Clarification from the agency

Applications will be accepted from any U.S. Citizen. DIRECT HIRING AUTHORITY will be used to fill this position. Veterans' 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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As a Cook (Fire) your duties will include but are not limited to the following:

• Performs as principal shift cook for firefighters, extended support groups and other programs.
• Prepares a variety of menu items including ethnic, vegetarian, home style meals, current food trends, and regular and special diet entrees and dessert items.
• Cuts, roasts, broils, bakes, fries, boils, steams and stews meats, poultry and seafood; prepares soups, stocks, broths, gravies, sauces, and puddings; bakes desserts, yeasts breads, pies, and quick breads.
• Adjusts standardized recipes for the number of servings required in large quantity cooking.
• Uses food preparation tools and maintains specialized equipment such as commercial meat slicers, commercial grill, oven and deep fat fryer, commercial steamers, tilting skillet and steam line.

Conditions of employment

• Must be a U.S. Citizen or National.
• Suitability for Federal employment, as determined by background investigation.
• Direct Deposit Required.
• 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.
• Subject to occasional travel particularly during fire season, and you may need to obtain a government charge card for travel.
• 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 04/28/2026 will be considered.

By the closing date of this announcement, you must meet the requirements of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Handbook X118C, Job Qualification System for Trades and Labor Occupation: http://www.opm.gov/qualifications/x-118c/. Although no specific amount of experience is required, applicants must meet a minimum level of ability in relation to the position and the Assessment Questionnaire in order to be rated qualified for consideration. To be qualified candidates must meet any screen out element(s) listed at an "acceptable" level, and must achieve an average rating of at least "acceptable" on all of the elements. Only experience acquired before the closing date of this announcement will be considered.

SCREEN-OUT ELEMENT: Your qualifications will first be evaluated against the prescribed screen out element, which usually appears as question 1 in the on-line questionnaire. Those applicants who appear to possess at least the minimal acceptable qualification requirement are considered for further rating; those who do not are rated ineligible and are eliminated. The potential eligibles are then rated against the remainder of the Job Elements. The screen out element for this position is:

To qualify for a Cook WG-06, you must have the ability to do the work of the position without more than normal supervision as shown by having cooked from scratch in a restaurant or other professional establishment for more than 50 people.

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 Effort: Must be able to lift and carry up to 50 pounds. Work requires continual standing, walking, stooping, reaching, pushing, pulling, and bending. Coordination and dexterity are required in the operation of food service equipment. Must be able to work long hours under stressful conditions for weeks at a time, depending on fire activity.

Working Conditions: The majority of the work is performed indoors in a dining hall environment. May be assigned to work at remote dining halls or primitive field camps with limited living facilities. Exposed to extreme temperature changes when entering walk-in refrigeration or freezing units. The working conditions can range from extreme cold to extreme hot. There is no air conditioning on site. The incumbent is subject to exposure to steam, fumes, odors and noise in the dining hall work environment. The incumbent is frequently exposed to the possibility of injury from sharp tools, equipment, hot appliances, and chemicals, steam and wet floors. Subject to prolonged periods of standing. Must abide by personal hygiene standards and safe work procedures such as wearing a hairnet or hat and a clean uniform daily.

May be required to travel in small aircraft to remote dining halls or field camps during the field season.

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. 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 elements below provide an overview of what this position entails once encumbered:

Element 1 - Ability to do the work of the positions without more than normal supervision (Screen-Out)
Element 2 - Work Practices (includes keeping things neat, clean, and in order)
Element 3 - Technical practices (theoretical, precise, and artistic)
Element 4 - Ability to interpret instructions, specifications, etc. (other than blueprints)
Element 5 - Ability to use and maintain tools and equipment
Element 6 - Knowledge of materials
Element 7 - Dexterity and Safety