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Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation's mission is to help ensure that Montana's land and water resources provide benefits for present and future generations. TheDNRCbelieves employees are their most important asset. The DNRC empowers employees to exercise professional judgment in carrying out their duties. Employees are provided with the training and tools necessary to achieve the mission. Both team effort and individual employee expertise are supported and sustained. Work Unit Overview: The mission of the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation (DNRC) is to ensure that Montana's land and water resources provide benefits for present and future generations. The Missoula Unit represents the DNRC’s, Forestry and Trust Land Management Divisions within its assigned areas of Granite, Missoula, Mineral, and Ravalli counties. Specifically, the Missoula Unit Fire Program protects the natural resources for the benefit of all Montanans through aggressive fire prevention and suppression on approximately 670,000 acres of state, private, and federal land. A large portion of the land area is wildland urban interface which presents a complex fire management situation. Job Overview: * This position is located at Missoula Unit and is a crucial position that will provide leadership both off and on the line to the Unit engine crews. This position may also be responsible for various Trust Land Management Division (TLMD) duties. This position has primary responsibilities to coordinate, implement, and supervise wildland fire initial attack personnel and equipment to provide a safe and effective fire management capability for the Unit. Work assignments require cooperation and coordination with County, State, and Federal agencies, the general public, permanent and seasonal employees, and private contractors. The position administers seasonal activities related to wildland fire protection, the maintenance of buildings, grounds, and vehicles, and fire-related program projects of the Unit. The incumbent may attend county fire meetings and plan and coordinate county fire trainings. One of the priorities for the Missoula Unit is our cooperator relationships, therefore the Fire Operations Specialist will help build and maintain relationships with the adjoining DNRC Units, surrounding National Forests and other federal agencies, and surrounding counties. This position may directly supervise the engine crews as directed by the Assistant Fire Management Officer and Fire Management Officer. The Unit Assistant Fire Management Officer supervises this position. This position also assists with Unit fire prevention work and duties. This position will assist forest management duties concerning forest improvement and timber sale administration. *Essential Functions (Major Duties or Responsibilities): These job functions are the essential duties of the position and are not all-inclusive of all the duties that may be assigned to the incumbent. 1. Fire Management and Coordination Fire Management Program: The incumbent has the responsibility to plan, coordinate, and supervise several concurrent activities within the Unit Fire Program or where assigned. 1. Directs ground and air operations as the Incident Commander on complex initial attack, multi-resource, extended-attack, and wildland urban interface fires. Supervises control actions, orders needed resources, and provides for accountability of personnel and equipment. Develops strategies and tactics to successfully suppress fires in a timely and cost-effective manner. Provides direction and training for developing Incident Commanders as well as other ICS positions as appropriate. 2. Gathers specific and highly variable fire-site information in the form of fire behavior, fuels, weather, topography, and resources at risk details to formulate and execute a safe and effective control plan for wildland fires. Solicits additional information from subordinates to evaluate strategic decisions made and adjusts, if needed, to attain control objectives. 3. Investigates fires to determine the point of origin and cause. Must recognize, protect, and secure evidence, which oftentimes is very difficult to locate or recognize and can be easily destroyed by fire suppression activities. 4. Ensures fire crew personnel and equipment are at the appropriate state of readiness commensurate with changing fire potential. Ensures initial attack readiness of Unit fire crews and equipment in order to provide rapid and effective control of wildland fires. Takes action to enhance fire readiness by prepositioning resources or assigning tasks and worksites to meet anticipated fire response needs. 5. Serves as Duty Officer for the Unit on a rotational basis during fire season. The Duty Officer is required to be available by pager, radio, or telephone to provide a contact person for the dispatch center, public, and cooperators after business hours and on weekends. The Duty Officer receives reports of wildfires and must initiate an appropriate response of manpower and equipment commensurate with actual or anticipated fire conditions. The Duty Officer also coordinates manpower and equipment to support requests from the Interagency Dispatch Center for off-unit fire assignments. 6. Assists the Assistant Fire Management Officer to ensure seasonal Unit fire personnel are competent to perform job performance requirements through training and on the job demonstration. 7. Monitors subordinates to ensure proper safety procedures are followed in accordance with agency standards and guidelines. Promptly corrects unsafe practices or conditions to prevent accidents or injuries. 