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Summary In this position you will work as a member of the Mount Weather Emergency Operations Center (MWEOC), Emergency Services Division, Fire Services Branch. The MWEOC facility is located in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia, approximately 60 miles west of Washington, DC. The ideal candidate for this position will have experience in hazardous firefighting and rescue operations and currently hold the necessary firefighter certifications for the position. Responsibilities All MWEOC staff have emergency assignments and are considered deployed in place. Exercises and activations are planned and unplanned, and may require long hours, nights, weekends and holidays. All MWEOC employees are: (1) required to use a government-issued electronic device (to include cellular phones); (2) subject to recall during emergency situations; and (3) required to perform work in locations both above and below ground. What will I do in this position if hired? In this position, you will serve as a Firefighter (BLS/Hazmat Tech) responsible providing a full range of fire protection and prevention support activities to the Mount Weather Emergency Operation Center (MWEOC). Typical assignments include: Using, operating and maintaining firefighting trucks and equipment (lines, hand tools, pumps, nozzles, foam generators). Operating emergency equipment to control and extinguish hazardous fire situations in a variety of structures. Performing BLS assessment and treatment of patients. Providing emergency duties responding to HazMat, technical rescue, aviation and other related incidents. NOTE: The salary range indicated in the announcement is for the basic GS pay scale and is not reflective of special firefighter pay for the applicable tour of duty. What else do I need to know? At FEMA, our mission is to help people before, during and after disasters, and every employee at FEMA has a role in emergency management. Every FEMA employee has regular and recurring emergency management responsibilities, though not every position requires routine deployment to disaster sites. All positions are subject to recall around the clock for emergency management operations, which may require irregular work hours, work at locations other than the official duty station, and may include duties other than those specified in the employee's official position description. Travel requirements in support of emergency operations may be extensive in nature (weeks to months), with little advance notice, and may require employees to relocate to emergency sites with physically austere and operationally challenging conditions. Promotion Potential: Future promotions will be dependent on your ability to perform the duties at a higher level, the continuing need for an employee assigned to the higher level, and administrative approval. Requirements Conditions of Employment To ensure the accomplishment of our mission, DHS requires every employee to be reliable and trustworthy. To meet those standards, all selected applicants must undergo, successfully pass, and maintain a background investigation for a Top Secret clearance as a condition of placement into this position. This may include a credit check after initial job qualifications are determined, a review of financial issues, such as delinquency in the payment of debts, child support and/or tax obligations, as well as certain criminal offenses and illegal use or possession of drugs (please visit: Mythbuster on Federal Hiring Policies for additional information). For more information on background investigations for Federal jobs please visit OPM Investigations. Please ensure you meet the qualification requirements described below. Key Requirements: You must be a U.S. citizen to apply for this position. You must successfully pass a background investigation. Selective Service registration required. Current federal employees must meet time-in-grade requirements. You must be able to obtain and maintain a Government credit card. You must be able to deploy with little or no advance notice to anywhere in the United States and its territories for an extended period of time. Please review the Additional Information section for additional key requirements. Firefighter certification requirements after 12 months and/or 24 months of appointment. (The below are required certifications in order to be able to promote within the career ladder series.) For the GS-6: Candidates must be able to obtain a Driver/Operator Pumper certification within 12 months of appointment if they do not already possess this certification. For the GS-7: Candidates must be able to obtain a Driver/Operator Pumper and National Registry EMT certification within 12 months of appointment if they do not already possess this certification. For the GS-8: Candidates must be able to obtain a National Registry EMT certification within 12 months of appointment if they do not already possess this certification. For the GS-8: Candidates must be able to obtain a Fire Inspector I, Hazardous Materials Technician and Confined Space Rescue certification within 24 months of appointment if they do not already possess this certification. Qualifications Current Federal employees must have served 52 weeks at the next lower grade or equivalent grade band in the Federal service. The time-in-grade requirement must be met within 30 days of the closing date of this announcement. To qualify for this position at the GS-06 level, you must possess one full year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-05 level in the Federal government, which has equipped you with the skills needed to successfully perform the duties of the position. Experience may be obtained in the federal government, a state or local government, or private sector, and must demonstrate the following: Responding to rescue and fire emergencies for an emergency response unit OR; Using firefighter and rescue emergency equipment and/or vehicles OR; Working with a team and providing CPR/AED services within established protocols. To qualify for this position at the GS-07 level, you must possess one full year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-06 level in the Federal government, which has equipped you with the skills needed to successfully perform the duties of the position. Experience may be obtained in the federal government, a state or local government, or private sector, and must demonstrate the following: Controlling and extinguishing fires for a variety of structures OR; Using and maintaining firefighter and EMS equipment and vehicles OR; Working with a team and providing EMS services within established protocols. To qualify for this position at the GS-08 level, you must possess one full year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-07 level in the Federal government, which has equipped you with the skills needed to successfully perform the duties of the position. Experience may be obtained in the federal government, a state or local government, or private sector, and must demonstrate the following: Controlling and extinguishing fires in difficult and dangerous situations for a variety of response settings OR; Ensuring firefighting, rescue and EMS equipment and vehicles are operational and ready for use OR; Taking immediate action to rescue trapped or injured persons and rendering treatment. AND In addition to the minimum qualifications described above, you must currently possess the following certification(s) to be considered qualified for the position. You