Careers

The Senior Manager of Vegetation Management provides leadership to the entire Vegetation Management Team while managing all daily functions and operations of NCFF’s Hazardous Fuel Reduction Projects. This position works directly with private landowners, funders, and Fire Safe Councils. Occasional participation in FSC meetings, field tours, or other events may be required. In addition, this role works closely with the Grant Administration Department to document project details and track budgets to ensure successful grant reporting and may also occasionally support grant writing.

All NCFF Vegetation Management Projects include scouting, planning, facilitating, and monitoring the creation and/or maintenance of access along roads, community fuel breaks, strategic dozer lines/fuel breaks, and forest health projects. This is done using best management practices by reducing hazardous woody mass materials, reducing ladder fuels, and creating shaded or unshaded fuel breaks. Disposal methods include chipping, pile burning, mastication, and other developing methods.

The NCFF Vegetation Management Team responds to hazards identified in the Napa County Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP). The CWPP is a collaborative, community-driven framework that identifies local hazards and priorities for wildfire risk mitigation. This includes:

• Safer ingress/egress (access/escape) route using public and private roads.
• Strategic fuel breaks and fuel reduction around wildfire threatened communities.
• Strategic ridgetop and limited access fuel breaks to compartmentalize wildfire and prescribed fire.
• Landscape level or larger forest heath fuels management for wildfire and prescribed fire resiliency.

NCFF provides information and education for residents and visitors to safely live with wildfire.  Our projects help mitigate the risk and impacts of wildfire to protect public safety and infrastructure. In addition to prevention, our projects benefit wildfire suppression response, while mitigating impacts on environmental resources throughout Napa County.

Objectives Of This Role

The primary responsibility of this role is to develop, lead, and prioritize all NCFF Vegetation Management Projects with excellent skills in personnel management, budget forecasting and monitoring, and project development, implementation and close out. Superior leadership skills are necessary in this role as staff work independently across several job sites throughout Napa County. This position is responsible for aligning the department with NCFF’s strategic plan initiatives and ensuring seamless operations of all fuel reduction projects. It requires the ability to report project progress timely, clearly, and accurately. Excellent communication, attention to detail, organization skills, budget management, and the ability to speak and represent NCFF at public meetings are critical skills for this role.

Responsibilities Include

• Lead recruiting, hiring, and onboarding as needed. Manage all personnel within the department and adhere to CA employment laws and internal personnel policies. Ensure timekeeping, mileage, and vendor agreements align with internal policies and grant regulations.
• Forecast, schedule, and prepare projects ahead of time, ensuring department work schedules are balanced and equitable. Regularly monitor project progress and adjust as needed to ensure timely completion.
• Work in close collaboration with the Manager of Vegetation Management and ensure assigned projects are completed on schedule and within budget.  
• Lead Hazardous Fuel Reduction Projects as needed.
• Approve Requests for Proposals (RFPs) and Task Orders (TOs).
• Collaborate with Grants and Finance teams to ensure budgets are monitored, tracked, and utilized appropriately according to the grant terms. Ensure staff are correctly attributing time to projects in alignment with pre-approved budgets.
• Monitor progress of Safety Committee and ensure field staff adheres to all established safety protocols. Ensure any accidents/incidents are immediately documented and reported as required.
• Attend Grants Committee meetings and join Grant Writing Subcommittee meetings as required. Assist with new grant applications and grant report submissions as required.
• Monitor, evaluate, and update the CWPP for existing and new projects.
• Consult on wildfire or prescribed fire effectiveness of project.
• Liaison with County Public Works, Napa County officials, and other partner agencies as needed.
• Respectfully educate landowners, stakeholders, and concerned citizens.
• Participate in NCFF Leadership Team meetings and collaborate on strategic planning and staff and program development.
• Collaborate with other NCFF departments, programs, and partners which may include education, outreach, social media, VIP tours, etc.
• Facilitate and attend digital and in-person meetings and provide written and verbal reports on projects as required.
• Demonstrate excellent reading, writing and comprehension abilities. Produce clear and logical written materials from outreach, to reporting, to project proposals.
• Support expanded communication with FSCs and landowners through increased communication duties. This may include discussing projects with the media other partners in coordination with NCFF Leadership.

