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Office of the Secretary of the Interior

Forestry Technician (Fire Dispatch)

Department of the Interior · Multiple Locations

Salary
$48,424 - $68,844 per year
Pay grade
GW-4 to 5
Schedule
Full-time
Appointment
Permanent
Opened
Oct 20, 2026
Closes
Nov 10, 2026
Remote
No
Telework eligible
Yes
Security clearance
Not Required
Promotion potential
5
Announcement
WFSDHA-27-13095163-CGR1

Who may apply: Career transition (CTAP, ICTAP, RPL) · Open to the public

Apply on USAJOBS

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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 Forestry Technician (Fire Dispatch) position is with the US Wildland Fire Service, GW-0462-04/05 working in the listed locations. In order to be considered for any duty location, ensure desired locations are selected. Applicants will not be considered for locations not selected.

Duties

  • As a Forestry Technician (Fire Dispatch) your duties will include but are not limited to the following: Receive fire reports, determines location, land status, and current fire information to dispatch personnel, equipment, aircraft, and/or supplies. Maintain resource status and tracking systems. Input data into a number of fire-related computer applications. Monitor all fire radio communications and maintain telephone and radio conversation logs. Gathers data to perform briefings and provide information to supervisors and fire management personnel. Duties listed are at the GW-05 full performance level.

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. 1. This is an administrative position in an organization having a firefighting mission and is clearly 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 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 11/10/2026 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-04 level: Six months of general experience and six months of specialized experience equivalent to the GW-03 level in the federal service. General experience is defined as demonstrated experience: Any type of work that demonstrates the applicant's ability to perform the work of the position, or experience that provided a familiarity with the subject matter or processes of the broad subject area of the occupation. Specialized experience may be substituted for general experience. Specialized experience is defined as demonstrated experience: 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- Successful completion of 2 years of study that included at least 12 semester hours in any combination of courses such as 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 in mathematics…

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. PASS/FAIL COURSES: If more than 10 percent of your undergraduate course work (credit hours) were taken on a pass/fail basis, your claim of superior academic achievement must be based upon class standing or membership in an honor society. 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…

Job data from USAJOBS.gov. Careers.org is not affiliated with or endorsed by OPM. Retrieved Nov 4, 2026, 4:21 AM EST.