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Telecommunications Manager (Wildland Fire)

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

Summary

This position is a Telecommunications Manager (Wildland Fire) GS-0391-14 working for the US Wildland Fire Service. Location will be negotiable after a selection is made. NOTE - Incumbent must physically report to a DOI Federal Office.

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.

Overview

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Accepting applications
Posted today · Apply by 07/23/26
Due by 11:59 p.m. ET on July 23, 2026
This job will close when we have received 50 applications which may be sooner than the closing date. Learn more
Location
1 vacancy in the following location:
Work site options
Telework eligible
No
Remote job
No
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Salary
$125,776 - $163,514 per year

The Rest of US table was used to indicate the salary in this announcement. Salary may vary depending on location.

Pay scale & grade
GS 14
Promotion potential
None
Pay scale and grade determines the salary of the job.
Work schedule
Full-time
Travel Required
25% or less - You may be expected to travel for this position.
Appointment type
Permanent
Occupations and job series
Supervisory status
Yes
Federal service type
This job is in the Competitive Service
Represented by a union
No
Drug test
No
Security clearance
Not Required
Position sensitivity and risk
High Risk (HR)
Jobs require a background check and some require a security clearance. The type depends on the job.
Background check type
Financial disclosure required
Yes
Some jobs require financial disclosure to identify conflicts of interests.
Announcement number
WFS-26-12997453--JER--H
Control number
876939900

This job is open to

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Clarification from the agency

Open to Current Career/Career Conditional Employees of the Department of the Interior in the competitive service, those eligible under the Land Management Workforce Flexibility Act (LMWFA), CTAP eligibles in the local commuting area

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Duties

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As a Telecommunications Manager (Wildland Fire), your duties will include but are not limited to the following:

Serves as a first-level supervisor over a Telecommunications organization with responsibility for performing the full range of first-level supervisory responsibilities,

Plans and manages telecommunications program resources and priorities,

Builds and sustains partnerships with Federal, State, local, tribal, and territorial partners.

Provides technical and program leadership for incident communications support.

Leads modernization, systems engineering, and integration activities for telecommunications services and supporting infrastructure.

Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) or Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP): Department of Interior (DOI) Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) procedures apply in filling this vacancy. These programs apply to employees who have been involuntarily separated from a federal service position within the competitive service or Federal service employees whose positions have been deemed surplus or no longer needed. To receive selection priority for this position, you must: (1) meet CTAP or ICTAP eligibility criteria; (2) be rated well-qualified (i.e., meet the minimum qualification requirements, including any selective placement factors; education, and experience requirements) for the position with a score of 85 or above on the assessment questionnaire, and be able to perform the duties of the position upon entry. Applicants claiming CTAP/ICTAP eligibility must submit a copy of their most recent performance appraisal, proof of eligibility, and most current SF-50 noting position, grade level, and duty location with their application. For more information visit: http://www.opm.gov/rif/employee_guides/career_transition.asp.

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.

As 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. The probationary period is an extension of the appointment process and requires the agency to determine if continued employment would advance the public interest, meet the goals and mission of the agency, and/or promote the efficiency of the service. As 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. 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.

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.

Notice of Financial Disclosure Report Requirement: This position is subject to a financial disclosure requirement, and you will be required to complete either OGE Form 278e or OGE Form 450 as applicable within 30 days of your appointment

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 on occasion. . 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 Specialized Experience requirement listed below.

Only experience obtained by 07/23/2026 will be considered.

Specialized experience: To qualify for the GS-14 grade level: at least one year of specialized experience that is equivalent in difficulty and complexity to the GS-13 level in the Federal service. Specialized experience is defined as experience that is in or directly related to the line of work of this position and has equipped you with the knowledge and competencies to successfully perform the duties of this position. More specifically, this requirement involves experience performing as a Communication Unit Lead managing operational and technical aspects of incident communications; providing input into radio engineering and operations to modernize and enhance an organization's radio networks by incorporating new and emerging technologies; surveying, studying, evaluating, designing, developing, testing, implementing, and maintaining radio and field communications systems with responsibility for all project phases of work.

