Summary This is an Assistant Fire Management Officer (AFMO) of a regional wildland fire management program within a bureau of the Department of the Interior (Department).There is one position for the Alaska Regional Office and one position for the Midwest Regional Office. For more information contact: Chuck Russell, Regional FMO for Alaska Regional Wildland Fire Management charlesrussell@nps.gov Patrick Pearson, Regional FMO for Midwest Regional Wildland Fire Management patrickpearson@nps.gov Responsibilities Provides technical expertise, guidance and mentoring to park units on implementation of fire policy. Manages a complex regional fire program that provides expertise on the management of large complex wildfires, prescribed fire projects, fuels management treatments and interagency coordination. Assist in the development of out year budget plans for stable, increasing and decreasing allocations. Supervises, directs, and coordinates subordinate staff Collaborates with park and regional leadership while also serving on and representing the units and various interagency teams, and work groups dealing with specific local, geographic, or national fire management issues. Develop agreements to support fire management activities across multiple units including inter and intra agency agreements. Provide advice for fire management planning, including evaluation of objective in resource management plans to develop strategies to accomplish these objectives. Develop evaluation measures to determine if fire management activities have accomplished objectives and adapted future activities based on findings. Provide leadership for and participate in fire management review processes. These may include program reviews, incident reviews, and/or fuels treatment reviews. Assist in the development of out year budget plans for stable, increasing and decreasing allocations In the absence of the Regional Fire Management Officer (RFMO), serves as the RFMO with full delegated responsibilities and authorities. Supervises, directs, and coordinates subordinate staff Requirements Conditions of Employment U.S. Citizenship required. Appointment subject to background investigation and favorable adjudication. Meet Selective Service Registration Act requirement for males. Selectee will be required to participate in the Direct Deposit Electronics Funds Transfer Program. 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. You will be required to operate a government (or private) motor vehicle as part of your official duties; a valid driver's license is required. You will be required to submit a Motor Vehicle Operator's License and Driving Record. You must also submit (within a State sealed envelope or submitted directly by the State authorities), and at your own expense, all certified driving records from all States that disclose all valid driver's licenses, whether current or past, possessed by you. You may be required to complete training and operate a four-wheel drive vehicle. Work may require travel by fixed-wing or rotorwing aircraft. You will be required to wear a uniform and comply with the National Park Service uniform standards. A uniform allowance will be provided. You may be required to work on-call, evenings, weekends, holidays, overtime and shift work during fire season. If you are a new employee or supervisor in the Federal government, you will be required to complete a one-year probationary period. Subject to frequent extended travel up to 14 or more nights per month 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 purchase authority. Completion of NWCG course M-581, Fire Program Management within one year of entrance on duty. Qualifications All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement 10/08/2024, unless otherwise stated in this vacancy announcement. Credit will be given for all appropriate qualifying experience. For current Federal employees, if hours worked per week are not included on your resume, you must submit a non-award SF-50 for each federal position listed as part of your application to be used to validate your work schedule and determine the amount of qualifying experience that you will be granted. An award SF-50 will not be acceptable documentation for which to consider your amount of qualifying experience. For all other applicants who are not current federal employees, your resume must state either "full-time" (or "40 hours a week") or "part-time" with the number of hours worked per week to ensure proper crediting of specialized experience. Failure to adequately provide information needed to determine number of hours worked in each position may result in that time not being credited when evaluating qualifying experience. For periods of time that reflect military service, the DD-214 or Statement of Service is sufficient to meet the full and/or part-time hours requirement as the service dates will be reflected. Selective Factor: This is a secondary-administrative firefighter position under the special retirement provisions of 5 U.S. C. 8336 (c) (CSRS) and 5 U. S. C. 8412 (d) (FERS). PLEASE NOTE: Applicants may meet qualification requirements but may not be eligible for special retirement coverage. If such an applicant is selected, they will be placed in the regular retirement system. FERS TRANSITION REQUIREMENT: To be eligible for Secondary retirement coverage under FERS, an employee must: 1) transfer directly (without a break in service exceeding 3 days) from a primary position to a secondary position, AND 2) complete 3 years of service in a primary rigorous position including any such service during which no FERS deductions were withheld, AND 3) must be continuously employed in a secondary position(s) since moving from a primary rigorous position, except for any break in employment from a secondary position that began with involuntary separation (not for cause). It is the responsibility of the applicant to ensure this office has enough information to determine your special retirement status to ensure you do not lose