8. Assists the Assistant Fire Management Officer in wildland fire training for Unit personnel, fire crews, emergency firefighters, and others by instructing classroom sessions and conducting field exercises to evaluate performance. Supports the County Co-Op Program by providing training and serving as a course coordinator for County Co-Op Courses. Provides support to the training section of the Fire Management Bureau and Land Office by acting as an instructor at local, area, and state level training courses. Participate in zone level (interagency) training as requested. M-410 (Facilitative Instructor) is recommended as a training supplement for this position. 9. Assists the Fire Operations Specialist-Prevention with prevention activities as needed. Requires a working knowledge of Montana Forest Fire Rules and Regulations, in addition to standard forest fire prevention practices. 10. Assists the Assistant Fire Management Officer and Fire Operations Specialist Prevention in preparing, presenting, and displaying high quality audio/visual presentations regarding fire prevention to groups. Groups range from pre-school/elementary classes to civic and community-wide organizations. 11. Provides training and supervision to personnel in the execution of assigned prevention duties. En¬sures subordinates have a working knowledge of the Montana Forest Fire Rules and Regulations. 2. Project Work and Fire-Related Programs The incumbent helps to serve as direct supervisor to seasonal and temporary fire positions. Exercises supervisory skills necessary to implement job activities to assigned seasonal fire staff that assist the Unit Manager, Unit Fire Management Officer, and Unit Assistant Fire Management Officer. The incumbent helps to plan, coordinate, implement, and administer projects and duties pertaining to buildings, grounds, and vehicle maintenance at the Unit. 1. Provides for the security of assigned equipment and vehicles, including fire engines, pickups, pumps, chainsaws, radios, etc., and ensures they are kept operational by being properly maintained and repaired. This requires extensive knowledge of automotive and small engine mechanics. Coordinates with the Fire Management Officer and Land Office mechanic to determine the most efficient or economical repair source. 2. Assesses maintenance needs, supervises and performs the necessary maintenance on the Unit and assigned equipment, to ensure maintenance is completed to agency and/or manufacturer standards. 3. May provide daily work assignments to subordinates, as directed by Unit Fire Management, to meet Unit objectives. Evaluates progress to ensure objectives are being met and provides accomplishment reports to the Assistant Fire Management Officer. 4. Resolves personnel problems with subordinates, and, if necessary, participates in corrective interviews and documents disciplinary problems according to the Department's disciplinary policy. Trust Land Management This position may be responsible for managing various Trust Land activities as directed by the Unit Manager, Forest Management Supervisor, and Assistant Fire Management Officer. It can be any or all of the duties listed below. 1. May serve as Forest Improvement project leader to include slash pile burning, thinning, weed spraying, and seeding. 2. May assist Trust Lands Foresters with forest management activities to include cruising, marking, road layout, road reclamation, and mid-term classified forest grazing evaluations in riparian areas. Supervision: This position typically supervises t6 engine bosses and 6 wildland firefighters. Benefits: * Health Insurance * Retirement * Paid Vacation, Sick Leave and Holidays Application Materials Required for this Position Are: * State of Montana application * Resume * Cover Letter Qualifications: This position requires a high school diploma and a minimum of fire (5) years of progressive experience including fire-line leadership, Incident Command System (ICS) training and related fire program experience. Requires the ability to attain Incident Commander Type 4 and Strike Team/Task Force Leader certification upon hire.* * Required knowledge, skills, and abilities: * The position requires knowledge of fire management and suppression practices and techniques; fire protection systems; jurisdiction and land ownership; the availability, capability and limitation of resources within the unit; DNRC’s legal requirements and standard operating procedures; map-reading; geographic area and site-specific hazards relating to resource mobilization. This position requires skill in written and verbal communication; supervisory skills and practices; and maintaining effectiveness and control under periods of extreme stress. Equipment used: radio systems, GPS units, chainsaws, type 5 and 6 engines, power tools, fax machines, computers (Microsoft Word, Excel), USGS topographic maps, Weather Information Management System, the National Fire Danger Rating System, etc. This position demands a high degree of skill and ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with others, to communicate effectively verbally and in writing, to learn and apply program rules and processes; to read and interpret topographic and aerial maps; and to gather, research, assemble, and present information for use by others. Requires the ability to establish and maintain good rapport with program cooperators and the general public. *Special Requirements: Generally, this position is physically demanding and is conducted in a field setting. The incumbent may be required to work extended hours in the office or fire environment. Fire suppression activities often include extremely hectic conditions, requiring an ability to think calmly and clearly, make appropriate but rapid decisions, provide adequate responses, and coordinate numerous activities all occurring at the same time. Under such conditions this position can be extremely demanding, both mentally and emotionally. This position will require annual completion of an arduous Wildland Fire Work Capacity Test which includes walking three miles over level ground, with a 45lb. pack in no more than 45 minutes. Title: Wildland Firefighter 3 - Fire Operations Specialist Location: Missoula Requisition ID: 24140213

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