Supervisory Wildland Firefighter (Smokejumper Assistant Program Manager)
About This Position
These position are located at a USDA Forest Service Unit. The primary purpose of this position is to assist in managing the activities of the Smokejumper Group and to provide the Forest Service's highest level of technical expertise in the field of smokejumping operations, loft, loadmaster, training and prescribed fire. See ADDITIONAL INFORMATION for Regional contacts.
Qualifications
In order to qualify, you must meet the eligibility and qualifications requirements as defined below by the closing date of the announcement. For more information on the qualifications for this position, visit the Office of Personnel Management's General Schedule Qualification Standards.
Your application and resume must clearly show that you possess the experience requirements. 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. Specialized Experience Requirement: For the GW-08: Applicants must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level (GW-07) in the Federal Service. Examples of specialized experience may include: Performed as an Initial Attack Commander responsible for leading a squad of personnel in wildland suppression activities; Directed and coordinated all types of related aircraft, fire line personnel and equipment; Led other crew members in all applicable smokejumper duties including parachute rigging and repair, paracargo rigging, aircraft loading, sewing and manufacturing, equipment maintenance and other duties which support the smokejumper program.
For the GW-09: Applicants must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level (GW-08) in the Federal Service. Examples of specialized experience may include: Served as spotter and made critical safety decisions on jump actions and fire strategies and tactics; Assisted in managing Smokejumper Safety Programs such as Smokejumper First Aid or Prescribed Fire/Fuels Treatment and Chainsaw Safety, or Smokejumper Spotter/Pilot Program; Served as a cargo dropper in charge of aerial delivery missions in a variety of aircraft involving both paracargo and free-fall delivery using systems. Smokejumper duties present unusual hazards and require that personnel be in excellent physical condition and possess a high degree of emotional stability and mental alertness.
The health of individuals must be such that they have the capacity to meet demands for performance in the position and for human reliability. Before entrance on duty, and periodically during employment, smokejumpers must undergo a medical exam, physical conditioning, and an adeptness test. Failure to meet any of the required standards will be considered disqualifying for employment or a basis of termination.
See Medical Requirements for Smokejumper Positions. During the training period, incumbents are continually evaluated on their ability to demonstrate a high level of proficiency in various aspects of parachute jumping and smokejumper-related tasks, including aircraft exit procedures, parachute landing falls, parachute maneuvering, timber let-down procedures, parachute and cargo retrieving, tree climbing, and chainsaw and hand tool use. Incumbents who cannot perform up to the required standards of proficiency will be terminated from the smokejumper program.
Smokejumpers must perform safely and efficiently in extreme temperatures and weather conditions, often with severe smoke and dust. Terrain may be extremely steep, uneven, rocky, and covered with thick tangled vegetation. Conditions riding in aircraft may be hot, cramped, and extremely turbulent, which may promote airsickness.
The hazardous nature of the work requires that protective clothing (jump suit, helmet, boots, gloves, fire resistant clothing, etc.) be worn and protective equipment, including fire shelters, be carried. Selective Placement Factors: Must be licensed by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) as a Senior Parachute Rigger under FAR part
- Must be currently or have been previously qualified as a smokejumper on an organized wildland fire smokejumper crew. FIREFIGHTER RETIREMENT COVERAGE: This is a secondary firefighter position under 5 USC 8336 (c) (CSRS) and 8412(d) (FERS).
Prior wildland firefighting experience is required. There is no age limit for entry into secondary positions. Firefighter retirement coverage of the incumbent depends upon his or her individual work history.
WORK CAPACITY TEST (WCT) for Wildland Firefighters: This position participates in wildland firefighting activities. Based on the type of work performed, TAKING and PASSING the WCT at the ARDUOUS level is a condition of employment. To receive consideration for this position, you must provide updated required documents and meet all qualification requirements by the closing date of this announcement.
Major Duties
Duties listed are at full performance grade GW-09 level.
Manage one of the following smokejumper programs: Smokejumper Safety, Smokejumper First Aid/Incident Medical Specialist, Smokejumper Information/Education, Prescribed Fire/Fuels Treatment and Chainsaw Safety, and/or Smokejumper Spotter/Pilot Program.
Serve as a supervisor in a smokejumper functional area such as operations, loft, loadmaster, or training.
Plan and assign the work to be accomplished and establish production and quality standards for work.
Assure that subordinates fully comply with the provisions of safety regulations.
Provide technical expertise in the field of smoke jumping operations, loft, loadmaster, or training.
Serve as a spotter and make critical safety decisions on jump actions, fire strategies, and tactics.
Provide administrative and technical supervision necessary for accomplishing the work of the unit.
Advise, counsel, or instruct on both administrative and work matters.
Education
There is no education requirement or substitution for this position.
