Incident Business Management Specialist (Wildland Fire)

Summary

You will serve as a Incident Business Management Specialist (Wildland Fire) with Office of the Secretary of Interior. The primary purpose of the position is to provide technical expertise, analysis, coordination, and support for the Service's incident business management program. 6 Vacancies, one in each of the following locations: Must reside within the Geographic Area selected for, Geographic Areas (GA) hiring are Alaska, Southern, Eastern, Rocky Mountain, California, and the Northwest.

Duties

Some of the major duties you will perform include but are not limited to the following: Prepares analytical summaries, reports, and data evaluations used by higher-level specialists to support national decision-making. Participates in audits, reviews, and assessments of incident business practices and recommends corrective actions. Oversees the incident business management program by developing policy, standards, priorities, procedures, and providing guidance to field staff. Assesses whether incident business management policies and regulations are being implemented, and when it may appropriate to make changes. Provides expert opinion and advice on agency and interagency regulations, policies, administrative and technical procedures, and standards for the incident business management program, which includes suppression and all-hazard incidents. Work with federal, state, and tribal partners to develop consistent policies, procedures, and standards. Managing fire business agreements, coordinating suppression cost recovery and payments, conducting audits, and preparing reports for agency leadership Providing guidance and assistance to field units for to field units incident business management. Duties will be developmental in nature when filled below the full performance level. Additional Information: For local information, please contact: Alaska GA - Aleshia Purcell @ [email protected] Southern GA - Liz Struhar @ [email protected] Rocky Mountain GA - Todd Yeager @ [email protected] California GA - Yvonne Morales @ [email protected] Northwest GA - Josh O'Connor @ [email protected] Eastern GA - Patrick Pearson @ [email protected] With Location Negotiable within a Geographic Area, location will be determined at the time of selection and the incumbent must physically report to a DOI Federal Office. US Wildland Fire Service Geographic Areas Map Alaska Position only: Special COLA Information for that location. Cost of Living Allowance: In addition to the yearly salary, this position is entitled to a cost-of-living allowance (COLA) as determined by https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leave/pay-systems/nonforeign-areas/#url=COLA-Rates .This allowance is subject to annual review, adjustment, and rate decrease. 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/. You are required to complete training, obtain and maintain a government credit card with travel and/or purchase authority. 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 1-year probationary period 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 1-year probationary period your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest. Qualifications

All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement - 11/27/2026-unless otherwise stated in this vacancy announcement. Competitive candidates must also meet Time-in-Grade requirements as defined in 5 CFR 300, Subpart F. Credit will be given for all appropriate qualifying experience. For current Federal employees, if hours worked per week are not included on your resume, you must submit a non-award SF-50 for each federal position listed as part of your application to be used to validate your work schedule and determine the amount of qualifying experience that you will be granted. An award SF-50 will not be acceptable documentation for which to consider your amount of qualifying experience. For all other applicants who are not current federal employees, 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. Minimum Qualification Requirements: To qualify for this position, you must meet the following minimum qualifications: Experience to qualify for this position at the GS-12 grade level: To qualify, you must possess at least one full year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-11 level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors). Specialized experience is defined as demonstrated experience: Applying wildland fire incident business policies. Reviewing incident costs, billings, collections, and vendor payments. Assisting with interagency agreements and cost-share arrangements. Using applicable laws and interagency standards, helping ensure compliance and resolve incident business issues. . You must include hours per week worked. Experience to qualify for this position at the GS-13 grade level: To qualify, you must possess at least one full year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-12 level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors). Specialized experience is defined as demonstrated experience: Independently working with incident business management. Processing and/or reviewing incident payroll, vendor invoices, collections, and payments. Coordinating agreements with partner agencies on shared costs and cooperative work plans. Interpreting and applying applicable laws and regulations in support of wildland fire incident business operations. *Applicants must meet all minimum qualification requirements for the position of interest by the closing date of the job announcement. Volunteer Experience: 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. Physical Demands: The work is primarily office oriented and requires performance under a variety of conditions to include sitting or standing in one position for long periods; intense concentration to detail; directing and making presentations; and participating in large and small groups, task groups, committees, or workshops. The work may require travel and periodic field work may be required Work Environment: Work is performed primarily in an office setting, but travel is required for meetings, training, onsite program reviews, and incident management operations. The incumbent may periodically assist in incident management activities upon request from Geographic Area units or the interagency community. Incumbent will be available for incident assignments as qualified and for special project assignments on an inter- and intra-agency basis commensurate with current qualifications. While performing these tasks, the incumbent may be subject to hazardous environmental conditions. During times of emergencies, long working hours may be required.

Education

IMPORTANT - PLEASE NOTE: There is no qualifying education for the 0301 series at the GW-12 or 13 grade level. Additional Information: Depending on location entitlements for payment of basic moving expenses, as required and to the extent allowed by the Federal Travel Regulation (FTR) 302-3.101, are authorized for eligible applicants changing duty station when the change meets the distance tests as provided in FTR 302-1.1 and 302-2.6. All moving expenses are taxable. 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. Promotion to the full performance level is neither guaranteed nor implied and will be based solely on your ability to satisfactorily perform the work of the position, existing work at the higher grade level, and recommendation by the position's supervisor. The duties of this position are suitable for telework and the selectee may be allowed to telework with supervisor approval. If otherwise eligible and qualified, you may be offered a recruitment or relocation incentive depending on location. The decision to offer an incentive will be made on a case-by-case basis and is neither promised nor guaranteed. For information visit: Recruitment Incentive or Relocation Incentive. A continued service agreement may be required if it is determined you are eligible for a permanent change in duty station (PCS), recruitment, or relocation incentive. 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. How You Will Be Evaluated

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. In addition to the application and application questionnaire, this position requires successful completion of the USA Hire Assessment, if required. The assessment 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 or fail to complete the assessment .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 their 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, AND 2) complete 3 years of service in a primary rigorous position including any such service during which no FERS deductions were withheld, AND 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

Reasonable Accommodation (RA) Requests: If you believe you have a disability (i.e., physical or mental), covered by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended that would interfere with completing the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, you will be granted the opportunity to request a RA in your online application. Requests for RA for the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments and appropriate supporting documentation for RA must be received prior to starting the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments. Decisions on requests for RA are made on a case-by-case basis. If you meet the minimum qualifications of the position, after notification of the adjudication of your request, you will receive an email invitation to complete the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, based on your adjudication decision. You must complete all assessments within 48 hours of receiving the URL to access the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments if you received the link after the close of the announcement. To determine if you need a RA, please review the Procedures for Requesting a Reasonable Accommodation for Online Assessments. (https://appsupport-usastaffing.opm.gov/hc/en-us/sections/45063131363475-Reasonable-Accommodation-Information) All DOI employees, their spouses, and minor children may not acquire or retain any claim, permit, lease, small tract entry, or other rights granted by the Department in Federal lands, with limited exceptions. Additional ethics prohibitions can be found here, DOI Ethics Prohibitions | U.S. Department of the Interior. 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; 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.