Wildland Firefighter - Senior Advisor

Summary

One position at the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, Idaho. Incumbent ensures effective coordination, resource integration, and policy alignment across organizational units and interagency partners, represents senior leadership in internal and external forums, and provides expert guidance on policy, program effectiveness, and strategic initiatives to support federal natural resource and public land management missions. For questions, contact Molly Anthony at [email protected].

Duties

Advise senior leadership on matters affecting the assigned national fire management portfolio and advance strategic initiatives aligned with organizational needs and mission priorities. Evaluate program effectiveness and efficiency, oversee policy implementation, recommend improvements, and manage multiyear strategic work plans and revisions. Advise senior leaders in developing budget guidance and business rules for the assigned national fire management portfolio and coordinate policy and budget alignment across organizational divisions. Exercise delegated discretionary authority, as assigned, to approve the allocation and distribution of organizational funds within the assigned portfolio. Collaborate with Agency and USWFS leadership and key management officials to resolve complex issues affecting the national fire management portfolio and build consensus on policy direction. Develop, maintain, and implement policies, procedures, standards, and process improvements within the assigned portfolio in coordination with senior management officials. Lead and participate in cross-functional initiatives to develop and implement policies, systems, performance frameworks, evaluation processes, governance models, analytical tools, and reporting mechanisms applicable to the assigned portfolio. Plan, coordinate, and oversee major initiatives and engage in multiagency and multidisciplinary coordination involving multiple levels of government and stakeholders to support national fire management program objectives.

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. Credit will be given for all appropriate qualifying experience. To receive credit for experience, your 2 page resume MUST clearly indicate the nature of the duties and responsibilities for each position, starting and ending dates of employment (month/year), and the resume must reflect total number of hours worked (i.e., work 40+ hours a week, rather than indicating full-time or part-time, hours must be included). If part-time, the hours must be annotated to be able to pro-rate the amount of qualified specialized experience. Resumes must not exceed two single-sided pages and resumes longer than two pages will not be accepted. You may only submit one resume. Only the document submitted as the "Resume" under the Documents section will be used to determine your qualifications/eligibility and for rating purposes. In the event you submit more than one resume, only the latest submission will be reviewed. If an applicant's resume is incomplete or does not support the requirements for minimum qualifications or specialized experience a rating of "ineligible" or "not qualified" will be applied and no consideration for employment will be granted. Prior primary wildland fire experience must be clearly documented in your resume. Note: an IQCS Master Record or equivalent document will not be used to determine or calculate prior primary wildland fire experience eligibility for this requirement. Basic Qualification Requirements: Candidates must possess Primary/Rigorous wildland firefighting experience, gained through fire line work in containment, control, suppression or use of wildland fire. You must clearly demonstrate this experience in your resume, including the months, days, and hours per week at which the work was performed to be considered. Applicants must have documented prior primary firefighting experience, with substantial service defined as either: At least one full fire season working in a primary wildland firefighting role (e.g., Engine Crew, Fire Effects Crew, Prescribed Fire/Fuels Crew, Hand Crew, Helitack Crew, Hotshot Crew, Smokejumper, Wildland Fire Modules or Fire Suppression Crews, etc.) with a federal, state, tribal, local, or private-sector organization. -OR- At least 14 days of on-the-ground fireline experience (cumulative or consecutive). Prior primary wildland fire experience must be clearly documented in your resume. Note: an IQCS Master Record or equivalent document will not be used to determine or calculate prior primary wildland fire experience eligibility for this requirement.; AND In addition to the requirements described above, the following additional experience is required: For the GW-14 level: At least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS/GW-13 level, or higher in the Federal service, or equivalent. Examples of specialized experience include: Applied wildland fire management experience to strengthen business management and administrative functions for a national fire program portfolio, advising leadership on operational priorities, resource needs, and strategic implementation. Supported budget planning and resource allocation by offering analytical insights, recommendations, and guidance on business rules, workforce considerations, procurement needs, performance reporting, and administrative processes to help align resources with mission priorities. Developed and implemented policies, procedures, governance processes, performance measures, analytical products, and reporting mechanisms to improve program effectiveness and support informed decision-making. Evaluated program operations, identified administrative and operational improvements, and coordinated corrective actions across organizational units. Represented program leadership in meetings and interagency engagements; resolved complex administrative and management issues; interpreted and applied policy and regulatory requirements; and coordinated with senior leaders, DOI offices, federal partners, Tribes, and other stakeholders to advance national fire management program objectives. This is a secondary-administrative firefighter position under the special retirement provisions of 5 U.S. C. 8336 (c) (CSRS) and 5 U. S. C. 8412 (d) (FERS). PLEASE NOTE: Applicants may meet qualification requirements but may not be eligible for special retirement coverage. If such an applicant is selected, they 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. Substantial 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,