You are viewing a preview of this job. Log in or register to view more details about this job.

Forestry Technician (Assistant Airtanker Base Manager) 'Single Engine' - Direct Hire Authority

Bureau of Land Management
Email

Salary

$44,740 - $64,410 per year


Duties

Contributes to direction and oversight of Single Engine Airtanker (SEAT) Base Operations. Performs day-to-day administration of aircraft contacts and signs for receipt of services. Serves as a point of contact with airport management and various entities pertaining to aviation operations. Provides input and recommendations to manager in developing and maintaining various plans. Responsible for overall efficiency and safety of ground and aviation operations. Coordinates with dispatch to identify priorities and logistical needs. Responsible for planning and directing maintenance activities to assure that base buildings, grounds, and equipment are maintained to ensure a safe work environment. Assist in supervision of subordinate government and contract personnel. Provides input for performance standards for subordinates.

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

  • U.S. Citizenship is required.
  • Be sure to read the How to Apply and Required Documents Sections.
  • You cannot hold an active real estate license: nor can you have an interest or hold stocks in firms with interest in Federal Lands.
  • Background Investigation Required.
  • Appointment will be subject to a favorably adjudicated background/suitability investigation/determination. Failure to possess or obtain a favorable determination will result in the cancellation of the offer or will be grounds for termination.
  • Your resume must contain enough information to show that you meet the qualification requirements as defined in the announcement. In addition, your responses to the questions must adequately reflect in your resume.
  • If you are selected for this position, you will be required to serve a one year supervisory probationary period if one has not previously been completed.
  • May require a one year probationary period.
  • You must be 18 years of age or older to be assigned to a hazardous position.
  • You must pass a pre-employment physical.
  • You must meet specified levels on annual physical fitness tests, and pass periodic medical exams for wild land fire personnel, commensurate with current incident management qualifications.
  • An applicant appointed to this position must possess and maintain a valid state driver's license while employed in this position.
  • This position requires regular and recurring overtime and shift work.
  • Applicant(s) tentatively selected for this position will be required to submit a urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use and to pass the test prior to appointment. In addition, this position is subject to random testing for illegal drug use.
  • Direct Deposit Required.

Qualifications

Specialized Experience Requirements:
In order to be rated as qualified for this position, we must be able to determine that you meet the specialized experience requirement; please be sure to include this information in your resume. No assumptions will be made about your experience. To be creditable, this experience must have been equivalent in difficulty and complexity to the next lower grade of the position to be filled.

To qualify for the GS-07 grade level, 1 year (12 months) of specialized experience equivalent to GS-06 is required. Examples of work experience include, but are not limited to: Experience that demonstrates an understanding of aerial retardant and base activities in support of wildland fire suppression, management and administration of various contracts, and oversight and support of various aircraft at the base. Examples of experience may include: 1) Performing duties which provided an understanding of aviation safety and retardant aircraft limitations that ensure individual aircraft weight limitations are not exceeded and effective product is delivered to meet fire management objectives. 2) Assisting in aerial retardant base maintenance activities that assure base buildings, grounds, and equipment are in a safe working condition and assists with base plans that address compliance with environmental protocols.

To qualify for the GS-08 grade level, 1 year (12 months) of specialized experience equivalent to GS-07 is required. Examples of work experience include, but are not limited to: Experience must demonstrate an understanding of aerial retardant and base activities in support of wildland fire suppression, management and administration of various contracts, and oversight and support of various aircraft at the base Examples of experience may include: 1) Participating in planning, scheduling and monitoring of all flights and resources utilizing an airtanker or SEAT base to include receiving and confirming all pertinent flight information for mission safety and efficiency. 2) Performing contract administration of multiple aviation and retardant contracts to ensure conformance to contract specifications.

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.

Substitution of Education for Experience:

GS-07: 18 semester hours (1 year) of graduate education which is DIRECTLY related to work of the position OR an equivalent combination of specialized experience and education.

