Wildland Firefighter (Fire Management Planning)
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Before you apply
Salary$98k – $147k
LocationMissoula, Montana, United States; Boise, Idaho, United States
Work modeon-site
Typefull-time
SenioritySenior
Experience1+ yrs
DepartmentFire and Aviation Management
Company size10,000+ people
PostedOct 26, 2026 · 1w ago
Verified live1d ago
At a glanceSummarised by Seekless from the posting.
Must pass the Work Capacity Test for certain Interagency Fire Program Management or Fire Program Management positions.
Prior wildland firefighting experience is required.
Willing to live/work in remote locations (volatile/unpredictable).
One year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GW-11 level.
One year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GW-12 level.
Must be a U.S. Citizen or National.
Males born after 12-31-59 must be registered for Selective Service or exempt.
Subject to satisfactory 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.
Successfully pass the E-Verify employment verification check.
Must be 18 years of age.
This is a drug testing designated position. You will be subject to pre-employment and random drug testing.
Skills
software
modeling
Benefits
Relocation incentive
Recruitment incentive
Daycare facilities
Summary
This position is located within the National Office Fire and Safety, Fire and Aviation Management (FAM) organization.
Responsibilities
The incumbent is responsible for developing fire planning policies and preparedness procedures consistent with national-level guidance, coordinating information between national, geographic area, and field units to ensure readiness for wildfire response.
For additional information about the duties of this position, please contact Shawn Steber at [email protected].
Requirements
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Must be a U.S. Citizen or National.
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Males born after 12-31-59 must be registered for Selective Service or exempt.
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Subject to satisfactory adjudication of background investigation and/or fingerprint check.
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Per Public Law 104-134 all Federal employees are required to have federal payments made by direct deposit to their financial institution.
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Successfully pass the E-Verify employment verification check. To learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities, visit E-Verify.
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Must be 18 years of age.
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This is a drug testing designated position. You will be subject to pre-employment and random drug testing. Appointment is based on a negative result. This announcement constitutes 30 days advance notice.
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Must pass the Work Capacity Test for certain Interagency Fire Program Management or Fire Program Management positions.
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Secondary Coverage: Prior wildland firefighting experience is required.
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Willing to live/work in remote locations (volatile/unpredictable).
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Some Fire positions may have Conditions of Employment such as: a valid state driver’s license; a commercial driver’s license (CDL); pre-appointment and random drug testing; or a physical or medical examination.
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As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider: your performance and conduct; the needs and interests of the agency; whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service. Upon completion of your probationary period your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.
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.
Your application and resume must clearly show that you possess the experience requirements. Transcripts must be provided for qualifications based on education. Provide course descriptions as necessary.
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.
Specialized Experience Requirement:
GW-12: Applicant must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GW-11 level. Examples of specialized experience may include: Provided expertise for short and long term strategic fire management planning, assessments, and interagency and/or unit fire management plans; Evaluated the technical aspects and effectiveness of existing wildland fire and aviation management programs and providing recommended changes or initiatives to improve the overall efficiency and success of the programs; Performed data collection and evaluation of fire hazard risk, fuels, historic fire occurrence, fire effects, climatology and weather and providing wildland fire planning technical support and coordination with fire management officers, land or resource management staffs, and planners throughout the local area.
GW-13: Applicant must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GW-12 level. Examples of specialized experience may include: Provided program management direction and expertise for interagency and/or national forest and grasslands fire planning efforts; Provided program leadership and consultation for short and long term strategic fire management planning, assessments, and interagency and/or unit fire management plans; Utilized specialized software and modeling to evaluate the effectiveness of fire and aviation management strategies to meet land and resource management goals and objectives; and Developed annual program of work, including budget allocations, discretionary spending accounts, and severity requests.
Selective Placement Factors
FIREFIGHTER RETIREMENT COVERAGE: This is a secondary firefighter position under 5 USC 8336 (CSRS) and 8412(d) (FERS).
Prior wildland firefighting experience is required. There is no age limit for entry into secondary positions. Firefighter retirement coverage of the incumbent depends upon his or her individual work history.
To receive consideration for this position, you must provide updated required documents and meet all qualification requirements by the closing date of this announcement.
Education
There is no substitution of education for specialized experience for this position.
