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Wildland Firefighter (Fire Management Planning/Training)-Direct Hire Authority

Department of the Interior
Office of the Secretary of the Interior
U.S. Wildland Fire Service (USWFS)

Summary

This is a Direct-Hire advertisement. Veterans' preference is not applicable to this advertisement. Learn more about this authority at: Direct Hire Authority

This Wildland Firefighter (Fire Management Planning/Training) position is with the US Wildland Fire Service, GW-0456-9 working in one of the following locations, negotiable upon selection:

  • Medford, OR
  • Grants Pass, OR
  • Salem, OR
  • Eugene, OR
  • Rosebury, OR
  • Coos Bay, OR

Overview

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Accepting applications
Open & closing dates
03/04/2026 to 03/18/2026
Salary
$72,832 to - $94,687 per year

Salary varies based on location.

Pay scale & grade
GW 9
Locations
1 vacancy in the following locations:
Coos Bay, OR
Eugene, OR
Grants Pass, OR
Medford, OR
Remote job
No
Telework eligible
Yes—This position is suitable for telework only in an emergency or natural disaster.
Travel Required
25% or less - You may be expected to travel for this position. Travel is required to attend training, conferences, workshops, and/or field visits.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
Yes—Travel and relocation expenses will be paid consistent with the Federal Travel Regulation, Chapter 302, and Departmental policy. Please Note: The selectee will be responsible for tax obligations related to payments for moving expenses - 2017 Tax Cuts and Job Act, Public Law 115-97. Refer to the "Additional Information" section for Information on 2017 Tax Cuts as related to PCS.
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
Yes - May have Bargaining Unit status based on location selected.
Announcement number
WFSDHA-26-12901223-AE
Control number
859752700

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. Veteran's preference and traditional rating and ranking of applications do not apply. All qualified applicants will be referred to the hiring manager for consideration for this position.

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Duties

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As a Wildland Firefighter (Fire Management Planning/Training)-Direct Hire Authority your duties will include but are not limited to the following:

  • Responsible for assisting with the presentation, development and delivery of interagency wildland fire, prescribed fire, and aviation management courses to the interagency fire community.
  • Independently plans and prepares training materials and lessons for all aspects of wildland fire management, Bureau, and NWCG required training courses.
  • Directs, determines, and implements the procurement of necessary materials and supply needs for all types of training courses.
  • Provides oversight for local interagency training program instructors and cadre for course delivery, schedules, and course logistics.
  • Serves as the unit representative to the local, state/region, and geographic area interagency training committees as applicable.
  • Provides instruction on a variety of topics related to fire and aviation.
  • May also serve as subject matter expert on local, state/region, and/or geographic level projects. This includes representation for special emphasis programs.
  • Participates on fire management and incident assignments.
  • Serves as unit Account Manager for the Incident Qualifications and Certifications System (IQCS). Maintains official database record. Coordinates, documents, and files committee decisions.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

Must be a U.S. Citizen or National.

Suitability for Federal employment, as determined by background investigation.

Direct Deposit Required.

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.

Selectees must pass a pre-employment medical examination and may be subject to post-employment medical examinations to determine if they are maintaining the fitness standards for this position.

This position requires the incumbent to operate a government (or private) motor vehicle as part of their official duties. Selectee must hold and maintain a valid state driver's license throughout their employment in this position.

A condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary period during which your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest will be evaluated.

Individuals assigned male at birth after 12-31-59 must be registered for the Selective Service. To verify registration, visit SSS.gov.

You may be required to work on-call, evenings, weekends, holidays, overtime and shift work.

You may be required to travel overnight away from home up to 25% of the time. You must obtain a government charge card for travel purposes.

You may be required to complete training and obtain/maintain a government charge card with travel and/or purchase authority.

Qualifications

In order to qualify for this position you must possess the Minimum Qualification requirements listed below.

Only experience obtained by 03/18/2026 will be considered.

Credit will be given for all appropriate qualifying experience. Please be sure to include this information in your resume. No assumptions will be made about your experience.

Minimum Qualification

For the GW-09 level: At least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GW/GS-08 level, or higher, in the Federal service, or equivalent, which includes all of the following: Examples of specialized experience include: experience developing, instructing, coordinating, and identifying fire management and/or aviation management training needs, developing training materials, and scheduling and implementing training for firefighters, fire crews, fire overhead, and other related personnel; participating on project teams focused on accomplishing goals; and/or experience in project management and problem solving.

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.

Substitution of Education for Experience:

IMPORTANT-PLEASE NOTE: There is not an option to qualify for the 0456 series utilizing education at this grade level.

