Wildland Firefighter (Fire Technology Transfer Specialist)

Full Job Description

These positions are located on a USDA Forest Service Unit within the Pacific Southwest Region, Region 5.

This position has primary responsibility for technology transfer, providing decision support and coordinating research needs between scientists and field practitioners.

See ADDITIONAL INFORMATION Section for location representative details.

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. Transcripts must be provided for qualifications based on education. Provide course descriptions as necessary.

Basic Requirement 0401 Series: Degree: Biological sciences, agriculture, natural resources management, chemistry, or related discipline appropriate to the position being filled.

-OR- Combination of education and experience: Courses equivalent to a major, as shown above, plus appropriate experience or additional education.

In addition to meeting the basic requirement, you must also possess experience directly related education in the amounts listed below.

Specialized Experience Requirement: For the GW-12: One year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GW-11 level in the Federal Service.

Examples of specialized experience include: Reviewed and evaluated fire management plans for ecological soundness and technical adequacy; Conducted field inspections before and after prescribed or wildland fires to determine if resource objectives were achieved and/or to evaluate the effectiveness of actions taken; and Developed analyses on the ecological role of fire and its use and/or exclusion, and smoke management.

For the GW-13: One year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GW-12 level in the Federal Service.

Examples of specialized experience include: Developed new fire management techniques for communicating fire behavior concepts including risk, deterministic and stochastic fire modeling, and fire effects; Solicited for and evaluated field inputs for improvements in wildland fire decision support; Developed improvements in wild land fire support in response to inputs from the field; conducted risk assessments for complex wildland fire incidents and projects.

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:

• Duties listed are at full performance grade GW-13 level.
• Provides professional fire management advice on unusual and unprecedented problems facing the wildland fire community that require new approaches and techniques to guide response decisions.
• Provides national/regional/local wildland fire decision support through analysis and advice using the latest fire behavior modeling programs and decision support tools.
• Serves as a skilled expert in the use of fire spread and fire growth modeling, weather and climatic analysis, fire events, probabilistic fire modeling and other predictive fire behavior tools.
• Serves as a liaison between wildland fire research scientists and user groups in the nation, providing technical operational advice in the development of new techniques and systems for fire and fuels management.
• Provides technical advice and participates in the analysis of fire management program requirements to design, develop, and implement methods to integrate emerging science and new technologies into national fire management programs.
• Provides oversight to other staff within the organization regarding fire/fuels management, decision support, technology transfer, coordination, collaboration, training, and development.