GS-08: 36 semester hours (2 years) of graduate education which is DIRECTLY related to work of the position OR an equivalent combination of specialized experience and education.

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.

1. Prior on-the-line firefighting: The Department of the Interior defines wildland firefighting experience as any non-structure fire that occurs in the wildland. Wildland firefighting experience is gained through work on the fire line in containment, control, suppression or use of wildland fire. This experience can be met by serving in a temporary, seasonal, or equivalent private sector fire position for no less than 90 days. Wildland fires are categorized into two distinct types: (1) Wildfires - Unplanned ignitions or prescribed fires that are declared wildfires; and (2) Prescribed Fires - Planned ignitions. This description includes only fireline 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. This experience must be documented in the online application or resume with specific to and from dates, description of work performed, and hours worked per week.

2.) You must have possessed all of the following National Wildfire Coordinating Group (NWCG) incident management (qualifications to be considered eligible for this position), current not required:

A. GS-07 requirement - must have Ramp Management Trainee (RAMP-T)
B. GS-08 requirement - must have Single Engine Air Tanker Manager (SEMG)

*You must meet all qualification and selective placement factor requirements by the closing date of the announcement.

Physical Demands: Long irregular hours are required, much of it occurring during periods of fire operations. Frequent standing walking and long periods outside in high temperatures and direct sunlight may be required while working around multiple arriving and departing aircraft. Work in an office environment and long periods of sedentary work. Lifting and carrying heavy equipment/materials and operating a variety of hand and poser tool is required,

Work Environment: Majority of activities are performed in an airbase environment, both inside and outdoors. Extreme variations in temperature and climactic conditions are common. Work requires use of safety equipment including hearing and eye protection and high visibility clothing. The work involves exposure to operating aircraft that result in high noise levels and exposure to turning propellers, prop wash, jet intake areas and jet blast, and flying dues and debris.

This is a SECONDARY/Administrative fire position under the special retirement provisions of 5 U.S.C. 8336(c) (CSRS) and 5 U.S.C. 8412(d) (FERS). While secondary positions are not subject to the maximum entry age (MEA) policy, the selectee must have prior service in a primary position and meet the transfer requirement for movement from a primary to secondary position to be eligible for special retirement coverage. It is the responsibility of the applicant to ensure this office has enough information to determine your retirement status to ensure you do not lose benefits(normally through submission of your SF-50). YOU MUST LET US KNOW IF YOU ARE CURRENTLY IN A PRIMARY POSITION.

FACT SHEET for Fire & Law Enforcement Positions: Information on Special Retirement.

Education

See Qualifications Section.

Additional information

DOI uses E-Verify to confirm employment eligibility of all newly hired employees. To learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities, please visit E-Verify.

Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP)/Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP): Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP)/lnteragency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP): These programs apply to employees who have been involuntarily separated from a Federal service position within the competitive service or Federal service employees whose positions have been deemed surplus or no longer needed. To receive selection priority, you must: 1) meet CTAP or ICTAP eligibility criteria; 2) be rated well qualified for the position with a score of 90 or above; and 3) submit the appropriate documentation to support your CTAP or ICTAP eligibility. For more information: CTAP or ICTAP

CTAP and ICTAP eligibles will be considered well qualified if they exceed minimum qualifications for this position.

Reemployment Priority List (RPL): The RPL is the mechanism agencies use to give reemployment consideration to their former competitive service employees separated by a RIF or who have fully recovered from a compensable injury after more than one year. If you are currently on a RPL, you may be given priority consideration.

