Principle Staff Assistant (Wildland Fire)

Clarification from the agency

Open to Current Career/Career Conditional Employees of the Department of the Interior in the competitive service, those eligible under the Land Management Workforce Flexibility Act (LMWFA), CTAP eligibles in the local commuting area.

As a Principle Staff Assistant (Wildland Fire), your duties will include but are not limited to the following:

• Serves as a senior advisor to wildland fire executive leadership, providing guidance on organizational priorities and national-level issues.
• Represents leadership in meetings, briefings, and interagency discussions with federal, state, Tribal, and external partners.
• Leads cross-functional coordination to align priorities, integrate workstreams, and ensure consistent communication across an enterprise.
• Prepares and delivers executive materials including briefings, decision memos, responses, and strategic analyses for senior officials.
• Supports strategic planning, organizational modernization, and governance improvements across a complex wildland fire organization.

Conditions of employment

• Must be a U.S. Citizen or National.
• Suitability for Federal employment, as determined by background investigation.
• Direct Deposit Required.
• A condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary period during which your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest will be evaluated. The probationary 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 period your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.
• Notice of Financial Disclosure Report Requirement: This position is subject to a financial disclosure requirement, and you will be required to complete either OGE Form 278e or OGE Form 450 as applicable within 30 days of your appointment
• Individuals assigned male at birth after 12-31-59 must be registered for the Selective Service. To verify registration, visit SSS.gov.
• You may be required to travel overnight away from home up 25% of the time. You must obtain a government charge card for travel purposes.
• You may be required to complete training and obtain/maintain a government charge card with travel and/or purchase authority.

Qualifications

In order to qualify for this position, you must possess the Minimum Qualification requirements listed below.

Only experience and education obtained by 08/18/2026 will be considered.

Credit will be given for all appropriate qualifying experience. Please be sure to include this information in your resume. No assumptions will be made about your experience.

For the GS-15 level:

At least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-14 level, or higher, in the Federal service, or equivalent, which includes all of the following: experience advising senior leadership on wildland fire strategy and administrative operations for an organization; representing senior executives in high-level meetings and activities and speaking on their behalf; and interpreting and applying wildland fire legislation, regulations, and policy directives to guide wildland fire operations and resolve complex issues.

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.

*Applicants must meet all minimum qualification requirements for the position of interest by the closing date of the Job Announcement.

Physical Demands: Work is primarily sedentary and performed in office and executive meeting settings.

Working Conditions: Work is primarily performed in a standard office environment, executive meeting setting, congressional or interagency briefing environment, or comparable stakeholder forum, with occasional travel to operational, field, or interagency locations.

How you will be evaluated

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

Resumes must not exceed two single-sided pages. Resumes longer than two pages will not be accepted. Minimum font size is 10-point for all body text. Headers may be slightly larger but must be legible. Resumes must maintain a minimum 0.5-inch margins on all sides to ensure readability & prevent excessive content compression. Including supplemental pages or attachments disguised as resume extensions are prohibited and will not be reviewed for consideration.

You will be evaluated based on how your application materials reflect the qualification requirements of this position. Once the application process is complete, HR will review your application to ensure you meet eligibility and minimum qualifications. To determine if you are minimally qualified for this position, HR will complete a review of your resume, supporting documentation & responses to the online questionnaire. If an applicant's resume is incomplete or does not support the requirements for minimum qualifications, a rating of "ineligible" or "not qualified" will be applied and no consideration for employment will be granted.

In addition to meeting the minimum qualifications requirement(s), this position requires successful completion of the following additional assessment: Subject Matter Expert Review. This assessment will measure the critical competencies listed below that are required to successfully perform in the position.

• Fire Management - Knowledge of the concepts, principles, and theories of fire management, including the characteristics, behavior, and ecology of fire; methodologies, strategies, & equipment used in prescribed fires; fire detection, prevention, and suppression strategies; and integration of fire with natural resource management.
• External Awareness - Identifies and keeps up-to-date on key agency policies/priorities & economic, political, and social trends which affect the organization; understands where the organization is headed and how to make a contribution.
• Organizational Awareness - Knows the organization's mission and functions, and how its social, political, and technological systems work & operates effectively within them; this includes the programs, policies, procedures, rules, and regulations of the organization.
• Written Communication - Expresses facts and ideas in writing in a succinct and organized manner.
• Strategic Thinking - Formulates effective strategies consistent with the business and competitive strategy of the organization in a global economy. Examines policy issues and strategic planning with a long-term perspective. Determines objectives and sets priorities; anticipates potential threats or opportunities.

In the evaluation process, due weight will be given to job related experience, education, training, incentive awards and performance appraisals. Applicants must have a performance rating of at least the equivalent of fully successful to be eligible for promotion or placement. Applicants may provide a copy of a performance appraisal of record dated within the last 18 months. If the applicant is unable to provide a performance appraisal of record dated within the last 18 months, the applicant may provide a written explanation as to why.

Candidates who apply as noncompetitive eligibles will be reviewed to determine if they are minimally qualified based on the content of their resume and responses to the questionnaire. Qualified candidates will be referred if all required supporting documentation has been provided.

You must submit a complete application package. The following documents are required and must be submitted by 11:59 PM (EST) on 08/18/2026.

Resumes must show relevant experience and other information. Your resume MUST list your education and work experience including (1) the dates (mm/yy) of each employment, along with (2) the number of hours worked per week, and (3) work experience duties listed under each job entry. In addition, Civil Service employees must provide their current OPM title, series, and grade. If experience is for a career ladder position, please ensure to clearly show how long you were working in each grade level. Your resume will be used to validate your responses to the assessment tool(s). Failure to provide required information will result in loss of eligibility. No assumptions will be made about your experience and/or education. You are welcome to submit a cover letter.

Resumes must also include name and how to best contact you, including email address and phone number.

Do not include the following types of information in your resume:

• Classified or government sensitive information

• Social Security Number (SSN)

• Photos of yourself

• Personal information, such as age, gender, religious affiliation, etc.

• Encrypted and digitally signed documents.

In describing your experience, please be clear and specific. Visit the USAJOBS Help Center for more information on What should I include in my federal resume and/or OPM Resume Writing Tips.

In addition to the online application (resume and responses to the questionnaire), you are required to submit the following supplemental documentation as applicable:

• Current SF-50 (non-award), or equivalent Notification of Personnel Action if you are a current or former Federal employee: Your SF-50 (non-award) must show tenure code 1 or 2 in block 24, and position occupied code 1 (competitive service) in block 34. If you have previously held a higher grade than the grade/position you currently occupy, you must submit a copy of the last non-award SF-50 you received for that position. If you have any questions regarding which SF-50's to submit, it is highly recommended that you contact the person listed on this vacancy announcement before the closing date.
• Performance Appraisal: 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.
• CTAP/ICTAP Documentation: documentation verifying your CTAP/ICTAP eligibility - this includes a copy of the agency notice and your most recent SF-50 noting current position, grade level and duty location. Failure to submit any of the above-mentioned required documents will result in loss of consideration due to an incomplete application package. It is your responsibility to ensure all required documents have been submitted.
• Applicants applying under PL-114-47, Land Management Workforce Flexibility Act must submit documentation verifying eligibility. Required documentation includes: First and last SF-50 (Notification of Personnel Action) for each appointment verifying the Position Occupied code (block 34, code 1-Competitive Service), AND Documentation of satisfactory performance for each appointment, such as, performance evaluations, memorandum of record, whereas the supervisor(s) documented an acceptable performance level for a specified rating/employment period. Failure to submit required documentation may result in loss of consideration.

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