Planning Technical Advisor - Fire Ecology

About the opportunity

We are actively seeking to fill a Senior Environmental Planner – Fire Ecology position for our growing western region. The role is a temporary, hourly position. The qualified Senior Environmental Planner - Fire Ecologist would support a wide variety of fire science and forestry projects in the western US, on an as needed basis.

SWCA Environmental Consultants is an employee-owned company of environmental professionals who specialize in natural and cultural resource management, environmental planning, and regulatory compliance.

Our Vision (the North Star)****:  Help drive SWCA to be the best workplace and industry leader in sustainability, bringing sound science and creative solutions to global environmental challenges while maintaining a dedication to employee-ownership.

Core Values: We are #OneSWCA and collaborate across all our offices, programs, and disciplines. We are #AlwaysLearning, we #NeverSettle and we #GiveBack. We are 100% employee-owned, and we build our success together. It is imperative for the successful candidate to fit SWCA's unique culture. Do you appreciate sustainability and environmental awareness? Is giving back to your community a priority? SWCA is a team of scientists, planners, technical experts, and corporate services professionals that are committed to our culture.

Purpose**:** Our company purpose is to preserve natural and cultural resources for tomorrow while enabling projects that benefit people today. You are invited to be a part of our success story.

What you will accomplish

Support in this position may include:

• Providing technical and business development expertise to better serve SWCA clients and assist in growing our Wildfire and Forestry Services.
• Support fire planning, forest compliance (NEPA and CEQA), and forest restoration efforts.
• Work closely with state and federal agency interdisciplinary teams to compile, synthesize, and develop fire plans and reports.
• Working collaboratively with a team to meet the needs of assigned projects.
• Conducting background research and data collection.
• Conducting site visits, including preparing surveys and site assessments for projects located in the wildland urban interface and forested landscapes.
• Preparing technical documents and high-quality deliverables for clients.

Experience and qualifications for success

Required Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree or higher in fire ecology, fire management, forestry, or a related field.
• Ten (10) plus years of experience including wildfire science, forestry, ecology, environmental planning, and/or comparable experience.
• Experience working with and/or interpreting fire behavior modeling tools and forest stand simulations. Experience working in forestry, silviculture, forest ecology or fire ecology, with agencies at the local, state or federal levels.
• Experience developing forest management plans, hazardous fuels projects and prescribed burn plans.
• Experience working with communities and agencies developing wildfire mitigation projects.
• Experience authoring fire, forestry and fuels related NEPA/CEQA documents or sections of EA or EIS.
• Experience with Microsoft Office suite (Word, Excel, Outlook) and Adobe Acrobat.
• Working knowledge of GIS programs.
• Demonstrated ability to perform under pressure with schedule constraints.
• Excellent organizational, oral, written, and analytical skills.
• Applicant must be able to work in a team environment, with strong multi-tasking skills and able to work on more than one project at a time, meeting tight deadlines.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Master’s Degree in environmental science, forestry, fire science, or related field.

• At least 3 years of experience related to wildfire science, planning, or management.

• Three years of experience working in the environmental consulting industry.

• Experience independently managing projects ensuring developed scope, schedule and budget are properly established and followed.

• Experience successfully leading and mentoring team with proper delegation and task oversight.

• Experience developing spatial fire management plans and other online spatial planning documents.

• Experience with quantitative wildfire risk assessment modeling.

• Experience with hazard mitigation planning.

SWCA Environmental Consultants is a growing employee-owned firm, providing a full spectrum of environmental services. With offices across the United States, SWCA is one of the largest environmental compliance firms and ranks among Engineering News-Record’s Top 200 Environmental Firms.

If you would like to contact SWCA regarding the accessibility of our website or need assistance completing the online application process due to a disability, please email accommodations@swca.com or call 480-581-5378. This contact information is for disability accommodation requests only. All other inquiries will not receive a response.

EOE - women, minorities, individuals with disabilities and veterans are encouraged to apply.

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Seniority Level

Mid-Senior level

Not ready to apply? Connect with us for general consideration.