Public Assistance Specialist

Job Titles: Public Assistance Specialist / Site Inspectors / Grant Managers / Cost Estimators / Insurance Specialists / Mitigation Specialists / Benefit Cost Analysts

Department: Operations

Reports to: Project Manager

Location: Remote / Hybrid

Who we are:

DCMC Partners, a Great Place to Work®-Certified company, is a crisis management and public safety consulting firm helping public, non-profit, and private sector organizations approach the unknown with confidence. Leveraging decades of experience and a team of industry experts, DCMC Partners helps our clients effectively prepare for, mitigate, respond to, and recover from crises and disasters of all kinds.

Disasters happen with and without warning, but they always happen. DCMC seeks to identify a cadre of individuals ready and capable of providing help when and where it is needed most. DCMC Partners is poised and ready, so if you are interested in joining the recovery effort consider DCMC for your next career opportunity.

Job Summary:

Team members will be responsible for supporting, overseeing, and advising clients on all disaster preparedness, mitigation, and recovery-related issues. These roles report to project-specific Project Managers. Position assignments are generally full-time with the possibility of deployment, remote work, or a combination.

DCMC is currently looking for qualified candidates for the positions of:

PUBLIC ASSISTANCE SPECIALIST

Duties & Responsibilities:

• Explaining Public Assistance guidance, policy, and regulations to stakeholders and establishing partnerships with FEMA, State Agencies, and Applicants to assist in identifying and addressing programmatic issues while navigating the Public Assistance Program.
• Perform Preliminary Damage Assessments (PDA) to establish potential eligibility for FEMA funding and the extent of applicable damages.
• Conduct detailed reviews for accuracy, completeness, and correctness of Scopes of Work (SOW), Damage Inventories (DI), Damages, Descriptions and Dimensions (DDD), Project Worksheets (PW), and Cost Estimates (CEF) related to complex repair and replacement PWs.
• Identify missing information and coordinate with counterparts to resolve.
• Assisting stakeholders with developing priorities and expectations for recovery programs.

PUBLIC ASSISTANCE SITE INSPECTORS

Duties & Responsibilities:

• Perform required site inspections and complete Site Inspection Report (SIR) packages.
• Assessments for damages of public infrastructure and review of damage estimates.
• Inspection of partially completed and completed work for compliance with FEMA requirements.
• Documenting and advising stakeholders on the technical validity of claims.

GRANT MANAGERS

Duties & Responsibilities:

• Provide Client administrative support in the review and development of reimbursement requests associated with the FEMA Public Assistance Program.
• Conduct detailed reviews of grant case files for accuracy, completeness, and correctness.
• Validate all data contained within required program documents and ensure all documents and automated files are maintained in accordance with established policies and procedures.
• Research and review relevant regulations and policies that support grant programs.

COST ESTIMATORS

Duties & Responsibilities:

• Develop and/or validate DDD, SOW, BCA, and Cost Estimates for Completed or Work to be Completed.
• Identify if corrective actions are needed and add pertinent information that may have been omitted from the SOW and project notes.
• Validate costs to ensure they are reasonable.

INSURANCE SPECIALISTS

Duties & Responsibilities:

• Apply statutory and regulatory insurance requirements during Compliance Reviews.
• Validation against Duplication of Benefits including insurance proceeds.
• Identify the net amount of eligible funding that does not duplicate benefits.
• Validate Client has obtained and maintained appropriate levels and types of insurance coverage required by law.
• Technical knowledge and understanding of NIFP and commercial insurance.

HAZARD MITIGATION SPECIALISTS

Duties & Responsibilities:

• Identify feasible hazard mitigation strategies to comply with all programmatic and regulatory requirements and develop benefit-cost analyses to justify the proposed mitigation measure.
• Aid Clients in the development and review of hazard mitigation plans, components, and strategies.
• Respond to Project Manager and Client to ensure timely delivery of service.
• Facilitate and/or participate in meetings with Federal and State agencies, Client personnel, and other stakeholders, including site visits and community/public meetings.
• Provide problem resolution and solutions to client issues and concerns.

BENEFIT-COST ANALYST

Duties & Responsibilities:

• Complete feasibility review and BCA of HMGP, HMA, or any other mitigation-related application.
• Develop detailed HMA BCA using FEMA BCA Toolkit and HMA methodology validating benefit-cost ratio (BCR).
• Develop, validate, or request the necessary documentation to demonstrate project cost-effectiveness.
• Study projects to determine the importance of completion and prioritization of project submission.
• Evaluate the applicability of pre-determined benefits to proposed projects.

EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENTS FOR ALL POSITIONS:

• Minimum 3 years of demonstrated experience working with applicable FEMA Programs and Policies, governmental organizations, and government officials associated with one or more of the positions listed.

or

• Minimum 1 year of demonstrated experience working with applicable FEMA Programs and Policies, governmental organizations, and government officials in one or more of the positions listed and minimum 4 years of demonstrated experience in areas such as Engineering, Architecture, Construction or Construction Inspections, Cost Estimating, Environmental Planning, or Historic Preservation.

EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS FOR ALL POSITIONS

Mandatory

• HS diploma or equivalent

Preferred

• Bachelor's Degree in a related field (Engineering including Civil, Structural, Electrical, Coastal, or Water Resources, Architecture, Environmental Sciences, Construction or Construction Management, Accounting, etc.).
• Licensure or Certification in applicable specialties associated with listed positions, (Insurance, QA, CFM, Cert. Project Management, etc.), Costing, Quality Assurance, Environmental Science or Environmental Planning, Historic Preservation, or Insurance) preferred.

SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE:

Mandatory

• Prior FEMA PA experience, fundamental knowledge of operational and regulatory aspects of FEMA Programs
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, attention to detail, and a sense of urgency.
• Effective organization, prioritization, and analytical skills.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite, specifically Outlook, Word, Excel, and SharePoint.
  • Ability to extract and distill information from existing plans and documents.
  • Capable of working independently to complete tasks with minimal supervision, while also maintaining effective technical capabilities when working remotely.

Preferred

• Demonstrated experience utilizing FEMA Grant Portal.
• Bilingual (Spanish and English), both oral and written.
• Demonstrated prior experience planning, conducting, and documenting public meetings.

WORKING CONDITIONS:

• You may be required to participate in deployments, both planned and on short notice, depending on operational needs. These deployments may involve travel to various locations and extended periods away from the home office.
  • Flexibility and adaptability are crucial in this role, as well as a commitment to meet the challenges of dynamic environments.
  • Availability to commit to long‐term assignments of one year or more for up to 6 days per week.
• Willingness to travel and remain on deployment for varying durations.
• The anticipated schedule is 40 or more hours per week Monday -Friday, however, hours may be variable based on work requirements.
• Expect work opportunities are a mix of remote and on-site, requiring appropriate home workspace and equipment (phone, computer monitor, internet service, etc.).
• Anticipated schedule: Monday - Friday 8 hr./day, 40 hr./week. Typically, from 8 am to 5 pm Local time and a 1-hour lunch break. Additional time may be required during peak activity.  

COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS: 

• Comprehensive benefits package available.

DCMC PARTNERS' COMMITMENT TO DIVERSITY:

DCMC Partners is an equal-opportunity employer. We support a diverse workforce and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. Equal Opportunity Employer/Disability/Veterans.

For more information, please visit our website at Careers | DCMC Partners.