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Explore a new career with the BLM - where our people are our greatest natural resource.
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This position is located in Casper, Wyoming. Information about the surrounding area may be found here: https://www.casperwy.gov
Learn more about this agency02/26/2020 to 03/11/2020
$52,905 - $83,210 per year
GS 09 - 11
No
75% or less - Travel is required to attend training, conferences, workshops, and/or field visits. Frequent travel will be required during times of peak fire activity.
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. Please Note: The selectee will be responsible for tax obligations related to payments for moving expenses - 2017 Tax Cuts and Job Act, Public Law 115-97. Refer to the “Additional Information” section.
Permanent - This is a permanent appointment.
Full-Time
Competitive
11 - If 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 and performance of higher-level duties.
No
Yes
FA-WLF-MP-2020-0054
561007800
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/ICTAP eligibles within the local commuting area // Veterans' Employment Opportunity Act (VEOA) Eligibles // Persons eligible under Special Hiring Authorities // Current or former time-limited employees eligible under PL-114-47, Land Management Workforce Flexibility Act (LMWFA) // Public Land Corps (PLC) eligibles who within the past two years have completed all requirements of a creditable PLC project
- Provide professional guidance 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.
- Serves as a Contracting Officer’s Representative on fuels management contracts and is responsible for the preparation of contract specifications and performance measures.
Physical Demands: The work is normally sedentary but often requires long hours of varied shifts during fire emergencies. Occasional field assignments may include long periods of standing or walking over rough terrain.
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 fixedwing and rotarywing aircraft.
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.
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. Applicants will not be appointed to the position if a verified positive drug test is received.
You must possess and maintain a valid state automobile driver's license.
Basic Education Required:
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).
Additional Experience Required: In addition to meeting the basic education requirements, you must meet specialized experience requirements.
Specialized Experience Requirements: In order to be rated as qualified for this position, we must be able to determine that you meet the specialized experience requirement(s); please be sure to include this information in your resume. 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. 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 the GS-11 grade level, 1 year of specialized experience equivalent to GS-09 is required. 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 (for the GS-11), 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:
To qualify for the GS-9: Master's (or equivalent graduate degree) -OR- 2 years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a master's degree, in a field of study that is directly related to this position.
To qualify for the GS-11: Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree -OR-3 years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. degree in a field of study that is directly related to this position.
Time in Grade Requirements: 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.
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- High Complexity, and requires selectee to meet the minimum qualification standards for IFPM prior to being placed into the position.
Selective Placement Factors: 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 Prescribed Fire and Fuels Specialist– High Complexity, you must have possessed all of the following National Wildfire Coordinating Group (NWCG) incident management qualifications and training requirements to be considered eligible for this position (currency not required at time of referral, but may be required to obtain and maintain currency if selected):
A.) Prescribed Fire Burn Boss Type 2 (RXB2); AND
B.) Incident Commander, Type 3 (ICT3), OR Task Force Leader (TFLD); OR Helibase Manager Type 1 (HEB1)
*You must meet all selective placement factor requirements by the closing date of the announcement.
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.
This position may require regular and recurring overtime and shift work during fire season.
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.
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 fire planning principles, practices, and concepts.
KSA 3 - Knowledge of accepted wildland safety practices and procedures.
KSA 4 - Skill in managing a wildland fire program.
KSA 5 - Skill in oral and written communication.
Resumes must show relevant experience and other information. Your resume MUST list your education and work experience including (1) the dates (mm/yy) of each employment, along with (2) the number of hours worked per week, and (3) salary information. Civil service employees must provide their current OPM title, series, and grade. Your resume will be used to validate your responses to the assessment tool(s).
In addition to the online application (resume and responses to the questionnaire), you are required to submit the following forms:
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 the Human Resources Office via email at blm_fa_nifc_hr_external@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 will be notified of the status of your application as the qualification review process is conducted. You may also check the status of your application by viewing your MY USAJOBs account.
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/561007800. 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 245 million surface acres. This land, known as the National System of Public Lands, is primarily located in 12 Western States, including Alaska. We are a small bureau with a big and complex job, determining the best combination of uses for public lands based on good science and input from the public both in local communities and across the country. 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.
