Supervisory Wildland Firefighter (Fire Management Officer)

Full Job Description

This is a Direct-Hire advertisement. Veterans preference is not applicable to this advertisement.

Learn more about this authority at: Direct Hire Authority This position is a Supervisory Wildland Firefighter (Fire Management Officer), GW-0456-11 working in Washington , District of Columbia for the US Wildland Fire Service.

In order to be considered for any duty location, ensure desired locations are selected. Applicants will not be considered for locations not selected.

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

Selective Placement Factor(s): This position requires a special qualification that has been determined to be essential to perform the duties and will be used as a screen out element.

Those who do not provide evidence they possess the following selective factor(s) will be rated not qualified.

This position has been identified as one of the key fire management positions under the Interagency Fire Program Management (IFPM) Standard.

This position has been categorized as a Supervisory Wildland Firefighter (Fire Management Officer) - Moderate Complexity and requires selectee to meet the minimum qualification standards for IFPM prior to being placed into the position.

Detailed information regarding IFPM positions can be found here: Interagency Fire Program Management (IFPM).

To meet IFPM requirements, you must have possessed all of the following National Wildfire Coordinating Group (NWCG) incident management qualifications and training requirements to be considered eligible for this position (currency not required at time of referral, but may be required to obtain and maintain currency if selected): Primary Core Requirement: Task Force Leader (TFLD) AND Secondary Core Requirement: Incident Commander, Type 3 (ICT3) or Prescribed Fire Burn Boss, Type 2 (RXB2) To meet additional IFPM training requirements, as a "condition of employment", you must complete the following within one year of the entry on duty date: In addition to the requirements described above, the following additional experience is required.

Only experience and education obtained by 03/04/2026 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.

Minimum Qualification For the GW-11 level: At least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GW-09 level, or higher, in the Federal service, or equivalent, which includes all of the following: Examples of specialized experience include: fire management planning, aviation management, training and workforce planning, fire preparedness, fuels management and fire prevention, dispatching, suppression, post-suppression, as well as hazard and emergency response activities.

OR At least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GW-10 level, or higher, outside of the Federal service; Examples of specialized experience include: fire management planning, aviation management, training and workforce planning, fire preparedness, fuels management and fire prevention, dispatching, suppression, post-suppression, as well as hazard and emergency response activities.

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.

Secondary Firefighter Retirement Coverage - Applicants for this secondary administrative fire fighter position under the provisions of 5 U.S.C. 8336 (c) (CSRS) and 5 U.S.C.

8412 (d), must possess knowledge of the principles, methods, and techniques of wildland firefighting as demonstrated by direct wildland firefighting experience.

In order to receive credit, you must provide a written description of your experience in wildland firefighting.

Education without hands-on wildland firefighting experience does not meet this requirement.

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 in order to be creditable as previous wildland firefighting experience.

Physical Demands: Normally the work is sedentary but often requires physical exertion while overseeing fire suppression activities including walking over rough, steep, uneven terrain in all types of weather.

The incumbent is faced with emergency situations at all hours and must respond quickly.

The position may require long shifts or multi-day assignments under primitive living conditions during emergencies.

During the fire season, extended fire assignments away from the unit may be required under very stressful conditions. Working Conditions: Although work is generally performed in an office setting.

Field work involves exposure to temperature extremes, both from weather and fire conditions where falling trees and the presence of smoke and/or dust create hazardous conditions.

The nature of fire suppression work requires that protective clothing (boots, hard hats, etc.) be worn during fire assignments.

The incumbent must exercise a variety of safety practices and precautions for the well-being of self and of others. Major Duties:

As a Supervisory Wildland Firefighter (Fire Management Officer) your duties will include but are not limited to the following: Supervises regularly assigned fire management staff and provides situational leadership and supervision for additional fire management staff during preparedness and incident response assignments; likewise, assigns and reassigns crews, firefighters, and other fire staff to various shifts and stations throughout the organization.

Develops and maintains overall fire management plans for moderately complex fire programs covering a variety of activities such as: fire detection (i.e., lookout towers, detection cameras, ground and aerial patrols, aerial observation routes).

Facilitates fire management planning activities, involving interacting with all disciplines (interdisciplinary teams) as well as subordinate leadership, employees of the organization, and cooperators from other federal, state, tribal, and local agencies.

Makes periodic inspections of the fire management organization and operations for compliance with approved plans, rules, regulations, and standards to ensure that an adequate and effective fire management force is being maintained.

Ensures the fuels management program is consistent with ecosystem management principles, land management plans, and evaluates the impacts to air quality standards.