Qualifications
All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement 09/20/2024, unless otherwise stated in this vacancy announcement.
Credit will be given for all appropriate qualifying experience. To receive credit for experience, your 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 full and/or part-time or total number of hours worked (i.e., work 40+ hours a week, rather than indicating full-time). If part-time, the hours must be annotated to be able to pro-rate the amount qualified specialized experience.
For periods of time that reflect military service, the DD-214 or Statement of Service is sufficient to meet the full and/or part-time hours requirement as the service dates will be reflected.
To qualify for the GS-0401-14 Supervisory Program Lead, Operations position, you must meet all of the following requirements by the closing date of this announcement to be considered:
Education: Basic Requirements
1. Degree: Biological Sciences, Agriculture, Natural Resource Management, Chemistry, or related disciplines appropriate to the position.
NOTE: The following additional subject fields have been determined to be acceptable as directly related degree programs for fire management jobs in this series: wildland fire management, forestry agronomy, biochemistry, biometrics, ecology, fishery biology, general fish and wildlife administration, horticulture, natural resources management, physiology, plant physiology, rangeland management, soil science, wildlife biology, zoology, agricultural extension, animal science, botany, entomology, genetics, microbiology, pharmacology, plant pathology, plant protection and quarantine, soil conservation, toxicology, wildlife refuge management. In addition, natural resources related disciplines include chemistry, environmental sciences (not environmental or natural resources policy), hydrology, outdoor recreation if it has a natural resource emphasis, physics, fire management, earth sciences, geology, meteorology related weather, climate, physical geography if it has a natural resource emphasis, and watershed management. You must provide a legible copy of your transcript(s)
-OR-
2. Combination of education and experience: Courses equivalent to a major, as shown in A above, plus appropriate experience or additional education. You must provide a legible copy of your transcript(s). Courses equivalent to a major may be defined as 24 semester hours in biological sciences, natural resources, wildland fire management, forestry or agriculture equivalent to a major field, of study, plus appropriate experience or additional education that is comparable to that acquired through successful completion of a full 4-year course of study in the biological sciences, agriculture, or natural resources.
-AND -
SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: One year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level is required in addition to meeting the basic qualification requirements. Candidates must possess at least one full year of specialized experience comparable in scope and responsibility to the GS-13 grade level in the Federal service. Examples of specialized experience: Managing, directing, and evaluating a Wildland fire program, coordination, and development of NPS wildland fire management policy, serve as a member of a chartered leadership board composed of national and regional wildland fire, aviation, and communication & education program leads to collaborate and socialize draft policy or standards and budget allocation efforts through strategic planning and coordination and have worked closely with national wildland fire operations counterparts from the Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Fish and Wildlife Service, United States Fire Administration, and National Association of State Foresters in the development of policy and standards recommendations.
-AND-
SELECTIVE FACTOR: Candidates must possess substantial wildland firefighting experience, gained through fire line work in containment, control, suppression or use of wildland fire. You must clearly demonstrate this experience in your resume, including the months, days, and hours per week at which the work was performed to be considered.
Substantial wildland firefighting experience is required to meet qualifications for secondary (administrative) covered positions. The Department of Interior defines wildland firefighting experience as: On-the-line wildland firefighting experience gained through containment, control, suppression, or use of wildland fire. This experience can be met by serving in a temporary, seasonal, or equivalent private sector fire position. 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 fire line experience on a Prescribed Fire; it does not include experience in the planning stages. Prescribed fire experience must be supplemented by fire suppression experience to be creditable as previous wildland firefighting experience. 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.
Volunteer Experience: Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, Ameri Corps) 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.
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.
Additional information
This notice is being issued to recruit personnel to occupations for which a critical hiring need has been identified. To assist in filling these positions, OPM has granted the Department of the Interior "Direct Hire Authority".
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 ยง575.102 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.
This announcement may be used to fill additional positions if identical vacancies occur within 90 days of the issue date of the referral certificate.
Physical Demands: The work is primarily office oriented and requires performance under a variety of conditions to include sitting or standing in one position for long periods, intense concentration to detail, directing, making presentations to, instructing, or participating in large and small groups, task
forces, committees, or workshops. The work also requires frequent travel throughout the United States via commercial or government transportation for varied lengths of time. Periodic field work may be required. Field assignments may require an extensive amount of walking or hiking in flat to rough mountainous terrain, bending, and climbing; and may be subject to hazardous environmental conditions when working on wildfires and/or prescribed
fires. During times of emergencies long working hours may be required. If the incumbent maintains Incident Command System qualifications, they must annually pass applicable interagency physical fitness standards as well as associated medical exams.
Working Conditions: Work is performed primarily in an office setting, but travel is required throughout the United States for meetings, training, program reviews, accident investigations, and incident management operations. The latter two frequently involves exposure to adverse weather conditions, steep rocky terrain, falling tree limbs, heavy smoke and dust, and hazardous aircraft flight operations. On-site program reviews and inspections may also include outdoor work, usually during spring, summer, and fall, and may involve hiking in rough terrain, sometimes in adverse weather conditions. Other outdoor hazards may include high pollen levels, steep terrain, dermatitis-causing plants, and poisonous snakes and insects.
The National Park Service has determined that the duties of this position are suitable for telework and the selectee may be allowed to telework with supervisor approval.