Forestry Technician (Fire Dispatch) - Direct Hire Authority

Summary Incumbent serves as a Fire Dispatcher in either a single agency or interagency dispatch center located in a fire management organization and may encompass Federal, state, Tribal and private lands within the dispatch centers area of influence. The center is responsible primarily for wildland fire preparedness, suppression support activities and may respond to all-hazard incidents as needed or directed. For more information about this position see "Position Information". Requirements Conditions of Employment This is a 13/13 position; meaning there is a guaranteed 13 pay periods in pay status, and can be up to 13 pay periods in non-pay status within a year. This is a are Career-Seasonal position. Career-Seasonal appointments are permanent positions and include the same benefits as Career appointments, but do not provide work on a year-round basis. U.S. Citizenship required. Males born after 12/31/1959 must be registered for Selective Service or exempt. This is a Test Designated Position. You will be required to submit to a drug test and receive a negative drug test result prior to appointment. In addition, this position is subject to random testing for illegal drug use. Appointment subject to background investigation and favorable adjudication of background investigation and/or fingerprint check. Per Public Law 104-134 all Federal employees are required to have federal payments made by direct deposit to their financial institution. Must be 18 years of age at time of close date of announcement. Under age 37; less than age 37 after subtracting the months of Permanent Federal Service in a primary or secondary firefighter/law enforcement position or a veteran preference eligible, older than age 37 and is requesting a waiver to the requirement. If you are a new employee or supervisor in the Federal government, you will be required to complete a one-year probationary period. Willing to live/work in remote locations (volatile/unpredictable). You may be required to operate a government motor vehicle as part of your official duties; a valid driver's license is required. You will be required to wear a uniform and comply with the National Park Service fire uniform standards. You will be required to work on-call, evenings, weekends, holidays, overtime and shift work. Incumbent will be required to complete training and obtain/maintain a government charge card with travel and/or purchase authority. Government housing may be available, is on a bid system, and is NOT guaranteed. Qualifications 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. All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement 07/02/2025 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 - 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. If an applicant's resume is incomplete or does not support the requirements for minimum qualifications or specialized experience a rating of "ineligible" or "not qualified" will be applied and no consideration for employment will be granted. Basic Qualification Requirements: This is an administrative position in an organization having a firefighting mission, and is clearly in an established career path. Prior firefighting experience, as gained by substantial service in a primary firefighter position or equivalent experience outside the Federal government is a MANDATORY PREREQUISITE. Candidates must possess Primary/Rigorous wildland firefighting/wildland fire support experience, gained through duties such as: logistical dispatch experience with ties to emergency operations like wildland fire, structural fire, emergency management services or law enforcement, 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 in order to be considered. AND EXPERIENCE AND EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS: For the GS-04 level: Applicants must have one year of progressively responsible clerical, office, or other work which provided the knowledge and skills needed to perform the duties of the position being filled; Examples of general experience include: Received and relayed information to the appropriate person or office; used computer databases, spreadsheets, word processing software, and/or maintained logs; processed and maintained documents and files per organizational guidelines. OR An Associate's Degree or two years of successfully completed education above high school; OR A combination of successfully completed post-high school education and experience. The education must have been obtained in an accredited business, secretarial or technical school, junior college, college or university. For the GS-05 level: Applicants must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least GS-4 grade level; Examples of specialized experience include: Communicated information regarding wildland fire incidents to the appropriate person or office; utilized a telecommunication system to transmit and receive information to and from field units; worked with various computer software programs to maintain incident logs, fire records, and resource tracking; provided service to the center customer base regarding wildland fire incidents and daily operations. OR A Bachelor's Degree or 4 years of successfully completed education above high school; OR A combination of successfully completed post-high school education (in excess of the first 60 semester hours) and specialized experience. The education must have been obtained in an accredited business, secretarial or technical school, junior college, college or university. IMPORTANT - PLEASE NOTE: If you are using education to qualify you must submit a legible copy of your transcripts (A copy of your official transcripts will be required before entrance on duty, if selected). To receive consideration for this position, you must provide updated required documents and meet all qualification requirements by the closing date of this announcement. 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 CSRS, an employee must transfer directly (without a break in service exceeding 3 days) from a primary position to a secondary position. 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 retirement covered positions). You must let this office know if you are in a Primary retirement covered position. 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. Education When submitting college transcripts, you must submit a legible copy of transcripts from an accredited institution with your name, school name, credit hours, course level, major(s), and grade-point average or class ranking. Transcripts do not need to be official, but if you are selected for this position and you used your education to qualify, you must provide official transcripts before you begin work. If you are using education completed in foreign colleges or universities to meet qualification requirements, you must show that your education credentials have been evaluated by a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign education programs and such education has been deemed equivalent to that gained in an accredited U.S. education program; or full credit has been given for the courses at a U.S. accredited college or university. POSITION INFORMATION: **PLEASE NOTE - this position is covered under the new GW pay table specific to Wildland Firefighters. Please see this link for the pay tables: Wildland Firefighter. This position is located in Yellowstone National Park; duty location Yellowstone, WY. This location is covered under the Rest of the United States pay table: RUS Pay Table. For additional questions regarding the duties or location for this position, please contact Laura Dooley at [email protected]. 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 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. 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 does not meet the conditions under 5 CFR §575.102 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 involves long hours of sitting, intense concentration, and working at peak proficiency/intensity levels with irregular breaks and mealtimes. The duties of this position create a highly stressful environment during peak activity, requiring the ability to keep calm in emergency situations. Must be able to cope with the pressure of meeting timeframes and changing priorities. Mental concentration and accuracy are required. Vehicle and aircraft travel associated with field visits and other administrative travel may be required. Working Conditions: Work is performed primarily in an office setting. During peak activity, increased radio traffic, numerous ringing phones, and conversations result in high noise levels, which require a high level of concentration to perform duties. This creates a high stress work environment. Read more Benefits A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new window Learn more about federal benefits. Review our benefits Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.