• Expand the pace and scale of prescribed burning across all lands in the state of Washington utilizing prescribed fire as a tool to meet not only the immense initial treatment need but also to maintain forest health treatments over time
• Conduct burns regularly across jurisdictional and ownership boundaries.
• Expand prescribed burn leadership beyond National Wildfire Coordination Group (NWCG) qualifications and create alternative training and certification pathways.
• Empower local communities to manage their surrounding landscapes by supporting and providing comprehensible plans, state guidelines, training, and resources.
• Increase fuels and fire effects monitoring to determine treatment effectiveness and to drive science-based landscape management decisions.

Responsibilities:
The Prescribed Fire Planner serves as a senior-level planner responsible for working with DNR staff, federal, state, local, and tribal partners, forest collaboratives, and external stakeholders to plan and implement coordinated prescribed fire treatments across all land ownerships to fulfill the 2020 Forest Action Plan, 20-Year Forest Health Strategic Plan: Eastern Washington, and the Forest Health Assessment and Treatment Framework. The position’s responsibilities include:

• Coordinate with agency staff (Strategic Science and Planning Program, State Uplands, Wildland Fire Management, etc.) and external partners to prioritize individual projects and community-prescribed fire projects for state investment of resources.
• Develop and manage statewide cross-boundary prescribed fire project tracking system, and its integration with other agency reporting requirements and tracking tools including Forest Health Tracker.
• Track emergent funding opportunities and develop funding proposals, both independently and leading coordination amongst external stakeholders, to further landscape-scale application of prescribed fire including state, federal, and private funding sources.
• Develop, manage, and monitor contracts and agreements to invest resources and facilitate the implementation of DNR forest resilience strategic plans in coordination with DNR.
• Procurement, Contracts, and Business staff including determining appropriate procurement methods, developing initial scopes of work, and budgets, developing requests for proposals, tracking expenditures and reviewing invoices for payment, ensuring terms of contracts and intended deliverables are being met, and conducting compliance monitoring for contract closure.
• Participate in wildland fires (prescribed and wild) in operational or planning roles.
• Utilize landscape evaluations and other analyses to understand forest health treatment needs, review proposed projects in priority landscapes, and provide recommendations on necessary actions and investments to move priority landscapes into a resilient condition in coordination with the US Forest Service, tribes, forest collaboratives, DNR programs working on forest resiliency, and other partners.
• Coordinate with internal DNR staff and external partners to develop and implement landscape-scale work plans that address identified prescribed fire treatment needs for priority landscapes. Advise Science and Planning Program, Federal Lands Program, and external partners on the utilization of prescribed fire within larger integrated restoration projects.
• Lead and train others on technical components of prescribed fire project planning to incorporate science-based decision-making; including burn plan development, fuels monitoring, and RAWS installation.
• Serves as agency representative on steering committees and planning groups as needed.
• Consults with agency staff and external stakeholders on a regular basis on related policy.
• Reviews, writes and provides input into agency and state policies and procedures related to prescribed fire.
• Coordinates with communications staff to provide consistency in public messaging and interacts with other Divisions and Programs to communicate project information to and from the Prescribed Fire Program.
• Produce and review content for legislative and internal reporting
• Coordinates monitoring data collection, analysis, and reporting as appropriate.
• Provides input to the Science and Planning Program for priority monitoring sites.
• Assist in training and/or development of fire effects monitoring data collection and tools to integrate appropriate methodologies for measuring and categorizing fuel metrics.
• Assist with and provide input on related research projects and initiatives.
• Attend relevant meetings and professional conferences to represent DNR and share research or reporting results.

