Supervisory Fire Management Specialist (Prescribed Fire/Fuels)

Duties

NOTE: If the position is filled at a lower grade level, subsequent promotion to the next grade level will be processed without further competition under the Merit Promotion Program at such time as performance and qualification requirements are met and classification review discloses the duties being performed properly warrant classification to the next higher grade level.

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 than those they occupied before assuming their supervisory assignment.

Supervisory Duties:

• Assign, direct and review the work of subordinate employees; recommend selections, promotions, within-grade increases, awards, disciplinary actions, and separations.
• Plan, schedule, and coordinate work operations.
• Advise and counsel subordinates on employee conduct, responsibilities and administrative matters.
• Establish and rate performance standards.

Program Management:

• Develop fuels treatment alternatives to support management decisions while adhering to applicable laws, regulations, policies, and guidelines.
• Evaluate individual fuels treatments and make recommendations for improvement.
• Responsible for the smoke management program to ensure compliance with state air quality standards.
• Coordinate federal, state, and local government air quality officials in their development of operational procedures and reporting requirements.
• Perform fiscal analysis, formulate the annual fuels management budget and maintain a system of accounts to trace program expenditures.
• Manage the budget from out-year planning to year-end closure.
• Coordinate with the organization level, agencies, cooperators, and stakeholders to develop interagency fuels strategies.
• Represent the organization in multi-agency fuels management activities.
• Maintain awareness of technological developments in wildland fire science and related disciplines.
• Collect information through a variety of methods, including field surveys, computer modeling, and specific literature searches.
• Coordinate multi-disciplinary field studies related to fuels management program issues to determine effectiveness of treatments.

Planning:

• Serve as a member of an interdisciplinary team planning, developing, and implementing land management plans, compliance documents, and agreements.
• Provide input and recommend strategies for fuels and fire management.
• Provide assistance to program managers in the design of fuels management prescriptions and implementation plans.
• Provide information on fuels management methods to enhance, restore and protect ecosystems.
• Participate in the development, review, and modification of the fire management plan.
• Develop, review and monitor fuels management plans.
• Work closely with other resource specialists to integrate vegetation management project designs in fuels program direction.
• Review environmental documents, prescribed fire plans, and wildland fire use plans of other agencies and stakeholders.
• Prepare wildland fire risk assessments incorporating wildland/urban interface considerations into all agreements, operating plans, and land and fire management plans.
• Participate in the development of cooperative agreements to facilitate multi-agency projects.

Operations and Safety:

• Implement and administer prescribed fire activities, wildland fire use, and fuels management activities.
• Monitor fire behavior, evaluate fire effects, identify potential problems and take appropriate action.
• Design and implement fuels management surveys to document presence, amount, and types of hazardous fuels.
• Utilize the results of the surveys to prioritize prescribed fire and fuels management projects.
• Identify training needs and participate in prescribed fire and fuels management, and wildland fire and safety training in the techniques, practices, and methods of fire suppression.
• Participate in preparedness reviews, proficiency checks and drills, safety sessions, and after action reviews.

Qualifications

EXPERIENCE AND EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS: (Office of Personnel Management Operating Manual, Qualification Standards for Professional and Scientific Positions and Individual Occupational Requirements for GS-0401: General Biological Science Series; and Interagency Fire Program Management Qualifications Standards and Guide for Prescribed Fire and Fuels Specialist Low Complexity.)

BASIC EDUCATION REQUIREMENT FOR GS-0401 SERIES:

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 in biological sciences, agriculture or natural resources management, or at least 24 semester hours in biological sciences, 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 study 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:

GS-09: 1 year of creditable specialized wildland fire management experience equivalent to the GS-7 grade level -OR- 2 years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a master's degree or master's or equivalent graduate degree, in a field of study that is directly related to this position.

SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE FOR GS-09: In addition to meeting the basic requirements, applicants must have a minimum of one year of creditable specialized wildland fire management experience equivalent to the next lower grade level. Possession of the particular knowledge, skills and abilities can be evidenced by at least two of the following three (3) categories:

1. Experience that demonstrated understanding of fire effects on cultural and natural resources. The assignments must have shown participation in activities such as:

• Developing fire management plans to ensure resource objectives can be met from a fire management standpoint; or
• Conducting field inspections before and/or after prescribed fires or wildland fires to determine if defined resource objectives have been met.

2. Prescribed fire/fuels management - experience in activities such as:

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

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

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

GS-11: 1 year of creditable specialized wildland fire management 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 in a field of study that is directly related to this position.

Specialized experience for GS-11 must have included all of the fire program management elements:

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 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

SELECTIVE FACTORS: In addition to the qualification requirements above, applicants 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: Single Resource Boss-Engine (ENGB) -or- Single Resource Boss-Crew (CRWB) -or- Firing Boss (FIRB) or Single Resource-Helicopter Manager (HMGB)
2. Secondary Core Requirement: Incident Commander Type 4 (ICT4).

NOTE: Selective factors are knowledge, skills, abilities, or special qualifications that are in addition to the minimum requirements in a qualification standard, but are determined to be essential to perform the duties and responsibilities of the position. Applicants who do not meet the selective factors are ineligible for further consideration. You MUST provide a current copy of your Incident Qualification and Certification System (IQCS) Master Record or other agency equivalent documentation which verifies you meet the required NWCG qualifications for this IFPM position when submitting your application. In addition, 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.