About This Position
This is a Direct-Hire advertisement. Veterans preference is not applicable to this advertisement. Learn more about this authority at: Direct Hire Authority The Aviation Manager positions are with the US Wildland Fire Service, GW-2101-12/13, and can be filled at any DOI facility within the Great Basin Geographic Area boundary. Location will be negotiable upon selection. US Wildland Fire Service Geographic Areas Map
Qualifications
In order to qualify for this position you must possess the Minimum Qualification requirements listed below. 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 Primary Wildland Firefighting Experience: Applicants must have documented prior primary firefighting experience, with substantial service defined as either: At least one full fire season working in a primary wildland firefighting role (e.g., Engine Crew, Fire Effects Crew, Prescribed Fire/Fuels Crew, Hand Crew, Helitack Crew, Hotshot Crew, Smokejumper, Wildland Fire Modules or Fire Suppression Crews, etc.) with a federal, state, tribal, local, or private-sector organization; -OR- At least 14-days of on-the-ground fireline experience (cumulative or consecutive).
Prior primary wildland fire experience must be clearly documented in your resume.
Note: an IQCS Master Record or equivalent document will not be used to determine or calculate prior primary wildland fire experience eligibility for this requirement.
In addition to the requirements described above, the following additional experience is required. Only experience and education obtained by 08/03/2026 will be considered. Credit will be given for all appropriate qualifying experience.
Please be sure to include this information in your resume. No assumptions will be made about your experience. Minimum Qualification For the GW-12 level: One (1) year of specialized experience equivalent to the next lower grade level (GW/GS-11) in the federal service.
Specialized experience is further defined as, but not limited to, experience providing technical guidance for aviation operations; developing and implementing training and qualification programs for aviation resources; working with interagency partners addressing aviation concerns and objectives; experience reviewing aviation incident reports; experience developing and implementing aspects of aviation safety and risk management. For the GW-13 level: One (1) year of specialized experience equivalent to the next lower grade level (GW/GS-12) in the federal service. Specialized experience is further defined as, but not limited to, experience providing technical and program guidance for aviation operations; developing and implementing training and qualification programs for aviation resources; leading interagency partners addressing aviation concerns and objectives; experience identifying and reporting unsafe aviation activities to unit managers; experience developing and implementing all aspects of aviation safety and risk management.
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. *Applicants must meet all minimum qualification requirements for the position of interest by the closing date of the Job Announcement. 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 fire line 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. Physical Demands: Most of the work is sedentary in nature and requires sitting for long periods. The position requires intermittent physical exertion while inspecting field operations or participating in accident/incident investigations.
On occasion, it may be required to perform field work requiring long walks over rough, rocky terrain for long hours during high temperatures. Substantial travel to meeting locations in other cities and to remote field locations for assignments up to two weeks in duration is common. Mode of travel may be by aircraft, ground vehicle, and horseback and on foot.
Working Conditions: Most of the work is performed in an office or meeting room setting. The incumbent will be assessing direct applications of aviation needs and activities in the field program. These activities often require the person to be at the location engaged in actual aviation activities in the air and on the ground.
The work can be expected to include periodic assignments of long duration in remote airports, heliports and field camps. At times the incumbent may be required to inspect aviation operations on wildland fires, prescribed fires, or other resource management activities.
Major Duties
As a Aviation Manager your duties will include but are not limited to the following: Analyzes and guides assigned DOI agency's aviation programs and activities in order to assure safe and cost-effective use of aviation resources, ensuring that the USWFS complies with DOI existing statutes, regulations and policies. Highlight, identify and recommend changes in aviation procedures where deficiencies or problems are noted. Develops and supports implementation of the aviation safety training program within USWFS and assigned DOI agencies to ensure Federal aviation (FAA, NTSB, DOI-OAS, USFS) policy requirements are followed.
Provides direct support to aviation accident prevention program efforts by participating in ongoing high-risk operational missions. Conducts or supports safety reviews, identifies hazards, evaluates operational risk, and recommends mitigation strategies consistent with established policy and guidance across all facets of the geographic aviation programs. Please see the How You Will Be Evaluated section regarding functional roles for these positions.
