Wildland Fire GIS Specialist

Summary This is a Direct-Hire advertisement. Veterans preference is not applicable to this advertisement. Learn more about this authority at: Direct Hire Authority This Wildland Fire GIS Specialist position is with the US Wildland Fire Service, GW-0456-12 working in the Northern Rockies Geographic Area. Location is negotiable after selection. Selectee must be able to physically report to an official DOI building. Responsibilities As a Wildland Fire GIS Specialist your duties will include but are not limited to the following: Develops and updates GIS-based situation awareness products to support wildland fire management planning cycles, multi-agency and multi-incident coordination. Establishes, maintains, and documents authoritative incident situation and fire intelligence-related datasets used for mapping. Provides highly technical advice to GIS staff at lower organizational levels; mentors others in standardized production methods, data stewardship, and operational product requirements. Works with other DOI and USWFS offices and Federal, State, Tribal, and local agencies to coordinate data capture and analysis projects supporting wildland fire planning. Independently determines information needs and policy requirements for fire management planning and decision support within the organization assigned. Requirements Conditions of Employment Must be a U.S. Citizen or National. Suitability for Federal employment, as determined by background investigation. Direct Deposit Required. You will be required to submit to a drug test and receive a negative drug test result prior to appointment. In addition, this position is subject to random testing for illegal drug use. A condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary period during which your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest will be evaluated. Individuals assigned male at birth after 12-31-59 must be registered for the Selective Service. To verify registration visit SSS.gov. You may be required to travel overnight away from home up to 25% of the time per month. You must obtain a government charge card for travel purposes. You may be required to complete training and obtain/maintain a government charge card with travel and/or purchase authority. Qualifications 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. 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 10/12/2026 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 For the GW-12 level: At least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GW-11 level, or higher, in the Federal service, or equivalent, is required. Examples of specialized experience include: Advising on common GIS business practices, planning, policy, and program development for local use; Contributing to the development of guidelines, regulations and policies concerning GIS and GPS use; Providing technical assistance to solve unique or complicated problems through GIS technology and computer applications. IMPORTANT - PLEASE NOTE: There is not an option to qualify for the 0456 series utilizing education at this grade level. 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 selective placement factors and 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 but may require extended periods of computer use, irregular work hours, and shift work during U.S. Wildland Fire Service incident operations. May involve light physical activity such as moving equipment, setting up workspaces, or occasional travel in field or incident base environments. Work Environment: Work is primarily performed in an office/computer room environment but may also be performed in incident command posts, temporary facilities, or mobile environments supporting U.S. Wildland Fire Service wildland fire incidents, often under austere conditions. The employee may be exposed to long work hours, high operational tempo, and the inherent risks associated with wildland fire incidents, though not typically engaged in direct firefighting activities. Education Additional Information The Special Base Rate (SBR) Salary Table for Federal wildland firefighters, General Wildland Firefighter (GW) pay plan effective March 23, 2025 was used to indicate the salary in this announcement. Salaries may vary dependent upon location selected. You can access the new pay schedule here. Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) or Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP): Department of Interior (DOI) Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) procedures apply in filling this vacancy. These programs apply to employees who have been involuntarily separated from a federal service position within the competitive service or Federal service employees whose positions have been deemed surplus or no longer needed. To receive selection priority for this position, you must: (1) meet CTAP or ICTAP eligibility criteria; (2) be rated well-qualified (i.e., meet the minimum qualification requirements, including any selective placement factors; education, and experience requirements) for the position, and be able to perform the duties of the position upon entry. Applicants claiming CTAP/ICTAP eligibility must submit a copy of their most recent performance appraisal, proof of eligibility, and most current SF-50 noting position, grade level, and duty location with their application. For more information visit: http://www.opm.gov/rif/employee\_guides/career\_transition.asp. Reemployment Priority List (RPL): The RPL is the mechanism agencies use to give reemployment consideration to their former competitive service employees separated by a RIF or who have fully recovered from a compensable injury after more than one year. If you are currently on an RPL, you may be given priority consideration. PCS Information: No PCS entitlements authorized Additional Vacancies: 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. Reasonable Accommodation: The USWFS provides reasonable accommodations to applicants with disabilities. Please visit USAJOBS Help Center | Reasonable accommodation policy if you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application and hiring process. Probation/Trial Period Con't: Probationary period: As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you may be required to serve a 1 year probationary period during which your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest will be evaluated. Under completion of your probationary period your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.