Tax Law Impact for PCS: On 22-Dec-2017, Public Law 115-97 - the "Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 suspended qualified moving expense deductions along with the exclusion for employer reimbursements and payments of moving expenses effective 01-Jan-2018 for tax years 2018 through 2025. The law made taxable certain reimbursements and other payments, including driving mileage, airfare and lodging expenses, en-route travel to the new duty station, and temporary storage of those items. The Federal Travel Regulation Bulletin (FTR) 18-05 issued by General Services Administration (GSA) has authorized agencies to use the Withholding Tax Allowance (WTA) and Relocation Income Tax Allowance (RITA) to pay for "substantially all" of the increased tax liability resulting from the "2018 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act" for certain eligible individuals. For additional information on WTA/RITA allowances and eligibilities, please visit: Federal Travel Regulation - GSA Bulletin FTR 18-05

Tax Law Impact for PCS: Moving expenses reimbursement is a taxable benefit. However, the Federal Travel Regulation 18-05 issued by the General Services Administration has authorized agencies to use the Withholding Tax Allowance and Relocation Income Tax Allowance to pay for "substantially all" of the increased tax liability resulting from the "2018 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act" for certain eligible individual

Males born after 12/31/59 must be registered for Selective Service

The BLM has determined that the duties of this position are not suitable for telework.

BLM may use certain incentives, currently offered by the Federal government, to attract high quality applicants. The incentives that may be offered include Student Loan Repayments, Relocation Incentives and/or Recruitment Incentives.

If you are unable to apply online or need to fax a document, you do not have in electronic form; view the following link for information regarding an Alternative Application

How You Will Be Evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.
Once the job opportunity announcement closes, your resume and all supporting documents will be reviewed by HR to determine your eligibility for Federal employment and your qualifications for this position specifically.

Because this vacancy will be filled through OPM's Direct Hire Authority, Veterans Preference and traditional rating and ranking of applicants do not apply to positions filled under this announcement. Applications received as a result of job fairs, recruitment events, and emergency hiring mechanisms in support of this hiring initiative will also be accepted during the duration of the announcement. All qualified candidates will be referred for consideration; the hiring office may conduct interviews at their discretion.

Your qualifications will be evaluated on the following competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities and other characteristics). You do not have to respond to the competencies separately, but your resume should contain sufficient information to demonstrate possession of the following competencies:
  • Operations Support
  • Planning and Evaluating
  • Leadership

Required Documents

Resumes must show relevant experience and other information. Your resume MUST list your education and work experience including (1) the dates (mm/yy) of each employment, along with (2) the number of hours worked per week, and (3) salary information. Civil service employees must provide their current OPM title, series, and grade. Your resume will be used to validate your responses to the assessment tool(s). Failure to provide required information will result in loss of eligibility. You are welcome to submit a cover letter (optional).

In describing your experience, please be clear and specific. Visit the USAJOBS Help Center for more information on What should I include in my federal resume?

In addition to the online application (resume and responses to the questionnaire), you are required to submit the following supplemental documentation as applicable:

IQCS: 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 NWCG 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.

Transcripts: If using education to qualify, submit a copy of ALL your college transcripts or a list of ALL college courses that include hours and grades from an accredited U.S. college/university. Upon selection, official transcripts must be received prior to appointment. 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.

Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP) or interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP) eligibles: Submit documentation verifying your CTAP/ICTAP eligibility - this includes a copy of the agency notice and your most recent SF-50 noting current position, grade level and duty location.

GSA Form 3607, Motor Vehicle Operator's License and Driving Record (optional during the application process; however, selectees will be required to submit as part of the pre-appointment process.)

Submitting Required Documents: Please note that documents selected for transfer from your USAJOBS profile are NOT automatically added do your application. You need to transfer your document(s) in the "Documents" step during the application process.

Hard copy paper supplemental documents, submitted without prior Human Resources approval, will be considered as an incomplete application.

Required documentation must be submitted by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time, on the closing date of this announcement.

If you are determined to be eligible and best qualified, you will be referred to the selecting official for consideration.

Applicants should monitor their status for positions by regularly checking their public status notifications in the USAJOBS profile.

If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements:

Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications. Therefore, provide only the attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.
Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.