NCFF is a grant-funded 501c3 nonprofit. Continuation of this position is conditioned upon grant/contract funding from external agencies. If such grant/contract funding is not sufficient to fund this position hours may be reduced, or the position may be eliminated.

Qualification Requirements: The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skills, and abilities required to successfully perform this position. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions

Education and Experience Requirements Equivalent to:

• A minimum of seven years of position-related project management experience.
• Experience as an RX Burn Boss and/or Forestry related experience (RPF, Forestry Technician, etc.) and proven ability to comprehend and analyze hazardous fuel loads.
• Strong knowledge of CEQA.
• Superior experience with technology and computers, including Microsoft Office 365 applications Field Maps, GIS
• Knowledge of Biology/Botany/Ecology/Archaeology/ Civil Engineering

Desired but not Required:

• Agricultural or Forestry background
• Personal use of 4×4 vehicle with towing capacity of 3,000 pounds
• Ability to speak fluent Spanish

Knowledge, Ability, and Skill Requirements:

• Superior personnel management skills.
• Superior attention to detail in all aspects of the work including operations (personnel management, communication, project timelines, budget, documentation). Proven ability to manage and track budgets.
• Ability to drive to and from project and meeting sites while meeting all CA vehicle laws.
• When driving a personal vehicle, must be insured under CA vehicle insurance requirements with the following coverage limits: $100,000 per person, $300,000 per accident and $50,000 of property damage.
• Superior knowledge of wildfire behavior and fire science.
• Superior knowledge of field mapping software such as GIS, Field Maps and OnX Maps.
• Superior knowledge of Microsoft Office 365 applications, such as Teams, SharePoint, Outlook, Word, Excel, etc.
• Strong experience using project management tools, such as Monday.com, or equivalent experience.
• Demonstrate excellent oral and written communication and presentation skills.
• Demonstrate strong interpersonal skills including active listening, diplomacy, conflict resolution, and critical thinking.
• Ability to gain and maintain trust through actions and words.
• Story telling ability such as using examples and experiences to convey project importance.  
• Ability to communicate effectively with people from diverse backgrounds regarding Napa Firewise projects.
• Knowledge of grant reporting techniques and a commitment to maintain operational compliance.
• Proven leadership skills with willingness to assist where needed within the NCFF mission.
• Basic digital photography skills.

Physical Requirements:

• Visit job sites and landowners, sometimes up steep driveways or on rough terrain.
• Ability to drive on dirt roads safely in a personally owned vehicle or NCFF-owned vehicle and equipment.
• Vision should be correctable to 20/20. Full-color vision is required to look at maps, polygons, and flag markers.
• Must hike in arduous conditions including rugged, steep, and uneven terrain which may include at times crawling through brush, climbing over fallen trees, and/or crossing seasonal creeks.
• Must have sufficient balance to navigate rough terrain on foot while flagging, collecting images, or verifying conditions.
• Able and adept at working in environmental conditions and/or with environmental hazards found in nature, such as loose rocks, poison oak, ticks, snakes, and other natural conditions.
• Able to climb stairs and/or hillsides.
• Able to work outdoors in sunny, hot, cold, and rainy weather conditions.
• Allergies or sensitivity to heat and cold that would prevent being in nature, including high sensitivity to poison oak or other natural hazards, should be correctable.
• While working in the back country environment, unknown hazards may occur including unknown people and/or wild animals. Project Leads must be comfortable and able to use good judgment when responding to these scenarios.
• Able to stand, bend, kneel, reach, stoop, and crawl.
• Able to lift up to 50 pounds and carry up to 30 pounds.
• Able to work indoors and sit at a computer for long periods of time.
• Able to thrive in a fast-paced and sometimes unpredictable environment.

Apply:

If you are qualified for this position, please submit your resume and cover letter to us at NapaFirewiseCareers@gmail.com