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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As a Wildland Firefighter (Fuels Management (Tech) your duties will include but are not limited to the following:

• Participate in planning, implementing, and coordinating all aspects of a fuels management program.
• Conducts routine project assessments to determine the condition presence or absence of wildland fuels.
• Collects data on fuel conditions and fire behavior through a variety of methods, including field surveys, computer modeling software, and prescribed treatment methods.
• Identifies fuels management objectives by reviewing various land management plans and recommends the appropriate treatment.
• Participates with higher-graded fuels management staff, fire management officers, and/or specialists in fuels management planning, implementation, and monitoring.

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.
• You must also pass the work capacity test for arduous positions.
• 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 must be 18 years of age or older to be assigned to a hazardous position.
• You may be required to work on-call, evenings, weekends, holidays, overtime and shift work.
• You may be required to complete training and obtain/maintain a government charge card with travel and/or purchase authority.

Qualifications

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.

• 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. Applicants must have documented prior primary firefighting experience, with substantial service defined as either:
  • At least one full fire season working in a primary wildland firefighting role (e.g., Engine Crew, Fire Effects Crew, Prescribed Fire/Fuels Crew, Hand Crew, Helitack Crew, Hotshot Crew, Smokejumper, Wildland Fire Modules or Fire Suppression Crews, etc.) with a federal, state, tribal, local, or private-sector organization;- OR -
  • At least 14-days of on-the-ground fireline experience (cumulative or consecutive).

• Prior primary wildland fire experience must be clearly documented in your resume.
• Note: an IQCS Master Record or equivalent document will not be used to determine or calculate prior primary wildland fire experience eligibility for this requirement.

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

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

Only experience and education obtained by 06/29/2026 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

To qualify for the GW-07 grade level: 1 year (12 months) of specialized experience equivalent to the next lower grade level (GW-06) is required. Examples of specialized experience include: performing duties which provided a basic understanding of wildland fire management concepts, theories and practices including the assessment of fire effects on cultural and/or natural resources; assisting other fire management staffs in the development of complex presentations; presenting or conducting simple presentations of fire management concepts, topics, information; researching technical reports and/or other sources to obtain information used by higher graded professionals; applying basic formulas to routine calculations; and/or participating in the development and/or implementation of wildland fire management plans including carrying out initial attack incident management strategies and tactics to meet the stated resource objectives.

To qualify for the GW-08 grade level, 1 year (12 months) of specialized experience equivalent to the next lower grade level (GW-07) is required. Examples of work experience include but are not limited to: assisting preparation and implementation of prescribed fire plans; assisting evaluating treatments, monitoring methods and new technologies; assisting with conducting fuels management surveys to document types of hazardous fuels.

To qualify for the GW-09 grade level, 1 year (12 months) of specialized experience equivalent to the next lower grade level (GW-08) is required. Examples of work experience include, but are not limited to: participating in wildland fire activities (such as planning and/or implementing prescribed fire or managing wildfires) ensuring resource objectives are being met from a fire management standpoint; assisting with developing and/or implementing initial attack incident management strategies and tactics to meet the stated resource objectives; and/or implementing mitigation measures during wildland fire activities to protect sensitive habitats, endangered species, sensitive plants, or cultural values.


This position is considered a career ladder opportunity, with a full performance level of GW-09 If selected at a lower grade level, you may be non-competitively promoted to the next grade level at the discretion of your supervisor and is contingent upon meeting regulatory and legal requirements for promotion, satisfactory performance, and the availability of higher-level work. Promotion is not guaranteed, and no promise of promotion is implied.

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

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.

*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: Work in the office is primarily sedentary. Field work does require frequent physical exertion, involving walking over rough terrain, sometimes for extended periods, and working under occasionally inclement (hot, cold, snow, wind, etc.) weather conditions.

The incumbent must be in good physical condition in order to safety perform field activities. The incumbent must be able to perform duties in areas of uncontrolled wildfire where hazardous conditions exist. The incumbent must be able to fly as a passenger in helicopters and single engine fixed wing aircraft.

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:

• Planning and Evaluating - Determines objectives and strategies; coordinates with other parts of the organization to accomplish goals; monitors and evaluates the progress and outcomes of operational plans; anticipates potential threats or opportunities.
• 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.
• Technical Competence - Uses knowledge that is acquired through formal training or extensive on the job experience to perform one's job; works with, understands, and evaluates technical information related to the job; advises others on technical issues.