Emergency Management Specialist

Clarification from the agency

This is a Merit Promotion announcement for current and former career and career conditional Federal employees, Career Transition eligibles (CTAP & ICTAP) and those who are eligible under the hiring paths listed above. Refer to Required Documents section for more information.

Some of the major duties you will perform include but are not limited to the following:

• Program management, including managing the Western Incident Management Team (WIMT) which supports, coordinates, and improves emergency service National Park Service (NPS) preparedness and responses to all-hazard incidents.
  • You will serve as an emergency management specialist providing technical advice on preparedness and response activities.
• Managing components of emergency management activities during response, including Emergency Operations Center activation and operations
  • You will serve as a member of an emergency team.
• Develops and prepares emergency management plans, procedures, risk assessments, standards, regulations, training, directives, and guidance.
• Provides, coordinates, and develops training for emergency response personnel to include preparedness of training, development of exercises, assessment of training, instructing, or similar training-related activities that improve the agencies all-hazard program.
• Coordinates and acts as a liaison with park units, regional offices, higher departments, other agencies, and communities on matters of emergency preparedness, response, and recovery.

Duties will be developmental in nature when filled below the full performance level.

Conditions of employment

• Must be a U.S. Citizen or National.
• Appointment subject to background investigation and favorable adjudication.
• Males born after 12-31-59 must be registered for Selective Service.
• Direct Deposit participation required.
• Successfully pass the E-Verify employment verification check. To learn more, visit https://www.e-verify.gov/.
• Must possess and maintain a valid driver's license throughout employment.
• Must achieve and maintains a Type II qualification at the Command and General staff level. Must serve in qualified role(s) on Incident Management Team deployments.
• Pre-employment and random drug testing is required. You will not be appointed to the position if a verified positive drug test is received.
• You must pass a physical and medical examination.
• You are required to wear a uniform and comply with uniform standards. A uniform allowance will be provided.
• You are required to complete training, obtain and maintain a government credit card with travel and purchase authority.
• You may be required to work on-call, evenings, weekends, holidays, overtime and shift work.
• You may be required to travel overnight away from home up to 5 nights per month. You must obtain a government charge card for travel purposes.

Additional Requirements located under "Qualifications" section...

Qualifications

Requirements Continued...

Probationary Period: As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you may be required to serve a 1-year probationary period or 2-year trial period, dependent on the authority under which you are hired, to evaluate your fitness and whether your continuation of employment advances the public interest.

This probationary or trial period is an extension of the appointment process and therefore requires the agency to determine if continued employment would advance the public interest, meet the organization goals and mission of the agency, and/or otherwise promote the efficiency of the service. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, the agency will consider: your performance and conduct; the needs and interests of the agency; whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service.

Under applicable law, the employment of an individual serving a probationary or trial period automatically terminates when that period ends unless the agency affirmatively certifies, in writing, that the individual's employment should continue and that their appointment should be finalized. In the absence of agency action to affirmatively certify continued employment beyond the probationary or trial period, such appointments are terminated. Upon completion of your probationary or trial period your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

Qualifications:

All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement - 11/03/2026-unless otherwise stated in this vacancy announcement. Competitive candidates must also meet Time-in-Grade requirements as defined in 5 CFR 300, Subpart F.

For current Federal employees, if hours worked per week are not included on your resume, you must submit a non-award SF-50 as part of your application to be used to validate your work schedule and determine the amount of specialized 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 periods of time that reflect military service, the DD-214 or Statement of Service is sufficient to meet the work schedule requirement as the service dates will be reflected. 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.

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. If you do not provide evidence that you possess the following selective factor(s), you will be rated not qualified.

Selective Factor: Driver's license (MVO) - this position requires a driver's license at the time of appointment; the selected applicant must be able to maintain a driver's license for the duration of appointment. Please be sure to respond appropriately to the driver's license question in the Announcement Questionnaire, certifying if you do or do not possess a driver's license, or will be able to obtain one by time of appointment. Should you choose to provide documentation of holding a current, valid driver's license with your application, please do not submit documents with photographs. Documents must not contain photographs or photographs MUST be redacted from submitted documents. Possession of a current, valid driver's license will be verified before Entrance on Duty.

-AND-

To qualify for this position at the GS-12 grade level:

Experience: To qualify, you must possess at least one full year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-11 level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors). Experience that equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position. Specialized experience is defined as demonstrated experience: 1) Performing emergency management work including managing, and coordinating with other city, state and federal entities in response to all-hazard incidents, 2) Interpreting laws, policies, or regulations related to emergency management to make programmatic decisions; and 3) Provides, coordinates, and assesses emergency response and preparedness training to ensure operations are in line with established policies, guidelines, and applicable agreements. You must include hours per week worked.

To qualify for this position at the GS-13 grade level:

Experience: To qualify, you must possess at least one full year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-12 level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors). Experience that equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position. Specialized experience is defined as demonstrated experience: 1) Providing incident command management; 2) Providing the planning, developing, coordination, and execution of emergency response program management; 3) Providing emergency procedures, risk assessments, management of training and exercise programs in support of a regional Emergency Management program; 4) Developing long-range training plans to support incident management at a regional level. You must include hours per week worked.

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.

