Packer

Summary

This position is located within a National Forest. The incumbent is responsible for packaging, kit building, loading/unloading of supplies and equipment as well as repairing and refurbishing supplies and equipment.

Duties

Collates, assembles, inventories, and build kits from individual components according to National Fire Equipment System (NFES) standards. Determines packing configuration assembles items according to kit component packing lists and inspects for accuracy. Incumbent may participate in the development of prototype kits, developing the packing configuration and kit component requirements for field use. Arranges, seals and tags items and equipment that requiring specialized handling. Packs tools, materials and equipment using a wide variety of standard packing methods and techniques that include items of a large, heavy or fragile nature. Selects the packing materials taking into account such factors as size, type, weight, fragility, method of transportation, storage facility and final destination. Packs items wood, fiberboard boxes, metal containers, and cartons. Makes independent judgements and decisions within the framework of oral and written instructions and accepted methods, techniques and procedures. Uses and maintains various types of equipment for the purpose of packaging such as heat sealers, hand powered and mechanical shrink wrap, banding and stapling machines. Coordinates, suggests and makes substitutions to packing list and configuration as needed. Packs and labels material following agency, federal and international packing and shipping requirements for hazardous and non-hazardous materials and items. Provides for the care of supplies in storage (COSIS) to protect from deterioration or damage. Applies first in, first out (FIFO) and monitors date procedures for food and other expiring items. May assemble specialized kits transported by air and delivered via parachute to remote work sites. Packs kits using protective material to withstand impact and avoid breakage and spillage (i.e., initial attack kits containing equipment such as chainsaws and hazmat containers of petroleum products and food subsistence. May also mix fuel and oil to correct ratio per equipment type as well as fills and seals fuel containers. Repairs and rehabilitates fire supplies and equipment to NFES standards. Incumbent researches and refers to manufacturer’s specifications, stock catalogs, manuals, research and technology data and cache memos to prevent damage and preserve the lifespan of items. Cleans fabric materials (i.e. nomex, coated nylon cordura, fiber reinforced vinyl) using proper water pressure and temperatures. Disassembles and reassembles supplies to replace parts, apply oils, rust inhibitors and other preservation materials to ensure proper working condition. Some items may require painting. Provides and/or recommends possible substitutes and interchangeable items, or refurbishment procedures, such as for changes to kit configuration, component packing lists, and refurbishment guidelines. Maintains issue records against special projects and reports items charged. Monitors working condition of tools and equipment. Performs visual and operating checks to determine when tools and equipment should be tested, repaired, and/or calibrated. Determines equipment damage or receives reports from users on the condition of tools and equipment. Identifies when it may be cost effective to replace rather than repair tools or equipment. Handles or oversees one or more product lines within assigned area, instructing, training, and inspecting the work efforts of temporary seasonal personal as the senior employee.

Requirements

You must be a US Citizen or US National. Males born after 12/31/1959 must be Selective Service registered or exempt. Subject to satisfactory adjudication of background investigation and/or fingerprint check. Direct Deposit - Per Public Law 104-134 all Federal employees are required to have federal payments made by direct deposit to a financial institution of your choosing. Successfully pass the E-Verify employment verification check. To learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities, visit E-Verify. Must be 18 years of age.

Qualifications and evaluation

Note: If, after reviewing your resume and/or supporting documentation, a determination is made that you have inflated your qualifications and or experience, your score may be adjusted to more accurately reflect your abilities, or you may be found ineligible. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your rating. Providing inaccurate information on Federal documents could be grounds for non-selection or disciplinary action up to including removal from the Federal service.

