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Wildland Firefighter - Direct Hiring Authority

Department of the Interior
National Park Service
US Department of the Interior - US Fish and Wildland/National Park Service
This job announcement has closed

Summary

The DOI is hosting an on-site Fire Hire and Career Event in Denver, CO on April 6-7 (9am to 5pm daily) at the Crowne Plaza Denver Airport Convention Center, 15500 E 40th Avenue. There will be opportunities to speak to and may be interviewed by agency management officials. It is preferred you apply online prior to attending. For more information: https://www.doi.gov/wildlandfire/wildland-fire-hiring-event.

Overview

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Hiring complete
Open & closing dates
03/27/2024 to 04/07/2024
Salary
$31,512 to - $51,446 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 3 - 5
Locations
many vacancies in the following locations:
Kings Canyon National Park, CA
Three Rivers, CA
Whiskeytown, CA
El Paso County, CO
Remote job
No
Telework eligible
No
Travel Required
50% or less - You may be expected to travel for this position.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Permanent - Career-Seasonal and Full-Time positions are available
Work schedule
Full-time
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
5
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Other
Drug test
Yes
Position sensitivity and risk
Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk
Trust determination process
Announcement number
DOISHARE-DH-12352992-24-CIF
Control number
783686500

This job is open to

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Clarification from the agency

Applications will be accepted from any U.S. Citizen. DIRECT HIRING AUTHORITY will be used to fill this position.

Duties

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Applicants who apply under this job opportunity announcement agree to have their application, associated documents and applicable personal information shared with other Bureaus/Offices within the Department of the Interior (DOI) who have vacancies within the same occupational series, grade, full performance level and in the same geographic location(s), including within the same metro/commuting area. Applying to this announcement does not replace the need to apply to other job opportunity announcements for which you wish to receive consideration."

These are Career-Seasonal positions. Career-Seasonal appointments are permanent positions and include the same benefits as Career appointments, but do not provide work on a year-round basis. You will sign a career seasonal agreement upon appointment which will state the months that you are expected to be in pay status and month/weeks you will be in non-pay status. This may be revised yearly, per appointing bureau policy.
NOTE* US Fish and Wildlife positions at the following duty locations will be full-time, permanent in nature: Barksdale AFB, LA; Eglin AFB, FL; Kirtland AFB, NM. For Roy, Fort Peck or Jordan, MT-ONE vacancy will be filled at either of these locations as a career seasonal appointment.
NOTE* National Park Service positions: You will be expected to be in paid status from January through November of each year. You will be guaranteed 22 bi-weekly pay periods in paid status and be in non paid status for 4 pay periods. You will go into non-pay status from December through January if each year.

  • Gather and consider information such as weather, topography, fuel types, and fire behavior to respond to wildland fire incidents.
  • Performs all aspects of wildland and prescribed fire operations, including preparation, ignition, monitoring, holding, and mop-up.
  • May be required to operate light vehicles and 4x4s
  • Work may include working as a crew member on any of the following types of crews: ENGINE, HANDCREW, FUELS CREW, HELICOPTER
  • Engine crews work with specialized firefighting equipment and perform many activities such as mobile attack with engines, deploying hose lays, fireline construction with hand tools, burnout operations and mopping up hotspots.
National Park Service positions will be filled at the GS-0456-5 full performance level.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife positions: Promotion Potential: These positions involve a multi-grade career ladder. The major duties listed represent the full performance level of GS-3/4/5. At lower grade levels, you will perform assignments of a more limited scope and with less independence. You will progressively acquire the background necessary to perform at the full performance level of GS-3/4/5. Promotion is at the discretion of the supervisor and is contingent upon satisfactory performance, availability of higher level work, and availability of funds. The selectee may be promoted without further competition when all regulatory, qualification, and performance requirements are met. Selection at a lower grade level does not guarantee promotion to the full performance level.

Annual salary in this vacancy announcement represents the "Rest of US (RUS)" pay table for 2024. Salary may vary based on location. For more information, go to 2024 OPM GS Pay Tables

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • U.S. Citizenship is required.
  • Males born after 12/31/1959 must be registered for Selective Service or exempt.
  • This is a Test Designated Position. 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.
  • Prior to appointment, you must be determined physically fit by an authorized government physician to perform strenuous and physically demanding duties; and pass a medical examination given by an authorized government physician.
  • Appointment subject to background investigation and favorable adjudication of background investigation and/or fingerprint check.
  • Per Public Law 104-134 all Federal employees are required to have federal payments made by direct deposit to their financial institution.
  • Must be 18 years of age at time of close date of announcement.
  • Willing to live/work in remote locations (volatile/unpredictable).
  • You will be required to operate a government 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 Fish and Wildlife -OR-National Park Service fire uniform standards.
  • You may be required to work on-call, evenings, weekends, holidays, overtime and shift work.
  • Subject to frequent extended travel up to 14 nights or more a month 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.
  • Government housing may be available, depending on location, is on a bid system and is NOT guaranteed.
  • You must meet specified levels on annual physical fitness tests, and pass periodic medical exams for wild land fire personnel, commensurate with current incident management qualifications.
  • You must also pass the work capacity test for arduous positions.

