See Other Information.
OTHER INFORMATION:
Include specific dates concerning the 90 days of Wildland Firefighting experience in your Work History or Additional Information portion of your application.
These are permanent positions with varying tours of duty and may include weekend work. Some positions may have irregular and protracted hours of work. Tours of duty include full-time or less than full-time (guaranteed minimum 6 months/13 pay periods of full-time employment).
We expect to make a final job offer to selected candidates within 60-90 days after the issuance of the referral list.
Applications may be reviewed to verify qualifications and eligibility prior to issuing lists to a selecting official.
Please read the vacancy announcement thoroughly and follow all instructions to ensure proper consideration. If you are unable to apply on-line or have questions about the meaning of items in the vacancy announcement, please contact Human Resource Management at 1-877-372-7248 Option 2.
Those applicants not able to scan required documents can fax those documents to: (253) 573-9869 to have them attached to your application. Please make sure your name is on all documents.
The closing date will be dependent on USDA Forest Service needs (e.g. budget, length of season, etc.) Individual units will be issued Referral Lists to selecting officials throughout the life of this recruitment bulletin.
Some Fire positions may have Conditions of Employment such as: a valid state drivers license; a commercial drivers license (CDL); pre-appointment and random drug testing; or a physical or medical examination. There may be additional Conditions of Employment not listed here, however applicants will be notified of any specific requirements at the time a tentative job offer is made.
Applicants may choose up to nine (9) different location codes during the application process. Applicants are encouraged to contact those specific locations you are interested in working for to inquire about position availability.
There may still be some individual announcements advertised at various locations in this series, grade, and specialty. These announcements will be posted at the USAJOBS www.usajobs.opm.gov and ADS www.avuedigitalservices.com websites.
To obtain more information about the US Forest Service and individual locations, go to www.fs.fed.us (a search can be done by State or by Name). This "search feature" will provide you with access to Forest websites for contact information, such as phone numbers, duty locations, and addresses. Units will be able to provide you with further insight into available opportunities.
For questions related to the duties of the position please contact:
Alaska Area Fairbanks, AK / (907) 743-9462
Rocky Mountain Area Denver, CO / (303) 445-4302
Eastern Area Milwaukee, WI / (612) 713-7300
Southern Area Atlanta, GA / (678) 320-3001
Eastern Great Basin Salt Lake City, UT / (801) 531-5320
Southern California Riverside, CA / (951) 320-6109
Northern California Redding, CA / (530) 226-2812
Southwest Area Albuquerque, NM / (505) 842-3880
Northern Rockies Missoula, MT / (406) 329-4709
Western Great Basin Reno, NV / (775) 861-6509
Northwest Area Portland, OR / (503) 808-2732
As a condition of employment, all male applicants born after December 31, 1959, must have registered for the selective service. If selected for this position, the applicant must sign a statement certifying his registration, or the applicant must demonstrate exempt status under the Selective Service Law.
Applicants must be U.S. citizens or nationals.
You can apply for a non-competitive appointment if you meet the basic eligibility requirements and you are eligible for special appointment such as those authorized for the severely disabled; veterans with service-connected disabilities of 30 percent or more; returned volunteers from the Peace Corps or Vista, etc. Appropriate documentation to support this claim for eligibility will be required. Please indicate the type of special appointment you are seeking, if any, on your application and follow all other instructions for applying shown in this announcement.
Generally, preference is granted to veterans who entered military service prior to October 14, 1976; or served on active duty during the period from August 2, 1990, through January 2, 1992, and who are otherwise eligible; or who served on active duty during the period beginning September 11, 2001, and ending on the last day of Operation Iraqi Freedom; or who have served in a military action for which they received a Campaign Badge or Expeditionary Medal. This includes the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal (AFEM) awarded to those who participated in Operation Joint Endeavor or Operation Joint Guard. Also, you may be entitled to veterans' preference if you are a disabled veteran; you have received a Purple Heart; you are the spouse or mother of a disabled veteran; or you are the widow, widower, or mother of a deceased veteran. You will need to submit a Standard Form (SF) 15 and proof of your claim. If you are claiming 5-point veterans' preference, or you are applying for consideration under the Veteran Employment Opportunity Act or Veteran Readjustment Authority, attach a copy of your DD-214 "Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty" or other proof of eligibility. If you are applying for consideration under the 30% or more Disabled Veteran Authority, you must attach a SF-15, "Application for 10-Point Veterans' Preference" plus the proof required by that form.
