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 Fire Ecologist (Wildland Fire) your duties will include but are not limited to the following:

• Develops fire ecology work plans and strategic priorities and authors proposals and/or grants to accomplish goals.
• Supports ecologists in the analysis and interpretation of complex fire ecology and fire effects data, and in determining and documenting the significance of findings.
• Advises on appropriate fire and fuels monitoring data-collection methods, management tools, and quality-control procedures to ensure accuracy and consistency across monitoring efforts.
• Identifies research needs, prepares requests for research proposals or statements of work, reviews research proposals, prioritizes proposals and selects projects for funding, and provides oversight for research projects.
• Makes recommendations for implementing policy and provides professional guidance on the development of fire management plans to integrate fire science and monitoring data.

Conditions of employment

• Must be a U.S. Citizen or National.
• 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.
• Suitability for Federal employment, as determined by background investigation.
• Direct Deposit Required.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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 Primary Wildland Firefighting Experience: 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;

• 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.

Only experience and education obtained by 08/12/2026 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

Basic Education Requirement: This position has a basic education requirement which requires that you have a degree in biological sciences, agriculture, natural resource management, chemistry, or related disciplines appropriate to the position, or a combination of education and experience---courses equivalent to a major, as shown above, plus appropriate experience or additional education.

For the GW-12 level: One (1) year of specialized experience equivalent to GW/GS-11 in the Federal service. Examples of work experience include, but are not limited to, providing advice and guidance on a variety of problem areas and initiatives related to the effects of wildland fire on achieving ecosystem objectives; experience in fire and fuels monitoring data collection; experience with cooperative and interagency agreements; reviewing plans for Emergency Stabilization (ES) and Burned Area Rehabilitation (BAR); establishing and maintaining interagency partnerships.

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: Office work is normally sedentary. However, field work (up to 20% 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 both indoors and outdoors in all types of weather. Flying in fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters is possible. Office conditions require long periods of sitting, working with computers and general lifting, bending, and reaching. Field conditions involve the employee being exposed to noise, dust, heat, weather, aircraft turbulence and the hazards of on the line wildland fire activity such as heat, smoke, and fire behavior, e exposure to moderate risks and discomforts, such as those due to adverse weather conditions, such as high winds and low or high temperatures; travel in safety approved small air and water craft and off-road vehicles; irritating chemicals; noxious fumes; flammable liquids; falling trees; hostile wildlife; poisonous insects, plants, or snakes; and/or carcinogenic materials. Work requires special safety precautions and/or protective clothing and equipment.

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.
• Planning & 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.
• 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.