Telecommunications Manager (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 Telecommunications Manager (Wildland Fire), your duties will include but are not limited to the following:

Serves as a first-level supervisor over a Telecommunications organization with responsibility for performing the full range of first-level supervisory responsibilities,

Plans and manages telecommunications program resources and priorities,

Builds and sustains partnerships with Federal, State, local, tribal, and territorial partners.

Provides technical and program leadership for incident communications support.

Leads modernization, systems engineering, and integration activities for telecommunications services and supporting infrastructure.

Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) or Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP): Department of Interior (DOI) Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) procedures apply in filling this vacancy. These programs apply to employees who have been involuntarily separated from a federal service position within the competitive service or Federal service employees whose positions have been deemed surplus or no longer needed. To receive selection priority for this position, you must: (1) meet CTAP or ICTAP eligibility criteria; (2) be rated well-qualified (i.e., meet the minimum qualification requirements, including any selective placement factors; education, and experience requirements) for the position with a score of 85 or above on the assessment questionnaire, and be able to perform the duties of the position upon entry. Applicants claiming CTAP/ICTAP eligibility must submit a copy of their most recent performance appraisal, proof of eligibility, and most current SF-50 noting position, grade level, and duty location with their application. For more information visit: http://www.opm.gov/rif/employee_guides/career_transition.asp.

Conditions of employment

Must be a U.S. Citizen or National.

Suitability for Federal employment, as determined by background investigation.

Direct Deposit Required.

As 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 requires the agency to determine if continued employment would advance the public interest, meet the goals and mission of the agency, and/or promote the efficiency of the service. As 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. Under completion of your probationary period your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

Supervisory Probationary Period: Selectees who have not previously completed a supervisory probationary period, will be required to serve a one-year supervisory/managerial probationary period for this position.

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 work on-call, evenings, weekends, holidays, overtime and shift work.

You may be required to travel overnight away from home on occasion. . 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 Specialized Experience requirement listed below.

Only experience obtained by 07/23/2026 will be considered.

Specialized experience: To qualify for the GS-14 grade level: at least one year of specialized experience that is equivalent in difficulty and complexity to the GS-13 level in the Federal service. Specialized experience is defined as experience that is in or directly related to the line of work of this position and has equipped you with the knowledge and competencies to successfully perform the duties of this position. More specifically, this requirement involves experience performing as a Communication Unit Lead managing operational and technical aspects of incident communications; providing input into radio engineering and operations to modernize and enhance an organization's radio networks by incorporating new and emerging technologies; surveying, studying, evaluating, designing, developing, testing, implementing, and maintaining radio and field communications systems with responsibility for all project phases of work.

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.

Physical Demands: The work is primarily sedentary; however, the incumbent may perform limited walking,
standing, and carrying of light items (e.g., portable communications equipment) during
site visits, system assessments, exercises, or incident support activities.

Working Conditions: The work is primarily performed in an office or similar setting. Occasional travel to field
locations or incident settings may involve exposure to variable weather, uneven terrain,
and operational hazards; appropriate safety practices and personal protective equipment
may be required.

Eligibility and Qualification Requirements: Applicants must meet both eligibility and qualification requirements for the position of interest by the closing date of the Job Announcement. Specifically,
i. Area of Consideration.
ii. Time-in-grade (TIG) requirements as specified in 5 CFR 300, Subpart F.
iii. Time after competitive appointment as specified in 5 CFR 330.502.
iv. Qualification requirements outlined in OPM's Qualifications Standards for General Schedule Positions.

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 and resumes longer than two pages will not be accepted. The minimum font size is 10-point for all body text. Headers may be slightly larger but must remain legible. 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 to determine your eligibility/qualifications.

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 and responses to the online questionnaire. 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 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.

• Telecommunications: Applies expertise of Telecommunications to lead operational tasks and project tasks to improve services provided to clients in a large-scale environment.
• Planning and Evaluating: Organizes work, sets priorities, and determines resource requirements; determines short- or long-term goals and strategies to achieve them; coordinates with other organizations or parts of the organization to accomplish goals; monitors progress and evaluates outcomes.
• Leadership: Inspires, motivates and guides others toward goal accomplishment; coaches, mentors, and challenges subordinates; adapts leadership styles to a variety of situations; models high standards of honesty, integrity, trust, openness, and respect for the individual by applying these values to daily behaviors.
• Technical Competence: Uses knowledge that is acquired through formal training or extensive on the job experience to perform one's job; works with, understands, and evaluates technical information related to the job; advises others on technical issues.
• Technical Competency-Project Management: Applies knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to project activities to meet project requirements accomplished through the application and integration of the project management processes of initiating, planning, executing, monitoring, controlling and closing.

In the evaluation process, due weight will be given to job related experience, education, training, incentive awards and performance appraisals.

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 must submit a complete application package. The following documents are required and must be submitted by 11:59 PM (EST) on 07/23/2026.

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:

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.

Note: Federal employees who have reinstatement eligibility please review the How to Apply for Reinstatement page for all required documents.

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. 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.

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.

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.

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