This position will be filled under the Office of Personnel Management's Direct Hire Authority and is open to all United States citizens and U.S. nationals. Veteran's preference and traditional rating and ranking of applications do not apply. All qualified applicants will be referred to the hiring manager for consideration for this position. To learn more about Direct-Hire authority, go to: OPM.GOV Hiring Information: Direct Hire Fact Sheet
Prior experience in wild land firefighting is required in order to carry out the duties of this position. You will not be considered for this position if you do not have prior wild land firefighting experience. ***Your resume MUST include BEGINNING and END DATES specified in MONTH/YEAR to MONTH/YEAR format. In addition, your resume MUST reflect FULL-TIME/PART-TIME or total number of HOURS worked per week*** To Qualify for the GS-0456-04 A. 6 months general experience AND 6 months specialized experience. 6 full months of general experience which consisted of: farming or ranching work that involved application of cultural, soil and water conservation practices, including safety and use of equipment, and that provided a basic understanding of land use; or forest or range fire control, prevention, or suppression work; AND 6 full months of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-3 level in the Federal Service. Examples of qualifying specialized experience include: forestry aid or technician work; range, or soil conservation technician work that involved application of cultural, resource conservation, or land management practices; farming or ranching work that provided a basic understanding of land use and involved the application of cultural and soil and water conservation practices; forest or range fire control, prevention, or suppression work. OR B. Successfully completed two years or more of education above high school (60 semester hour or 90 quarter hours) that included at least twelve semester hours in any combination of courses such as forestry, agriculture, crop or plant science, range management or conservation, wildlife management, watershed management, soil science, natural resources (except marine fisheries and oceanography), outdoor recreation management, civil or forest engineering, or wildland fire science. OR C. A combination of the education and work experience described above. For example, I have three months of general experience and three months of specialized experience (50% of the experience requirement), and 45 semester hours or 68 quarter hours of college study that included at least 9 semester hours courses as described above (50% of the education requirement). To Qualify for the GS-0456-05 A. 1 year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-4 level in the Federal Service demonstrated by performing range or forest fire control, prevention, or suppression work. Examples of qualifying specialized experience include leading firefighting crews in prescribed burning and wildfire suppression field operations and performing wildland fire suppression, preparedness, prevention, monitoring, hazardous fuels reduction and prescribed fire as wildland firefighter crewmember. OR B. Completed least a full 4-year course of study above high school (120 semester hour or 180 quarter hours) leading to a bachelor's degree with major study in forestry, range management, agriculture or a subject-matter field directly related to the position (e.g., fire science, suppression and prevention), or that included at least 24 semester hours of course work in any combination of courses such as forestry, agriculture, crop or plant science, range management or conservation, wildlife management, watershed management, soil science, natural resources (except marine fisheries and oceanography), outdoor recreation management, civil or forest engineering, or wildland fire science. No more than 6 semester hours in mathematics is creditable toward the 24 hours. OR C. Combination of education and experience that when combined meet 100% of the qualification requirements. For example, I have 6 months of the specialized experience described in A above (50% of the experience requirement), and three years of college study from an accredited institution, which included at least 12 semester hours of related coursework as specified in B above (50% of the qualifying education). NOTE: Only education in excess of the first 60 semester hours of a course of study leading to a bachelor's degree is creditable toward meeting the specialized experience requirements. 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. Promotion Potential: This position involves a multi-grade career ladder. The major duties listed represent the full performance level of GS-4/5. At lower grade levels, you will perform assignments of a more limited scope and with less independence. You will progressively acquire the background necessary to perform at the full performance level of GS-4/5. Promotion is at the discretion of the supervisor and is contingent upon satisfactory performance, availability of higher level work, and availability of funds.The selectee may be promoted without further competition when all regulatory, qualification, and performance requirements are met. Selection at a lower grade level does not guarantee promotion to the full performance level.
This is an entry level position that works on a wildland fire module or crew as a Wildland Firefighter (firefighter) executing fire management activities in fire preparedness, fuels management and prevention, and fire suppression, monitoring, and post-fire. Work may also include all hazard and emergency response activities. Fire modules or crews include Hand Crews, Engine Crews, and Helitack Crews. Specific specialty areas of work within fire modules or crews include aviation, fire engine operation, fire management planning, fuels management, helitack, and prevention. A Wildland Firefighter (GS-04) is a trained wildland firefighter. May be assigned to carry out specialized assignments such as tree falling, backfire, and burnout operations; utilizes a variety of specialized tools, equipment and techniques while actively managing wildfires. May be required to operate light vehicles and 4X4s. A Wildland Firefighter (GS-05) is a trained and experienced wildland firefighter performing all aspects of wildland and prescribed fire operations including preparation, ignition, monitoring, holding and mop-up. Gathers and considers information on weather data, topography, fuel types and fire behavior in responding to wildland fire incidents. May be required to operate light vehicles and 4X4s.