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 Demands: The work is primarily sedentary; however, the incumbent may perform limited walking,
standing, and carrying of light items (e.g., portable communications equipment) during
site visits, system assessments, exercises, or incident support activities.

Working Conditions: The work is primarily performed in an office or similar setting. Occasional travel to field
locations or incident settings may involve exposure to variable weather, uneven terrain,
and operational hazards; appropriate safety practices and personal protective equipment
may be required.

Eligibility and Qualification Requirements: Applicants must meet both eligibility and qualification requirements for the position of interest by the closing date of the Job Announcement. Specifically,
i. Area of Consideration.
ii. Time-in-grade (TIG) requirements as specified in 5 CFR 300, Subpart F.
iii. Time after competitive appointment as specified in 5 CFR 330.502.
iv. Qualification requirements outlined in OPM's Qualifications Standards for General Schedule Positions.

Education

IMPORTANT - PLEASE NOTE: There is no qualifying education for the 0391 series at the GS-14 grade level.

Additional information

PCS: PCS and Discretionary entitlements are not authorized for this position.

Incentive: 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.

Telework: This position is suitable for telework only in an emergency or natural disaster.

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.

Cost of Living Allowance, AK and HI only: In addition to the yearly salary, this position is entitled to a [insert applicable % COLA rate] cost-of-living allowance (COLA) as determined by https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leave/pay-systems/nonforeign-areas/#url=COLA-Rates .This allowance is subject to annual review, adjustment, and rate decrease.

Alaska Return Rights (excluding Anchorage and Fairbanks): If you are a current U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service employee and you are transferring from a Region outside of Alaska, you will be eligible to return to a position in your home Region upon completion of a minimum 3-year tour of duty in Alaska. If you exercise this option, your home Region will place you in a position of equivalent grade in the same general occupational classification series that you occupied in Alaska. For the professional series at the GS-5 level or above.

Applicants are ineligible for this position if ANY time they have been convicted of a misdemeanor or felony crime of domestic violence, unless such conviction was expunged, set aside or the applicant receives a pardon.

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 qualification requirements of this position. Once the application process is complete, HR will review your application to ensure you meet eligibility and minimum qualifications. To determine if you are minimally qualified for this position, HR will complete a review of your resume, supporting documentation and responses to the online questionnaire. 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.

In addition to meeting the minimum qualifications requirement(s), this position requires successful completion of the following additional assessment: Subject Matter Expert Review.

This assessment will measure the critical competencies listed below that are required to successfully perform in the position.

  • Telecommunications: Applies expertise of Telecommunications to lead operational tasks and project tasks to improve services provided to clients in a large-scale environment.
  • Planning and Evaluating: Organizes work, sets priorities, and determines resource requirements; determines short- or long-term goals and strategies to achieve them; coordinates with other organizations or parts of the organization to accomplish goals; monitors progress and evaluates outcomes.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • Technical Competency-Project Management: Applies knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to project activities to meet project requirements accomplished through the application and integration of the project management processes of initiating, planning, executing, monitoring, controlling and closing.

In the evaluation process, due weight will be given to job related experience, education, training, incentive awards and performance appraisals.

Candidates who apply under Noncompetitive Merit Promotion procedures will undergo a quality review to determine if they are minimally qualified based on the content of their resume and their responses to the questionnaire. Qualified candidates will be referred if all required supporting documentation has been provided.

Office of the Secretary of the Interior

The U.S. Wildland Fire Service (USWFS), an organization within the Department of the Interior (DOI), responds to wildfires and promotes fire-resilient landscapes across more than 500 million acres of public and tribal lands nationwide. The USWFS has full program authority and coordinates the DOI wildland fire management program in its entirety. It ensures coordination within DOI, the Bureaus it serves, other federal agencies -- particularly the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Forest Service -- as well as non-federal agencies, state foresters, tribes, and a variety of stakeholder groups representing volunteer firefighters.

Agency contact information

John Rhoades

Visit our careers page

Learn more about what it's like to work at Office of the Secretary of the Interior, what the agency does, and about the types of careers this agency offers.

https://www.doi.gov/wildlandfireservice

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