Job Details

ID #2783000
State Wyoming
City Newcastle
Full-time
Salary USD $51,440 - $80,912 a year 51440 - 80912 a year
Source US Department of the Interior
Showed 2019-10-17
Date 2019-10-04
Deadline 2019-12-03
Category Security
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Fire Management Specialist (Prescribed Fire/Fuels)

Wyoming, Newcastle 00000 Newcastle USA

Vacancy expired!

    Duties

    Summary

    Explore a new career with the BLM - where our people are our greatest natural resource.

    For additional information about the BLM, please visit our website.

    This position is located in Newcastle, Wyoming. Information about the surround area may be found here: https://www.newcastlewyoming.org

    We expect to fill one vacancy at this time; however, this announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies.

    Responsibilities

    • Provide professional expertise in the development and implementation of multiple resource objectives.
    • Develops fuels treatment alternatives to support management decisions while adhering to applicable laws, regulations, policies, and guidelines.
    • Evaluates individual fuels treatments as well as the effectiveness of the overall program and makes recommendations for improvement.
    • Coordinates with the next higher organizational level, other agencies, cooperators, and stakeholders to develop interagency fuels strategies.
    • Provide input and recommend strategies for fuels and fire management.
    • Participate in the development, review, and modification of the fire management plan.
    • Prepare wildland fire risk assessments incorporating wildland/urban interface considerations into all agreements, operating plans, and land and fire management plans.
    • Implement and administer prescribed fire activities, wildland fire use, and fuels management activities and surveys.
    • Monitors fire behavior, evaluate fire effects, identify potential problems and take appropriate action.
    • Participates in preparedness reviews, proficiency checks and drills, safety sessions, and after action reviews.
    • Prioritize prescribed fire and fuels management projects.

    Travel Required

    50% or less - Travel is required to attend training, conferences, workshops, and field visits.

    Supervisory status

    No

    Promotion Potential

    11 - If the position is filled at a lower grade level, promotion to the next grade level may be processed without further competition if approved.

  • Job family (Series)

    0401 General Natural Resources Management And Biological Sciences

  • Requirements

    Requirements

    Conditions of Employment

    • U.S. Citizenship is required
    • Be sure to read the "How to Apply" and "Required Documents" Sections
    • You cannot hold an active real estate license; nor can you
    • have an interest or hold stocks in firms with interest in Federal Land
    • Direct Deposit Required
    • Background Investigation Required

    Physical Demands: The work is normally sedentary but often requires long hours of varied shifts during fire emergencies. Field work is evaluated as arduous and the duties include demands for strenuous activities in emergencies under adverse environmental conditions and over extended periods of time.

    Working Environment: Most work is performed in an office setting. Field assignments include work at fire locations with exposure to smoke and inclement weather. Work may require frequent flying in small fixed-wing and rotary-wing aircraft.

    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 Fires and fuels Specialist - High Complexity, and requires the selectee to meet minimum qualification standards for IFPM prior to being placed into the position.

    This is a secondary/administrative fire position under the special retirement provisions of 5 U.S.C. 8336(c) (CSRS) and 5 U.S.C. 8412(d) (FERS). While secondary positions are not subject to the maximum entry age policy, the selectee must have prior service in a primary position and meet the transfer requirement for movement from a primary to secondary position to be eligible for special retirement coverage. It is the responsibility of the applicant to ensure this office has enough information to determine your retirement status to ensure you do not lose benefits (normally through submission of your SF-50). YOU MUST LET US KNOW IF YOU ARE CURRENTLY IN A PRIMARY POSITION.

    Passage of a pre-employment physical is required. You must also pass the work capacity test for arduous positions.

    THIS IS A DRUG TESTING DESIGNATED POSITION. In accordance with Executive Order 12564, and under the Department’s Drug Free Workplace Program, applicant(s) tentatively selected for this position will be required to submit a urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use and to pass the test prior to appointment. In addition, this position is subject to random testing for illegal drug use.

