Fire Dispatch (Forestry Technician)

This is a Direct-Hire advertisement. Veterans' Preference is not applicable to this advertisement. Learn more about this authority at: Direct Hire Authority

This Fire Dispatch (Forestry Technician) position is with the US Wildland Fire Service, GW-0462-4/5/6/7 working in the following locations:

• Shoshone, ID
• Elko, NV
• Ely, NV
• Minden, NV
• Winnemucca, NV
• Vale, OR
• Colville, WA
• Casper, WY

You may select up to SEVEN locations. Not all locations may be hiring for all grades.Qualifications:

In order to qualify for this position, you must possess you must meet the Selective Factor andthe Minimum Qualification requirements listed below.

Selective Placement Factor: 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.

Prior on-the-line firefighting: This experience must be clearly documented in your resume with specific to and from dates, description of work performed, and hours worked per week in order to be considered. This is an administrative position in an organization having a firefighting mission and is in an established career path. Prior firefighting experience, as gained by substantial service in a primary firefighter position or equivalent experience outside the Federal government, is a MANDATORY PREREQUISITE. Candidates must possess substantial wildland firefighting experience, gained through fire line work in containment, control, suppression or use of wildland fire. The Department of the Interior defines wildland firefighting experience as any non-structure fire that occurs in the wildland. Wildland firefighting experience is gained through work on the fire line in containment, control, suppression or use of wildland fire. This experience can be met by serving in a temporary, seasonal, or equivalent private sector fire position. Wildland fires are categorized into two distinct types: (1) Wildfires - Unplanned ignitions or prescribed fires that are declared wildfires; and (2) Prescribed Fires - Planned ignitions. This description includes only fireline 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.

In addition to the requirements described above, the following additional experience is required.

Only experience and education obtained by 04/22/2026 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 Qualifications:

To qualify for a GW-4, you must meet at least one of the following:
1). Six (6) months of general work experience, which can be any work experience AND six (6) months of specialized work experience equivalent to the GW/GS-3 level duties.
Examples of specialized work experience may include but are not limited to:
Performing dispatch work or equivalent experience that provided familiarity with dispatch operations and procedures, such as performing wildland fire suppression duties or working with fire/dispatch computer programs.
-OR-
2). Two (2) years of education above the high school level which included at least 12 semester hours in any combination of the following courses: forestry, agriculture, crop or plant science, range management or conservation, wildlife management, watershed management, soil science, natural resources (except marine fisheries and oceanography), outdoor recreation management, civil or forest engineering, or wildland fire science. No more than 3 semester hours of mathematics is creditable toward this requirement.
-OR-
3). A combination of the education and experience described above.

To qualify for a GW-5, you must meet at least one of the following:
1). One (1) year of specialized work experience equivalent to the GW/GS-4 level duties.
Examples of specialized work experience may include but are not limited to:
Performing dispatch or dispatch office functions related to wildland fire suppression activities such as determining priorities and selecting alternative resources while independently performing dispatch operations duties.
-OR-
2). A successful completion of a 4 year course of study above high school leading to a bachelor's degree with either 1. a major study in forestry, range management or agriculture; or a subject matter field directly related to the position; OR 2. at least 24 semester hours in any combination of the following courses: forestry, agriculture, crop or plant science, range management or conservation, wildlife management, watershed management, soil science, natural resources (except marine fisheries and oceanography), outdoor recreation management, civil or forest engineering, or wildland fire science. No more than 6 semester hours of mathematics is creditable. The level of the course work must have been equivalent to at least the junior and senior year levels of a baccalaureate program.
-OR-
3). A combination of education and experience as described above.

To qualify for a GW-6, you must meet at least one of the following:
1). One (1) year of specialized work experience equivalent to the GW/GS-5 level duties.
Examples of specialized work experience may include but are not limited to:
Performing dispatch and dispatch office functions related to wildland fire suppression activities such as receiving and reviewing fire incident reports, working with wildland fire dispatch computer programs, and/or determining fire resource needs.
-OR-
2). One (1) year of graduate level education directly related to this position.
-OR-
3). A combination of education and experience directly related to the work of the position.

To qualify for a GW-7, you must meet at least one of the following:
1). One (1) year of specialized work experience equivalent to the GW/GS-6 level duties.
Examples of specialized work experience may include but are not limited to:
Performing and directing others in dispatch and dispatch office functions related to wildland fire suppression activities, providing logistical support information and making recommendations for efficient use of available resources.
-OR-
2). One (1) year of graduate education directly related to this position.
-OR-
3). A combination of education and experience directly related to the work of the position.

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 minimum qualification requirements for the position of interest by the closing date of the Job Announcement.

Physical Demands: The work involves long hours of sitting, intense concentration, and working at peak proficiency/intensity levels with irregular breaks and mealtimes. Must be able to cope with the pressure of meeting timeframes and changing priorities. Mental concentration and accuracy are required. Vehicle and aircraft travel associated with field visits and other administrative travel may be required.

Work Environment: Work is performed primarily in an office setting. During peak activity, increased radio traffic, numerous ringing phones, and conversations result in high noise levels, which require a high level of concentration to perform duties. The duties of this position create a highly stressful environment during peal activity, requiring the ability to keep calm in emergency situations.

Education:PROOF OF EDUCATION: All applicants who are using education or a combination of education and experience to qualify must submit copies of official or unofficial transcripts which include grades, credit hours earned, major(s), grade point average or class ranking, institution name, and student name. If any required coursework is not easily recognizable on transcripts, or if you believe a portion of a particular course can be credited toward meeting an educational requirement, you must also provide a memorandum on letterhead from the institution's registrar, dean, or other appropriate official stating the percentage of the course that should be considered to meet the requirement and the equivalent number of units. Unofficial transcripts are acceptable; however, if you are selected for the position, you will be required to produce the original official transcripts.

GRADUATE EDUCATION: One academic year of graduate education is considered to be the number of credits hours your graduate school has determined to represent one academic year of full-time study. Such study may have been performed on a full-time or part-time basis. If you cannot obtain your graduate school's definition of one year of graduate study, 18 semester hours (or 27 quarter hours) should be considered as satisfying the requirement for one year of full-time graduate study.

FOREIGN EDUCATION: If you are using education completed in foreign colleges or universities to meet the qualification requirements, you must show the education credentials have been evaluated by a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign education programs and such education has been deemed equivalent to that gained in an accredited U.S. education program; or full credit has been given for the courses at a U.S. accredited college or university. For further information, visit: Recognition of Foreign Qualifications | International Affairs Office (ed.gov).Employment Type: OTHER

Salary : $23