Supervisory Wildland Firefighter (Fire Program Supervisor)

US Office of the Secretary of the Interior; Salt Lake City (UT); On-site; USD 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

The US Office of the Secretary of the Interior's US Wildland Fire Service is seeking a Supervisory Wildland Firefighter (Fire Program Supervisor) GW-0456-13. Location will be negotiable within the Great Basin Geographic Area and can be filled at any DOI facility.

This Direct-Hire advertisement uses Direct Hire Authority; veterans preference is not applicable. Qualified candidates must meet selective placement factors and provide detailed wildland firefighting experience in the resume.

Qualifications

• Primary wildland firefighting experience documented in resume.
• Experience supervising a staff of fire professionals.
• Total years and hours must be documented.

Responsibilities

• Advise management on fire management planning and programs.
• Supervise fire and fuels programs staff.
• Coordinate policy and program implementation.

Skills

Wildland firefighting

Supervisory experience

Policy implementation

Documentation

Job description

This is a Direct-Hire advertisement. Veterans preference is not applicable to this advertisement. Learn more about this authority at: Direct Hire Authority

This Supervisory Wildland Firefighter (Fire Program Supervisor) position is with the US Wildland Fire Service, GW-0456-13, and can be filled at any DOI facility within the Great Basin Geographic Area boundary. Location will be negotiable upon selection.

US Wildland Fire Service Geographic Areas Map

In order to qualify for this position you must possess the Minimum Qualification requirements listed below.
To receive credit for experience, your resume MUST state either "full-time" (or "40 hours a week") or "part-time" with the number of hours worked per week to ensure proper crediting of specialized experience. Failure to adequately provide information needed to determine number of hours worked in each position may result in that time not being credited when evaluating qualifying experience. For periods of time that reflect military service, the DD-214 or Statement of Service is sufficient to meet the full and/or part-time hours requirement as the service dates will be reflected.

Selective Placement Factor(s): This position requires a special qualification that has been determined to be essential to perform the duties and will be used as a screen out element. Those who do not provide evidence they possess the following selective factor(s) will be rated not qualified.
1.) Prior Primary Wildland Firefighting Experience: 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.

In addition to the requirements described above, the following additional experience is required.

Only experience and education obtained by 10/14/2026 will be considered.

Credit will be given for all appropriate qualifying experience. Please be sure to include this information in your resume. No assumptions will be made about your experience.

Minimum Qualification

GW-13: One (1) year of specialized experience at the next lower grade level (GS/GW-12) in Federal service. Examples include: advising high level management officials on fire management planning and programs; evaluating, coordinating, directing and implementing policy to support wildland fire management programs; supervising or leading a staff of fire professionals responsible for fire and fuels programs.

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.

*Applicants must meet all minimum qualification requirements for the position of interest by the closing date of the Job Announcement.

Secondary Firefighter Retirement Coverage - Applicants for this secondary administrative fire fighter position under the provisions of 5 U.S.C. 8336 (c) (CSRS) and 5 U.S.C. 8412 (d), must possess knowledge of the principles, methods, and techniques of wildland firefighting as demonstrated by direct wildland firefighting experience. In order to receive credit, you must provide a written description of your experience in wildland firefighting. Education without hands-on wildland firefighting experience does not meet this requirement. Periods of wildland firefighting experience, gained through militia and rural fire departments, can also be credited. Wildland fire is defined as any non-structure fire that occurs in the wildland. Two distinct types of wildland fire have been defined and include wildfire and prescribed fires as follows: Wildfire: Unplanned ignitions or prescribed fires that are declared wildfires. Prescribed Fires: Planned ignitions. This description includes only fire line experience on a Prescribed Fire; it does not include experience in the planning stages. Prescribed fire experience must be supplemented by fire suppression experience in order to be creditable as previous wildland firefighting experience.

Physical Demands: Work is primarily sedentary, although it does require frequent travel by scheduled and chartered aircraft or ground vehicles to various destinations in the western U.S. Occasionally the incumbent must travel by foot to remote field locations to conduct technical investigations and site visits. During fire season, the position demands extended, and variable work shifts and on-call status while away from work.
Working Conditions: Most work is performed in an office or meeting room setting; occasionally exposure to risk or discomfort is encountered while conducting visits to the field due to extreme temperatures, topography, and remote living conditions. While on incident assignments, the incumbent may be exposed to temperature extremes, dust, smoke, noise, rugged topography, high-risk flight in fixed or rotor wing aircraft, extended outdoor living and high-stress emergency activities.