    You must possess and maintain a valid state automobile driver's license.

    Qualifications

    Basic Education Requirement:

    A) Must have a Degree in biological sciences, agriculture, natural resource management, chemistry, or related disciplines appropriate to the position.

    -OR-

    B) Combination of education and experience: courses equivalent to a major in biological sciences, agriculture or natural resources management, or at least 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 normally acquired through the successful completion of a full 4-year course of study in the biological sciences, agriculture, or natural resources (see A above).

    You will need to clearly state your undergraduate/graduate degree(s) and submit your college transcripts (unofficial) or a listing of your college courses that includes hours and grades.

    Additional Experience Required: In addition to meeting the basic education requirements, you must meet specialized experience requirements. To be creditable, this experience must have been equivalent in difficulty and complexity to the next lower grade of the position to be filled.

    To qualify or the GS-09 grade level, 1 year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-07 is required.

    To qualify or the GS-11 grade level, 1 year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-09 is required.

    Specialized Experience Requirements: Experience that equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSA’s) necessary to successfully function in the wildland fire management position.

    To qualify for GS-09: Experience must demonstrate an understanding of fire behavior relative to fuels, weather, and topography and how fire affects natural and cultural resources. Examples of experience may include: 1) participating in wildland fire activities (such as planning and/or implementing prescribed fire or managing wildfires) ensuring resource objectives are being met from a fire management standpoint; 2) developing and/or implementing initial attack incident management strategies and tactics to meet the stated resource objectives; and/or 3) implementing mitigation measures during wildland fire activities to protect sensitive habitats, endangered species, sensitive plants, or cultural values.

    To qualify for GS-11:Experience must have included ALL of the fire program management elements described as: 1) developing, reviewing and evaluating fire management plans for ecological soundness or consistency with land management goals and/or potentially adverse impacts to cultural and natural resources; 2) conducting field inspections before and after prescribed or wildland fires to determine if resource objectives were achieved and/or evaluating the effectiveness of actions taken; and 3) analyzing the ecological role of fire and its use and/or exclusion, and smoke management.

    IN ADDITION to fire program management elements listed above, appropriate experience must have included EITHER prescribed fire/fuels management - OR - fire management operations.1) Prescribed fire/fuels management: examples include: performing professional forest or range inventory methods and procedures, (e.g. Brown's planar intercept for dead and down fuels; live fuel loading assessments); analyzing fuel loadings and determining appropriate fuel treatment methods and programming; performing land use planning and environmental coordination; and/or evaluating prescribed burn plans or fire management plans to ensure fire containment is possible and identifying appropriate suppression contingencies if fire containment is not obtained; -OR-2) Fire Management Operations: experience in analyzing and/or applying fire management strategies in at least five of the following activities: a) Mobilization and dispatch coordination; b) Fire prevention and education; c) Training; d) Logistics; e) Equipment development and deployment; f) Fire communication systems; g) Suppression and preparedness; h) Aviation.

    Substitution of Education for Experience:

    GS-09: 2 years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a master's degree or master's or equivalent graduate degree, in a field of study that is directly related to this position OR an equivalent combination of specialized experience and education.

    GS-11: 3 years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. degree of Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree in a field of study that is directly related to this position OR an equivalent combination of specialized experience and education.

    • If the position is filled at a lower grade level, subsequent promotion to the next grade level will be processed without further competition dependent upon administrative approval and the continuing need for an actual assignment and performance of higher-level duties.

    Time in Grade Requirement: Federal employees in the competitive service are also subject to the Time-In-Grade requirement in accordance with 5 CFR 300.604. If you are a current Federal employee in the General Schedule (GS) pay plan and applying for a promotion opportunity, you must have completed a minimum of 52 weeks at the next lower grade level in the normal line of progression for the position being filled.

    • You must meet all qualification requirements within 30 days of the closing date of the announcement.