Qualifications

You must meet all qualification requirements by the closing date of Sunday April 7th, 2024.

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 full and/or part-time or total number of hours worked (i.e., work 40+ hours a week, rather than indicating full-time). If part-time, the hours must be annotated to be able to pro-rate the amount qualified specialized experience.

For periods of time that reflect military service, the DD-214 or Statement of Service is sufficient to meet the full and/or part-time hours requirement as the service dates will be reflected.

Specialized Experience: In order to be rated as qualified for this position, we must be able to determine that you meet the qualification requirements - include this information in your resume. No assumptions will be made about your experience.

For the GS-3: You must possess 6 months of general work experience, which can be any work experience. - OR - 1 year of related education above the high school level. - OR - a combination of education and experience.

For the GS-4: You must possess 6 months of general work experience, which can be any work experience AND 6 months of specialized work experience equivalent to the GS-3 level duties. Examples of specialized work experience include on-the-line wildland fire experience in forest/range fire control, prevention or suppression work.
-OR-
2 years above high school with related courses related to the occupation.

For the GS-5: You must possess 12 months of specialized work experience equivalent to the GS-4. Examples of specialized work experience include on-the-line wildland fire experience in forest/range fire control, prevention or suppression work as a trainee wildland firefighter; or serving as a crewmember utilizing a variety of specialized fire tools, equipment, and techniques while actively suppressing wildfires. Performing basic fireline activities such as line construction, hose layout, operations of pumps and accessories, lopping and scattering of fuels using hand tools.
-OR-
4 years of related education above the high school level.
- OR -
a combination of education and experience.
-AND-
This is a primary firefighter position under the special retirement provisions of 5 U.S.C. 8336 (c)(CSRS) and 5 U.S.C. 8412(d) (FERS). The position is subject to maximum entry age (MEA) requirements.

The maximum entry-age for this position shall not exceed age 37 unless you have sufficient prior Federal civilian firefighter experience or you are a preference eligible veteran. If you are a preference eligible veteran, you may be eligible for this position after your 37th birthday. You must supply a copy of your Defense Department Form 214 (DD-214) along with Standard Form 15 (if applicable) and any associated documentation in accordance with the instructions in this vacancy announcement. Failure to provide this documentation with your application will result in loss of eligibility to receive a waiver of the maximum entry age requirement. If over the MEA and you are not a veteran, proof of prior covered service must be submitted prior to employment. Acceptable proof consists of SF-50s showing beginning and ending dates of covered/creditable appointments and copies of approved letters based on individual claims.

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.

Physical Demands: Essential functions require arduous exertion for protracted periods of time such as, but not limited to, extensive running, walking, climbing, kneeling, stooping, pulling hoses, jumping and twisting. Duties involve fieldwork requiring above average physical performance, endurance and superior conditioning.

Work Environment: The work is primarily performed in forest, range and desert environments in steep terrain where surfaces may be extremely uneven, rocky, covered with vegetation, and in smoky conditions, etc. Temperatures vary from above 100 degrees F to below freezing. Risks include smoke inhalation, fire entrapment, snake or insect bites and stings, exposure to excessive machinery noise, and falling and rolling material.

Education

If using education to qualify, you must submit copies of all transcripts or a list of college courses that include hours and grades from an accredited U.S. college/university. See Required Documents section for more information.

Additional information

DOI uses E-Verify to confirm employment eligibility of all newly hired employees. To learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities, please visit E-Verify.

Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP)/lnteragency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP): 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, you must: 1) meet CTAP or ICTAP eligibility criteria; 2) be rated well qualified for the position with a score of 90 or above; and 3) submit the appropriate documentation to support your CTAP or ICTAP eligibility. For more information: CTAP or ICTAP

Travel and relocation expenses will not be paid by the Department of the Interior. Any travel, transportation and relocation expenses associated with reporting for duty in this position will be the responsibility of the selected employee.

This position is not eligible for Telework.

Certain incentives (such as Recruitment, Relocation or Student Loan Repayment) may be authorized to eligible selectees. If eligible and qualified, you may be offered a recruitment or relocation incentive. The decision to offer an incentive will be made on a case-by-case basis and is neither promised nor guaranteed. For information visit: Recruitment Incentive or Relocation Incentive or Student Loan Repayment.

How you will be evaluated

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

Applicants will be evaluated based on how well they meet the qualification requirements.

Upon receipt of the completed application package, a review of the application will be made to ensure basic qualification requirements are met.

This vacancy will be filled through DOI's Direct Hire Authority. Veterans Preference and traditional rating and ranking of applicants do not apply to positions filled under this Authority. All qualified applicants, as determined by the SHRO, will be referred for consideration. While managers and supervisors are not required to conduct interviews, it is highly recommended that they do so in order to assess the competencies of each applicant.

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.

If a determination is made that an applicant has inflated qualifications or experience on the resume, the employee will receive no consideration for the position, as per OPM regulations.

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