benefits (normally through submission of your work history or other documentation that demonstrates work history of approved covered positions). You must let this office know if you are in a Primary coverage position. You must clearly demonstrate this experience in your resume, including the months, days and hours per week at which the work was performed in order to be considered. -AND- In addition, to qualify for this position, you must possess the following specialized experience: At least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-12 level in the Federal service. Specialized experience is wildland fire management experience that has included: providing leadership and supervision for fire management staff and cooperators during preparedness and incident response assignments; assigning crews and wildland firefighters; supervising administrative program functions such as planning, budget formulation/execution. Working closely with multiple cooperators and interagency partners, political boundaries, jurisdiction boundaries, multi-land base areas, partners and cooperators to develop inter- and intra-agency agreements and process reimbursement invoices from cooperators, potential representation for geographic area coordinating center/group (GACC). Developing, reviewing and evaluating complex 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 wildland fires to determine if resource objectives were achieved and/or evaluating the effectiveness of actions taken; analyzing the ecological role of fire and its use and/or exclusion, and smoke management; analyzing and/or applying fire management strategies in mobilization and/or dispatch coordination, fire prevention and education, training, logistics, equipment development and deployment, fire communication systems, suppression and preparedness or aviation; analyzing fuel conditions and determining appropriate fuel treatment methods (i.e. prescribed fire, mechanical, chemical, or biological treatments); performing land use planning and environmental compliance; 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. Implementing fire management planning, including evaluation of objective in resource management plans to develop strategies to accomplish these objectives; developing evaluation measures to determine if fire management activities Volunteer Experience: 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. Education There is no educational qualifications for the GS-0456 Wildland Firefighter occupational series at the GS-12 grade level. Additional Information This notice is being issued to recruit personnel to occupations for which a critical hiring need has been identified. To assist in filling these positions, OPM has granted the Department of the Interior "Direct Hire Authority". A selectee receiving a first appointment to the Federal Government (Civil Service) is entitled only to the lowest step of the grade for which selected The display of a salary range on this vacancy shall not be construed as granting an entitlement to a higher rate of pay. Recruitment Incentive May Be Authorized for a newly selected employee when appointed to a permanent, temporary, or term position. A Federal employee who is transferring to the National Park Service from another component, bureau or Federal agency and who does not meet the conditions under 5 CFR §575.102 is not eligible for a recruitment incentive. Relocation Incentive May Be Authorized for a Federal employee when the employee must move, as directed by the National Park Service (NPS) either through a management directed reassignment or selection for employment, to a different location at least 50 miles away from the one where his/her position of record held at time of selection is currently located, due to a need of the NPS. A relocation incentive is not the same as a Permanent Change of Station (PCS) move and, as such, may be granted in conjunction with one another. This announcement may be used to fill additional positions if identical vacancies occur within 90 days of the issue date of the referral certificate. Physical Demands: The work is normally sedentary; however, some physical exertion is required as it relates to site visits and fire line assignments which involve walking on rough, uneven terrain, long periods of standing, and exposure to extreme heat, smoke, and temperatures. Working Conditions: The work is normally performed in an office setting. During the wildland fire season, field work may involve high risk exposure to potentially dangerous situations or stress such as wildfire, heat, smoke, and falling rocks and trees and may require flying in small fixed-wing and rotary-wing aircraft. Field work usually requires protective equipment to be worn and a range of safety and other precautions to be observed. Cost of Living Allowance (COLA) Statement: COLA pay in Alaska is 3.21% with the exception of Anchorage, Fairbanks, and Juneau, which is 1.69%. Alaska SALARY TABLE 2024-RUS (opm.gov) Midwest, Omaha SALARY TABLE 2024-OM (opm.gov) The National Park Service has determined that the duties of this position are suitable for telework and the selectee may be allowed to telework with supervisor approval. Duty Location may be negotiable within each region. Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) OR Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP): CTAP/ICTAP provides placement assistance to permanent Federal employees who are surplus, displaced, or involuntarily separated. Applicants claiming CTAP/ICTAP eligibility must submit a copy of their most recent performance appraisal, proof of eligibility, and most current SF50 noting position, grade level, duty location with their application. To be considered under CTAP/ICTAP, applicants must be qualified (i.e., meet the minimum qualification requirements, including any selective placement factors; education, and experience requirements), and be able to perform the duties of the position upon entry. For Information on CTAP and ICTAP visit: Career Transition (opm.gov)