This job is open to
Federal employees - Competitive service
Current federal employees whose agencies follow the U.S. Office of Personnel Management's hiring rules and pay scales.
Career transition (CTAP, ICTAP, RPL)
Federal employees whose job, agency or department was eliminated and are eligible for priority over other applicants.
Land and base management
Current or former employees of a base management agency.
Veterans
Veterans of the U.S. Armed Forces or a spouse, widow, widower or parent of a veteran, who may be eligible for derived preference
Military spouses
Military spouses of active duty service members or whose spouse is 100 percent disabled or died on active duty.
Individuals with disabilities
Individuals who are eligible under Schedule A.
Family of overseas employees
Family members of a federal employee or uniformed service member who is or was, working overseas.
Peace Corps & AmeriCorps Vista
Individuals who have served at least 2 years with the Peace Corps or 1 year with AmeriCorps VISTA.
Special authorities
Individuals eligible under a special authority not listed in another hiring path.
Clarification from the agency
This announcement is open to current and former Federal career/career-conditional employees in the competitive service, Reinstatement eligibles, Eligible Veterans (VEOA and/or 30% or more disabled Veterans), CTAP & ICTAP eligibles, Land Management Workforce Flexibility Act (LMWFA) eligibles, Military Spouses, Former Public Land Corps (PLC), individuals with disabilities (Schedule A), National Service (Peace Corps and VISTA), and special authorities.
Requirements
Conditions of employment
- U.S. Citizenship required.
- Males born after 12/31/1959 must be registered for Selective Service or exempt.
- Appointment subject to background investigation and favorable adjudication of background investigation and/or fingerprint check.
- Per Public Law 104-134 all Federal employees are required to have federal payments made by direct deposit to their financial institution.
- Must be 18 years of age at time of close date of announcement.
- Must pass the Work Capacity Test for certain Interagency Fire Program Management or Fire Program Management positions.
- This is a Drug Test Designated Position. 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.
- Prior primary/rigorous structure firefighting experience is required.
- Willing to live/work in remote locations (volatile/unpredictable).
- You will be required to operate a government motor vehicle as part of your official duties; a valid driver's license is required.
- You will be required to wear a uniform and comply with the National Park Service fire uniform standards.
- You may be required to work on-call, evenings, weekends, holidays, overtime and shift work.
- If you are a new employee or supervisor in the Federal government, you will be required to complete a one-year probationary period.
- Incumbent will be required to complete training and obtain/maintain a government charge card with travel and/or purchase authority.
- Prior to appointment, you must be determined physically fit by an authorized government physician to perform strenuous and physically demanding duties; and pass a medical examination given by an authorized government physician.
- You will also be required to complete periodic medical examinations throughout employment.
- Subject to frequent extended travel up to 14 nights a month particularly during fire season, and you must obtain a government charge card for travel.
- This announcement may be used to fill additional positions if identical vacancies occur within 90 days of the issue date of the referral certificate.
- Government housing MAY be available, is on a bid system, and is NOT guaranteed.
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.
For more information on the qualifications for this position, visit the Office of Personnel Management's General Schedule Qualification Standards.
Credit will be given for all appropriate qualifying experience. To receive credit for experience, your 2 page resume MUST clearly indicate the nature of the duties and responsibilities for each position, starting and ending dates of employment (month/year), and the resume must reflect total number of hours worked (i.e., work 40+ hours a week, rather than indicating full-time or part-time, hours must be included). If part-time, the hours must be annotated to be able to pro-rate the amount of qualified specialized experience. Resumes must not exceed two single-sided pages and resumes longer than two pages will not be accepted. You may only submit one resume. 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. 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.
In order to be considered for this position, copies of any required certifications MUST be attached to you application package. To receive consideration for this position, you must provide updated required documents and meet all qualification and Time-In-Grade requirements by the closing date of this announcement.
Basic Qualification Requirements:
For the GS-13 level:
Applicants must have at least one year of specialized work experience in a related field at the GS-12 or equivalent. Examples of specialized experience are: Directed and supervised a structural fire management program; Directed, reviewed and analyzed structural fire management plans; Applied an extensive knowledge of building construction, International and National Fire Codes, directives, and regulations; Performed as a leader of a group of structural fire professionals in achieving program goals and requirements; Lead small groups of structural fire professionals in achieving program goals and requirements; Provided professional guidance in a non-supervisory role; Applied a high degree of tact and diplomacy in dealing with a wide variety of individuals to include senior executive personnel, park leadership, engineers, and skilled tradesmen; Exercised a firmness in obtaining cooperation in the corrections of existing or potential fire hazards.
In addition to the requirements described above, the following certifications and experience is required.
