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Wildland Firefighter (State Training and Workforce Development)

Department of the Interior
Bureau of Land Management
BLM Fire - Montana
This job announcement has closed

Summary

Explore a new career with the BLM - where our people are our most precious resource.

This position is located in Billings, MT. Information about the surrounding area may be found here: https://www.billingsmt.gov/.

We expect to fill one vacancy at this time; however, additional positions may be filled from this announcement if they become available.

Overview

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Hiring complete
Open & closing dates
04/03/2025 to 04/14/2025
Salary
$96,598 to - $125,582 per year

See additional information section for additional details.

Pay scale & grade
GS 12
Location
1 vacancy in the following location:
Billings, MT
Remote job
No
Telework eligible
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Travel Required
50% or less - You may be expected to travel for this position.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Permanent - This is a permanent appointment.
Work schedule
Full-time
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
None
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Not Required
Drug test
Yes
Position sensitivity and risk
Noncritical-Sensitive (NCS)/Moderate Risk
Trust determination process
Financial disclosure
No
Bargaining unit status
No
Announcement number
FAMP-25-12702590-TT
Control number
834656100

This job is open to

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Clarification from the agency

All current BLM employees with competitive eligibility // CTAP eligibles within the local commuting area only // Current or former time-limited employees eligible under PL-114-47, Land Management Workforce Flexibility Act (LMWFA). Once the job opportunity announcement closes, your resume and all supporting documents will be reviewed by HR to determine your eligibility for Federal employment and your qualifications for this position specifically.

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Duties

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  • Advises leadership and staff at the regional and field level on fire management policy and implementation strategies.
  • Provides strategic long-range planning, leadership, guidance, coordination, and evaluation for regional/state wildland fire and aviation.
  • Assists in the formulation of annual program budget.
  • Analyzes and assesses policy and procedures to evaluate overall effectiveness.
  • Supports the implementation of policies of the wildland fire and aviation management programs.
  • Plans and develops policy, guidance, and establish performance standards and specifications.
  • Collaborates with fire program managers and training specialists to coordinate employee development, training, and qualifications policies.
  • Serves as a Bureau training and qualifications expert with other interagency national level.
  • Negotiates with directors from agency and other facilities to select appropriate training courses.
  • Determines whether training policy, objectives, and regulations are properly implemented.
  • Conducts short- and long- term strategic planning for the wildland fire training program.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • U.S. Citizenship is required.
  • Be sure to read the HOW TO APPLY and REQUIRED DOCUMENTS Sections.
  • You cannot hold an active real estate license; nor can you have an interest or hold stocks in firms with interest in Federal Land.
  • Direct Deposit Required.
  • Background Investigation Required.
  • Appointment will be subject to a favorably adjudicated background/suitability investigation/determination. Failure to possess or obtain a favorable determination will result in the cancellation of the offer or will be grounds for termination.
  • You must meet specified levels on annual physical fitness tests, and pass periodic medical exams for wildland fire personnel, commensurate with current incident management qualification.
  • You must be 18 years of age or older to be assigned to a hazardous position.
  • Applicant(s) tentatively selected for this position will be required to submit a urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use and to pass the test prior to appointment. In addition, this position is subject to random testing for illegal drug use.
  • This position may require regular and recurring overtime and shift work during peak fire season.
  • May require completion of a one year probationary period.
  • Driver’s License required – GSA Form 3607 will be required to be completed during the onboarding process.

Qualifications

Specialized Experience Requirements:
In order to be rated as qualified for this position, we must be able to determine that you meet the specialized experience requirement(s); please be sure to include this information in your resume. No assumptions will be made about your experience. To be creditable, this experience must have been equivalent in difficulty and complexity to the next lower grade of the position to be filled.

To qualify for the GS-12 grade level, 1 year of specialized experience equivalent to the next lower grade level (GS-11) is required. Examples of work experience include but are not limited to: experience in the coordination, and review of training course materials; evaluation of training outcomes and program effectiveness. Strong background in interagency cooperation and coordination and project management is essential; experience with demonstrated leadership skills, including managing teams, problem-solving, and driving team success.

