Open Position for Wildfire Resiliency Planner

Position Announcement: November 7, 2024
Closing: Open until filled, first review December 2, 2024

Location: Office located in Okanogan, Washington, with travel throughout Okanogan County
Wages: Starting wage at $30.12 per hour, DOE with opportunity for merit and COLA increases.
Benefits: Medical and vision insurance, Washington State Retirement (PERS), vacation leave,
sick leave and 11 paid holidays per year. 

About Us

The Okanogan Conservation District (CD) is a dynamic organization comprised of volunteer board members and paid staff that are leaders in “on-the-ground conservation”. The district’s mission is to help cooperating land managers in Okanogan County achieve their conservation goals by:

• Working cooperatively with private landowners and stakeholders to encourage wise stewardship and land-management decisions.
• Providing locally led, voluntary, non-regulatory solutions to local environmental problems.
• Advocating for high-priority resource concerns facing Okanogan County.
• Educating adults and youth on environmental and natural resources issues in our community.

Okanogan CD is a small team of dedicated staff focused on building programs, providing technical assistance, and cost-share opportunities that serve the community and natural resources in Okanogan County. Okanogan CD values teamwork, locally led natural resource management, creative solutions, and voluntary conservation. Okanogan CD encourages a positive work/life balance and flexible schedules. A partial remote schedule will be considered when appropriate. 

Overview
This position is responsible for leading the implementation of wildfire preparedness and recovery projects that increase individual, property, and community resiliency to wildfire disasters. This employee is instrumental in communicating and advocating methods, techniques, and purpose of wildfire preparedness through voluntary implementation in Okanogan County.

The Wildfire Resiliency Planner must have excellent conservation planning and communication skills, while positively advocating forest health and wildfire resiliency improvements. The incumbent must be able to effectively conduct home ignition zone assessments, conduct community level planning, and identify and plan appropriate forest health prescriptions. Because the person in this position will interact with individuals and families who experienced wildfire, they must be able to work with empathy and sincere efforts to provide assistance that fits current and emerging needs within program and funding boundaries.

The Wildfire Resiliency Planner must have a strong working knowledge of conservation districts, forest health, and wildfire resource management issues. The incumbent must have a strong understanding in grant management, budgeting, and community collaborative work. The incumbent will work with individual property owners, homeowner’s associations, community groups, local municipalities, and others to develop and implement programs and projects that improve forest health and community wildfire resiliency.
Confidentiality and independent judgment are required. Work is characterized by a substantial amount of creative problem solving both in an office and outside. Incumbent must possess a high level of integrity, honesty, and strong customer service.

Core Functions and Essential Duties

Forest Health and Community Resiliency – 50%

1. Conduct assessments of properties and home ignition zones to evaluate wildfire risks and
provide property owners with recommendations based upon the assessment.
2. Collaborate with community members, district staff, and partners to develop community
wildfire risk reduction plans.
3. Plan, organize, and implement fuel reduction projects at both site-specific and communitywide scales.
4. Coordinate with contractors and partners to facilitate community chipping events.
5. Work with cooperators to evaluate wildfire damage and provide recommendations for farm and landscape recovery.
6. Collect, synthesize, and report wildfire damage assessments, sharing findings with
emergency managers on post-fire risks and necessary actions.

Project/Program Management – 40%

1. Develop conservation practice designs and work with agricultural producers and property
owners to ensure projects meet specifications.
2. Assist with critical area conservation planning and the design of practices where appropriate.
3. Assist in conducting grant research, writing proposals, and tracking grant progress.
4. Assist in maintaining conservation project databases and ensure accurate data management.
5. Aid other staff as needed on priority conservation district projects and programs.
6. Assist in collecting and synthesizing program data, compiling relevant information into
formal reports for internal and external stakeholders.
7. Perform other duties as assigned by the supervisor to support organizational goals.

Communication and Outreach – 10%

1. Provide excellent customer service by responding to inquiries in-person, by phone, or email, ensuring the public is connected to appropriate resources or personnel.
2. Conduct outreach and education initiatives, promoting wildfire preparedness and resiliency strategies within the community.
3. Deliver educational programs and community events focused on wildfire preparedness and prevention.

Supervision

This position is directly supervised by the Wildfire and Community Resiliency Lead but may be given tasks and direction by other district staff at the Lead level or higher with permission from the Wildfire and Community Resiliency Lead. The Wildfire Resiliency Planner may be called upon to supervise other employees. Conflicts in assignments shall be resolved at the Director level or higher.