SELECTIVE PLACEMENT FACTORS:
- Successful completion and have currency in the following from the International Fire Service Accreditation Congress (IFSAC) or National Board on Fire Service Professional Qualifications (NPQS/Pro Board):
- Fire Instructor I, AND
- Fire Inspector III, or NEPA 1030 Fire Inspector AND
- Hazmat Awareness, AND
- Plans Examiner AND
- Must be able to obtain a Fire Investigator IFSAC or NPQS/Pro Board certification within 1 year of employment.
- Candidates must possess prior structural firefighting experience. Experience that may be credited: volunteer firefighter, paid call firefighter, and/or structural firefighter with the Federal government or in an equivalent position outside the Federal government; suppressing fires that occur within buildings, ships, vehicles, airstrips and aircrafts, and other non-wildland firefighting. 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.
Structural Fire: The Department of the Interior defines structural firefighting experience as any firefighting experience except wildland firefighting. Structural experience may be gained though work in suppressing fires such as those in buildings, ships, vehicles, airstrips and aircraft, and other non-wildland firefighting. This experience may be gained by serving in a structural firefighting position within the federal government or in an equivalent position outside the Federal government. Periods of structural firefighting gained as a volunteer or paid call firefighter can also be credited. In some instances, candidates may be hired in a dual wildland and structural firefighting role. Candidates must meet the qualifications required for either the wildland or structural fire function.
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 fireline 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.
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.
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.
Education
There is no substitution of education for experience at the grade level(s) of this announcement. For more information regarding this, please visit OPM Qualification Standards - 0081.
Additional information
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.
A 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.
A 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.
Physical Demands: The work of this position is mostly sedentary but may require periods of high intensity physical exertion while in the field. All Risk Emergency Incident Management Team assignments, fire inspections, program audits, fire suppression classes, and other field assignments may require an extensive amount of walking, bending, hiking, carrying, and climbing. The incumbent is expected to maintain incident qualifications to participate in program activities that require high intensity arduous work and exposure to live fire conditions in a hazardous setting.
Working Conditions: Much of the work is performed in an office setting that is adequately lighted, heated, and ventilated. However, the position has the potential for exposure to potentially dangerous situations while in the field. The incumbent is expected to be able to teach components of any one of the NPS training classes for structural fire. While on a training or fire location, the work environment may involve hazardous environmental conditions such as exposure to fire, heat, chemicals, and loud noise for extended periods of time. The work may require the use of a self-contained breathing apparatus. Travel may be required to the Washington office, regional offices, and field areas for meetings, training, on-site inspections, and policy implementation.
Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.
A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.
Review our benefits
Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.
How you will be evaluated
You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.
You will be evaluated based on how well you meet the qualifications listed in this vacancy announcement. 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 assessments required for this position. A review of your resume and supporting documentation will be made and compared against your responses to the Assessment Questionnaire to determine if you are qualified for this job. If your resume is incomplete or does not support the responses provided in the Assessment Questionnaire, or if you fail to submit all required documentation, you will be rated 'ineligible', 'not qualified', or your score will be adjusted accordingly. If a determination is made that you have inflated your qualifications or experience, you can lose consideration for this position. Please follow all instructions carefully; errors or omissions can affect your rating.
Resumes must not exceed two single-sided pages and resumes longer than two pages will not be accepted. You may only submit one resume. 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.
Candidates who apply under Competitive Merit Promotion procedures will undergo a quality review to determine if they are highly qualified based on the content of their resume and their responses to the questionnaire. Best qualified candidates will be referred if all required supporting documentation has been provided.
Candidates who apply under Noncompetitive Merit Promotion procedures will undergo a quality review to determine if they are minimally qualified based on the content of their resume and their responses to the questionnaire. Qualified candidates will be referred if all required supporting documentation has been provided.
You will be evaluated on the following competencies:
- Attention to Detail
- Customer Service
- Decision Making
- Flexibility
- Influencing/Negotiating
- Integrity/Honesty
- Interpersonal Skills
- Learning
- Reading Comprehension
- Self-Management
- Teamwork
In order 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 assessments. These assessments measure the critical competencies listed above that are required to successfully perform the job.
Please submit 1) a copy of your most recent performance appraisal/evaluation and 2) a list of any awards (e.g. superior performance awards, special act or achievement awards, quality step increase, etc.) you received in the last 5 years. Any performance appraisal/evaluation and award documentation you provide will be forwarded to the selecting official. The selecting official will review this documentation and give it due weight consideration during the overall selection process.
If you do not have your most recent performance appraisal/evaluation, please submit a statement as to why it is not available. Please indicate if any prior performance appraisals/evaluations were at an acceptable level.
If a determination is made that an applicant has inflated qualifications or experience on the resume, the employee will receive no consideration for the position, as per OPM regulations.