Substitution of Education for Experience: There is no substitution of education for experience at the GS-12 and above grade levels.

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.

Federal employees in the competitive service are also subject to the Time-In-Grade requirement in accordance with 5 CFR 300.604. If you are a current Federal employee in the General Schedule (GS) pay plan and applying for a promotion opportunity, you must have completed a minimum of 52 weeks at the next lower grade level in the normal line of progression for the position being filled.

You must meet all qualification requirements within 30 days of the closing date of the announcement.

Current federal employees are subject to time-in-grade requirements in addition to specialized experience. You must meet all qualification requirements by the closing date of this announcement.

Physical Demands: The work is primarily sedentary; however, some physical exertion on fire line site visit assignments is required. Walking on rough, uneven terrain, long periods of standing, and exposure to extreme heat, smoke, and temperatures is required.

Work Environment: Work is normally performed in an office setting. During the wildland fire season, field work may involve high risk exposure to potentially dangerous situating or stress.

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). While secondary positions are not subject to the maximum entry age policy, the selectee must have prior service in a primary position (3 years of service in primary/rigorous position(s)) and meet the transfer requirement for movement from a primary to secondary position to be eligible for special retirement coverage. It is the responsibility of the applicant to ensure this office has enough information to determine your retirement status to ensure you do not lose benefits (normally through submission of your SF-50). YOU MUST LET US KNOW IF YOU ARE CURRENTLY IN A PRIMARY POSITION.

FACT SHEET for Fire Positions: Information on Special Retirement.

Education

See Qualifications Section.

Additional information

Consistent with the recent passage of legislation for permanent pay reform, salaries contained within this vacancy announcement are reflective of the new Special Base Rate (SBR) Salary Table for Federal wildland firefighters, on the General Wildland Firefighter (GW) pay plan effective March 23, 2025."

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 www.dhs.gov/e-verify.

Males born after 12/31/59 must be registered for Selective Service.

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.

Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP): CTAP provides eligible surplus and displaced Federal competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. If your agency has notified you in writing that you are a surplus or displaced employee eligible for CTAP consideration, you may receive selection priority if: 1) This vacancy is within your CTAP eligibility; 2) You apply under the instructions in this announcement; and 3) You are found well qualified for this vacancy. You must provide a copy of your written notification of CTAP eligibility with your application. Information about CTAP eligibility is available from OPM's Career Transition Resources website at CTAP.

CTAP eligibles will be considered well qualified if they receive a minimum score of 90 based on the rating criteria used for this position.

Reemployment Priority List (RPL): The RPL is the mechanism agencies use to give reemployment consideration to their former competitive service employees separated by a RIF or who have fully recovered from a compensable injury after more than one year. If you are currently on a RPL, you may be given priority consideration.

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 Incentives (OPM.gov), or Relocation Incentives (OPM.gov), or Student Loan Repayment (OPM.gov)

Government facilities are required to provide a smoke free environment for their employees. Smoking will be permitted only in designated areas.

How you will be evaluated

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

You will be evaluated based on how your application materials reflect the qualification requirements of this position.

Once the application process is complete, we will review your application to ensure you meet eligibility and minimum job requirements. To determine if you are qualified for this job, Human Resources will complete a review of your resume, supporting documentation and responses to the online questionnaire (self-rated). Your responses to the online questionnaire will be used to measure the degree to which your background matches the requirements for this position. However, your resume must support your responses to the scored occupational questionnaire, or your score may be lowered. The best qualified candidates will be identified for referral to the hiring manager and may be contacted for an interview.

Once the application process is complete, we will review your application to ensure you meet eligibility and minimum qualifications. To determine if you are minimally qualified for this job, HR will complete a review of your resume, supporting documentation and responses to the online questionnaire (self-rated). Your responses to the online questionnaire will be used to measure the degree to which your background matches the requirements for this position. However, your resume must support your responses to the scored, or your score may be lowered.

Your responses to the online questionnaire will be used to evaluate your competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities and/or job elements) in the following area(s):

  • Fire Management
  • Technical Competence
  • Planning and Evaluating

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