This job originated on www.usajobs.gov. For the full announcement and to apply, visit www.usajobs.gov/job/604774200. Only resumes submitted according to the instructions on the job announcement listed at www.usajobs.gov will be considered.
An initial cut-off date of June 30, 2021, 11:59 pm (EST), has been established to review and refer the first group of qualified applicants. If no selection is made from the first cut-off list, applications thereafter will be pulled with cut-off dates being the last day of the month for employment consideration.
The announcement is being extended through June 15, 2022, but may close sooner if selections can be made from earlier cut-off dates.
06/16/2021 to 03/15/2022
$24.08 - $38.86 per hour
Salary includes a 2.86% - 4.40% Cost of Living Allowance (COLA)
GS 7 - 9
2 vacancies in the following locations:
No
50% or less - You may be expected to travel for this position.
Yes—You may qualify for reimbursement of relocation expenses in accordance with agency policy.
Permanent
Full-time
Competitive
9
0401 General Natural Resources Management And Biological Sciences
No
Yes
AK1537-AKRO-21-11132149-DHA
604774200
Federal employees who meet the definition of a "surplus" or "displaced" employee.
U.S. Citizens, Nationals or those who owe allegiance to the U.S.
Applications will be accepted from any U.S. Citizen and local commuting area Agency Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP), Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP) or Reemployment Priority List (RPL) eligibles. DIRECT HIRING AUTHORITY will be used to fill this position.
These positions are located in Yukon-Charley Rivers National Preserve (Fairbanks, Alaska) and Denali National Park and Preserve (Denali Park, Alaska) in the Fire Management Divisions. See the "how to apply" section for "area information."
Fairbanks: Eastern Area Fire Management provides fire management and aviation services as a jurisdictional agency representing Yukon-Charley Rivers National Preserve, Gates of the Arctic National Park & Preserve, and Wrangell-St. Elias National Park & Preserve. Eastern Area parks average approximately 27,000 acres burned annually.
Denali: Western Area Fire Management provides fire management and aviation services as a jurisdictional agency representing Bering Land Bridge National Preserve, Denali National Park & Preserve, Lake Clark National Park & Preserve and Western Arctic National Parklands (Cape Krusenstern National Monument, Kobuk Valley National Park and Noatak National Preserve). Western Area parks average approximately 40,000 acres burned annually.
For questions regarding the duties of this position, please call Brian Mork, Assistant Fire Management Officer at 907-455-0651 for Fairbanks and Keith Mitchell, Assistant Fire Management Officer at 907-683-9549 for Denali Park.
Credit will be given for all appropriate qualifying experience. To receive credit for experience, your resume MUST clearly indicate the nature of the duties and responsibilities for each position, starting and ending dates of employment (month/year), and the resume must reflect full and/or part-time or total number of hours worked (i.e., work 40+ hours a week, rather than indicating full-time). If part-time, the hours must be annotated to be able to pro-rate the amount qualified specialized experience.
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 Prescribed Fire and Fuels Specialist (PFFS) with Moderate complexity and requires selectees to meet the minimum qualification standards for IFPM prior to moving into the position. For more information on IFPM, click here.
Initial consideration will be given to candidates whose applications have been received before the first cut-off date. The following qualification requirements must be met for those applications submitted, by the first cut-off date, otherwise, the following qualifications must be met by the subsequent cut-off dates (the last day of every month) until the announcement closes. The announcement is scheduled to close on December 15, 2021, but may close sooner if selections can be made from earlier cut-off dates.
1. Selective Factors: Must have possessed all the following National Wildfire Coordinating Group (NWCG) incident management qualifications to be considered eligible for this position:
Provide a copy of your Incident Qualifications and Currency System (IQCS) Master Record or equivalent documentation.
AND
2. Wildland Firefighting: Candidates must possess a minimum of 90-days of wildland firefighting experience gained through fire line work in containment, control, suppression or use of wildland fire.
A minimum of 90 days of wildland firefighting experience is required to meet qualifications for secondary (administrative) covered positions. The Department of Interior defines wildland firefighting experience as: On-the-line wildland firefighting experience gained through 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 for no less than 90 days. Periods of wildland firefighting experience, gained through militia and rural fire departments, can also be credited, as long as the total amount of this experience equates to at least 90 days. 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. You must clearly demonstrate this experience in your resume, including the months, days and hours per week at which the work was performed in order to be considered.
AND
3. Basic Requirements: Degree - Biological Sciences, Agriculture, Natural Resource Management, Chemistry, or related disciplines appropriate to the position.
OR
Combination of education and experience: Courses equivalent to a major, as shown above, plus appropriate experience or additional education. Courses equivalent to a major may be defined as 24 semester hours in biological sciences, natural resources, wildland fire management, forestry or agriculture equivalent to a major field of study, plus appropriate experience or additional education that is comparable to that acquired through successful completion of a full 4-year course of study in the biological sciences, agriculture, or natural resources.
