An official website of the United States government
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.
BLM is seeking a dynamic and energetic individual to join the team to as a Fire Management Specialist (Prevention & Mitigation) where you will establish and coordinate internal and external wildland fire prevention and mitigation programs.
This position is located in Montrose, Colorado.
12/30/2019 to 01/13/2020
$51,440 - $80,912 per year
GS 09 - 11
1 vacancy in the following location:
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Occasional travel - Occasional travel may be required to attend meetings and site visits.
Yes—Travel and relocation expenses will be paid consistent with the Federal Travel Regulation, Chapter 302, and Departmental policy. The use of a relocation service company and home marketing incentive will not be offered.
Permanent
Full-Time
Competitive
11
No
Yes
CO Merit-2020-0037
554946700
Current or former competitive service federal employees.
Federal employees who meet the definition of a "surplus" or "displaced" employee.
Individuals eligible under a special authority not listed above, but defined in the federal hiring regulations.
Certain current or former term or temporary federal employees of a land or base management agency.
All current or former federal employees with competitive/reinstatement eligibility; CTAP and ICTAP eligibles within the local commuting area; Veterans' Employment Opportunity Act (VEOA) Eligibles; Persons eligible under Special Hiring Authorities; All former PLC members who within the past 120 days have completed all requirements of a creditable PLC project; Current or former time-limited employees eligible under PL-114-47, Land Management Workforce Flexibility Act (LMWFA)
As the Southwest Colorado Fire and Aviation Management Unit, Fire Mitigation and Education Specialist, the incumbent will:
The GS-09 grade level is a developmental/trainee level position. The incumbent will perform the less difficult assignments with considerable independence in planning, selecting methods, and carrying out the work. The more difficult/complex work is performed under closer guidance, in terms of objectives, problem areas to be encoutered, judgment belng applied, and interpretation of regulations/guidelines.
You must meet all qualification requirements within 30 days of the closing date of the announcement.
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.
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 automobile driver's license.
All applicants must be aware that Federal employees must obtain and maintain a favorable background investigation. A background investigation will be conducted by the employing office following acceptance of the position. Failure to obtain a favorable determination of the background investigation will result in the cancellation of the offer or will be grounds for termination.
Physical Demands: The work is primarily sedentary, but may also include work in the field when wildland fire situations arise.
Work Environment: Most work is performed in an office setting. Travel to field offices and various meetings and conferences is required.
BASIC EDUCATION REQUIREMENT: Must have:
Degree in biological sciences, agriculture, natural resource management, chemistry, or related disciplines appropriate to the position.
- OR -
A combination of education and experience: Courses equivalent to a major, as shown above (at least 24 semester hours), plus appropriate experience or additional education.
You will need to clearly state your undergraduate/graduate degree(s) and submit your college transcripts 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 for the GS-09 grade level, 1 year of specialized experience equivalent to GS-07 is required.
To qualify for the GS-11 grade level, 1 year of specialized experience equivalent to GS-09 is required.
SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: Experience that equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSA’s) necessary to successfully function in the wildland fire management position.
For GS-09: Experience in at least two of the following three categories: 1.) Experience that demonstrated understanding of fire effects on cultural and natural resources. Assignments must have shown participation in activities such as: a) Developing fire management plans to ensure resource objectives can be met from a fire management standpoint; b) 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 in activities such as: a) Professional forest or range inventory methods and procedures (eg. Brown’s planar intercept for dead down fuels; live fuel loading assessments); or b)Analysis of fuel loadings and determination of appropriate fuel treatment methods and programming, or c) Evaluating prescribed fire plans or fire management plans to ensure fire containment is possible and identify appropriate suppression contingencies if containment is not obtained; and/or 3.) Fire Management operations – analyzing and applying fire management strategies, plus experience in at least four of the following activities: a) Mobilization and Dispatch Coordination; b) Fire Prevention; c) Training; d) Logistics; e) Equipment Development and Deployment; f) Fire Communications Systems; g) Suppression and Preparedness.
For GS-11: Experience must have included ALL of the fire program management elements as described below:
1.) Reviewing and evaluating fire management plans for ecological soundness and technical adequacy; 2.) Conducting field inspections before and after prescribed or wildland fires to determine if resource objectives were achieved and/or evaluate the effectiveness of actions taken; and 3.) Developing analyses on the ecological role of fire and its use and/or exclusion, and smoke management.
