Forestry Technician (Fire Dispatch)

U.S. Department of the Interior; Durango (CO); On-site; USD 65,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

U.S. Department of the Interior in Durango, CO seeks a Forestry Technician (Fire Dispatch) to independently perform and coordinate complex wildland fire dispatch operations with advanced technical and operational expertise.

This is a temporary promotion not to exceed one year and may extend up to five years; it can become permanent without further competition. The incumbent manages priorities, resources, and data, coordinates aircraft flight following, and leads dispatch operations with a focus

Qualifications

• Must be a U.S. Citizen or National.
• Appointment subject to background investigation and favorable adjudication.
• Probationary period and training requirements may apply.
• May require on-call, evenings, weekends, holidays, overtime or shift work.

Responsibilities

• Establishes priorities and allocates resources for mobilization and reassignment of wildland fire suppression resources.
• Manages fuels, weather, and intelligence data.
• Coordinates aircraft flight following and ensures safe and efficient practices.
• Develops, implements, and updates Dispatch Operations Guide and related plans.
• Provides day-to-day technical direction for dispatch operations.
• Plans work, assigns tasks, and provides employee performance input.

Skills

Dispatch operations

Resource coordination

Fire weather data

Aviation coordination

Operations leadership

Tools

Dispatch Operations Guide

Job description

Summary

You will serve as a Forestry Technician (Fire Dispatch) in Durango, CO with the U.S. Wildland Fire Service. The incumbent independently performs and coordinates complex wildland fire dispatch operations, providing advanced technical and operational expertise. This is a temporary promotion not to exceed one year and can be extended up to five years. This temporary promotion may be made permanent without further competition.

Major Duties

• Establishes priorities, allocates resources and supervises the mobilization, demobilization, and reassignment of wildland fire suppression resources within the local, geographic, and national area.
• Manages fuels, weather, and intelligence data.
• Coordinates aircraft flight following and ensures safe and efficient practices are followed.
• Develops, implements, and updates Dispatch Operations Guide, Expanded Dispatch Plans, etc.
• Provides day-to-day operations technical direction.
• Plans work, assigns work, provides employee performance input.

Education

You must submit a copy of your transcript(s) to support claimed education if substituting education for experience. Transcripts must include your name, school name, grades, credit hours earned, major(s), grade point average or class ranking, and date the degree was conferred, if applicable. A typed list of courses, grades, semester/quarter hours, GPA, etc. will not be accepted. Non-submission may result in being rated not qualified for the position. Unofficial transcripts are acceptable, but if you are selected for this position and you used your education to qualify, you must provide official transcripts before you begin work. Foreign Education: To receive credit for education completed outside the United States, you must show proof that the education has been submitted to a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign educational credentials and such education has been deemed at least equivalent to that gained in conventional U.S. education programs. For more information on how foreign education is evaluated, visit: https://www.ed.gov/about/initiatives/international-affairs/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications

Requirements

• Must be a U.S. Citizen or National.
• Appointment subject to background investigation and favorable adjudication.
• Males born after 12-31-59 must be registered for Selective Service.
• Direct Deposit participation required.
• Successfully pass the E-Verify employment verification check. To learn more, visit https://www.e-verify.gov/.
• Must possess and maintain a valid driver's license throughout employment.
• Pre-employment and random drug testing is required. You will not be appointed to the position if a verified positive drug test is received.
• You may be required to complete training, obtain, and maintain a government credit card with travel and/or purchase authority.
• You may be required to work on-call, evenings, weekends, holidays, overtime and/or shift work.
• As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you may be required to serve a 1-year probationary period to evaluate your fitness and whether your continuation of employment advances the public interest.

This probationary period is an extension of the appointment process and therefore requires the agency to determine if continued employment would advance the public interest, meet the organization goals and mission of the agency, and/or otherwise promote the efficiency of the service. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, the agency will 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. Under applicable law, the employment of an individual serving a probationary or trial period automatically terminates when that period ends unless the agency affirmatively certifies, in writing, that the individual's employment should continue and that their appointment should be finalized. In the absence of agency action to affirmatively certify continued employment beyond the probationary or trial period, such appointments are terminated. 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.

Evaluations

Your qualifications will be evaluated based on your application materials (e.g. resume, documents), the responses you provide on the application questionnaire, and the result of the additional assessment(s) required for this position. Your resume must not exceed 2 pages. 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. You will be assessed in the following competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics): Communication Fire Management Problem Solving Stress Tolerance Telecommunications To be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process. In addition to the application and application questionnaire, this position requires a structured resume review by subject matter experts. This structured resume review by subject matter experts measures the critical competencies listed above that are required to successfully perform the job. The structured resume review includes a cut score based on the minimum level of required proficiency in these critical general competencies. You must meet or exceed the cut score to be considered. You will not be considered for the position if you score below the cut score. All qualified non-competitive applicants and the best-qualified Merit Promotion applicants will be referred to the hiring manager for consideration. DUE WEIGHT: Please submit 1) a copy of your most recent performance appraisal/evaluation dated within the last 18 months and 2) a list of any awards (e.g. superior performance awards, special act or achievement awards, quality step increase, etc.) you received in the last 5 years. Any performance appraisal/evaluation and award documentation you provide will be forwarded to the selecting official. The selecting official will review this documentation and give it due weight consideration during the overall selection process. If you do not have your most recent performance appraisal/evaluation, you must submit a statement as to why it is not available. Please indicate if any prior performance appraisals/evaluations were at an acceptable level. Overstating your qualifications and/or experience in your application materials or application questionnaire may result in your removal from consideration or your score may be lowered. Cheating on an assessment may also result in your removal from consideration. Providing false or misleading information on your resume or supporting documentation may result in removal from consideration or other action consistent with applicable federal hiring regulations. Applicants who include vulgar, offensive, or inappropriate language or information in your application package will be ineligible for further consideration for this position.

Benefits

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.

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,
2. complete 3 years of service in a primary rigorous position including any such service during which no FERS deductions were withheld,
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.

Other Information

PLEASE NOTE - these positions are covered under the new GW pay table specific to Wildland Firefighters. The salary listed in the announcement is for the 2026-RUS (GW) pay table. One or more positions may be filled from applications received under this announcement in the advertised office or other U.S. Wildland Fire Service offices in the local commuting area. Probationary Period Continued: The probationary period is an extension of the appointment process and therefore requires the agency to determine if continued employment would advance the public interest, meet the organization goals and mission of the agency, and/or otherwise promote the efficiency of the service. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, the agency will 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;
• whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service.

Under applicable law, the employment of an individual serving a probationary or trial period automatically terminates when that period ends unless the agency affirmatively certifies, in writing, that the individual's employment should continue and that their appointment should be finalized. In the absence of agency action to affirmatively certify continued employment beyond the probationary or trial period, such appointments are terminated. 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. Telework: The duties of this position are suitable for telework only during an emergency or natural disaster. Current surplus and current or former displaced Federal 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 receive consideration for special priority selection. Well qualified means that the applicant meets the following:

• OPM qualification standards for the position;
• all selective placement factors, where applicable;
• special qualifying conditions that OPM has approved for the position, where applicable;
• is physically qualified with reasonable accommodation, where appropriate to satisfactorily perform the duties of the position upon entry;
• and is rated by the organization at least at the well qualified level.