Senior Technical Advisor - Fire Planning

About the opportunity

SWCA Environmental Consultants is seeking a Senior Technical Advisor – Fire Planning  (HR Title = Planning Technical Advisor) reporting into our Salt Lake City office and the Great Basin sub-region, reporting to Stephanie Graham, Principal Ecologist.

The successful Senior Technical Advisor – Fire Planning  candidate will have technical expertise in wildfire management planning; fire behavior modeling, analysis, and interpretation; fuels/vegetation management; wildfire management policies, standards, and methods; community engagement; and current wildfire and fire ecology research and applications. Experience working in Great Basin, Northern and Middle Rockies, Columbia Plateau, and Snake River Plain ecoregions is desired, and experience working with state and federal land management agencies is highly valued.

Required skills include the ability to provide quality assurance/quality control oversight, and strong interpersonal and technical writing skills.  The position will support or manage a variety of project types, including relevant and newly emerging areas in fire sciences and technology, and community engagement.  Project types include vegetation management plans for state and local governments; NEPA author for fire, fuels, and forestry topics; wildfire mitigation plans for utility companies; biofuels development projects; outreach and education for communities on mitigation, preparedness, and response; and community wildfire protection plans. 

This is an On-Demand/On-Call, hourly, temporary (without benefits) position that, in the future, could grow into a regular, part-time or full-time position.  The qualified applicant could either be a remote (= distributed) employee or work out of the Salt Lake City office in a hybrid fashion.

Application Deadline:  Applications for this role will be due on August 8, 2025 at 5:00 PM MDT

What you will accomplish

As a Senior Technical Advisor – Fire Planning, you will:

• Serve as a technical expert in wildfire sciences.
• Be recognized as a subject matter expert (SME) and technical resource to provide advice and expertise to SWCA staff, projects, and clients
• Provide expertise to SWCA project managers on complex fire planning and management projects, which may including species-specific surveys, habitat evaluations, biological assessments/evaluations, population monitoring, and preparing various types of natural resources regulatory documents (e.g., NEPA).
• Work closely with various team members throughout the planning and execution of projects
• Prepare, review, and provide QA/QC for technical documents as part of permitting processes
• Provide training and oversight to development depth and competency among staff planners and biologists
• Work with communities to increase wildfire awareness, preparedness, risk reduction, and response
• Collaborate with clients, SWCA staff, and resource and regulatory agency staff to ensure project success

Experience and qualifications for success

Required Qualifications

• Minimum of a bachelor’s degree in ecology, forestry, environmental science, or other related field. 
• Minimum of fifteen (15) years combined experience in wildfire operations or planning, project management, or environmental consulting for wildfire/fuels required; with some experience specific to project management. 
• Working knowledge of federal and state laws (e.g., NEPA) as it relates to wildfire and land management and major western ecosystems.
• Demonstrated experience with federal agencies such as Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and US Forest Service (USFS) and state agencies such as California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection and other state natural resources departments.

Preferred Qualifications

• Graduate degree in fields mentioned above or a related field.
• Experience with staff and project team supervision helpful.
• Experience and ability to serve as a technical Subject Matter Expert on  multiple projects with changing requirements.
• Experience working in a fast-paced work environment and desire to work in a highly collaborative team atmosphere.

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 need assistance accessing SWCA’s website, completing the online application, or require a confidential conversation related to the Americans with Disabilities Act, please contact us at accommodations@swca.com or call 1-480-581-5378. We are committed to providing an inclusive and supportive experience for all candidates. This contact information is specifically for accommodation requests; other inquiries will not receive a response.  

SWCA is committed to salary equity and salary transparency for all its employees.  In alignment with this commitment, SWCA posts good faith pay ranges in all its advertised job postings to promote pay equity and transparency.

An employee in this Salt-Lake City, UT-based position can expect a rate of $40.81/hour to $68.37/hour. Actual pay within this range may depend on experience, qualifications, geographic location, client requirements where applicable, and other factors permitted by law.  Regular-status employees are also eligible for performance bonuses.

EOE - women, minorities, individuals with disabilities, and veterans are encouraged to apply. At SWCA Environmental Consultants, we celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive work environment. We strongly encourage candidates from all backgrounds, including those with diverse experiences and veterans, to apply. We believe that a diverse and inclusive workforce enhances creativity, innovation, and overall organizational success.

SWCA continues to invest deeply in career development programs, delivering our award-winning Career Landscape support resources to accelerate the growth of our staff. We recognize the valuable skills and experiences our internal team members bring to SWCA’s continued success. Qualified internal candidates are encouraged to apply and will be seriously considered for this position. We believe in promoting from within, where possible, providing our existing employees with compelling opportunities to advance their careers.

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