An official website of the United States government
This position is located in Indiana Dunes National Park in the Wildland Fire Program. For information on the duties of the position contact Nathaniel_Orsburn@nps.gov. Anticipated enter on duty date: August 1, 2021.
Learn more about this agency06/03/2021 to 06/23/2021
$53,652 - $77,034 per year
GS 8 - 9
No
Occasional travel - You may be expected to travel up to 4 nights per month for this position.
Yes—You may qualify for reimbursement of relocation expenses in accordance with agency policy.
Permanent
Full-time
Competitive
9
No
Yes
MW-1544-INDU-21-11130814-DH
603484400
U.S. Citizens, Nationals or those who owe allegiance to the U.S.
Federal employees who meet the definition of a "surplus" or "displaced" employee.
Applications will be accepted from any U.S. Citizen. DIRECT HIRING AUTHORITY will be used to fill this position.
Major Duties of the Prescribed Fire/Fuels Technician GS-0462-08
The prescribed fire/fuels technician is directly responsible for participating in the planning, implementation and coordination of all aspects of the prescribed fire and fuels management program, ensuring that preparations, ignition, holding, mop-up and rehabilitation are completed to the standards specified and in accordance with regulations, policies and guidelines. Use fire management systems such as INSPECTOR, NFPORS, INFORM, FTEM, Collector, BEHAVE, Farsite, Fire Family Plus, Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and other fire modeling systems to develop treatments schedules, burn prescriptions, and/or write burn or mechanical treatment plans. Reviews project plans and makes recommendations on appropriate levels of monitoring in conjunction with the zone fire ecologist. Supervises activities of a crew that conducts field work in such areas as wildland fire suppression, mechanical fuel treatment, prescribed fire, related resource management projects and cross division assignments as directed. May serve as an incident commander, engine boss or squad boss directing and supervising crews on fires. Conducts formal and informal fire training and drills for all zone fire personnel.
Major Duties of the Prescribed Fire/Fuels Technician GS-0462-09
In addition to all GS0462-08 duties: Provides technical assistance in program direction, short and long-term planning, budgeting and managing wildfire suppression, fuels management and prescribed fire. May serve as Duty Officer, after hours contact or acting AFMO when needed.
Duties will be developmental in nature when filled below the full performance level.
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 CSRS, an employee must transfer directly (without a break in service exceeding 3 days) from a primary position to a secondary position. 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 retirement covered positions). You must let this office know if you are in a Primary retirement covered position.
Physical Demands: Work 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 perform 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 fixed- wing or rotor-wing aircraft.
All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement06/23/2021 unless otherwise stated in this vacancy announcement.
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 & Fuels Specialist (PFFS) Moderate Complexity and requires selectee to meet the minimum qualification standards for IFPM prior to moving into the position. For more information on IFPM, click here.
Selective Factors: The applicant must have possessed all the following National Wildfire Coordinating Group (NWCG) incident management qualifications and training requirements to be considered eligible for this position:
NOTE: If your firefighting experience includes both structural and wildland, it is essential that your application materials clearly separate and document your wildland experience.
To qualify for the GS-0462-08
One year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-07 level in the Federal service. Examples of qualifying specialized for this position is experience that equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities needed to successfully perform the duties of this position. Examples of specialized experience include: Participating in implementing prescribed fire or fire use plans to ensure resource objectives can be met from a fire management standpoint; developing initial attack incident management strategies and tactics to meet the stated resource objective; implementing surveys, assisting in the review of survey results and initiating recommendations for prescribed fire and mechanical fuels management projects or treatments.
-OR-
2 years of graduate level education or a Master's Degree directly related to the position.
-OR-
Combination of education and experience that is directly related to the work of this position as stated above.
IMPORTANT - PLEASE NOTE: If you are using education to qualify you must submit a legible copy of your transcripts (A copy of your official transcripts will be required before entrance on duty, if selected).
-AND-
To Qualify for the GS-0462-09
One year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-08 level in the Federal service. Examples of qualifying specialized for this position is experience that equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities needed to successfully perform the duties of this position. Specialized experience for this position includes experience in at least two of the following three categories:
(1) Experience that demonstrated understanding of fire effects on cultural and natural resources through assignments such as developing fire management plans to ensure resource objectives can be met form a fire management standpoint; or, conducting field inspections before and/or after prescribed fires or wildland fires to determine if defined resource objectives have been met.
(2) Prescribed fire/fuels management experience demonstrated by activities such as professional forest of range inventory methods and procedures (e.g., Browns planar intercept for dead and down fuels; live fuel loading assessments); or, analysis of fuel loadings and determination of appropriate fuel treatment methods and programming; or evaluating prescribed fire plans or fire management plans to ensure fire containment is possible, and identify appropriate suppression contingencies if containment is not obtained.
(3) Fire management operations that included analyzing and applying fire management strategies, PLUS experience in at least four of the following activities: Mobilization and dispatch coordination; Fire prevention; Training; Logistics; Equipment development and deployment; Fire communications systems; Suppression and preparedness.
-OR-
2 years of graduate level education or a Master's Degree directly related to the position.
-OR-
Combination of education and experience that is directly related to the work of this position as stated above.
IMPORTANT - PLEASE NOTE: If you are using education to qualify you must submit a legible copy of your transcripts (A copy of your official transcripts will be required before entrance on duty, if selected).
Volunteer Experience: 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.
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.
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.
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.
This announcement may be used to fill additional positions if identical vacancies occur within 90 days of the issue date of the referral certificate.
The National Park Service has determined that the duties of this position are suitable for telework only during an emergency or natural disaster.
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.
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.
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 06/23/2021:
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 06/23/2021.
We do not accept hard-copy or e-mail 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.
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/603484400. Only resumes submitted according to the instructions on the job announcement listed at www.usajobs.gov will be considered.
Learn more about
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.
Indiana Dunes National Park is a 15,000-acre park located at the southern tip of Lake Michigan, approximately 45 miles southeast of Chicago, Illinois. The park is among the top 10 most visited National Park units annually. Small towns and resort communities on the beaches of Lake Michigan, and farms, interspersed with large tracts of woodlands and wetlands, surround the park. All services are available in the communities, to include schools, colleges, shopping, and other major amenities. The park hugs 15 miles of Lake Michigan's southern shoreline, and includes several historic districts, and over 50 miles of horse, bike and hiking trails over rugged dunes, mysterious wetlands, sunny prairies, meandering rivers, and peaceful forests! The area has weather typical of the Midwest with temperatures normally ranging from 0 degrees in the winter to 90 degrees in the summer. No government housing available, however, many reasonably priced houses and rental properties exist in the surrounding communities.
Please visit find a park for additional park information.
