Summary Supervisory Wildland Firefighter (Fire Management Officer) positions are being filled throughout the National Park Service. Incumbent of this position serves as the Fire Management Officer of a moderately complex fire program responsible for directing multiple phases of fire management programs such as fire planning, aviation management, training, preparedness, fuels management and prevention, dispatching, suppression, post-suppression, as well as all hazard and emergency response activities. Responsibilities Establishes priorities for fire hazard reduction, prescribed burns and fuels management based on minimizing potential damage and maximizing multiple resource benefit and enhancement. Collaborates with park unit leadership while also serving on and representing the units and NPS on various interagency teams, and work groups dealing with specific local, geographic, or national fire management issues. Works with a variety of complex technical problems relating to fire weather, smoke management, fire behavior, and computer fire modeling. Ensures the fuels management program is consistent with ecosystem management principles and land use plans. Directs and supervises all phases of the budget formulation and execution process and initiates changes as appropriate. Directs all phases of the moderate complexity wildland fire program within assigned park unit. Coordinates unit and group programs with various other federal, state, and local agencies. Supervises, directs, and coordinates subordinate staff. Requirements Conditions of Employment Qualifications In order to qualify, you must meet the eligibility and qualifications requirements as defined below by the closing date of the announcement. For more information on the qualifications for this position, visit the Office of Personnel Management's General Schedule Qualification Standards. Credit will be given for all appropriate qualifying 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 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 an applicant's resume is incomplete a rating of "ineligible" will be applied and no consideration for employment will be granted. This position has been identified as one of the key fire management positions under the Interagency Fire Program management (IFPM) Standard. This position requires selectee to meet the minimum qualification standards for IFPM prior to being placed into the position. For more information on IFPM, click here. Basic Qualification Requirements: Candidates must possess Primary/Rigorous wildland firefighting experience, gained through fire line work in containment, control, suppression or use of wildland fire. 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 Successfully completed the Primary NWCG Core Requirements of: Taskforce Leader (TFLD) AND Incident Commander Type 3 (ICT3) OR Prescribed Burn Boss (RXB2) -OR- Helibase Manager (HEBM) AND Incident Commander Type 3 (ICT3) In addition to the requirements described above, the following additional experience are required for the grade specified. For the GS-11 level: One year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-09 level, or higher in the Federal service; Examples of specialized experience include: Reviewed and evaluated fire management plans for ecological soundness or consistency with land management goals and/or potentially adverse impacts to cultural and natural resources; Conducted field inspections before and after prescribed or wildland fires to determine if resource objectives were achieved and/or evaluating the effectiveness of actions taken; Analyzed the ecological role of fire and its use and/or exclusion, and smoke management; Analyzed and/or applied fire management strategies in mobilization and/or dispatch coordination, fire prevention and education, training, logistics, equipment development and deployment, fire communication systems, suppression and preparedness or aviation; Analyzed fuel loadings and determined appropriate fuel treatment methods (i.e. prescribed fire, mechanical, chemical, or biological treatments); Performed land use planning and environmental compliance; Evaluated prescribed burn plans or fire management plans to ensure fire containment is possible and identifying appropriate suppression contingencies if fire containment is not obtained; Implemented fire management planning, including evaluation of objective in resource management plans to develop strategies to accomplish these objectives; Developed evaluation measures to determine if fire management activities have accomplished objectives and adapted future activities based on findings; Developed agreements to support fire management activities across multiple units including inter- and intra-agency agreements; Participated in fire management review processes including program reviews, incident reviews, and/or fuels treatment reviews. -OR- One year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-10 level, or higher, outside of the Federal service; Examples of specialized experience include: Provided direct leadership and supervision for fire management staff and cooperators during preparedness and incident response assignments; Involvement with all phases of the fire management program including planning, program direction, coordination and evaluation; assigning crews and wildland firefighters; Supervised administrative program functions such as planning, budget formulation/execution; Worked closely with partners, cooperators, and single land base area to develop inter- and intra-agency agreements; Coordinated operations on multi-jurisdictional wildland fires addressing risk to human safety and potential for damage to resources and improvements; Developed, reviewed and evaluated fire management plans for ecological soundness or consistency with land management goals and/or potentially adverse impacts to cultural and natural resources; Conducted field inspections before and after prescribed or wildland fires to determine if resource objectives were achieved and/or evaluating the effectiveness of actions taken; Analyzed the ecological role of fire and its use and/or exclusion, and smoke management; Analyzed and/or applied fire management strategies in mobilization and/or dispatch coordination, fire prevention and education, training, logistics, equipment development and deployment, fire communication systems, suppression and preparedness or aviation; Analyzed fuel conditions and determined appropriate fuel treatment methods (i.e. prescribed fire, mechanical, chemical, or biological treatments); Performed land use planning and environmental compliance; Evaluated prescribed burn plans or fire management plans to ensure fire containment is possible and identifying appropriate suppression contingencies if fire containment is not obtained; Implemented fire management planning, including evaluation of objective in resource management plans to develop strategies to accomplish these objectives; Developed evaluation measures to determine if fire management activities have accomplished objectives and adapted future activities based on findings. In order to be considered for this position, copies of your Incident Qualification and Certification System (IQCS) Master Record (or equivalent training documents) which contain documented proof of the certification or attainment of the IFPM Selective Placement Factor for this position MUST be attached to your application. Red Cards are not acceptable documentation. Currency Requirement: Required to maintain currency once hired into the position. Currency of NWCG qualifications is not required for selection. If not currently qualified, the applicant must provide documented evidence that they have been fully qualified in the past, and are able to regain currency within one year of being hired. Failure to provide this documentation will result in disqualification. 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 fireline 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. Education To qualify based on education, 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. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: One position is being filled at Cumberland Island National Seashore; duty location St. Marys, GA; One position is being filled at Mesa Verde National Park; duty location Mesa Verde, CO. In order to be considered for any duty location, ensure desired locations are selected. Applicants will not be considered for locations not selected. Additional Information 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 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. Physical Demands: Normally the work is sedentary but often requires physical exertion while overseeing fire suppression activities including walking over rough, steep, uneven terrain in all types of weather. The incumbent is faced with emergency situations at all hours and must respond quickly. The position may require long shifts or multi-day assignments under primitive living conditions during emergencies. During the fire season, extended fire assignments away from the unit may be required under very stressful conditions. Working Conditions: Although work is generally performed in an office setting. Field work involves exposure to temperature extremes, both from weather and fire conditions where falling trees and the presence of smoke and/or dust create hazardous conditions. The nature of fire suppression work requires that protective clothing (boots, hard hats, etc.) be worn during fire assignments. The incumbent must exercise a variety of safety practices and precautions for the well-being of self and of others. 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.