Fire Chief

US-Department-of-Veterans-Affair; Town of Tomah (WI); On-site; USD 85,000 - 110,000; Full time

Job summary

The Tomah VA Medical Center in Wisconsin seeks a Fire Chief to manage the fire department and ensure readiness, safety, and compliance across the medical campus facilities.

Applicants must have specialized GS-11 level experience including firefighting, hazard prevention, training, and personnel coordination, and must hold a current state drivers license. This position requires a valid SPF and English proficiency for direct patient care settings.

Qualifications

• Specialized experience at GS-11 level or equivalent in fire service.
• Experience includes firefighting, rescue operations, hazard prevention, and training.
• Ability to oversee fire department operations and ensure readiness across a medical campus.

Responsibilities

• Manage and supervise fire department operations.
• Conduct inspections and enforce fire codes and safety standards.
• Coordinate training and evaluate staff performance.
• Ensure operational readiness of personnel and equipment.

Skills

Firefighting experience

Emergency response

Fire prevention & safety inspections

Training & development

Operations management

Job description

This position is located at the Tomah VA Medical Center, Tomah, Wisconsin and is organizationally aligned under Facilities Service. The position performs a variety of administrative and supervisory tasks and functions to operate and maintain a fully trained and responsive fire department on the medical center grounds.

Specialized Experience (GS-11): One (1) full year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level (GS-9) in the federal service that has given me the particular knowledge, skills and abilities required to successfully perform the duties of a Fire Chief. Specialized experience includes:

1. controlling or extinguishing fires as a member of an organized fire department;
2. conducting rescue and emergency response operations;
3. detecting, reducing, or eliminating fire and life-safety hazards through inspections, investigations, and fire prevention activities;
4. operating fire communications and emergency response equipment;
5. responding to and controlling hazardous materials incidents;
6. developing, implementing, coordinating, or providing training in fire protection, fire prevention, hazardous materials response, emergency preparedness, and firefighter safety programs.

Specialized experience also includes: administering fire protection and prevention programs; conducting fire and life-safety inspections; ensuring compliance with applicable fire codes, safety regulations, accreditation standards, and hazardous materials requirements; supervising personnel by assigning work; coordinating training; evaluating performance; managing staffing requirements, and ensuring operational readiness of personnel and equipment.

NOTE: Experience must be fully documented on your resume and must include job title, duties, month and year start/end dates AND hours worked per week. A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. Part-time experience will be credited on the basis of time actually spent in appropriate activities. Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must clearly indicate the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such employment.

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SELECTIVE PLACEMENT FACTOR (SCREEN-OUT)

A Selective Placement Factor (SPF) has been identified for this position. Selective Placement Factors (SPF) are a prerequisite to appointment and represent minimum requirements for the position. Applicants who do not meet the SPF are ineligible for further consideration.

The SPF for this position is: a current, valid, state-issued Driver's License (NOTE: We cannot accept photographs, therefore; please do not submit a copy of your driver's license with your application package. If an interview is requested, you may be required to provide a copy of your current and valid state-issued driver's license.)

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ENGLISH LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY

In accordance with 38 U.S.C. 7402(d), No person shall serve in direct patient care positions unless they are proficient in basic written and spoken English. You must be proficient in basic written and spoken English in order to meet the requirements of this position.

MAXIMUM AGE REQUIREMENT:

This position requires a maximum entry age for an initial appointment; applicants cannot have reached their 37th birthday by the date of appointment. Applicants who have passed the designated entry age limit, but who have previously served as a Federal employee in a covered position, may be eligible to re-enter the fire service provided that they: (1) meet all applicable qualifications for the position and (2) will be able to complete a total of 20 years of covered and creditable Federal firefighter service by the time the firefighter reaches the age of 57. Prior service in covered positions and creditable towards retirement may be subtracted from the applicant's age to determine if the Federal firefighter meets the maximum entry age.

Supervisory Situational Judgment Test

Applicants will be required to complete a Supervisory Situational Judgment Test (SSJT) as part of the assessment process for this position. The SSJT evaluates judgment and decision-making skills that align with relevant competencies, organizational values, and best practices. Assessment results may be used as part of the evaluation, ranking and referral process. This is not a timed test, however, the assessment is expected to take approximately 45 minutes or less to complete. The assessment for this application does not include a cut score for a minimum level of required proficiency in these critical general competencies. However, you must answer each item in the assessment.

Important: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. All experience listed on your resume must include the month and year start/end dates. Part-time experience will be credited on the basis of time actually spent in appropriate activities. Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must indicate clearly the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such employment.

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.

Your qualifications will be evaluated based on your application materials (e.g., resume, supporting documents), your responses on the application questionnaire, and your responses to all assessments required for this position. You will be assessed on the following Competencies for this position:

• Conflict Management
• Influencing/Negotiating
• Manages Resources
• Partnering
• Planning and Evaluating

Physical Requirements:

The work required does not inherently include any physical requirements essential for successful job performance that could not otherwise be performed with accommodation or workplace adjustment. A pre-placement physical examination is not required.

For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/.