If you are an eligible Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP) or Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP) applicant you may apply for special selection over other applicants for this position. Individuals who have special priority selection rights under the Agency Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP) or the Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP) must be well qualified for the position. To be well qualified, applicants must satisfy all qualification requirements for the vacant position. CTAP/ICTAP eligibles must submit one of the following as proof of eligibility for the special selection priority: a separation notice; a "Notice of Personnel Action" (SF-50) documenting separation; an agency certification that you cannot be placed after injury compensation has been terminated; an OPM notification that your disability annuity has been terminated; OR a Military Department or National Guard Bureau notification that you are retired under 5 U.S.C. 8337(h) or 8456.
Please check Job Posting Information, Summary, for the area of consideration (i.e., Who May Apply), and time limit information.
Bargaining Unit Status: Eligible - Coverage is dependent upon unit location.
TIME-IN-GRADE REQUIREMENT: If you are a current federal employee in the General Schedule (GS) pay plan and applying for a promotion opportunity, you must meet time-in-grade (TIG) requirements with 52 weeks of service at the next lower grade level in the normal line of progression for the position being filled. This requirement must be met within 30 days of the closing date of this announcement OR within 30 days of the date a referral list is issued for open continuous announcements. Former federal employees applying to positions at a higher graded position than previously held may be subject to TIG requirements as well.
BASIS OF RATING: You will be rated based on your qualifications for this position as evidenced by the education, experience, and training you recorded in the work experience or resume relative to this position which show the degree to which you possess the knowledge, skills, and abilities listed on this vacancy announcement.
To receive consideration for this position, you must meet all qualification requirements within 30 days of the closing date of the announcement or within 30 days of the generating a referral list from an Open Continuous Announcement. Applicants are strongly encouraged to ensure the work history portion thoroughly documents the duties, responsibilities, and accomplishments that are directly related to this position in order to verify specialized experience.
Applications submitted in postage-paid Government envelopes will not be accepted.
Applications received become the property of the USDA Forest Service and will not be returned.
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in all of its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability, and where applicable, sex, marital status, familial status, parental status, religion, sexual orientation, genetic information, political beliefs, reprisal, or because all or part of an individual's income is derived from any public assistance program. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.) Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for communication of program information (Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) should contact USDA's Target Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TDD). To file a complaint of discrimination, write USDA Director, Office of Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue, S.W., Washington DC 20250-9410 or call (800) 795-3272 (voice) or (202) 720-6382 (TDD). USDA IS AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY PROVIDER AND EMPLOYER.
REASONABLE ACCOMMODATION: The USDA Forest Service provides reasonable accommodations to applicants with disabilities. If you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application and hiring process, please contact the point of contact listed on the vacancy announcement. The decision on granting reasonable accommodation will be made on a case-by-case basis.
Relocation expenses are authorized.
Entrance on duty is contingent upon completion of a pre-employment security investigation. The position may require a Confidential, Secret, or Top Secret security clearance or be subject to a Public Trust background investigation at the time of appointment, and may be subject to reinvestigation every five years thereafter. A favorable adjudication of the clearance or background investigation at the time of appointment and on reinvestigations is a condition of employment.
FIREFIGHTER RETIREMENT COVERAGE: This is a secondary firefighter position under 5 USC 8336(c) (CSRS) and 8412(d) (FERS). At least 90 days of 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.
DIRECT DEPOSIT: All Federal employees are required to have Federal salary payments made by direct deposit to a financial institution of their choosing.
This position is being advertised under both merit promotion (internal) and demonstration project (external) procedures under separate announcements. Applicants who wish to be considered under both procedures must apply to each announcement and follow the specific instructions applicable to each method.
Veterans: Under the Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 as amended by Section 511 of the Veterans Millennium Health Care Act (Public Law 106-117), veterans who are preference eligibles or who have been separated from the armed forces after substantially completing 3 years of continuous service performed under honorable conditions may apply and will be considered for this position under merit promotion procedures.