How you will be evaluated
This is a Direct-Hire Authority position, all applicants who meet the minimum qualifications, to include any selective placement factor(s), if applicable, will be referred to the selecting official. Before a certificate is issued to the selecting official, the resume is reviewed to ensure that you meet all the qualification requirements. A rating will not be used; veteran’s preference does not apply due to the existence of the Direct Hire authority for this position.
Selections made under this authority will be processed as new appointments to the civil service. Current civil service employees would be given a new appointment.
Note: If, after reviewing your resume and/or supporting documentation, a determination is made that you have inflated your qualifications and or experience, you may be found ineligible. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your rating. Providing inaccurate information on Federal documents could be grounds for non-selection or disciplinary action up to including removal from the Federal service.
To view the application form, visit: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/13088542
Required documents
The following documents are required for your applicant package to be complete. Encrypted documents will not be accepted. Failure to submit required, legible documents may result in loss of consideration.
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Resume that includes: Personal Information: name, address, contact information; Education; Work Experience related to this position as described in the major duties including work schedule, hours worked per week, dates of employment; title, series, grade (if applicable); other qualifications. Resume cannot exceed 2 pages
Surplus or displaced employees eligible for CTAP, RPL, or ICTAP priority must provide: proof of eligibility (RIF separation notice, notice of proposed removal for declining a transfer of function or directed reassignment to another commuting area, notice of disability annuity termination), SF-50 documenting separation (as applicable), current performance appraisal with rating of at least “Fully Successful” or equivalent, and your most recent SF-50 noting position, grade level, and duty location with your application per 5 CFR 330.
How to apply
Please view Tips for Applicants - a guide to the Forest Service application process.
Please read the entire announcement and all instructions before you begin. You must complete this application process and submit all required documents electronically by 11:59p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on the closing date of this announcement.
Applying online is highly encouraged. We are available to assist you during business hours (7:00 a.m. - 3:30 p.m., Mountain Time Zone, Monday - Friday). If applying online poses a hardship, contact the Agency Contact listed below well before the closing date for an alternate method. All hardship application packages must be complete and submitted no later than noon ET on the closing date of the announcement to be entered into the system prior to its closing. Resumes must not exceed two pages.
This agency provides reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities on a case-by-case basis; contact the Agency Contact to request this.
To begin, click “Apply” and follow the instructions to complete the Assessment Questionnaire and attach your resume and all required documents.
Please verify that documents you are uploading from USAJOBs transfer into the Agency’s staffing system as there is a limitation to the number of documents that can be transferred. However, once in the Agency’s staffing system, you will have the opportunity to upload additional documents. Uploaded documents must be less than 5MB and in one of the following document formats: GIF, JPG, JPEG, PNG, RTF, PDF, TXT or Word (DOC or DOCX). Do not upload Adobe Portfolio documents because they are not viewable. Encrypted documents will not be accepted. Failure to submit required, legible documents may result in loss of consideration. Please ensure your resume does not exceed two pages. Applicants who submit a resume that exceeds two pages will be removed from consideration.
Our office cannot be responsible for incompatible software, your system failure, etc.
Other information
Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP), Reemployment Priority List (RPL), or Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP): To exercise selection priority for this vacancy, CTAP/RPL/ICTAP candidates must meet the basic eligibility requirements and all selective factors.
This is a permanent, full-time position and may include weekend work.
The duty station for this position will be at one of the duty locations listed in this announcement. Salary range as shown is the locality pay Rest of U.S. (RUS). Pay rates vary by location. Please visit the Office of Personnel Management’s website for additional information on pay rates.
Benefits
Recruitment or Relocation Incentive may be authorized. Final determination to pay an incentive will be made by the hiring official at time of job offer.
The Forest Service may use certain incentives and hiring flexibilities, currently offered by the Federal government, to attract highly qualified candidates. Additional Information is available on the OPM Website.
PROMOTION POTENTIAL: If you are selected for a position with further promotion potential, you will be placed under a career development plan, and may be non-competitively promoted if you successfully complete the requirements and if recommended by management. However, promotion is neither implied or guaranteed.
This is a bargaining unit position and is represented by NFFE.
Forest Service daycare facilities may be available.
Government Housing is not available.