    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 on-the-line firefighting: The Department of the Interior defines wildland firefighting experience as any non-structure fire that occurs in the wildland. Wildland firefighting experience is gained through work on the fire line in 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. Wildland fires are categorized into two distinct types: (1) Wildfires – Unplanned ignitions or prescribed fires that are declared wildfires; and (2) 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. This experience must be documented with specific dates in the online application or resume.

    2. To meet IFPM requirements for the Prescribed Fires and Fuels Specialist - High Complexity, you must have possessed all of the following National Wildfire Coordinating Group (NWCG) incident management qualifications and training requirements below to be considered eligible for this position (currency not required):

    A.) Prescribed Fire Burn Boss Type 2 (RXB2); AND

    B.) Incident Commander, Type 3 (ICT3), OR Task Force Leader (TFLD); OR Helibase Manager (HEBM)

    • You must meet all selective placement factor requirements by the closing date of the announcement.

    Education

    Additional information

    May require completion of a one year probationary period.

    Tax Law Impact for PCS: On 22-Dec-2017, Public Law 115-97 - the "Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 suspended qualified moving expense deductions along with the exclusion for employer reimbursements and payments of moving expenses effective 01-Jan-2018 for tax years 2018 through 2025. The law made taxable certain reimbursements and other payments, including driving mileage, airfare and lodging expenses, en-route travel to the new duty station, and temporary storage of those items. The Federal Travel Regulation Bulletin (FTR) 18-05 issued by General Services Administration (GSA) has authorized agencies to use the Withholding Tax Allowance (WTA) and Relocation Income Tax Allowance (RITA) to pay for "substantially all" of the increased tax liability resulting from the "2018 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act" for certain eligible individuals. For additional information on WTA/RITA allowances and eligibilities, please visit: Federal Travel Regulation - GSA Bulletin FTR 18-05.

    Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP)/Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP): CTAP provides eligible surplus and displaced Federal competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. Information about CTAP/ICTAP eligibility is available from OPM's Career Transition Resources website at CTAP or ICTAP. If your agency has notified you in writing that you are a surplus or displaced employee eligible for CTAP consideration or that you are a displaced employee eligible for ICTAP consideration, you may receive selection priority if: 1) This vacancy is within your CTAP/ICTAP eligibility; 2) You apply under the instructions in this announcement; and 3) You are found well-qualified for this vacancy. You must provide proof of eligibility with your application to receive selection priority. Such proof may include a copy of your written notification of CTAP/ICTAP eligibility, or a copy of your separation personnel action form.

    CTAP and ICTAP eligibles will be considered well qualified if they receive a minimum score of 90 based on the rating criteria used for this position.

    Reemployment Priority List (RPL): The RPL is the mechanism agencies use to give reemployment consideration to their former competitive service employees separated by a RIF or who have fully recovered from a compensable injury after more than one year. If you are currently on a RPL, you may be given priority consideration.

    The BLM has determined that the duties of this position are not suitable for telework.

    Government facilities are required to provide a smoke free environment for their employees. Smoking will be permitted only in designated areas.

    FACT SHEET for Fire & Law Enforcement Positions: Information on Special Retirement.

    How You Will Be Evaluated

    You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

    Upon receipt of your complete application package, a review of your application will be made to ensure you meet the basic qualification requirements. Your rating will be based on your responses to the Job Specific Questionnaire and the information stated in your resume. If qualified, your score may range from 70-100 points. In addition, interviews may be conducted for this position. The interviews may be conducted on a pass/fail basis or may be scored. The job specific questions relate to the following knowledge, skills and abilities required to do the work of this position.

    KSA 1 - Knowledge of natural resource management, fire ecology, fire behavior, and fire management theories, concepts, principles, and standards.KSA 2 - Knowledge of accepted wildland safety practices and procedures.KSA 3 - Knowledge of fire planning principles, practices, and concepts.KSA 4 - Skill in managing a wildland fire program.KSA 5 - Skill in oral and written communication.

    To preview questions please click here.