must upload a copy of your Firefighter transcript(s) or each certificate at time of your application. Failure to upload your transcript(s) or each certificate will result in the applicant being removed from consideration. Firefighter certification required to upload for the GS-6: Fire Fighter I Fire Fighter II Hazardous Materials Awareness Hazardous Materials Operations CPR/AED Valid State Driver's License Firefighter certification required to upload for the GS-7: Firefighter I Firefighter II Hazardous Materials Awareness Hazardous Materials Operations Current State or National Registry Emergency Medical Technician (Basic, Advanced, or Paramedic) Valid State Driver's License Firefighter certification required to upload for the GS-8: Firefighter I Firefighter II Hazardous Materials Awareness Hazardous Materials Operations Current State or National Registry Emergency Medical Technician (Basic, or Paramedic) Driver/Operator Pumper This is a primary firefighter position under the special retirement provisions of 5 U.S.C. 8336(c) and 8412 (d). Appointees to positions covered under these provisions must not have reached their 37th birthday at the time of initial appointment. Applicants over age 37 with previous firefighter experience under CSRS/FERS, may have their previous firefighter experience credited to determine if age requirement met. Special Retirement Provisions for Primary/Rigorous Firefighter: This position has been designated as eligible for FERS special retirement coverage per 5 CFR 842.801(a)(l), 5 CFR 842.803(a)(l) covered by 5 USC 8412(d) or CSRS special retirement coverage per 5 CFR 831.903(a) covered by 5 USC 8336(c). Please read the following important information to ensure we have everything we need to consider your application: Do not copy and paste the duties, specialized experience, or occupational assessment questionnaire from this announcement into your resume as that will not be considered a demonstration of your qualifications for this position. Please limit your resume to two pages. The USAJOBS database will not allow an applicant to submit an application that includes a resume over two pages. Your resume serves as the basis for experience related qualification determinations, and you must highlight your most relevant and significant work experience and education (if applicable), as it relates to this job opportunity. Please use your own words, be clear, and specific when describing your work history. We cannot make assumptions regarding your experience. Are you qualifying based on your work experience? Qualifications are based on your ability to demonstrate in your resume that you possess one year of the specialized experience for this announcement at a comparable scope and responsibility. To ensure all of the essential information is in your resume, we encourage you to use the USAJOBS online Resume Builder. If you choose to use your own resume, it must contain the following information organized by experience/position: (1) job title, (2) name of employer, (3) start and end dates of each period of employment (from MM/DD/YY to MM/DD/YY), (4) detailed description of duties performed, accomplishments, and related skills, and (5) hours worked per week (part-time employment will be prorated in crediting experience). Federal experience/positions must also include the occupational series, grade level, and dates in which you held each grade level. Are you a current or former FEMA Reservist/DAE employee? To accurately credit your experience from intermittent positions and Reservist Deployments, you must list the dates (from MM/DD/YY to MM/DD/YY) of deployments that are relevant to your qualifying experience, along with the job title and specific duties you were responsible for during each deployment. Determining length of General or Specialized Experience is dependent on the above information. Failure to provide the above information in your resume may result in your application being found "not qualified." 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 provides valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. For additional information on crediting experience and/or education, please reference the OPM General Schedule Qualification Standards Education No Educational Substitution: There is no educational substitution for this position, and you must meet the qualifications listed in the "qualifications" section of this announcement. Additional Information If you receive a conditional offer of employment for this position, you will be required to complete an Optional Form 306, Declaration for Federal Employment, and to sign and certify the accuracy of all information in your application, prior to entry on duty. False statements on any part of the application may result in withdrawal of offer of employment, dismissal after beginning work, fine, or imprisonment. The Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs Act prohibits the Department of Homeland Security and its Components from requesting an applicant's criminal history record before that individual receives a conditional offer of employment. In accordance with 5 U.S. Code § 9202(c) and 5 C.F.R § 920.201 certain positions are exempt from the provisions of the Fair Chance to Compete Act. Applicants who believe they have been subjected to a violation of the Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs Act, may submit a written complaint to [email protected]. DHS uses E-verify, an internet based system, to confirm the eligibility of all newly hired employees to work in the United States. Learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities. The Department of Homeland Security encourages persons with disabilities to apply, to include persons with intellectual, severe physical or psychiatric disabilities, as defined by 5 CFR § 213.3102(u), and/or Disabled Veterans with a compensable service-connected disability of 30 percent or more as defined by 5 CFR § 315.707. Veterans, Peace Corps/VISTA volunteers, and persons with disabilities possess a wealth of unique talents, experiences, and competencies that can be invaluable to the DHS mission. If you are a member of one of these groups, you may not have to compete with the public for federal jobs. To determine your eligibility for non-competitive appointment and to understand the required documentation, click on the links above or contact the Servicing Human Resources Office listed at the bottom of this announcement. A one-year probationary period is required for new Federal competitive service employees and new supervisors and managers. Applying to this announcement certifies that you give permission for DHS to share your application with others in DHS for similar positions. During the application process you will have an option to opt-in to make your resume available to hiring managers in the agency who have similar positions. Opting in does not impact your application for this announcement, nor does it guarantee further consideration for additional positions. This is a Bargaining Unit position. This position has been identified as a Testing Designated Position (TDP) because of its security, public health, and/or public safety sensitivity, you are subject to random drug testing under FEMA's Drug-Free Workplace Plan (DWP). Refusal to be tested will result in disciplinary action up to and including removal from federal service. Pre-employment physical is required prior to appointment. Required to have a valid State Driver's License. Please DO NOT upload a photocopy of your license with your application.