National Fire Danger Rating System Program Manager

This National Fire Danger Rating System Program Manager position is with Forest Service (Department of Agriculture) in Phoenix, AZ. This position is located within the National Office Fire and Safety, Fire and Aviation Management (FAM) organization. The incumbent is responsible for providing fire management support on an interagency basis to all wildland fire management agencies in the United States. For additional information about the duties of this position, please contact Nicholas Skowronski at nicholas.s.skowronski@usda.gov. Key duties: • Duties listed are at full performance grade GW-13. • Provides national level leadership, coordination, oversight, and program management for the national fire danger program and technology. • Provides technical advice and participates in the analysis of fire management program requirements to design, develop, and implement methods to integrate emerging science and new technologies into national fire management programs. • Manages and provides oversight on the full range of analytical tools used for bureau and interagency fire management planning. Coordinates and supports the use of geospatial information technology in strategic fire management planning. • Provides guidance to the field units on collection and evaluation of fire danger, fire hazard risk, fuels, historic fire occurrence, fire effects, climatology and weather. • Establishes and maintains cooperative relationships with public and private groups, state, tribal, and local governmental groups and other federal agencies related to wildland fire management planning activities. • Facilitates interagency agreement on contentious issues concerning resource usage, funding allocations, and long range strategies in the regional, multi-regional area, or between agencies. Qualifications: 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. Basic Requirement: Degree: Biological Sciences, Agriculture, Natural Resource Management, Chemistry, or related disciplines appropriate to the position. OR Combination of education and experience: Courses equivalent to a major course of study in biological sciences, agriculture or natural resources management, chemistry or at least 24 semester hours in biological sciences, natural resources, wildland fire management, forestry, or agriculture equivalent to a major field of study, plus appropriate experience or additional education that is comparable to that normally acquired through the successful completion of a full 4-year course of study in the biological sciences, agriculture, or natural resources. In addition to meeting the basic requirement, you must also possess experience and/or directly related education in the amounts listed below. 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. Specialized Experience Requirement: GW-12: Applicant must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GW-11 level. Examples of specialized experience may include: Assisted with developing fire management plans with diverse and/or unprecedented elements for ecological soundness and technical adequacy; Assisted with extensive field inspections before and after prescribed or wildland fires to determine if resource objectives were achieved and/or to evaluate the effectiveness of actions taken; Developed complex and difficult analyses on the ecological role of fire and its use and/or exclusion, and smoke management; Assisted with complex prescribed fire/fuels management activities requiring coordination with cooperating agencies, such as using professional forest or range inventory methods, (e.g., Brown's planar intercept for dead and down fuels or live loading assessments; analysis of fuel loadings and determining fuel treatment methods and programming; land use planning and environmental coordination; evaluation of prescribed burn plans or fire management plans for fire containment and identification of suppression contingencies if containment is not obtained). GW-13: Applicant must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GW-12 level. Examples of specialized experience may include: Reviewed and evaluated fire management plans with diverse and/or unprecedented elements for ecological soundness and technical adequacy; Conducted or directed extensive field inspections before and after prescribed or wildland fires to determine if resource objectives were achieved and/or to evaluate the effectiveness of actions taken; Developed complex and difficult analyses on the ecological role of fire and its use and/or exclusion, and smoke management; Directed complex prescribed fire/fuels management activities requiring coordination with cooperating agencies, such as using professional forest or range inventory methods, (e.g., Brown's planar intercept for dead and down fuels or live loading assessments; analysis of fuel loadings and determining fuel treatment methods and programming; land use planning and environmental coordination; evaluation of prescribed burn plans or fire management plans for fire containment and identification of suppression contingencies if containment is not obtained); Directed complex fire management operations activities by analyzing and applying complex fire management strategies and/or coordinating complex operations with cooperating agencies, mobilization and dispatch coordination, fire prevention and education training, logistics, equipment development and deployment, fire communication systems, suppression and preparedness, aviation. Selective Placement Factors FIREFIGHTER RETIREMENT COVERAGE: This is a secondary firefighter position under 5 USC 8336 (CSRS) and 8412(d) (FERS). Prior wildland firefighting experience is required. There is no age limit for entry into secondary positions. Firefighter retirement coverage of the incumbent depends upon his or her individual work history. To receive consideration for this position, you must provide updated required documents and meet all qualification requirements by the closing date of this announcement. View the full announcement and apply on USAJOBS.gov.