FIRE MANAGEMENT OFFICER, GS-0401-11 (DEU)

Duties

NOTE: This is a supervisory position.  Under provision of the Civil Service Reform Act, first-time supervisors are required to serve a trial period before their appointment becomes final.  Those who do not satisfactorily complete the trial period will be returned to positions of no lower grade and pay then those they occupied before assuming their supervisory assignment.xml:namespace prefix = "o" ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /

 

SUMMARY OF DUTIES:

• Directs all phases of a fire management program and is responsible for planning, program direction, coordination and evaluation.
• Ensure compliance with environmental laws, regulations, and policies.
• Provides guidance in the implementation of policies and standards received from higher authorities.
• Ensures the fire prevention program is effective and meets short-term objectives and long-term goals.
• Coordinates program activities with federal, state, tribal, and local government entities/agencies.
• Reviews preparedness actions and operating plans used in the management of wildland fires.
• Negotiates cooperative agreements.
• Reviews fuels management and fire use plans and prescriptions.
• Monitors fire season severity preditions, fire behavior, and fire activity levels and takes approrpiate actions to ensure safe, efficient, and effective operations.
• Organizes, trains, equips, and directs a qualified work force to meet fire program management needs.
• Develops performance standards and evaluates work performance of subordinates.
• Effects minor disciplinary measures such as warnings and reprimands.
• Manages the environmental and workplace hazards.
• Executes a comprehensive physical fitness training program.

Qualifications

EXPERIENCE AND EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS: (OPM Operating Manual, Qualification Standards for Professional and Scientific Positions, approved Interagency Fire Program Management Qualification Standards and Guide for Unit Fire Program Manager, GS-0401, Supplemental Qualification Standard for Fire Management Specialist, GS-0401, and Individual Occupational Requirements for General Biological Science Series, GS-0401.

 

BASIC REQUIREMENTS FOR ALL GRADES**:**

 

A.  Degree:  Biological sciences, agriculture, natural resources management, chemistry or related disciplines appropriate to the position. 

OR

 

B.  Combination of education and experience:  Courses equivalent to a major course of study in biological sciences, agriculture or natural resources management, chemistry or at least 24 semester hours in biological sciences, natural resources management, chemistry or at least 24 semester hours in biological scienses, natural resources, wildland fire management, forestry, or agriculture equivalent to a major field of study, plus appropriate experience or additional education that is comparable to that normally acquired through the successful completion of a full 4-year course of studey in the biological sciences, agriculture, or natural resources.

 

IN ADDITION TO MEETING THE BASIC EDUCATION REQUIREMENT FOR THE GS-0401 SERIES, APPLICANTS MUST ALSO HAVE THE FOLLOWING TO QUALIFY FOR THESE GRADE LEVELS:

GS-11**:**  1 year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-9 grade level OR 3 years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. degree or Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree.

 

SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE**:** Experience that equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position, and is typically in or related to the position to be filled.  Experience must have included all of the fire program management elements as described below:

• Reviewing and evaluating fire management plans for ecological soundness and technical adequacy;
• Conducting 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
• Developing analysis on the ecological role of fire and its use and/or exclusion, and smoke management.

In addition to fire program management, appropriate experience must have included either prescribed fire/fuels management -or- fire management operations as described below:

Prescribed fire/fuels management - experience in a broad range of activities such as:

• Professional forest or range inventory methods and procedures (e.g., Brown's planar intercept for dead and down fuels; live fuel loadings assessments);
• Analysis of fuel loadings and determination of appropriate fuel treatment methods and programming;
• Land use planning and environmental coordination;
• Evaluation of prescribed burn plans or fire management plans to ensure fire containment is possible and identification of appropriate suppression contingencies if containment is not obtained.

Fire management operations - analyzing and applying fire management strategies, plus experience in at least five of the following activities:

• Mobilization and dispatch coordination
• Fire prevention and education
• Training
• Logistics
• Equipment development and deployment
• Fire communication systems
• Suppression and preparedness
• Aviation

FIREFIGHTER RETIREMENT COVERAGE:  This position is covered as a secondary firefighter position under the special retirement provisions of 5 U.S.C. 8336(c)(CSRS) and 5 U.S.C. 8412(d)(FERS) when it is filled by an incumbent who transfers directly from a primary or another secondary firefighting position with no break in services as a firefighter to this position.  Firefighter retirement coverage of the incumbent depends upon his or her individual work history.

SELECTIVE FACTORS:  The applicant 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:

1.  Primary Core Requirement:  Task Force Leader (TFLD)

2.  Secondary Core Requirement:  Incident Commander Type 3 (ICT3) or Prescribed Fire Burn Boss Type 2 (RXB2)

3.  Required Training:  M-581, "Fire Program Management"

Selectees for IFPM positions requiring currency will be required to obtain and maintain currency for the NWCG qualifications listed above.

PRIOR WILDLAND FIREFIGHTING EXPERIENCE:  All candidates selected for this position must also meet or exceed a selective factor which requires a minimum of 90-days of wildland firefighting experience.  The selective factor cannot be waived.  Wildland fires are categorized into two distinct types:  1) Wildfires, unplanned ignitions or prescribed fires that are declared wildfires.  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.

Education

FOREIGN EDUCATION: If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education.

 

Qualifying education from colleges and universities in foreign countries must be evaluated in terms of equivalency to that acquired in U.S. colleges and universities. Applicants educated in whole or in part in foreign countries must submit sufficient evidence, including transcripts, to an accredited private organization for an equivalency evaluation of course work and degree. You must provide a copy of the letter containing the results of the equivalency evaluation upon request. Failure to provide such documentation when requested will result in lost consideration.

 

For more information regarding evaluation of foreign education for federal employment, please visit the U.S. Dept of Ed.