How you will be evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

Your qualifications will be evaluated based on your application materials (e.g. resume, supporting documents), the responses you provide on the application questionnaire, and the result of the additional assessment(s) required for this position. To be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process.

Your resume must not exceed 2 pages. Only the document submitted as the "Resume" under the Documents section will be used to determine your qualifications/eligibility and for rating purposes. In the event you submit more than one resume, only the latest submission will be reviewed.

You will be assessed in the following competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics):

• Customer Service
• Customer Service (Clerical/Technical)
• Education and Training
• Organizational Awareness
• Planning and Evaluating
• Technical Competence

To be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process. In addition to the application and application questionnaire, this position requires successful completion of additional assessment(s), including a Structured Resume Review. These assessments measure the critical competencies listed above that are required to successfully perform the job.

All qualified non-competitive applicants and the best-qualified Merit Promotion applicants will be referred to the hiring manager for consideration.

Overstating your qualifications and/or experience in your application materials or application questionnaire may result in your removal from consideration or your score may be lowered. Cheating on an assessment may also result in your removal from consideration. Applicants who include vulgar, offensive, or inappropriate language or information in their application package will be ineligible for further consideration for this position.

Current or former displaced Federal employees who are surplus, displaced, or involuntarily separated have special priority selection rights under the Agency Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP) or the Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP). To be considered under CTAP/ICTAP, you must be well-qualified, score at least 85 (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.

The following documents are required and must be submitted by 11:59 PM (ET) -11/03/2026-unless otherwise stated in this vacancy announcement:

1. Resume which includes a list of all significant jobs held and duties performed, with dates in month-year format (include month/day/year format if needed for 52 weeks of experience), and indicate hours worked per week (or full-time). Your resume must clearly show how long you have held each grade/rank. Resumes must not exceed 2 single-sided pages and resumes longer than 2 pages will not be accepted. The minimum font size is 10-point for all body text. 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. Your 2-page resume must contain information sufficient to make a valid determination that you fully meet the specialized experience requirements. Resume Builder: https://help.usajobs.gov/faq/application/documents/resume/what-to-include
2. Complete All Required Assessment(s).
3. Performance Appraisals and Awards: You must submit your most recent performance appraisal showing the official rating of record and signed by a supervisor dated within the past 18 months. If unavailable, a written explanation is required (including if any prior performance appraisals/evaluations were at an acceptable level). Performance awards dated within the past 5 years may also be submitted for due weight consideration.
4. Documentation that you meet the Selective Factor.
5. All College Transcript(s), if qualifying based on education.
6. Eligibility Documentation:
   • Current and former Federal employees must submit latest SF-50 (i.e. Promotion, Separation, Within Grade Increase (WGI)) showing tenure 1 or 2 in block 24, grade, and if applicable, an additional SF-50 showing the highest grade or promotion potential held. Time in grade will be determined by reviewing your resume and required SF-50s. If your SF-50 showing highest permanent grade held has an effective date within the past year, your resume must clearly show that you held that grade for one year. Do not submit award SF-50s.
   • Veterans Preference Documentation: Veterans eligible under VRA (GS-11 & below only), VEOA, 30% or more Disabled, or Disabled Veterans Enrolled in a VA Training Program must submit the most recent Documentation of Service and Separation under Honorable Conditions (e.g. DD-214) as listed on the SF15. If you are a Parent or Spouse of a Disabled or Deceased Veteran, you must submit all documentation as listed on the SF15. You may request a copy of the VA letter from https://www.va.gov/records. If you are a veteran within 120 days of discharge, you must submit signed documentation from the Armed Forces certifying: 1) your expected release/retirement from active duty, 2) under honorable conditions, 3) your pay grade/rank/rate at time of discharge, 4) dates of active-duty service, 5) any campaign or expeditionary medals received, & 6) dated within 120 days of your separation.
   • Public Land Corps: You must provide a copy of your signed Certificate of Non-Competitive Eligibility and clearly state in your resume time served and duties performed on an appropriate conservation project.
   • Land Management Workforce Flexibility Act (LMWFA): you must submit ALL Appointment AND Termination SF-50s for EACH Competitive time-limited appointment (block 34, code 1); AND Documentation of satisfactory performance for each period of employment claimed, such as, performance evaluations, memorandum of record, whereas the supervisor(s) documented an acceptable performance level for a specified rating/employment period.
   • Special Appointing Authorities: If you are applying under a special appointing authority (i.e. Schedule A, Peace Corps, Military Spouses, etc.), you must submit appropriate documentation to verify your eligibility. If you fail to submit proof, you will not receive consideration. If you're eligible for an authority not listed, you are responsible for submitting documentation that's appropriate for that specific authority.
   • Interagency Career Transition (ICTAP) and Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP): You MUST submit proof of eligibility including 1) copy of the agency notice, e.g., RIF Separation Notice, Notice of Proposed Removal, etc.; 2) SF-50s (Notifications of Personnel Action) showing career/conditional tenure competitive status, promotion potential and duty location; and 3) your most recent performance appraisal. To exercise selection priority, displaced or surplus Federal employees must be well qualified. For more information visit: USAJOBS Help Center - Career Transition Programs (CTAP, ICTAP, RPL).

Next steps