    Background checks and security clearance

    Security clearance

    Not Required

    Drug test required

    Yes

  • Required Documents

    Required Documents

    Resumes must show relevant experience and other information. Your resume must list your education and work experience including the dates (mm/dd/yy) of each employment along with the number of hours worked per week and salary information. Your resume will be used to validate your responses to the assessment tool(s). - You are welcome to submit a cover letter (optional). If you wish to do so, include it with your resume.

    In addition to the online application (resume and responses to the questionnaire), you are required to submit the following forms:

    • Current and former federal career and career-conditional employees: submit a copy of your recent (non award) SF-50, Notification of Personnel Action, or equivalent document that verifies tenure (block 24, code 1 or 2) and Competitive Status (block 34, code 1).
    • You must provide copies of all your transcripts for verification that include hours and grades from an accredited U.S. college/university by the closing date. If your degree is from a Foreign Institution, See Foreign Education. All selections and tentative offers of selection are contingent upon submission and verification of ‘official’ transcripts.
    • You must provide a copy of your Incident Qualification and Certification System (IQCS) Master Record or other equivalent documentation which verifies you meet the required NWCG minimum qualifications for this IFPM position. Failure to provide this documentation by the closing dated of the announcement will result in you being rated as not qualified.
    • If you are applying for this position based on eligibility under other noncompetitive special appointing authorities, you MUST submit proof of this eligibility.
    • Veterans’ Employment Opportunities Act (VEOA) of 1998 allows preference eligibles or veterans to compete for vacancies under merit promotion procedures. To be eligible for a VEOA appointment, a veteran must be a preference eligible OR veteran separated after 3 or more years of continuous active service performed under honorable conditions. VEOA eligibles that separate with 30 or less days prior to completion of the three-years of continuous active duty service requirement are eligible to receive consideration. You must submit Member Copy 4 of your DD-214 to verify eligibility. Veterans will be rated and ranked with other merit promotion eligibles. Those who are among the best qualified may be selected by the appointing official, but veteran’s preference is NOT a selecting factor. For more information, please go to OPMs website at: www.fedshirevets.gov.
    • Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP) or Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP) eligibles: documentation verifying your CTAP/ICTAP eligibility - this includes a copy of the agency notice and your most recent SF-50 noting current position, grade level and duty location.
    • Former PLC Member: Submit a copy of your “Certificate of Eligibility for Noncompetitive Hiring” along with a copy of your “PLC Participant Verification Work Hours Sheet.”
    • Applicants eligible under PL-114-47, Land Management Workforce Flexibility Act (LMWFA) must submit documentation verifying (a) initial selection under competitive examining procedures to a land management agency under a time-limited appointment in the competitive service , (b) service under this initial appointment, or in conjunction with subsequent competitive service time-limited appointments, to a land management agency was for a period of 24 months without a break in service of two or more years, and (c) performance was evaluated as being at an acceptable level for the entire applicable period(s). “Required documentation” includes first and last SF-50 (Notification of Personnel Action) for each appointment verifying the Position Occupied code (Block 34) is 1-Competitive Service, AND documentation of successful performance for each appointment. Applicants are encouraged to combine all required documents into one or more files and scan for uploading into the application. Each file must not exceed 3MB. Grouping documents into files will simplify the application process. Failure to submit required documentation will result in loss of consideration.

    You may submit your documents either via Auto-Requested Fax or by uploading your documents from your USAJOBS Profile. Do not use both options.

    • Auto-Requested Fax: allows you to submit required documentation that will be electronically displayed along with your resume. The opportunity to do this will be provided during the application process by a pop-up message option to generate an auto-requested fax cover sheet. – OR–

    • Uploading Documents: instead of faxing your documents you may use the uploading procedures thru Applicant Manager.

    Hard copy paper supplemental documents, submitted without prior Human Resources approval, will be considered as an incomplete application.

    Required documentation must be submitted by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time, on the closing date of this announcement.

    If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements:

    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.

  • Benefits

    Benefits

    Review our benefits

Vacancy expired!

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