Conditions of Employment
Must be a U.S. Citizen or National. Suitability for Federal employment, as determined by background investigation. Direct Deposit Required.
You will be required to submit to a drug test and receive a negative drug test result prior to appointment. In addition, this position is subject to random testing for illegal drug use. A condition of employment for accepting this position, you MAY will be required to serve a 1-year probationary period during which your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest will be evaluated. Individuals assigned male at birth after 12-31-59 must be registered for the Selective Service. To verify registration visit SSS.gov.
You must be 18 years of age or older to be assigned to a hazardous position.
You may be required to work on-call, evenings, weekends, holidays, overtime and shift work. Subject to frequent extended travel up to 25% of the time particularly during fire season, and you must obtain a government charge card for travel.
You may be required to complete training and obtain/maintain a government charge card with travel and/or purchase authority.
Education
IMPORTANT - PLEASE NOTE: There is not an option to qualify for the 0456 series utilizing education at the GW-12/13 level.
How You Will Be Evaluated
These positions can fill different functional roles which include: Uncrewed Aircraft Systems (UAS) Specialist Rotor Wing Operations Specialist Fixed Wing Operations Specialist Aviation Safety Specialist These functional roles will be discussed and filled upon selection by the hiring manager.
Resumes must not exceed two single-sided pages and resumes longer than two pages will not be accepted. The minimum font size is 10-point for all body text. Headers may be slightly larger but must remain legible. All resumes must maintain a minimum 0.5-inch margins on all sides to ensure readability and prevent excessive content compression. Including supplemental pages or attachments disguised as resume extensions are prohibited and will not be reviewed to determine your eligibility/qualifications.
You will be evaluated based on how your application materials reflect the minimum qualification requirements of this position. Once the job opportunity announcement closes, your resume and all supporting documents will be reviewed by HR to determine if you are minimally qualified for the position. 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.
Due to this vacancy being filled through OPM's Direct Hire Authority, Veterans Preference and traditional rating and ranking of applicants does not apply to positions filled under this announcement. Applications received as a result of job fairs, recruitment events, and emergency hiring mechanisms in support of this hiring initiative will also be accepted during the duration of the announcement. All minimally qualified candidates will be referred for consideration.
Please note that the hiring office may conduct interviews at their discretion. Interviews may be conducted on a pass/fail basis. The competencies below provide an overview of what this position entails once encumbered: Fire Management: Knowledge of the concepts, principles, and theories of fire management, including the characteristics, behavior, and ecology of fire; methodologies, strategies, and equipment used in prescribed fires; fire detection, prevention, and suppression strategies; and integration of fire with natural resource management.
Risk Management: Knowledge of the principles, methods, and tools used for risk assessment and mitigation, including assessment of failures and their consequences. Planning and Evaluating: Determines objectives and strategies; coordinates with other parts of the organization to accomplish goals; monitors and evaluates the progress and outcomes of operational plans; anticipates potential threats or opportunities.
Additional Information
Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) or Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP): Department of Interior (DOI) Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) procedures apply in filling this vacancy. These programs apply to employees who have been involuntarily separated from a federal service position within the competitive service or Federal service employees whose positions have been deemed surplus or no longer needed. To receive selection priority for this position, you must: (1) meet CTAP or ICTAP eligibility criteria; (2) be rated well-qualified (i.e., meet the minimum qualification requirements, including any selective placement factors; education, and experience requirements) for the position and be able to perform the duties of the position upon entry.
Applicants claiming CTAP/ICTAP eligibility must submit a copy of their most recent performance appraisal, proof of eligibility, and most current SF-50 noting position, grade level, and duty location with their application. For more information visit: http://www.opm.gov/rif/employee_guides/career_transition.asp.