Applicants covered by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Career Transition Assistant Program (CTAP) or Intergovernmental Career Transition Program (ICTAP) may apply and will be given priority consideration if determined to be well-qualified. Well-qualified is defined as meeting the qualification standards, selective factors, quality ranking factors, and physical qualifications under the Agency's specific selection process.
Initial appointment is subject to satisfactory completion of training.
Completion of a probationary or trial period may be required, depending on the type of appointment. During this time period, employee's conduct and performance will be monitored in order to determine if employee will be retained.
OTHER IMPORTANT INFORMATION: Check our website at: http://www.fs.fed.us/fsjobs for general information on the Forest Service.
PERMANENT OPEN CONTINUOUS ANNOUNCEMENT: This is a continuously open vacancy announcement for one or more locations throughout the Forest Service. The number and location of positions to be filled will be dependent upon individual unit needs. These are permanent positions with varying tours of duty and may include weekend work. Some positions may have irregular and protracted hours of work. Tours of duty include full-time or less than full-time (guaranteed minimum 13 pay period's full-time employment). Positions may be filled as career ladders or could be filled at the full performance level dependent upon the individual unit's needs. Availability of government housing, federal day care facilities, and bargaining unit status will vary by location. Pay rates vary depending on location. See the OPM website at www.opm.gov for additional information on pay rates.
To ensure that you receive consideration, applications submitted through the on-line application process must be received by 11:59 p.m. eastern time the day before a referral list is issued. When there are no applicants for specific locations, the search area may be broadened when generating referral lists to include locations in the closest city nearby. To obtain more information about the US Forest Service and individual locations, go to www.fs.fed.us (a search can be done by State or by Name). We encourage applicants to contact supervisors at the chosen locations for specific information. To ensure continued interest and availability, applicants will be notified via e-mail reminding them to re-certify their application every 60 days. Applicants must be at least 18 years of age upon appointment. Some positions have other conditions of employment not specified in this announcement. Applicants will be notified of any specific requirements at the time a tentative job offer is made.
Applicants may choose up to nine (9) different location codes.
HOW TO APPLY: In order to determine if you meet the eligibility and qualification requirements for this position, please submit the following information:
1. Experience/Employment Information: Apply On-Line at www.avuedigitalservices.com/usfs/applicant.html. This online application process allows applicants to submit employment information that can be printed for personal use and saved and/or edited on the website for future use. The application process contains all the data elements that are required for resumes submitted for federal employment and may be submitted electronically.
2. Eligibility Information: The following documents are required with your application to verify eligibility and basic qualifications. If you are unable to attach these documents into your application, you may fax them to 253-573-9869. To ensure consideration, you must include your name on all documents. Failure to provide this documentation may result in disqualification.
a. Applicants applying under the VRA or VEOA authorities must submit a DD-214, Member 4 copy to verify eligibility. If applicable, submit a SF-15, Application for 10-Point preference and a letter dated 1991 to present from the VA or military department indicating your disability rating. If you are still on active duty, then you must submit one of the following documentation: (1) official orders or citation entitling you to a campaign badge; (2) statement of service from a commanding officer or someone else in authority attesting to your active duty which identifies dates of entry and anticipated separation; rank at time of discharge; and anticipated character of discharge; or (3) in the case of someone claiming service during the first Gulf War or since 9/11/01, any official document attesting to your presence on active duty during the appropriate calendar periods.
b. Spouses of military veterans who are applying under the noncompetitive hiring authority for certain military spouses must provide applicable supporting documentation prior to appointment, if selected.
c. Transcripts (official or unofficial) from accredited institutions if education is used to meet basic qualifications requirements. You may be required to provide official transcripts if selected.
d. Applicants not currently employed with the Forest Service must submit an SF-50 Notification of Personnel Action or equivalent document to verify current or former federal employment status.
e. Applicants requesting priority placement consideration under the Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP) or Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP) must provide the Notice of Expected Separation or other proof document.
3. The following documents are optional but encouraged:
a. Resume.
b. Performance appraisal information for current Federal employees.