*Applicants must meet all minimum qualification requirements for the position of interest by the closing date of the Job Announcement.

Secondary Firefighter Retirement Coverage - Applicants for this secondary administrative fire fighter position under the provisions of 5 U.S.C. 8336 (c) (CSRS) and 5 U.S.C. 8412 (d), must possess knowledge of the principles, methods, and techniques of wildland firefighting as demonstrated by direct wildland firefighting experience. In order to receive credit, you must provide a written description of your experience in wildland firefighting. Education without hands-on wildland firefighting experience does not meet this requirement. Periods of wildland firefighting experience, gained through militia and rural fire departments, can also be credited. Wildland fire is defined as any non-structure fire that occurs in the wildland. Two distinct types of wildland fire have been defined and include wildfire and prescribed fires as follows: Wildfire: Unplanned ignitions or prescribed fires that are declared wildfires. Prescribed Fires: Planned ignitions. This description includes only fire line experience on a Prescribed Fire; it does not include experience in the planning stages. Prescribed fire experience must be supplemented by fire suppression experience in order to be creditable as previous wildland firefighting experience.

Physical Demands: Office work is normally sedentary. However, field work (up to 30% of the time) may require moderate physical activity including periods of standing, walking over rough terrain, climbing, and lifting and carrying heavy objects. Some activities will occur in physically dangerous areas or settings over extended periods of time.

Working Conditions: Work is performed in both an office and field setting with field work. Field work involves exposure to temperature extremes, both from weather and fire conditions where falling trees and the presence of smoke and/or dust conditions create hazardous conditions. The nature of fire management work requires that protective clothing (boots, hard hats, etc.) be worn.

Education

See Qualifications Section.

Additional information

In order to be considered for any duty location, ensure desired locations are selected. Applicants will not be considered for locations not selected.

The new Special Base Rate (SBR) Salary Table for Federal wildland firefighters, General Wildland Firefighter (GW) pay plan effective March 23, 2025 was used to indicate the salary in this announcement. Salaries may vary dependent upon location selected. You can access the new pay schedule here.

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

CTAP and ICTAP eligibles will be considered well qualified if they meet minimum qualifications 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 an RPL, you may be given priority consideration.

PCS INFORMATION:
Yes, entitlements for payment of basic moving expenses, as required and to the extent allowed by the Federal Travel Regulation (FTR) 302-3.101, are authorized for eligible applicants changing duty station when the change meets the distance tests as provided in FTR 302-1.1 and 302-2.6. All moving expenses are taxable.

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.

Additional Vacancies: One or more positions may be filled from applications received under this announcement in the advertised office or other U.S. Wildland Fire Service offices in the local commuting area.

Reasonable Accommodation: The USWFS provides reasonable accommodations to applicants with disabilities. Please visit USAJOBS Help Center | Reasonable accommodation policy if you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application and hiring process.

Probation/Trial Period Con't: Probationary Period: As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you may be required to serve a 1-year probationary period during which your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest will be evaluated. Under completion of your probationary period your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.

How you will be evaluated

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

Resumes must not exceed two single-sided pages and resumes longer than two pages will not be accepted. The minimum font size is 10-point for all body text. Headers may be slightly larger but must remain legible. All resumes must maintain a minimum 0.5-inch margins on all sides to ensure readability and prevent excessive content compression. Including supplemental pages or attachments disguised as resume extensions are prohibited and will not be reviewed to determine your eligibility/qualifications.

You will be evaluated based on how your application materials reflect the minimum qualification requirements of this position. Once the job opportunity announcement closes, your resume and all supporting documents will be reviewed by HR to determine if you are minimally qualified for the position. 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. Due to this vacancy being filled through OPM's Direct Hire Authority, Veterans Preference and traditional rating and ranking of applicants does not apply to positions filled under this announcement. Applications received as a result of job fairs, recruitment events, and emergency hiring mechanisms in support of this hiring initiative will also be accepted during the duration of the announcement. All minimally qualified candidates will be referred for consideration. Please note that the hiring office may conduct interviews at their discretion. Interviews may be conducted on a pass/fail basis.

The competencies below provide an overview of what this position entails once encumbered:

  • Fire Management: Knowledge of the concepts, principles, and theories of fire management, including the characteristics, behavior, and ecology of fire; methodologies, strategies, and equipment used in prescribed fires; fire detection, prevention, and suppression strategies; and integration of fire with natural resource management.
  • Education & Training: Knowledge of teaching, training, research, making presentations, lecturing, testing, and other instructional methods.
  • Technical Competence: Knowledge of how to perform one's job. Refers to specialized knowledge that is acquired through formal training or extensive on-the-job experience.

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