Required Knowledge and Skills

1. Bachelor’s degree with the major course work in forestry, agricultural sciences, soils, water
quality, biology, general natural sciences, environmental sciences, wildlife management,
natural resource management, engineering or a related discipline.
2. Ability to import data, analyze data sets, and develop maps and other graphical depictions of conservation values and plans using ArcGIS Pro.
3. Knowledge of wildfire risk reduction, home hardening, fuels reduction, and forest health.
4. Knowledge of a broad range of soil and water conservation principles, techniques, methods and practices to apply and install conservation systems, which involve complex and diverse land uses.
5. Must be able to effectively communicate verbally and in writing with a diversity of cooperators, co-workers, and others while working in a public office environment, in outdoor settings, and in public meeting environments.
6. Knowledge of natural resource conditions and concerns in Okanogan County.
7. Ability and desire to motivate individuals to adopt and implement resource management
practices on their property. This may include educational speaking in front of public groups,
organizations, or clubs, as well as one on one interaction.
8. Organizational, report and informational writing, and research skills are required.
9. Ability to coordinate multiple projects and timelines with flexible scheduling.
10. Computer literacy (word processing, spreadsheets, and database management) is required at an intermediate level or higher.
11. Ability to organize and plan own schedule of activities related to work goals set by the
Community and Wildfire Resiliency Lead.
12. Ability to maintain accurate records regarding time-keeping and authorized expenses.
13. Must be able to physically perform the tasks of the job in the field by traversing uneven ground in varied weather conditions and occasionally carrying up to 50 pounds of equipment and/or materials.
14. Perform all duties and actions in a safe and healthful manner and will be of a nature to reflect favorably on the Okanogan Conservation District.
15. Must have, or be able to obtain, and maintain a valid Washington State Driver’s License.

Preferred Knowledge and Skills

1. Possess, or earn via training, and maintain a valid Level 3 (or higher) Conservation Planning
certification from the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service. Equivalent planning
certification may be considered on a case-by-case basis by the OCD Board of Supervisors.
2. Knowledge and skills in community organization planning.
3. Knowledge of fire behavior, suppression, resources, equipment, tools, methods and techniques.
4. Knowledge and skill in forest function and restoration processes to improve wildlife habitat and reduce wildfire risk.
5. Knowledge of local plant communities and ecology.
6. Knowledge and experience using Global Positioning System (GPS) devices to collect point, line, and area information and downloading data to a computer system for further analysis.
7. Experience developing, writing, and administering grant applications and projects funded by grants.
8. Ability to effectively use a variety of tools to collect, disseminate, and record natural resource data.
9. Ability to operate remote sensing technology such as drones for the collection of natural
resource data.
10. Knowledge of and experience using a Simtable for wildfire scenario modeling.
11. Ability to communicate verbally and in writing with underserved populations, including but not limited to Native Americans, Spanish-speaking populations, and others.

Work Conditions

This position’s primary duty station is at the district office. Approximately 60% of the employee’s time is spent in an office environment, in meetings, or in some form of travel.

The remaining 40% of the Wildfire Resiliency Planner’s time will include working in outdoor settings that will require traversing open ground, walking longer than average distances, carrying, pulling, use of tools and/or monitoring equipment, or doing limited to moderate physical work. The person in this position will also be required to operate machinery ranging from automobiles and pickups with a trailer, to all-terrain vehicles, to industrial sized woodchippers.

Special Requirements, Licenses, or Certification

This position requires the acquisition of a Level 3 planner certificate from the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, or an approved equivalent. Training for this certificate will be provided by the district as it becomes available.

Compensation and Benefits

This non-exempt (FLSA) status hourly position’s beginning wage is $30.12 (Range 57, Step A) depending upon experience. The position is eligible for all district benefits including, but not limited to holiday, vacation, sick, and exchange leave, medical insurance, and retirement per district policies.

Service Area
Okanogan County is for the adventurous! Our area is well-known for superb recreational opportunities and activities for every season, owing in part to an abundance of public land. Fishing, hunting, hiking, biking, skiing, snowmobiling, and horseback riding are just a few sports enjoyed by locals and visitors. Our scenic highways will take you from the snow-capped mountains of the North Cascades to the open spaces of river valleys along the Okanogan, Methow, Similkameen, and Columbia rivers. There is something for everyone in Okanogan County.

Residents of Okanogan County maintain an independent spirit and a sense of community pride. Our county was named one of the best counties in Washington state to raise a family in 2022 by Stacker.com. Top places to live, according to Stacker, include Okanogan, Omak, and Winthrop. Exploring Okanogan’s history is a favorite past time for many. The Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation boundaries lie within Okanogan County and the area is rich with cultural significance for our first people. Early European settlers came to Okanogan during the 1800s to establish cattle and sheep ranching, and to mine for gold. Several ghost towns and mining operations from the early days still stand. Today, Okanogan County’s economic base is largely agricultural supported by apple, pear and stone fruit orchards. Cattle ranching remains the dominant livestock industry and family spreads
can be found throughout the county.

Application Deadline and Instructions
This position is open until filled. First review of applicants is 12:00 PM, December 2, 2024. Detailed position descriptions are available on the district website at www.okanogancd.org/news.

Applicants must submit a cover letter, resume, and three references (at least two of which are professional) through our online application website at https://tinyurl.com/OCDApplications.

Or by mail to:

Okanogan Conservation District
1251 2nd Ave. South, Room 102
Okanogan, WA 98840