This position is considered a career ladder opportunity, with a full performance level of GW-13. If selected at a lower grade level, you may be non-competitively promoted to the next grade level at the discretion of your supervisor and is contingent upon meeting regulatory and legal requirements for promotion, satisfactory performance, and the availability of higher-level work. Promotion is not guaranteed, and no promise of promotion is implied.
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 an RPL, you may be given priority consideration. PCS INFORMATION: -Yes, entitlements for payment of basic moving expenses, as required and to the extent allowed by the Federal Travel Regulation (FTR) 302-3.101, are authorized for eligible applicants changing duty station when the change meets the distance tests as provided in FTR 302-1.1 and 302-2.6.
All moving expenses are taxable. Incentives: If eligible and qualified, you may be offered a recruitment or relocation incentive. The decision to offer an incentive will be made on a case-by-case basis and is neither promised nor guaranteed.
Telework: This position is suitable for telework only in an emergency or natural disaster. Additional Vacancies: One or more positions may be filled from applications received under this announcement in the advertised office or other U.S. Wildland Fire Service offices in the local commuting area.
Reasonable Accommodation: The USWFS provides reasonable accommodations to applicants with disabilities. Please visit USAJOBS Help Center | Reasonable accommodation policy if you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application and hiring process. Probation/Trial Period Con't: Probationary period: As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you may be required to serve a 1 year probationary period during which your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest will be evaluated.
Under completion of your probationary period your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.
How to Apply
Review the appointment eligibility criteria in the application preview linked below. The eligibility section of the application allows you to choose how you wish to be considered for this vacancy announcement.
You will ONLY be considered for the eligibilities that you select "yes" to and submit the required supporting documentation, as listed in the Required Documents section or the application text.
You may qualify for more than one eligibility, so please choose carefully. If you respond that you do not meet any of the eligibility criteria, you will not be considered for this position under this announcement. To apply for this position, you must provide a complete Application Package. See required documents section.
Click 'Apply' to create an account or log in to your existing USAJOBS account.
Follow the prompts to complete the assessment questionnaire and upload required documents. To preview the assessment questionnaire, click https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/13014882. Please ensure you check the acknowledgement checkbox then click the Submit Application button to submit your application.
Applications must be received by 08/03/2026, 11:59pm ET to receive consideration. Check application status by logging into your USAJOBS account, in Applications tab, click the position title you applied to for the status. For information on what each Application Status means, visit: https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/how-to/application/status/.
If you are unable to apply online, you must request an alternative application which is available from the Human Resources Office. Please refer to the contact information listed at the bottom of the announcement. Applicants who apply under this job opportunity announcement agree to have their application, associated documents and applicable personal information shared with other Bureaus/Offices within the Department of the Interior (DOI) who have vacancies within the same occupational series, grade, full performance level and in the same geographic location(s), including within the same metro/commuting area.
Applying to this announcement does not replace the need to apply to other job opportunity announcements for which you wish to receive consideration.
Required Documents
You must submit a complete application package. The following documents are required and must be submitted by 11:59 PM (EST) on 08/03/2026 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) work experience duties listed under each job entry. In addition, Civil Service employees must provide their current OPM title, series, and grade. If experience is for a career ladder position, please ensure to clearly show how long you were working in each grade level.
Your resume will be used to validate your responses to the assessment tool(s). Failure to provide required information will result in loss of eligibility. No assumptions will be made about your experience and/or education. You are welcome to submit a cover letter.
Resumes must also include name and how to best contact you, including email address and phone number. Do not include the following types of information in your resume: Classified or government sensitive information Social Security Number (SSN) Photos of yourself Personal information, such as age, gender, religious affiliation, etc. Encrypted and digitally signed documents. In describing your experience, please be clear and specific. Visit the USAJOBS Help Center for more information on What should I include in my federal resume and/or OPM Resume Writing Tips.
In addition to the online application (resume and responses to the questionnaire), you are required to submit the following supplemental documentation as applicable: CTAP/ICTAP Documentation: 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. Failure to submit any of the above-mentioned required documents will result in loss of consideration due to an incomplete application package. It is your responsibility to ensure all required documents have been submitted.