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The DNRC believes employees are their most important asset. The DNRC empowers employees to exercise professional judgment in carrying out their duties. Employees are provided with the training and tools necessary to achieve the mission. Both team effort and individual employee expertise are supported and sustained.

Southwestern Land Office Overview:

The Southwestern Land Office (SWLO, Land Office, and Area), together with four Unit offices, represents the Montana DNRC in the geographic areas of Deerlodge, Granite, Mineral, Missoula, Powell, Ravalli, and parts of Silverbow and Lewis & Clark counties. Area and Unit offices implement and administer DNRC programs for its Forestry and Trust Lands division on approximately 290,000 acres of trust lands and the land below the low water mark on approximately 450 miles of navigable waterways. The Land Office provides fire protection on approximately 1.9 million acres encompassing multiple jurisdictions. The Land Office is responsible for all land management operations by the Depart­ment within the geographic area. The Land Office pro­vides as­sistance to pri­vate forest land­own­ers and ad­ministers the log­ging slash hazard re­duc­tion (HRA) laws and voluntary Best Management Practices (BMPs) on pri­vate lands. The Land Of­fice enforces man­age­ment standards and regulates all com­mer­cial timber sale practic­es within the Streamside Man­agement Zone (SMZ) on all Fed­eral, State, and private lands.

Job Overview:
This position will serve as a single point resource to help DNRC staff and cross-boundary practitioners address opportunities to create fire adapted communities, implement the Forest Action Plan and address issues arising from landscape scale cooperative management. The FAP Specialist will provide information, resources, and capacity to DNRC Area and Unit staff and partners. Position is responsible for performing public relations, program outreach, education initiatives and opportunities related to fire adapted communities and cross-boundary priorities and projects. The coordinator will build and strengthen inter-agency partnerships to enhance and expand cross-boundary work on the ground, regardless of jurisdiction. The FAP Specialist will work to increase the current limited capacity to meet the increasing opportunities to get work done across all ownerships. Greater coordination, intentionality, and allocation of resources is crucial to see projects through. The position’s role will be dedicated to the increasing needs of cross-boundary partnerships in Montana.

This FAP Specialist works for DNRC in partnership with a multitude of agencies and organizations including the US Forest Service, BLM and NRCS. This position works out of Missoula.

Essential Functions (Major Duties or Responsibilities): These job functions are the essential duties of the position and are not all-inclusive of all the duties that may be assigned to the incumbent.

• Responsible for coordination, implementation, and administration of grant-based projects. Collaborate, suggest, and assist with project selection and implementation for fuels reduction, restoration and forest management on Private, State, and Federal Land.
• Serve as a localized single point resource to help DNRC staff and partners address opportunities and issues, coordinate funding and existing workforce to create fire adapted communities and expand landscape scale cooperative management. Establish and maintain relationships with local coordinating partners. Provide information, operational guidance, and resources on issues and opportunities specific to geographic conditions and locally identified priorities to DNRC, cross boundary groups, and others.
• Coordinate with and help empower DNRC staff and local partners to expand the scale and impact of their work. Plan and coordinate field activities, train, develop, and mentor stakeholders on appropriate authorities and tools to use for their specific project in cooperation with partners.

APPLICATION MATERIALS REQUIRED FOR THIS POSITION ARE:

• Online State of Montana application
• Resume
• Cover Letter

HELPFUL HINT: You must check the “relevant document” box to ensure your attachments are uploading correctly to the specific application.

Benefits:

• Paid Vacation, Sick Leave and Holidays
• Health, Dental, Prescription, and Vision Coverage
• Retirement Plans
• Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) – Employment with the State of Montana may qualify you to receive student loan forgiveness under the PSLF. Look here, https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/repay-loans/forgiveness-cancellation/public-service to learn more and see if you may qualify!

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Minimum Qualifications (Education and Experience):
The position requires education or experience equivalent to a bachelor’s degree in Forestry, Natural Resources Management, Environmental Science, or a related field and four (4) years progressively responsible experience in collaborative land management. Considerable knowledge of forest practices and hazard reduction laws, Administrative Rules, legislative intent, standards, guidelines, policies and procedures preferred. Considerable knowledge of State laws relating to forest practices (including the Montana Environmental Policy Act) is preferred. Must have knowledge of the development and legislative intent of forest practices laws and be able to apply that knowledge to diverse, site specific and unprecedented situations.

Professional level forestry, wildfire, and grant administration knowledge and skills are required. Also required is the ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships within the agency, with individuals from other agencies and industries, and with the general public, as well as the ability to work independently. Exercise professional judgement and objectivity in evaluating situations and making decisions. The incumbent's professional background should also include work in the wildland fire management field.

Required Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:
The applicant should be able to comfortably speak with stakeholders and partners individually and in large groups, enjoy working with various partners to align them toward a common goal, and be able to represent the priorities and programs of the DNRC. The breadth and complexity of the cross-boundary program requires demonstratable project management skills as well as the participation in complex, high profile, or politically sensitive projects. Past internal and external collaborative experience is valuable.

The position involves considerable travel in the region involving overnight stays of up to several days at a time. Regular field and office duties include the following working conditions and physical demands: sitting for long periods, driving frequently over long distances and on rough forest roads, occasional lifting, and extensive walking over rough forest terrain. Fire duties involve risk of injury and exposure to heat, flame, smoke, dust, and fumes.

Considerable skill in negotiation, persuasion, and written and oral communication are essential to carry out the duties. Ability to synthesize and apply agency mission, programs, legislative intent, complex resource protection needs, standards and guidelines. Considerable knowledge of administrative practices is required, including the ability to establish and maintain accurate record keeping systems. Expert knowledge in training and public education techniques is essential.

Special Information:
Candidates must be eligible to work in the United States. A valid driver's license is required with less than 12 conviction points in the most recent completed 36 months.

Eligibility to Work:
In accordance with the Immigration Reform and Control Act, the person selected must produce within three days of hire documents that show authorization to work in the United States. Examples of such documentation include a birth certificate or Social Security card along with a driver’s license or other picture I.D., or a U.S. passport, or a "green card".

If another department vacancy occurs in this job title within six months, the same applicant pool may be used for the selection.This agency may use a training assignment. Employees in training assignments may be paid below the base pay established by the agency pay rules. Conditions of the training assignment will be stated in writing at the time of hire.!*!The State of Montana has a decentralized human resources (HR) system. Each agency is responsible for its own recruitment and selection. Anyone who needs a reasonable accommodation in the application or hiring process should contact the agency's HR staff identified on the job listing or by dialing the Montana Relay at 711. Montana Job Service Offices also offer services including assistance with submitting an online application.

State government does not discriminate based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, pregnancy, childbirth or medical conditions related to pregnancy or childbirth, age, physical or mental disability, genetic information, marital status, creed, political beliefs or affiliation, veteran status, military service, retaliation, or any other factor not related to merit and qualifications of an employee or applicant.