Fire Management Specialist (Prescribed Fire And Fuels) - Direct Hire Authority

This position is located with the Alaska Region, Deputy Regional Director - Trust Services, Branch of Fire Management in Anchorage, Alaska, Duty Station TBD from the following locations: Fairbanks, Anchorage or Juneau, AK. It will be filled from Standard PD Number FDI222B/A.
This announcement will be used to fill vacancies utilizing the Direct-Hire Authority (5CFR 337.201). Category rating, veteran's preference, and traditional rating and ranking of applicants do NOT apply for this vacancy.Qualifications: NOTE: 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 aPrescribed Fire and Fuels Specialist - High Complexity, and requires selectee to meet the minimum qualification standards for IFPM prior to being placed into the position. Detailed information regarding IFPM positions can be found at http://www.ifpm.nifc.gov/.
EXPERIENCE AND EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS: (OPM Operating Manual, Qualification Standards for Professional and Scientific Positions and Individual Occupational Requirements for GS-401: General Natural Resources Management and Biological Science Series; and Interagency Fire Program Management Qualifications Standards and Guide)
BASIC REQUIREMENT FOR GS-0401:
A. Degree (bachelor's or higher) in biological sciences, agriculture, natural resources 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, PLUS appropriate experience or additional course work. The quality of the combination must demonstrate that you possess the knowledge, skills, and abilities required to perform the work of the position and is comparable to that normally acquired through the completion of a full four-year course of study with a major as described above.
IN ADDITION TO MEETING THE BASIC QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENT FOR THE GS-0401 SERIES, APPLICANTS MUST ALSO HAVE THE FOLLOWING:
GS-11: 1 year of creditable specialized wildland Fire Management experience equivalent to the GS-9 grade level or equivalent pay band in the Federal service; OR 3 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a Ph.D degree (54 semester hours, 81 quarter hours or equivalent) or Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree, in a field of study that is directly related to this position.
Specialized Experience must include all of the following Fire Program Management elements as described below:

• 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;
• Conducting field inspections before and after prescribed or wildfires to determine if resource objectives were achieved and/or to evaluate the effectiveness of actions taken; and
• Analyzing the ecological role of Fire and its use and/or exclusion, and smoke management.

In addition to Fire Program Management elements listed above, appropriate experience must have included EITHER Prescribed Fire/Fuels Management -or- Fire Management Operations as described below:

• Prescribed Fire/Fuels Management - Examples of this type of experience may include:
  • Professional forest or range inventory methods and procedures (e.g., Brown's planar intercepts for dead and down fuels; live fuel loading assessments);
  • Analysis of fuel loadings and determination of appropriate fuel treatment methods (i.e. Prescribed Fire, mechanical, chemical, or biological treatments;
  • Land use planning and environmental compliance;
  • Evaluation of prescribed burn plans or Fire Management plans to ensure fire containment is possible and identification of appropriate suppression contingencies if fire containment is not obtained.
• Fire Management Operations - Experience in analyzing and/or applying Fire Management strategies in at least five of the following activities:
  • Mobilization and/or dispatch coordination
  • Fire prevention and education
  • Training
  • Logistics
  • Equipment development and deployment
  • Fire communication systems
  • Suppression and preparedness
  • Aviation

GS-09: 1 year of creditable specialized wildland Fire Management experience equivalent to the GS-7 grade level or equivalent pay band in the Federal service; OR 2 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a master's degree (36 semester hours, 54 quarter hours or equivalent) or Master's or equivalent graduate degree, in a field of study that is directly related to this position.
Specialized 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:

• Wildland fire activities (such as planning and/or implementing Prescribed Fire or managing wildfires) to ensure resource objectives can be met from a Fire Management standpoint.
• Developing and/or implementing initial attack incident management strategies and tactics to meet the stated resource objectives.
• Implementing mitigation measures during wildland fire activities to protect sensitive habitats, endangered species, sensitive plants, or cultural values.

SELECTIVE PLACEMENT FACTORS: These are MANDATORY qualification prerequisites to qualify for this position. This position has been categorized as a Prescribed Fire and Fuels Specialist (PFFS) - High Complexity, therefore, the applicant 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:

• Primary Core Qualification: Prescribed Fire Burn Boss, Type 2 (RXB2) or higher.
• Secondary Core Qualification: Incident Commander Type 3 (ICT3) or Task Force Leader (TFLD) or Helibase Manager (HEBM) or higher.
• Prior Wildland Firefighting Experience: This position requires a minimum of 90 days previous wildland firefighting experience which provided knowledge of the techniques, policies, and practices of wildland Fire Management. Wildland fires are categorized into two distinct types: 1) Wildfires - unplanned ignitions or Prescribed Fires that are declared wildfires; 2) Prescribed Fires - Planned ignitions. This description includes only fireline experience on a Prescribed Fire; it does not include experience in the planning stages.

NOTE: Selective factors are knowledges, skills, abilities, or special qualifications that are in addition to the minimum requirements in a qualification standard, but are determined to be essential to perform the duties and responsibilities of the position. Applicants who do not meet the selective factors are ineligible for further consideration. You MUST provide a current copy of your Incident Qualification and Certification System (IQCS) Master Record or other agency equivalent documentation which verifies you meet the required NWCG qualifications for this IFPM position when submitting your application. Selectees for IFPM positions requiring currency will be required to obtain and maintain currency for the NWCG qualifications listed above.
FIREFIGHTER RETIREMENT COVERAGE: This position is covered under the secondary/administrative firefighter special retirement provisions of 5 U.S.C. 8336(c)(CSRS) and 5 U.S.C. 8412(d)(FERS) when it is filled by an incumbent who transfers directly from a primary or another secondary law enforcement or firefighting position with no break in service to this position. Firefighter retirement coverage of the incumbent will depend upon his or her individual work history. You may meet the qualification requirements, but not be eligible for special retirement coverage. If you are not eligible for special retirement coverage, you will be placed in the regular retirement system.
All qualification requirements must be met by the closing date of this announcement.Education: If you are qualifying based on your education, you MUST provide transcripts or other documentation to support your educational claims. Unless otherwise stated: (1) official or unofficial transcripts are acceptable, or (2) you may submit a list with all of your courses, grades, semester, year, and credit for the course. All materials must be submitted by the closing date of the announcement.
If more than 10 percent of your undergraduate course work (credit hours) were taken on a pass/fail basis, your claim of superior academic achievement must be based upon class standing or membership in an honor society.
One academic year of graduate education is considered to be the number of credits hours your graduate school has determined to represent one academic year of full-time study. Such study may have been performed on a full-time or part-time basis. If you cannot obtain your graduate school's definition of one year of graduate study, 18 semester hours (or 27 quarter hours) should be considered as satisfying the requirement for one year of full-time graduate study.
If you are using education completed in foreign colleges or universities to meet the qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education which shows the 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. For further information, visit: FOREIGN EDUCATIONEmployment Type: FULL_TIME