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.

Videos

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

• Coordinates strategic implementation of complex fire management actives.
• Provides oversight during initial and extended attack fires and directs fire activities.
• Develops and maintains overall fire management plans.
• Responsible for long-range fire management planning activities.
• Makes or ensures inspections of the fire management organization and operations for compliance.

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.
• 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.
• Supervisory Probationary Period: Selectees who have not previously completed a supervisory probationary period, will be required to serve a one-year supervisory/managerial probationary period for this position.
• 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 frequent extended travel up to 25% of the time, particularly during fire season, and you must 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.

Selective Placement Factor(s): This position requires a special qualification that has been determined to be essential to perform the duties and will be used as a screen out element. Those who do not provide evidence they possess the following selective factor(s) will be rated not qualified.

1.) Prior on-the-line firefighting: This experience must be clearly documented in your resume with specific to and from dates, description of work performed, and hours worked per week in order to be considered. This is an administrative position in an organization having a firefighting mission and is in an established career path. Prior firefighting experience, as gained by substantial service in a primary firefighter position or equivalent experience outside the Federal government, is a MANDATORY PREREQUISITE. Candidates must possess substantial wildland firefighting experience, gained through fire line work in containment, control, suppression or use of wildland fire. The Department of the Interior defines wildland firefighting experience as any non-structure fire that occurs in the wildland. Wildland firefighting experience is gained through work on the fire line in containment, control, suppression or use of wildland fire. This experience can be met by serving in a temporary, seasonal, or equivalent private sector fire position. Wildland fires are categorized into two distinct types: (1) Wildfires - Unplanned ignitions or prescribed fires that are declared wildfires; and (2) Prescribed Fires - Planned ignitions. This description includes only fireline 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.

2.) This position has been identified as one of the key fire management positions under the Interagency Fire Program Management (IFPM) Standard. This position has been categorized as a Unit Fire Program Manager - Moderate Complexity, and requires selectee to meet the minimum qualification standards for IFPM prior to being placed into the position. Detailed information regarding IFPM positions can be found here: Interagency Fire Program Management (IFPM). To meet IFPM requirements, you must have possessed all of the following National Wildfire Coordinating Group (NWCG) incident management qualifications and training requirements to be considered eligible for this position (currency not required at time of referral, but may be required to obtain and maintain currency if selected):

Pathway 1:
A.) Task Force Leader (TFLD); AND
B.) Incident Commander, Type 3 (ICT3) OR Prescribed Fire Burn Boss, Type 2 (RXB2)

-OR-

Pathway 2:
A.) Helibase Manager (HEBM); AND
B.)Incident Commander Type 3 (ICT3)

To meet additional IFPM training requirements, as a "condition of employment", you must complete the following within one year of the entry on duty date:

Fire Program Management (M-581)

In addition to the requirements described above, the following additional experience is required.

Only experience and education obtained by 04/28/2026 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-13 level:

At least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GW/GS-12 level, or higher, in the Federal service, or equivalent, which includes all of the following: advising high level management officials on fire management planning at the district or state level or equivalent; reviewing wildland fire preparedness actions and operating plans; evaluating, coordinating, directing and implementing policy to support wildland fire management programs and operations; familiarity with budget formulation and expenditure of funds; supervising or leading a staff of fire and aviation professionals responsible for fire and aviation programs.

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

Secondary Firefighter Retirement Coverage - 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.

Physical Demands: The work is normally sedentary but often requires physical exertion while overseeing fire suppression activities including walking over rough, steep, uneven terrain in all types of weather.

Working Conditions: Although work is generally performed in an office setting, field work involves exposure to temperature extremes, both from weather and fire conditions where falling trees and the presence of smoke and/or dust create hazardous conditions.

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:

• Leadership - Inspires, motivates and guides others toward goal accomplishment; coaches, mentors, and challenges subordinates; adapts leadership styles to a variety of situations; models high standards of honesty, integrity, trust, openness, and respect for the individual by applying these values to daily behaviors.
• 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.