Summary This Supervisory Wildland Firefighter position serves as the Assistant Regional Fire Management Officer with the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Navajo Region, Branch of Fire Management, Duty Station in Fort Defiance, Arizona. This announcement will be used to fill vacancies utilizing the Direct-Hire Authority (5CFR 337.201). Category rating, veteran's preference, and traditional rating and ranking of applicants do NOT apply for this vacancy. Responsibilities Serves as the Assistant Fire Management Officer Directing all phases of the assigned fire program unit to include fire management planning, aviation management, training and workforce planning, fire preparedness, fuels management and fire prevention, dispatching, suppression, post-suppression, and all hazard and emergency response activities. Performs/supervises administrative program management functions such as planning; budget formulation and execution; stewardship of physical facilities, equipment, vehicles, and accountable property; development and implementation of training and development programs; and implementation of cooperative agreements. Facilitates fire management planning activities; and develops local/annual operating plans and provides staff technical direction in the execution of master plans. Collaborates with unit/tribal leadership while also serving on and representing the units and BIA on various interagency teams, and work groups dealing with specific local, geographic, or national fire management issues. Works with a variety of complex technical problems relating to fire weather, smoke management, fire behavior, and computer fire modeling. Makes periodic inspections of the fire management organization and operations for compliance with approved plans, rules, regulations, and standards to ensure that an adequate and effective fire management force is being maintained. Establishes priorities for fire hazard reduction, prescribed burns and fuels management based on minimizing potential damage and maximizing multiple resource benefit and enhancement. Ensures the fuels management program is consistent with ecosystem management principles and land use plans. Plans work to be accomplished by subordinates, sets and adjusts priorities, and prepares schedules for completion of work; and evaluates work performance of employees. Requirements Conditions of Employment Qualifications EXPERIENCE AND EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS: GS-12: 1 year of specialized wildland fire management work experience equivalent to the GS-11 grade level or equivalent pay band in the Federal service that includes directing multiple phases of fire management programs on Federally managed lands to include fire management planning, aviation management, training and workforce planning, fire preparedness, fuels management and fire prevention, dispatching, suppression, post-suppression, as well as all hazard and emergency response activities .Examples of specialized experience include directing and supervising a fire management program that is responsible for wildland fire use, prescribed fire, fire suppression, aviation, fuels, and smoke management including planning, program direction, coordination, and evaluation, developing, reviewing, and analyzing fire management plans for ecological soundness and technical adequacy. Experience must have included all the fire program management elements as described below: Reviewing and evaluating fire management plans for ecological soundness and 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 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 loading 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 PLACEMENT FACTORS: These are MANDATORY qualification prerequisites to qualify for this position. Applicant must have possessed the following qualifications to be considered eligible for this position: Prior Wildland Firefighting Experience: 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. Wildland firefighting experience is required to meet qualifications for secondary (administrative) covered positions. The Department of Interior defines wildland firefighting experience as: On-the-line wildland firefighting experience gained through containment, control, suppression, or use of wildland fire. Wildland fire is defined as any non-structure fire that occurs in the wildland. Two distinct types of wildland fire have been defined and include wildfire and prescribed fires as follows: 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. NOTE: Selective factors are knowledges, 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 this required qualification for this position when submitting your application. Selectees for IFPM positions requiring currency will be required to obtain and maintain currency for the NWCG qualifications listed above. FIREFIGHTER RETIREMENT COVERAGE: This position is covered under the secondary/administrative firefighter 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 law enforcement or firefighting position with no break in service to this position. Firefighter retirement coverage of the incumbent will depend upon his or her individual work history. You may meet the qualification requirements, but not be eligible for special retirement coverage. If you are not eligible for special retirement coverage, you will be placed in the regular retirement system. FERS TRANSITION REQUIREMENT: 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 covered positions). You must let this office know if you are in a Primary coverage position. All qualification requirements must be met by the closing date of this announcement. Physical Demands: Normally the work is sedentary but often requires physical exertion while overseeing fire suppression activities including walking over rough, steep, uneven terrain in all types of weather. The incumbent is faced with emergency situations at all hours and must respond quickly. The position may require long shifts or multi-day assignments under primitive living conditions during emergencies. During the fire season, extended fire assignments away from the unit may be required under very stressful conditions. Working Conditions: Although work is generally performed in an office setting. Field work involves exposure to temperature extremes, both from weather and fire conditions where falling trees and the presence of smoke and/or dust create hazardous conditions. The nature of fire suppression work requires that protective clothing (boots, hard hats, etc.) be worn during fire assignments. Education Additional Information Indian Preference Policy: Preference in filling vacancies is given to qualified Indian candidates in accordance with the Indian Preference Act of 1934 (Title 25, USC Section 472). Verification form BIA-4432 must be submitted with the application if claiming Indian Preference. No other documents will be accepted as proof of Indian Preference. All new hires earn the beginning salary of their pay grade (Step 1). See 2024 Salary Tables here and select the duty station from Fort Defiance, Arizona to choose the appropriate pay chart. If no specific chart is listed for this geographic location, see the "rest of U.S." chart. A supplemental pay increase of $20,000 or 50% of base pay per year, is currently authorized under Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and will apply as long as funding is available. This is a supervisory position. Under provision of the Civil Service Reform Act, first-time supervisors are required to serve a one year supervisory probationary period before their appointment becomes final. Those who do not satisfactorily complete this probationary period will be returned to positions of no lower grade and pay than those they occupied before assuming their supervisory assignment. TRAVEL AND RELOCATION EXPENSES WILL BE AUTHORIZED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE FEDERAL TRAVEL REGULATIONS.. The pay flexibilities of the recruitment bonus, relocation bonus, and student loan repayment may be authorized by the manager (pending availability of funds and higher management approval). TELEWORK: Indian Affairs management has determined that the duties of the position are suitable for telework and the selectee may be allowed to telework with supervisor approval. This position has been designated as an Incidental Operator under the Indian Affairs Motor Vehicle Safety Program and requires the incumbent to operate a motor vehicle in order to properly carry out his/her assigned duties but whose principal duties are not operating a motor vehicle and his/her position is not classified as a motor vehicle operator. The incumbent will be required initially and annually to acknowledge and certify possession of a valid state driver's license. Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) OR Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) Programs provides placement assistance to permanent Federal employees who are surplus, displaced, or involuntarily separated. Applicants claiming CTAP/ICTAP eligibility must submit a copy of their most recent performance appraisal, proof of eligibility, and most current SF50 noting position, grade level, duty location with their application. To be considered under CTAP/ICTAP, applicants must be qualified (i.e., meet the minimum qualification requirements, including any selective placement factors; education, and experience requirements), and be able to perform the duties of the position upon entry. For more information visit: http://www.opm.gov/rif/employee\_guides/career\_transition.asp Additional selections may be made from this announcement if identical vacancies occur within 90 days from the closing date.