Required Qualifications:

• A Bachelor’s degree with a major study in natural resources (e.g. natural resource planning, forestry, landscape ecology, fire science, fire ecology), or a closely related field; AND Five years’ experience in natural resources including prescribed fire planning and application.
  OR equivalent combination of education and/or experience.
• Familiarity with Washington’s Smoke Management Plan, burn permitting system, and fire regulation standards.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills, including teaching or public presentation experience.
• Knowledge of forest and fire ecology in the PNW or similar ecosystems and successful management strategies to address those issues.
• Experience participating in and leading multi-stakeholder natural resource groups.
• National Wildfire Coordinating Group (NWCG) qualified Firing Boss (FIRB) and/or single resource boss.
• Experience with Geographic Information Systems (GIS), including ArcMap, Survey123, Collector, and other mapping tools to document work and convey information to non-technical audiences. 
• Experience with Prescribed fire. 
• Demonstrated commitment to fostering and supporting an environment that honors diversity, equity, inclusion, and environmental justice practices.
• Perform assigned duties in a manner consistent with applicable laws, regulations, and public records retention and requests are followed.
• Ability to work effectively in a team setting with internal and external stakeholders.
• Excellent organizational and project management skills and the ability to develop or use systems for tracking the implementation and accomplishments of several complex projects.
• DNR Core Competencies:
  • Personal Accountability
  • Value Others
  • Compassionate Communication
  • Inspire Others
  • Commitment to Excellence

• Positions assigned duty station is in an office setting. Approximately 70 percent of the work is expected to be performed indoors in office environments. Fieldwork, project site visits, and outdoor training will be required.
• Requires travel to communities and projects throughout Washington to interact
  with Region staff, landowners, and stakeholders as well as directly participate in project implementation and necessary trainings. Travel is expected year-round at least once a month.
• A valid unrestricted driver’s license and have two years of driving experience. This position requires driving as an essential function. Finalists and/or interview candidates will be asked to provide a driving record from all states in which they have held a license during the past three years.

• A Master’s degree with a major study in natural resources (e.g. natural resource planning, forestry, landscape ecology, fire science, wildlife biology), public policy and administration with an environmental emphasis, geography, or a closely related field and three years of professional work experience in natural resources planning, forest ecology, silviculture, fire science, landscape ecology, forest management, wildlife management, public policy and administration, geography, or a closely related field relying on the required position knowledge, skills, abilities and behaviors.
• Two years of experience in successfully administering contracts, interagency agreements, grants, or other partnership agreements.

Application Requirements:

• To be considered you must apply online at www.careers.wa.gov (Click on the APPLY button above). 
• Attach a letter of interest describing how your experience and qualifications relate to the position profile and the position required, desired, and special requirements.
• Attach a resume describing your experience and qualifications.
• Provide three to five professional references – you may attach a document, use the References text field in the online application, or include it with your resume.
• Important: Do not attach any documents that include photos or private information (social security number, year of birth, etc.).
• Complete all supplemental questions.
• Candidates who move forward in the recruitment process may be contacted via email at info@governmentjobs.com with interview information/scheduling instructions. Please monitor the email listed in your application materials and check your junk email folder to ensure you receive those communications.

• Safety and Well-Being —Our top priority is the safety of the public and our employees.
• Public Service —We value and respect the public we serve, and we value and respect the people of the Department of Natural Resources who step up to serve.
• Innovation and Creative Problem-Solving — We solve our state’s most pressing challenges through innovative thinking, dedication, and bold and creative vision.
• Leadership and Teamwork —We are committed to building leaders at all levels and building teams for success.

• Commitment to organizational health and wellness
• Work/life balance
• DNR Employee Resource Groups (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Council, Women’s Employee Resource Group, Veterans Employee Resource Group, etc.)
• Statewide Employee Business Resource Groups, visit here to learn more
• Leadership that empowers and supports employees
• Professional development opportunities
• Educational and career development aid
• Public Service Loan Forgiveness Eligibility
• Opportunities to participate in wildland fire suppression assignments
• A comprehensive benefits package that includes employer contributions toward health insurance, paid holidays, retirement plans, sick leave, and vacation days. Visit http://careers.wa.gov/benefits.html for more information.