How to apply

Please view Tips for Applicants - a guide to the Forest Service application process. Please read the entire announcement and all instructions before you begin. You must complete this application process and submit all required documents electronically by 11:59p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on the closing date of this announcement. Applying online is highly encouraged. We are available to assist you during business hours (7:00 a.m. - 3:30 p.m., Mountain Time Zone, Monday - Friday). If applying online poses a hardship, contact the Agency Contact listed below well before the closing date for an alternate method. All hardship application packages must be complete and submitted no later than noon ET on the closing date of the announcement to be entered into the system prior to its closing. Resumes must not exceed two pages. This agency provides reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities on a case-by-case basis; contact the Agency Contact to request this. To begin, click "Apply" and follow the instructions to complete the Assessment Questionnaire and attach your resume and all required documents. Please verify that documents you are uploading from USAJOBs transfer into the Agency's staffing system as there is a limitation to the number of documents that can be transferred. However, once in the Agency's staffing system, you will have the opportunity to upload additional documents. Uploaded documents must be less than 5MB and in one of the following document formats: GIF, JPG, JPEG, PNG, RTF, PDF, TXT or Word (DOC or DOCX). Do not upload Adobe Portfolio documents because they are not viewable. Encrypted documents will not be accepted. Failure to submit required, legible documents may result in loss of consideration. Please ensure your resume does not exceed two pages. Applicants who submit a resume that exceeds two pages will be removed from consideration. Our office cannot be responsible for incompatible software, your system failure, etc.

Required documents

The following documents are required for your applicant package to be complete. Encrypted documents will not be accepted. Failure to submit required, legible documents may result in loss of consideration. Resume that includes: Personal Information: name, address, contact information; Education; Work Experience related to this position as described in the major duties including work schedule, hours worked per week, dates of employment; title, series, grade (if applicable); other qualifications. Resume cannot exceed 2 pages. If education is required or you are using education to qualify, you must submit a copy of your college transcripts. An unofficial copy is sufficient with the application if it includes your name and the necessary course information; however, if you are selected, you will be required to submit official transcripts prior to entering on duty. Education must have been successfully obtained from an accredited school, college or university. If any education was completed at a foreign institute, you must submit with your application evidence that the institute was appropriately accredited by an accrediting body recognized by the U.S. Department of Education as equivalent to U.S. education standards. There are private organizations that specialize in this evaluation and a fee is normally associated with this service. For a list of private organizations that evaluate education, visit the NACES website. All transcripts must be in English or include an English translation. Surplus or displaced employees eligible for CTAP, RPL, or ICTAP priority must provide: proof of eligibility (RIF separation notice, notice of proposed removal for declining a transfer of function or directed reassignment to another commuting area, notice of disability annuity termination), SF-50 documenting separation (as applicable), current performance appraisal with rating of at least "Fully Successful" or equivalent, and your most recent SF-50 noting position, grade level, and duty location with your application per 5 CFR 330.

Additional information

PLEASE NOTE: This vacancy is being used to fill positions for FY2027 Temporary Employment Hiring season. The expected start date for this position will be between January 10, 2027 to April 4, 2027. By selecting the "Location Negotiable" option during the application process, implies your willingness to be considered for any official duty location listed on this announcement and/or those duty locations not listed for this Regional announcement. Pay rates vary depending on location. The salary shown is for the Rest of the U.S. See OPM.gov for additional information on pay rates. This position is temporary, has a Not-to-Exceed date and will be filled for up to 6 months or as a not to exceed (NTE) 1 year, however an extension of the appointment may be possible without further competition. The appointment may also end early due to lack of work or lack of funds. Applicants who apply under this job opportunity announcement agree to have their application, associated documents and applicable personal information shared with other groups within the Region who have vacancies within the same occupational series, grade, full performance level and in any of the geographic location(s) listed on the announcement. Applying to this announcement does not replace the need to apply to other job opportunity announcements for which you wish to receive consideration. The duty station for this position will be at one of the duty locations listed in this announcement. Please visit the Office of Personnel Management's website for additional information on pay rates in your duty location State. The USDA Forest Service has legislative authority to recruit and fill Permanent (Career/Career-Conditional), Temporary, and Term Appointments under the USDA Demonstration Project. Under this authority, any U.S. citizen may apply. Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) or Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP): To exercise selection priority for this vacancy, CTAP/ICTAP candidates must meet the basic eligibility requirements and all selective factors. CTAP/ICTAP eligible must meet the agency's definition for a quality candidate as provided in the How You Will Be Evaluated section of this announcement to be considered. If you are retired from the Federal Government and are selected for this vacancy, your retirement annuity may be offset from your pay. This position is not eligible for telework. Availability of government housing and federal day care facilities will vary by location. Positions filled from this announcement may be a bargaining or a non-bargaining unit position represented by either NFFE, AFGE or NAGE.