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 (Fire Dispatching) (Emergency Operations Coordinator-Assistant) your duties will include but are not limited to the following:

• Independently plans, organizes and coordinates total mobilization of wildfire and emergency response
  resources in advance of and during emergency incident activity, following national priorities.
• First level decision maker for all requests received, regardless of agencies involved. Incumbent implements
  requests for assistance, cognizant of cost and ensures the disposition of resources is consistent with
  Directorate decisions.
• Provides guidance and technical advice to various fire protection and emergency response agencies to obtain
  maximum utilization of emergency response resources in relation to values threatened. Serves on national
  working committees to improve the coordination system.
• Monitors and reviews daily fire weather forecasts, probable risk and fire danger. Incumbent must interpret
  and use forecasts as a planning tool for determining national priorities, anticipating problems and resolving
  competition for critically short resources.
• Serves as the focal point for assigned functional area (ie; aircraft, overhead/crews, equipment) ensures that
  desk operations comply with appropriate contract specifications and agency policies. Provides training to
  employees assigned to functional area. Ensures that all desk reference materials are organized and up to
  date.

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 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 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.
• 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.

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.

2.) You must have possessed all of the following National Wildfire Coordinating Group (NWCG) incident management qualifications to be considered eligible for this position (currency not required):

Expanded Dispatch Support Dispatcher (EDSD)

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

Only experience and education obtained by 08/24/2026 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-11 level:

For current or prior federal employees: At least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS/GW-09 level, or higher, in the Federal service, or equivalent, which includes all of the following: Examples of work experience include, but are not limited to: assisting coordinators or center managers with planning and coordinating total mobilization of wildfire and emergency response resources; implementing fire planning, wildland fire behavior, fire protection concepts and organizations; utilizing meteorology, fire behavior, fire suppression and aviation equipment for difficult fire situations; involvement with emergency response systems, intelligence operations, and severity projections.

OR

At least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS/GW-10 level, or higher, outside of the Federal service; Examples of specialized experience include: Examples of work experience include, but are not limited to: planning and coordinating total mobilization of wildfire and emergency response resources; implementing fire planning, wildland fire behavior, fire protection concepts and organizations; utilizing meteorology, fire behavior, fire suppression and aviation equipment for difficult fire situations; involvement with emergency response systems, intelligence operations, and severity projections.

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 and selective placement factors 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: The work is primarily sedentary and performed in an office or coordination center environment
with no special physical demands beyond normal office activities. Field visits and other administrative travel require vehicle and/or aircraft travel.

Working Conditions: Work is performed in an office or operations center environment with minimal physical hazards.
Stress may occur during periods of high national incident activity due to time-sensitive operational reporting requirements. Occasional travel for meetings or coordination activities may occur, but the position does not routinely involve hazardous field environments.

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:

• Knowledge Management: Monitors and reviews daily fire weather forecasts, probable risk and fire danger. Incumbent must interpret and use forecasts as a planning tool for determining national priorities, anticipating problems and resolving competition for critically short resources.
• Manages Resources: Independently plans, organizes and coordinates total mobilization of wildfire and emergency response resources in advance of and during emergency incident activity, following national priorities.
• Interpersonal Skills: First level decision maker for all requests received, regardless of agencies involved. Incumbent implements requests for assistance, cognizant of cost and ensures the disposition of resources is consistent with Directorate decisions.
• Technical Competence: Serves as the focal point for assigned functional area (ie; aircraft, overhead/crews, equipment) ensures that desk operations comply with appropriate contract specifications and agency policies. Provides training to employees assigned to functional area. Ensures that all desk reference materials are organized and up to date. Provides guidance and technical advice to various fire protection and emergency response agencies to obtain maximum utilization of emergency response resources in relation to values threatened. Serves on national working committees to improve the coordination system.