Forest Service, Department of Agriculture
Redding, CA | #government
THIS IS AN OPEN CONTINUOUS ANNOUNCEMENT.
This type of announcement provides the Forest Service with a readily available source of applicants when vacancies occur.
Eligibility and qualifications will be verified when there is a vacancy for the location and grade for which you applied.
Information on specific locations where jobs are being filled and the dates applications are due for these locations can be found on the Forest Service website.
See ADDITIONAL INFORMATION section for details.
Smokejumpers are a National resource.
Jumpers travel all over the country, including Alaska, to provide highly-trained, experienced firefighters and leadership for quick initial attack on wildland fires in remote areas.
For more information about the smokejumping program in the Forest Service click Here.
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.
Your application and resume must clearly show that you possess the experience requirements.
Transcripts must be provided for qualifications based on education.
Provide course descriptions as necessary.
Smokejumper duties present unusual hazards and require that personnel be in excellent physical condition and possess a high degree of emotional stability and mental alertness.
The health of individuals must be such that they have the capacity to meet demands for performance in the position and for human reliability.
Before entrance on duty, and periodically during employment, smokejumpers must undergo a medical exam, physical conditioning, and an adeptness test.
Failure to meet any of the required standards will be considered disqualifying for employment or a basis of termination.
See Medical Requirements for Smokejumper Positions During the training period, incumbents are continually evaluated on their ability to demonstrate a high level of proficiency in various aspects of parachute jumping and smokejumper-related tasks, including aircraft exit procedures, parachute landing falls, parachute maneuvering, timber let-down procedures, parachute and cargo retrieving, tree climbing, and chainsaw and hand tool use.
Incumbents who cannot perform up to the required standards of proficiency will be terminated from the smokejumper program.
Smokejumpers must perform safely and efficiently in extreme temperatures and weather conditions, often with severe smoke and dust.
Terrain may be extremely steep, uneven, rocky, and covered with thick tangled vegetation.
Conditions riding in aircraft may be hot, cramped, and extremely turbulent, which may promote airsickness.
The hazardous nature of the work requires that protective clothing (jump suit, helmet, boots, gloves, fire resistant clothing, etc.) be worn and protective equipment, including fire shelters, be carried.
Specialized Experience Requirement: For the GS-10: One year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-09 level in the Federal Service.
Examples of specialized experience include: Assisting with one or more program responsibilities such as: loft, operations, training, loadmaster, and/or prescribed fire.
Directing initial and extended attack suppression actions such as determining incident needs, and dispatch/deployment of personnel and equipment.
Assisting in anticipating needs for loft-related equipment.
Assisting in maintaining service life records of parachuting equipment and determining air worthiness of equipment.
OR A Ph.D.
or equivalent doctoral degree or 3 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree or LL.M.,(coursework must be directly related to the position being filled such as forestry, range management, agriculture).
OR An appropriate combination of specialized experience and graduate level education (beyond what is required for a master's degree, i.e., more than 36 semester hours leading to a Ph.D.).
For the GS-11: one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-10 level.
Examples of specialized experience include: Assisting with more than one smokejumper program responsibilities such as: loft, operations, training, loadmaster, and/or prescribed fire.
Assessing various fire management factors such as fuels, suppression capability, resistance to control, ignition probability, predicted rate of spread, and flame height and weather.
Maintaining accurate inventory of loft materials, parachutes, supplies, and equipment.
Assisting in researching and/or developing smokejumper equipment design improvements and development of new equipment.
OR A Ph.D.
or equivalent doctoral degree or 3 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree or LL.M.,(coursework must be directly related to the position being filled such as forestry, range management, agriculture).
OR An appropriate combination of specialized experience and graduate level education (beyond what is required for a master's degree, i.e., more than 36 semester/54 quarter hours leading to a Ph.D.).
The education must have been obtained in an accredited college or university and demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work.
Selective Placement Factors A minimum 90 days experience performing on-the-line (Primary/Rigorous) wildland fire suppression duties as a member of an organized fire suppression crew or comparable unit that utilized knowledge of wildland fire suppression, containment or control techniques and practices under various conditions.
This experience must be documented with specific dates in the online application or resume.
Experience and qualifications in smokejumping is required.
Must be qualified as a FAA Master Parachute Rigger and must be eligible to apply as a FAA Designated Parachute Rigger Examiner (DPRE) In order to be considered for this position, copies of your Incident Qualification and Certification System (IQCS) Master Record (or equivalent training documents) which contain documented proof of the certification or attainment of the IFPM Selective Placement Factor for this position MUST be attached to your application.
Red cards are not acceptable documentation.
Currency Requirement: Required to maintain currency once hired into the position.
Currency of NWCG qualifications is not required for selection.
If not currently qualified, the applicant must provide documented evidence that they have been fully qualified in the past, and are able to regain currency within one year of being hired.
Failure to provide this documentation will result in disqualification.
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.
FIREFIGHTER RETIREMENT COVERAGE: This is a secondary position covered under the special retirement provisions of 5 USC 8336(c) for the Civil Service Retirement System and of 5 USC 8412(d) for the Federal Employees Retirement System.
WORK CAPACITY TEST (WCT) for Wildland Firefighters: This position participates in wildland firefighting activities.
Based on the type of work performed, TAKING and PASSING the WCT at the ARDUOUS level is a condition of employment.
To receive consideration for this position, you must provide updated required documents and meet all qualification requirements by the closing date of this announcement.
Deadline: 2021-08-12
(9 days left)
Salary: 58K-83K Per Year
How to Apply
Please follow the application procedure at www.usajobs.gov for more info.
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