This position is located with the FWS, Headquarters, Assistant Director, National Wildlife Refuge System, Branch of Fire Management, located at the Headquarters Office of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Falls Church, VA. Information about the surrounding area can be found at https://www.fallschurchchamber.org/ We expect to fill 1 position at this time; however, additional positions may be filled from this announcement if they become available.

Duties

Serves as the Deputy Chief of the FWS Fire Management Branch, and leads the day to day operations of the Branch and staff of national subject matter experts. Provides technical guidance, program review, operational oversight, coordination, and leadership in all aspects of fire management. Serves as an expert and technical authority at the National level of the FWS in all aspects of wildland fire management including the integration of wildland fire into natural resource management. Responsible for providing technical advice and guidance, program review, coordination, and leadership for the FWS fire management program. Represents the Fish and Wildlife Service in numerous Interagency and Departmental committees and work groups. Provides briefings to Department, Service, and Regional leadership.

Requirements

• U.S. Citizenship is required.
• Be sure to read the “How to Apply” and “Required Documents” Sections.
• Direct Deposit Required.
• Appointment will be subject to a favorably adjudicated background/suitability investigation/determination.
• 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.
• Supervisory Probationary Period: If you are selected for this position, you will be required to serve a one year supervisory/managerial probationary period if one has not previously been completed.
• You cannot hold an active real estate license: nor can you have an interest or hold stocks in firms with interest in Federal Lands.

Qualifications

Specialized Experience: In order to be rated as minimally qualified for this position, we must be able to determine that you meet the minimum qualification requirements - please be sure to include this information in your resume. No assumptions will be made about your experience. Failure to provide required information on resume could result in ineligibility for consideration. For GS-14: In addition to meeting the basic education requirement listed in the education section of this announcement, you must possess one (1) full year of specialized experience equivalent to GS-13 is required. Examples of specialized experience include: directing and managing a wildland fire management program on a regional or national scope which include the following: developing short and long-range strategic plans; formulating and implementing policies, budgets, standards and procedures: managing and supervising staff work on programmatic wildland fire issues; and, advising senior level management on controversial and complex natural resources issues and making recommendations. There is no substitution of education for specialize experience at the GS-12 and above grade levels. 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. You must meet all qualification requirements by the closing date of the announcement. Federal employees in the competitive service are also subject to the Time-In-Grade requirement in accordance with 5 CFR 300.604. If you are a current Federal employee in the General Schedule (GS) pay plan and applying for a promotion opportunity, you must have completed a minimum of 52 weeks at the next lower grade level. THIS IS A DRUG TESTING DESIGNATED POSITION in accordance with Executive Order 12564, and under the Department's Drug Free Workplace Program. 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. Firefighter Special Retirement (Secondary Coverage): 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 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.

Education

Proof of Education:
All applicants who are using education or a combination of education and experience to qualify must submit copies of official or unofficial transcripts which include grades, credit hours earned, major(s), grade point average or class ranking, institution name, and student name. If any required coursework is not easily recognizable on transcripts, or if you believe a portion of a particular course can be credited toward meeting an educational requirement, you must also provide a memorandum on letterhead from the institution's registrar, dean, or other appropriate official stating the percentage of the course that should be considered to meet the requirement and the equivalent number of units. Unofficial transcripts are acceptable; however, if you are selected for the position, you will be required to produce the original official transcripts.

Pass/Fail Courses: If more than 10 percent of your undergraduate course work (credit hours) were taken on a pass/fail basis, your claim of superior academic achievement must be based upon class standing or membership in an honor society.

Graduate Education: One academic year of graduate education is considered to be the number of credits hours your graduate school has determined to represent one academic year of full-time study. Such study may have been performed on a full-time or part-time basis. If you cannot obtain your graduate school's definition of one year of graduate study, 18 semester hours (or 27 quarter hours) should be considered as satisfying the requirement for one year of full-time graduate study.

Foreign Education:If you are using education completed in foreign colleges or universities to meet the qualification requirements, you must show the education credentials have been evaluated by a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign education. For further information, visit: http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html

This position has a positive education requirement to be qualified in the 0401 General Natural Resources Management and Biological Sciences Series.

0401 Natural Resources:
- Degree: biological sciences, agriculture, natural resource management OR
- Combination of education and experience: Courses equivalent to a major, as shown above, plus appropriate experience or additional education. chemistry, or related disciplines appropriate to the position.

Contacts

• Address NIFC, FWS Fire and Aviation Human Resources 3833 South Development Avenue Boise, ID 83705 US
• Name: FA-HR-Internal NIFC
• Phone: 208-387-5523
• Email: [email protected]