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Forestry Technician (Lookout)

Department of Agriculture
Forest Service
This job announcement has closed

Summary

Job Corps graduates of fire certified programs are encouraged to apply

This position is located within a National Forest. The position is located on a fire crew as a crewmember within the fire management organization to provide for the detection and reporting of fires from a lookout station.
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Overview

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Hiring complete
Open & closing dates
09/17/2020 to 09/28/2020
Salary
$14.95 - $14.95 per hour
Pay scale & grade
GS 4
Locations
Many vacancies in the following locations:
Alpine, AZ
Crown King, AZ
Fredonia, AZ
Happy Jack, AZ
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
Other
Drug test
No
Position sensitivity and risk
Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk
Trust determination process
Announcement number
21-TEMPFS3-R3-2856-4DH
Control number
578980200

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.

Duties

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  • Uses standard fire finders to locate observed smoke. Estimates distance to smokes and probable size and characteristics of fires. Determines map location of fires with reference to known landmarks.
  • Reports azimuth, distance, location, volume, color, behavior of smoke, and other pertinent information by radio or telephone.
  • Continues to observe the area and reports significant changes such as increased smoke, wind conditions, changes in color or volume of smoke, etc.
  • Observes ground lightning strikes, thunderstorms, and build-up cloud formations and reports significant observations.
  • Records and reports daily weather observations. Maintains records and log books. Makes minor adjustments and maintains lookout equipment. Maintains lookout station and grounds in a neat and orderly condition.
  • Operates a radio communications center which connects other lookout stations and radio sets.
  • Receives and relays messages and information received relating to weather forecasts, fire hazard conditions, fire emergencies, accidents, and location of work crews and personnel.
  • Serves as key contact at a lookout station visited by large numbers of people during the fire season.
  • Promotes the fire prevention program by explaining State and Federal laws, policies, and regulations, as well as fire prevention methods and procedures and fire hazard conditions.

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.
  • 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 be 18 years of age
  • Willing to live/work in remote locations (volatile/unpredictable).

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 and tending livestock or general maintenance of farm/ranch facilities; Cleaned tools and equipment; Worked in a greenhouse or nursery moving, watering, and tending plants and performing other general labor; Worked on a landscape or construction crew; Other work experience, paid or unpaid, that demonstrates an ability to learn and perform the work of this position.

Examples of specialized experience include: Forestry aid or technician work. Or forest or range fire lookout, dispatch, prevention or suppression work.

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.

Additional information

PLEASE NOTE: This vacancy is being used to fill positions for FY2021 Temporary Employment Hiring season.

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.

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) 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. CTAP/ICTAP eligible must meet the agency's definition for a quality candidate as provided in the How You Will Be Evaluated section of this announcement to be considered.

If you are retired from the Federal Government and are selected for this vacancy, your retirement annuity may be offset from your pay.

This position is not eligible for telework.

Bargaining Unit Status: Eligible - Coverage is dependent upon unit location.
Availability of government housing and federal day care facilities will vary by location.

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.

Forest Service

A career with the Forest Service will challenge you to manage and care for more than 193 million acres of our nation's most magnificent lands, conduct research through a network of forest and range experiment stations and the Forest Products Laboratory, and provide assistance to State and private forestry agencies.

It's an awesome responsibility - but the rewards are as limitless as the views.

Agency contact information

HRM Contact Center
Phone
1-877-372-7248 X2
Email
SM.FS.FSJobs@usda.gov
Address
USDA Forest Service HRM Contact Center
DO NOT MAIL IN APPLICATIONS, SEE INSTRUCTIONS IN THE ANNOUNCEMENT
Albuquerque, NM 87109
US

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