How You Will Be Evaluated
This is a Direct-Hire Authority position, all applicants who meet the minimum qualifications, to include any selective placement factor(s), if applicable, will be referred to the selecting official. Before a certificate is issued to the selecting official, the resume is reviewed to ensure that you meet all the qualification requirements. A rating will not be used; veteran's preference does not apply due to the existence of the Direct Hire authority for this position.
Selections made under this authority will be processed as new appointments to the civil service. Current civil service employees would be given a new appointment.
Note: If, after reviewing your resume and/or supporting documentation, a determination is made that you have inflated your qualifications and or experience, you may be found ineligible. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your rating. Providing inaccurate information on Federal documents could be grounds for non-selection or disciplinary action up to including removal from the Federal service. To view the application form, visit: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12898678
Additional Information
For additional information about the duties and location(s) of these positions, please contact regional representative: To see the different locations within the Regional Offices | US Forest Service (usda.gov) Region 4: Intermountain Region - Celeste Hancock at [email protected] Region 5: Pacific Southwest Region - Brian Grabowski - [email protected] Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP), Reemployment Priority List (RPL), or Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP): To exercise selection priority for this vacancy, CTAP/RPL/ICTAP candidates must meet the basic eligibility requirements and all selective factors. These are permanent positions with varying tours of duty and may include weekend work. Some positions may have irregular and protracted hours of work.
Tours of duty include full-time or less than full time (guaranteed minimum 13 pay periods full-time employment). Availability of government housing, federal day care facilities, and telework may be available. The duty station for this position will be at one of the duty locations listed in this announcement.
Salary range as shown is the locality pay Rest of U.S. (RUS). Pay rates vary by location. Please visit the Office of Personnel Management's website for additional information on pay rates. Recruitment or Relocation Incentive may be authorized.
Final determination to pay an incentive will be made by the hiring official at time of job offer. The Forest Service may use certain incentives and hiring flexibilities, currently offered by the Federal government, to attract highly qualified candidates. Additional Information is available on the OPM Website.
Subject to one-year supervisory/managerial probationary period (unless prior service is creditable). New USDA supervisors must successfully complete all components of the required new supervisory training program before the end of their probationary period. PROMOTION POTENTIAL: If you are selected for a position with further promotion potential, you will be placed under a career development plan, and may be non-competitively promoted if you successfully complete the requirements and if recommended by management.
However, promotion is neither implied or guaranteed. This is a non-bargaining unit position. We may select from this announcement or any other source to fill one or more vacancies.
How to Apply
Please view Tips for Applicants - a guide to the Forest Service application process. Please read the entire announcement and all instructions before you begin.
You must complete this application process and submit all required documents electronically by 11:59p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on the closing date of this announcement. Applying online is highly encouraged.
We are available to assist you during business hours (7:00 a.m. - 3:30 p.m., Mountain Time Zone, Monday - Friday). If applying online poses a hardship, contact the Agency Contact listed below well before the closing date for an alternate method. All hardship application packages must be complete and submitted no later than noon ET on the closing date of the announcement to be entered into the system prior to its closing.
Resumes must not exceed two pages. This agency provides reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities on a case-by-case basis; contact the Agency Contact to request this. To begin, click "Apply" and follow the instructions to complete the Assessment Questionnaire and attach your resume and all required documents.
Please verify that documents you are uploading from USAJOBs transfer into the Agency's staffing system as there is a limitation to the number of documents that can be transferred. However, once in the Agency's staffing system, you will have the opportunity to upload additional documents. Uploaded documents must be less than 5MB and in one of the following document formats: GIF, JPG, JPEG, PNG, RTF, PDF, TXT or Word (DOC or DOCX).
Do not upload Adobe Portfolio documents because they are not viewable. Encrypted documents will not be accepted. Failure to submit required, legible documents may result in loss of consideration. Please ensure your resume does not exceed two pages.
Applicants who submit a resume that exceeds two pages will be removed from consideration. Our office cannot be responsible for incompatible software, your system failure, etc.
Required Documents
The following documents are required for your applicant package to be complete. Encrypted documents will not be accepted. Failure to submit required, legible documents may result in loss of consideration.
Resume that includes: Personal Information: name, address, contact information; Education; Work Experience related to this position as described in the major duties including work schedule, hours worked per week, dates of employment; title, series, grade (if applicable); other qualifications. Resume cannot exceed 2 pages. Surplus or displaced employees eligible for CTAP, RPL, or ICTAP priority must provide: proof of eligibility (RIF separation notice, notice of proposed removal for declining a transfer of function or directed reassignment to another commuting area, notice of disability annuity termination), SF-50 documenting separation (as applicable), current performance appraisal with rating of at least "Fully Successful" or equivalent, and your most recent SF-50 noting position, grade level, and duty location with your application per 5 CFR 330.
Licensed by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) as a Senior Parachute Rigger. Incident Qualification and Certification System (IQCS) Master Record (or equivalent training documents) which contain documented proof of the certification or attainment of the IFPM Selective Placement Factor. 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.