You must provide a copy of your transcript(s)
AND
4. Minimum Requirements: In addition to meeting the above basic entry qualification requirements, applicants must have specialized experience and/or directly related education:
To qualify for the GS-7 level, you must have:
One year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-05 grade level (obtained in either the public or private sectors). Experience must demonstrate an understanding of fire behavior relative to fuels, weather, and topography and how fire affects natural and cultural resources. Examples of GS-05 experience may include:
OR
Successful completion of at least one year of graduate-level education in a directly related field of study.
OR
Bachelor's degree with Superior Academic Achievement, in a directly related field of study, as evidenced by one of the methods listed here.
OR
Combination of education and experience that is directly related to the work of this position. To combine education and experience, first take the number of semester hours or equivalent earned towards a graduate degree and divide by 18 semester hours or equivalent. To calculate your percentage of experience, divide your months of qualifying specialized experience by 12. Add the percentages together. The total must equal at least 100 percent to qualify.
To qualify for the GS-9 level, you must have:
One year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-7 grade level (obtained in either the public or private sectors). Experience must demonstrate an understanding of fire behavior relative to fuels, weather, and topography and how fire affects natural and cultural resources. Examples of GS-07 experience may include:
OR
Two years of progressively higher level graduate education in a directly related field of study leading to a master's degree or master's or equivalent graduate degree,
OR
Combination of education and experience that is directly related to the work of this position. To calculate your percentage of qualifying graduate education, divide your number of semester hours in excess of 18 semester hours by 18 or the number your school uses to represent one year of full time graduate academic study. To calculate your percentage of experience, divide your months of qualifying specialized experience by 12. Add the percentages together. The total must equal at least 100 percent to qualify.
Regardless of how you qualify, you must provide a copy of your transcript(s).
NOTE: The following additional subject fields have been determined to be acceptable as directly related degree programs for fire management jobs in this series: wildland fire management, forestry agronomy, biochemistry, biometrics, ecology, fishery biology, general fish and wildlife administration, horticulture, natural resources management, physiology, plant physiology, rangeland management, soil science, wildlife biology, zoology, agricultural extension, animal science, botany, entomology, genetics, microbiology, pharmacology, plant pathology, plant protection and quarantine, soil conservation, toxicology, wildlife refuge management. In addition, natural resources related disciplines include chemistry, environmental sciences (not environmental or natural resources policy), hydrology, outdoor recreation if it has a natural resource emphasis, physics, fire management, earth sciences, geology, meteorology related weather, climate, physical geography if it has a natural resource emphasis, and watershed management.
When submitting college transcripts, you must submit a legible copy of transcripts from an accredited institution with your name, school name, credit hours, course level, major(s), and grade-point average or class ranking. Transcripts do not need to be official, but if you are selected for this position and you used your education to qualify, you must provide official transcripts before you begin work.
If you are using education completed in foreign colleges or universities to meet qualification requirements, you must show that your education credentials have been evaluated by a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign education programs and such education has been deemed equivalent to that gained in an accredited U.S. education program; or full credit has been given for the courses at a U.S. accredited college or university.
Volunteer 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.
This notice is being issued to recruit personnel to occupations for which a critical hiring need has been identified. To assist in filling these positions, OPM has granted the Department of the Interior "Direct Hire Authority."
A selectee receiving a first appointment to the Federal Government (Civil Service) is entitled only to the lowest step of the grade for which selected The display of a salary range on this vacancy shall not be construed as granting an entitlement to a higher rate of pay.
This announcement may be used to fill additional positions if identical vacancies occur within 90 days of the issue date of the referral certificate.
Government housing may be available at Denali Park. It is not available at Fairbanks.
The National Park Service has determined that the duties of this position are suitable for occasional/situational telework or during an emergency or natural disaster with prior supervisor approval.
If you are unable to apply online or need to fax a document that you do not have in electronic form, view the following link for information regarding an Alternate Application. Click the following link for more information, https://help.usastaffing.gov/Apply/index.php?title=Alternate_Application_Information.
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). PLEASE NOTE: Applicants may meet qualification requirements but may not be eligible for special retirement coverage. If such an applicant is selected, they will be placed in the regular retirement system. FERS TRANSITION REQUIREMENT: To be eligible for Secondary retirement coverage under FERS, an employee must: 1) transfer directly (without a break in service exceeding 3 days) from a primary position to a secondary position, AND 2) complete 3 years of service in a primary rigorous position including any such service during which no FERS deductions were withheld, AND 3) must be continuously employed in a secondary position(s) since moving from a primary rigorous position, except for any break in employment from a secondary position that began with involuntary separation (not for cause). It is the responsibility of the applicant to ensure this office has enough information to determine your special retirement status to ensure you do not lose benefits (normally through submission of your work history or other documentation that demonstrates work history of approved covered positions). You must let this office know if you are in a Primary coverage position.
Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) OR Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP): CTAP/ICTAP provides placement assistance to permanent Federal employees who are surplus, displaced, or involuntarily separated. Applicants claiming CTAP/ICTAP eligibility must submit a copy of their most recent performance appraisal, proof of eligibility, and most current SF50 noting position, grade level, duty location with their application. To be considered under CTAP/ICTAP, applicants must be qualified (i.e., meet the minimum qualification requirements, including any selective placement factors; education, and experience requirements), and be able to perform the duties of the position upon entry. For Information on CTAP and ICTAP visit: Career Transition (opm.gov)
You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.
Applicants will be evaluated based on how whether they meet the qualification requirements.
Upon receipt of the completed application package, a review of your application will be made to ensure basic qualification requirements are met.
This vacancy will be filled through a Direct Hire Authority. Veterans Preference and traditional rating and ranking of applicants do not apply to positions filled under this Authority. All qualified applicants, as determined by the SHRO, will be referred for consideration. While managers and supervisors are not required to conduct interviews, it is highly recommended that they do so in order to assess the competencies of each applicant.
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.
If a determination is made that an applicant has inflated qualifications or experience on the resume, the applicant will receive no consideration for the position, as per OPM regulations.
The following documents are required and must be submitted by 11:59 PM (EST) on 03/15/2022:
Do not submit photographs with your application package. Documents with photographs may not be seen by hiring officials - you must remove your image from any badges, licenses, etc.
Do not upload Adobe portfolio documents. Adobe portfolio documents are not viewable by our agency's staffing offices.
Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications. Therefore, provide only the attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.
Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.
To apply for this position: You must complete the occupational questionnaire and submit the documentation specified in the Required Documents section below. To receive consideration, the complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (EST) on the first cut-off, one of the subsequent cut-off dates (last day of every month) or 03/15/2022.
WE DO NOT ACCEPT HARD-COPY OR E-EMAIL APPLICATION PACKAGES.
Once the Occupational Questionnaire is received you will receive acknowledgement that your submission was successful. If you are among the qualified candidates, your name will be referred to the hiring official, and you may be contacted directly for a possible interview. You will be notified of the status of your Application Package at the time candidates are referred for consideration, and when the selection process is complete.
Other:
Physical Demands: The work is normally sedentary. However, field work is requires prolonged standing, walking over uneven ground, and recurring bending, reaching, lifting and carrying of items weighing over 50 pounds and shared lifting and carrying of heavier items, and similar strenuous activities requiring at least average agility and dexterity.
Working Conditions: Work is performed both in-doors (office) and out-of-doors (field work). Office conditions require long periods of sitting, working with computers and general lifting, and bending and reaching. Field conditions are performed in various conditions and often involve steep terrain where surfaces may be extremely uneven, rocky, covered with vegetation, and in smoky conditions. Temperatures vary from above 100 degrees F to below freezing. Risks include smoke inhalation, fire entrapment, snake or insect bites and stings, exposure to excessive machinery noise, and falling and rolling material. Personnel must adjust and cope with exposure to adverse weather elements, dust and smoke, poor sleeping and eating conditions and unpredictable sets of circumstances. The employee may be required to live in backcountry camps for extended periods of time. The hazardous nature of the work requires that personal protective equipment be worn (boots, hardhat, gloves, flame resistant clothing, etc.). Work may require travel by light fixed-wing or rotor-wing aircraft.
Travel, transportation, and relocation expenses will be paid if the person selected for the position is from outside the local commuting area and is otherwise eligible for reimbursement of relocation expenses under the Federal Travel Regulations.
Alaska currently does not have a state income tax.
In the event of an accident while traveling in a government aircraft, the payable benefits of a private life insurance policy may be affected.
The Federal hiring process is set up to be fair and transparent. Please read the following guidance.
This job originated on www.usajobs.gov. For the full announcement and to apply, visit www.usajobs.gov/job/604774200. Only resumes submitted according to the instructions on the job announcement listed at www.usajobs.gov will be considered.
Learn more about
The vacancy at Fairbanks has been filled but applicants may still select that duty location should additional vacancies open.
The Department of Interior places a high value on diversity of experience and cultural perspectives and encourages applications from all interested eligible candidates, including candidates from all ethnic and racial backgrounds, women, LGBT individuals, veterans, and individuals with disabilities.
A Recruitment Incentive May Be Authorized for a newly selected employee when appointed to a permanent, temporary, or term position. A Federal employee who is transferring to the National Park Service from another component, bureau or Federal agency and who does not meet the conditions under 5 CFR §575.102 is not eligible for a recruitment incentive.
A Relocation Incentive May Be Authorized for a Federal employee when the employee must move, as directed by the National Park Service (NPS) either through a management directed reassignment or selection for employment, to a different location at least 50 miles away from the one where his/her position of record held at time of selection is currently located, due to a need of the NPS. A relocation incentive is not the same as a Permanent Change of Station (PCS) move and, as such, may be granted in conjunction with one another.