IN ADDITION to fire program management, appropriate experience must have included either prescribed fire/fuels management - or - fire management operations described as: 1.) Prescribed fire/fuels management - experience in a broad range of activities such as: a) Professional forest or range inventory methods and procedures, (e.g. Brown's planar intercept for dead and down fuels; live fuel loading assessments); b) Analysis of fuel loadings and determination of appropriate fuel treatment methods and programming; c) Land use planning and environmental coordination; d) Evaluation of prescribed burn plans or fire management plans to ensure fire containment is possible and identification of appropriate suppression contingencies if containment is not obtained; or 2.) Fire management operations - analyzing and applying fire management strategies, plus experience 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.
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.
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.
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.
This position has an educational requirement; therefore, you will need to clearly state your undergraduate/graduate degree(s) and submit your college transcripts. You will be rated ineligible if you do not submit documents to determine whether you meet the basic educational requirements.
SELECTIVE SERVICE: Male applicants born after December 31, 1959, must certify that they have registered with the Selective Service System, or are exempt from having to do so under the Selective Service Law. To register or verify your registration go to the Selective Service System website.
May require completion of a one year probationary period.
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 Bureau of Land Management has determined that the duties of this position are suitable for telework and the selectee may be allowed to telework with supervisor approval.
BLM may use certain incentives, currently offered by the Federal government, to attract high quality applicants.
Government facilities are required to provide a smoke free environment for their employees. Smoking will be permitted only in designated areas.
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.
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 - Ability to apply fire management strategies, tactics and fire prevention and mitigation procedures.
KSA 2 - Knowledge of federal, state, local and other agency's wildland fire trespass and prevention plans.
KSA 3 - Knowledge of wildland fire and emergency management policies, practices and philosophies relating to regulations, agreements, mitigation principles and suppression techniques.
KSA 4 - Skill and ability to establish, communicate with and maintain effective relationships with partners and public audiences.
KSA 5 - Skill and ability in conducting and facilitating meetings, and effectively organize, coordinate and present workshops and training sessions.
In addition to the online application (resume and responses to the questionnaire), you are required to submit the following forms:
Please note that documents selected to transfer from your USAJOBS profile are NOT automatically added to your application. You need to transfer your document(s) in the Document step during the application process.
Resumes must show relevant experience and other information. Your resume must list your education and work experience including the dates (mm/yyyy) 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.
You MUST provide a copy of your transcripts that include hours and grades from an accredited U.S. college/university. If your degree is from a Foreign Institution see, Foreign Education. ALL SELECTIONS AND TENTATIVE OFFERS ARE CONTINGENT UPON SUBMISSION AND VERIFICATION OF “OFFICIAL” TRANSCRIPTS.
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).
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.”
(LMWFA) 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:
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.
If you are applying for this position based on eligibility under other noncompetitive special appointing authorities, you MUST submit proof of this eligibility.
Submitting Required Documents:
You may submit your documents either via Auto-Requested Fax or by uploading your documents from your USAJOBS Profile. Do not use both options.
1. 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.
2. 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.
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 receive consideration for this position, you must provide a complete Application Package, which includes ALL of the following items:
1. Your responses to the Assessment Questionnaire;
2. Your resume; and
3. Applicable supporting documents specified in the Required Documents section of this job announcement.
Click on the button "Apply Online" and login to MY USAJOBS.
If you haven't already registered with USAJOBS, the system will require you to create a user name and password, complete a questionnaire and upload, paste or type a resume into USAJOBS.
If you have already registered with USAJOBS and forgot your login information, select the "Did you forget your username and/or password" link from the right side menu.
Your application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM Eastern Time by the closing date of this announcement.
If you need assistance in applying on-line, please contact Vanity Soto at 303-239-3935 or vsoto@blm.gov. If applying on-line poses a hardship for you (i.e., you do not have access to the internet) you must contact us prior to the closing date of the announcement for an alternative method of applying.
You can track the progress of your application package via your USAJobs account. You will receive an acknowledgment email from USAJobs that your submission was successful once we have received your online assessment questionnaire, resume and any supporting documentation. You will be notified of the status of your application and/or referral to the hiring official via your USAJobs account after the evaluation process is complete. You will be contacted if further evaluation or interviews are required.
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/554946700. Only resumes submitted according to the instructions on the job announcement listed at www.usajobs.gov will be considered.
Learn more about
The BLM manages more land - 245 million surface acres - than any other Federal agency. This land, known as the National System of Public Lands, is primarily located in 12 Western States, including Alaska. The BLM, with a budget of about $1 billion, also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation. The BLM's multiple-use mission is to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of the public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations.
