Forestry Technician (Fire Dispatch)
Forest Service · Department of Agriculture
This job in plain English
This is a temporary Forest Service job as a fire dispatcher on a wildland fire crew, based in a National Forest. The agency has many openings in Oregon and Washington, including La Grande, Medford, Redmond, Colville, East Wenatchee and Vancouver. It uses direct hire, so applicants who meet the minimum requirements go straight to the selecting official without a points-based rating.
Can you apply?
Yes, if you are a U.S. citizen: this job is open to everyone.
- Open to everyoneAny U.S. citizen or national can apply. Some jobs also accept non-citizens; the announcement says so.
This job is open to the public, but only U.S. citizens, U.S. nationals, or people who owe allegiance to the U.S. can apply. Veterans' preference does not apply because the agency is using direct hire.
What you would do
- Receive, fill and track resource requests for fire and emergency incidents.
- Request additional resources from higher organizational levels when needed.
- Maintain resource tracking systems and operate telecommunications systems.
- Collect and submit fire reports, smoke permits and other incident information.
- Process weather information to help set staffing and preparedness levels.
- Enter data into fire computer systems and review the results.
Do you qualify for GW-5?
With experience: You need one year of specialized experience at about the GS-4 level, such as filing documents in a dispatch office, preparing dispatch maps or plans, or processing requests for equipment, people and supplies for fire incidents. Prior wildland firefighting experience is also required.
With education: A bachelor's degree, or 4 years of education after high school (120 semester hours), with major study in forestry, range management, agriculture or a closely related field can qualify you. Otherwise, at least 24 semester hours in courses such as forestry, wildlife management, natural resources or wildland fire science can qualify you, with no more than 6 semester hours of math. The school must be accredited, and education can be combined with experience.
How to apply well
What to send:
- Resume with name, contact information, education, and work history
- Resume showing job title, grade, dates, hours per week and duties for each job
- Resume must not exceed 2 pages
- College transcripts if you use education to qualify (unofficial copy is fine to apply)
- Evidence of accreditation if education was completed at a foreign school
- Proof of priority eligibility, such as a RIF notice, if you apply under CTAP, RPL or ICTAP
How you will be rated: Your resume and application are checked to confirm you meet the minimum qualifications, and those who do are referred to the selecting official. The agency may lower your standing or find you ineligible if it decides you have overstated your qualifications, and errors or missing information can also affect your review.
Tips for this job:
- Keep your resume to 2 pages or less, because a longer resume will get you removed from consideration.
- List hours per week and exact dates for each job, since the announcement asks for them.
- If you use education to qualify, upload your transcripts with your application and send official copies if you are selected.
Good to know before you apply
Schedule: Full-time. Occasional overnight travel may be required for fire suppression or fire-related assignments.
Conditions of employment:
- Must be a U.S. citizen or U.S. national
- Males born after 12/31/1959 must be Selective Service registered or exempt
- Background investigation and/or fingerprint check
- Direct deposit of federal pay required
- Must be at least 18 years old
- Must pass E-Verify employment check
- Pre-appointment drug test, then random drug testing
- Must be willing to live and work in remote locations
- Occasional overnight travel may be required for fire assignments
- Secondary firefighter position; no age limit for entry
- Temporary job, up to 6 months or up to 1 year not-to-exceed
We wrote this summary automatically from the official announcement. The announcement on USAJOBS is the only one that counts: read it before you apply.
Job details
- Salary
- $25.00 per hour
- Pay scale and grade
- GW-5 · GW
- Locations
-
- Vancouver, Washington
- Colville, Washington
- East Wenatchee, Washington
- Location Negotiable After Selection
- Redmond, Oregon
- Medford, Oregon
- La Grande, Oregon
- Appointment
- Temporary
- Work schedule
- Full-time
- Service
- Competitive
- Openings
- Many
- Security clearance
- Other
- Travel
- Occasional travel
- Drug test
- Not required
- Supervisory
- No
- Occupation
- Forestry Technician (0462)
- Announcement
- 27-TEMPF3-R6-FS0936-5DH
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