Supervisory Wildland Firefighter (Fire Management Officer)

Full Job Description

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 This key fire management position is a categorized under the Interagency Fire Program Management (IFPM) Standard as a Unit Fire Program Manager-Moderate Complexity.

Minimum IFPM qualification standards must be met prior to being placed into the position. Detailed information regarding IFPM positions can be found at https://www.ifpm.nifc.gov/.

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.

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. Only experience and education obtained by 02/20/2026 will be considered.

***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*** You may qualify at the GW-11 level, if you fulfill one of the following qualification requirements: If you are a current or former federal employee who served in a competitive or excepted appointment, your resume must show that you have one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GW-09 grade level that demonstrates your ability to assist in directing multiple phases of fire management programs on Federally managed lands.

Examples of qualifying 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 If you have never been or are NOT a current or former federal employee who served in a competitive or excepted appointment, your resume must show that you have one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GW-10 grade level that demonstrates your ability to direct multiple phases of fire management programs on Federally managed lands.

Examples of qualifying 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.

In addition to the specialized experience above, you must also meet the following IFPM requirements: IFPM Qualifications for Unit Fire Program Manager - (Moderate Complexity) (Selective Factor): Primary Core Requirement: Task Force Leader (TFLD) AND Secondary Core Requirement: Incident Commander, Type 3 (ICT3) or Prescribed Fire Burn Boss, Type 2 (RXB2) You must provide a copy of your Incident Qualification and Certification System (IQCS) Master Record or other equivalent documentation which verifies you meet the required minimum qualifications for this IFPM position.

Failure to provide this documentation by the closing dated of the announcement will result in you being rated as not qualified 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. Major Duties:

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.