for Technical and Medical Support Positions and Individual Occupational Requirements for GS-0462: Forestry Technician Series).

GS-6: 1 year of specialized work experience equivalent to the GS-05 level. Examples of specialized experience include, but are not limited to, serving as a dispatcher receiving, filling, and tracking resource requests and other emergency incidents; sending requests to higher organizational levels for additional resources as needed; or 1 year of graduate level education directly related to the position; or a combination of graduate level education and specialized experience that is directly related to the work of the position.

GS-7: 1 year of specialized work experience equivalent to the GS-06 level. Examples of specialized experience include, but are not limited to, performing as a dispatcher and directing others in receiving fire reports, determining location, land status, and fire information; determines appropriate resource response to incidents and requests from the field and dispatches personnel, equipment, aircraft and/or supplies; anticipates fire suppression needs and determines resource allocation; operates and/or directs the operation of various dispatch telecommunication systems; organizes and reviews completed records of all orders placed and actions taken to ensure adherence to established operating procedures; or one full year of graduate-level education (18 semester hours, 27 quarter hours or equivalent) in forestry, range management, agriculture, or a subject-matter field directly related to the position; or a combination of specialized experience as described in A and graduate education as described in B and when combined together this meets 100% of the total requirements for the position. To compute, divide your total months of qualifying experience by 12. Then divide your semester hours of graduate education by 18. Add the two percentages. The total percentage must equal at least 100% to qualify.

This position requires a minimum of 90 days previous wildland firefighting experience which provided knowledge of the techniques, policies, and practices of wildland fire management. Wildland fire are categorized into two distinct types: 1) Wildfires - unplanned ignitions or prescribed fires that are declared wildfires; 2) Prescribed Fires - Planned ignitions. This description includes only fireline experience on a Prescribed Fire; it does not include experience in the planning states.

This position is a secondary-administrative firefighter position under the special retirement provisions of 5 USC 8336 (c) (CSRS) and 8412 (d) (FERS).

All qualification requirements must be met by the closing date of this announcement.

Merit Promotion candidates must also meet time-in-grade requirements by the announcement closing date.

THIS POSITION WILL SUPPORT THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT'S RESPONSE EFFORTS TO COVID-19

Education

If you are qualifying based on your education, you MUST provide transcripts or other documentation to support your educational claims. Unless otherwise stated: (1) official or unofficial transcripts are acceptable, or (2) you may submit a list with all of your courses, grades, semester, year, and credit for the course. All materials must be submitted by the closing date of the announcement.

If more than 10 percent of your undergraduate course work (credit hours) were taken on a pass/fail basis, your claim of superior academic achievement must be based upon class standing or membership in an honor society.

One academic year of graduate education is considered to be the number of credits hours your graduate school has determined to represent one academic year of full-time study. Such study may have been performed on a full-time or part-time basis. If you cannot obtain your graduate school's definition of one year of graduate study, 18 semester hours (or 27 quarter hours) should be considered as satisfying the requirement for one year of full-time graduate study.

If you are using education completed in foreign colleges or universities to meet the qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education which shows the 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. For further information, visit: FOREIGN EDUCATION

Additional information

All new hires earn the beginning salary of their pay grade (Step 1). See 2020 Salary Tables and select the pay chart for Durango, Colorado. If no specific chart is listed for this geographic location, see the "rest of U.S." chart.

The full performance level of this position is GS-7. Promotion potential in this announcement does not constitute a commitment or an obligation on the part of management to promote the employee selected at some future date. A career ladder promotion is at the discretion of management, and in no way guaranteed.

TELEWORK: Indian Affairs has determined that the duties of the position are not suitable for telework under any circumstances.

Career Transition Assistance Programs: These programs apply to employees who have been involuntarily separated from a Federal service position within the competitive service or Federal service employees whose positions have been deemed surplus or no longer needed. To receive selection priority for this position, you must: (1) meet CTAP or ICTAP eligibility criteria; (2) be rated well-qualified for the position with a score of 85 or above; and, (3) submit the appropriate documentation to support your CTAP or ICTAP eligibility. For more information visit: http://www.opm.gov/rif/employee_guides/career_transition.asp .

Under the Land Management Workforce Flexibility Act (LMWFA) two groups of individuals are eligible to apply under this announcement: current and/or former employees serving or who have served under time-limited competitive appointments at land management agencies. Land Management Agencies include: Bureau of Indian Affairs, Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Reclamation, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Park Service, and U.S. Forest Service.

  • Current appointees: 1) must have been hired under competitive examining procedures to a time limited appointment with a land management agency; 2) must have served under one or more time limited appointment(s) by a land management agency for a period totaling more than 24 months without a break in service of 2 or more years; AND 3) must have performed at an acceptable level during each period of service.
  • Former appointees: 1) must have been hired under competitive examining procedures to a time limited appointment with a land management agency; 2) must have served under one or more time limited appointment(s) by a land management agency for a period totaling more than 24 months without a break in service of 2 or more years; 3) must have separated for reasons other than misconduct or performance; AND 4) must have performed at an acceptable level through the service period.
Certain candidates may be eligible to apply under a special hiring authority including those for disabled individuals, Peace Corps employees, Foreign Service employees, veterans, etc. For more information, visit the following OPM websites: USAJOBS Information Center: https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/; Vets Info Guide: http://www.fedshirevets.gov/.

Former Federal Employees are required to indicate whether they received a Voluntary Separation Incentive Payment (VSIP) buyout in their previous employment with the Federal government, and are required to submit a copy of the applicable Notification of Personnel Action (SF-50) regarding the VSIP. Most individuals who accept reemployment with the Federal government within 5 years of receiving the VSIP amount, must repay the gross amount of the separation pay prior to reemployment.

How you will be evaluated

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

Your application package will be evaluated against the minimum qualification requirements specified above. In order to qualify, your resume must specifically describe your work history and the duties you performed in each position. Your resume will be evaluated after the closing date of 11/29/2020 to determine whether you meet the minimum qualification requirements for this position. Qualified candidates will then be rated on their possession of the knowledge, skills, abilities, competencies and experience requirements as demonstrated by your responses to the assessment questions. Competencies measured include:

  • Decisiveness
  • Planning and Evaluating
  • Writing

We will compare your resume and supporting documentation to your responses on the assessment questionnaire. If the information in your resume does not support your responses to the assessment questions, your score may be adjusted to more accurately reflect your qualifications.

Qualified Indian preference candidates will be referred to the hiring manager in order of veterans' preference.

You may preview the assessment questions here in the https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/10863062. Additional selections may be made from this announcement if identical vacancies occur in the same location within 90 days from the closing date.

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