Wildland Firefighter (Aviation) (Airtanker Base Manager) - Direct Hire Authority
Bureau of Land Management
Posted: January 13, 2026 (2 days ago)
This job was posted recently. Fresh listings typically have less competition.
Forest Service
Department of Agriculture
Location
Missoula, Montana
Salary
$96,598 - $145,220
per year
Type
Closes
This job involves overseeing daily operations for wildland fire protection across a large region of national forests, including planning resource use during fires, coordinating with partners, and advising on fire management strategies.
It's a leadership role that supports higher-level directors in keeping fires under control and ensuring safety.
A good fit would be someone with hands-on experience in firefighting and program management who thrives in high-stakes, team-based environments.
This position is located in the Northern Region, Region 1.
This position serves as the Regional Assistant to the Assistant Director of Operations with primary responsibility for day-to-day planning, organizing and directing Region-wide activities in wildland fire protection systems.
For additional information about the duties of this position, please contact Tiffany Counts at tiffany.counts@usda.gov.
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.
Your application and resume must clearly show that you possess the experience requirements.
Specialized Experience Requirement: For the GW-12: Applicants must display one year specialized experience equivalent to at least the GW-11 grade level in the Federal Service.
Examples of specialized experience are: managing a wildland and/or prescribed fire management program at a unit level; developing, coordinating and implementing a partial fire program budget; developing and implementing agreements with cooperators; maintaining relationships with entities external to the organization regarding fire management program issues.
For the GW-13: Applicants must display one year specialized experience equivalent to at least the GW-12 grade level in the Federal Service.
Examples of specialized experience are: managing, directing and evaluating a fully integrated wildland and/or prescribed fire management program; developing, coordinating and implementing a full fire program budget; effectively managing and utilizing available dollars taking into consideration changing priorities; negotiating, managing and implementing agreements with cooperators; forming and maintaining liaison with entities external to the organization, and speaking for the organization on fire management program issues.
Selective Placement Factors: 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.
FIREFIGHTER RETIREMENT COVERAGE: This is a secondary firefighter position under 5 USC 8336 (CSRS) and 8412(d) (FERS). Prior wildland firefighting experience is required.
There is no age limit for entry into secondary positions. Firefighter retirement coverage of the incumbent depends upon his or her individual work history.
To receive consideration for this position, you must provide updated required documents and meet all qualification requirements by the closing date of this announcement. Major Duties:
Check your resume before applying to catch common mistakes