Community Mitigation Assistance Team Member

Introduction

The CMATeam Member works directly for the CMATeam Lead and hand-in-hand with community leaders and organizations to promote and build capacity for sustainable wildfire mitigation, provide WUI mitigation technical expertise based on best management practices, help the community address imminent mitigation opportunities during an incident, and other tasks as assigned.

Major Duties

• Follows guidance from CMATeam Lead to accomplish ordering agency intent.
• Works collaboratively with the team, Forest, community, and IMT to determine mitigation challenges and solutions.
• Assists with just-in-time mitigation outreach as requested by IMT and within scope of mission.
• Shares/teaches about wui related GIS tools, home and community risk assessment programs, and other emerging tools/technology which augments mitigation implementation.
• Identifies barriers and opportunities for mitigation and delivers, through a variety of communication methods, mitigation information pertinent to community action.
• Delivers presentations, speeches, PowerPoints, etc to intended audience.
• Writes briefing papers, speeches, news releases, or other products for wide use.
• Analyzes community conditions related to the wildfire and relates them to experience and lessons learned to determine best wui methods for the community.
• Shares in documentation, recording, tool creation, outreach, minutes, team housekeeping tasks, etc.

Knowledge Required By The Position

• Wide on-the-job hand’s-on experience in wildland urban interface mitigation challenges, tools, and methods.
• Experience working successfully and positively with organizations to strategically plan sustainable mitigation efforts especially building local coalitions.
• Ability to teach/mentor community/organizational leaders about mitigation best management practices.
• A strong understanding of or experience in a variety of fuel treatment methods, coalition building, learning exchanges, community relations, defensible space, home hardening, home and community-wide assessments, pros and cons of wui codes and ordinances, experience working with volunteer and career fire departments.
• Should have a thorough understanding of the incident command system.
• Previous wildfire assignments are helpful.
• Excellent written, oral, and public speaking communication skills.
• Must be computer and internet proficient, able to use and download GIS products, use and download digital camera images, able to effectively use cell or SAT phones and King radios (or equivalent).
• Ability to instruct others in the requirements of the job, plan work, and supervise positions or trainees at the next lower level and will be required to supervisor other professionals or a group of technical specialists.

Supervisory Controls

The CMATeam member is expected to assist in assessing community mitigation needs and develop a plan of work best suited to the community during an incident. Work is reviewed on an ongoing basis (daily) with feedback provided by the team lead when necessary. Work is targeted to goals and desired outcomes which are developed by the team, community, and ordering authority at the onset of the assignment. Progress is monitored throughout the assignment based on conditions. Work is primarily performed independently but the supervisor may assign specific tasks. The CMAT will not perform direct mitigation work but will guide, plan, mentor, and assist with developing and implementing a sustainable mitigation strategy.

Guidelines

CMAT member adheres to policies, procedures, and protocols to guide teamwork and behavior.

Complexity/Score and Effect

Team assignments will be complex, challenging, and fluid as they will be predicated on the wildfire incident. The THSP-WUI/CMAT member must analyze community conditions, challenges, and barriers before developing a plan of work which, often, will fluctuate depending on wildfire behavior and community conditions. The work will involve rapidly changing situations which will require analyzing and problem solving under challenging conditions.

Personal Contacts/Purpose of Contacts

The THSP-WUI/CMAT member will have contact with others on the team, with the Ranger District, Forest, or Region, with members of the IMT, with federal and state land managers, with the public and political representatives such as local mitigation coalition members and leaders, city council, city planners, county boards, fire department and auxiliary personnel and leadership, public and private land managers, and others as necessary in order to share information with community decision makers and those in a position of authority to help implement mitigation actions on the larger landscape in order to plan work and influence people or groups locally to take mitigation action. The extent to which those contacts are necessary will be fully dependent on the scope of each assignment.

Physical Demands/Work Environment

• The work requires moderate physical exertion such as walking to view and assess mitigation challenges, walking between meetings, standing during presentations, etc.
• No fitness rating is required.
• The work will be performed in residential and rural areas of the community for site visits, in meeting rooms and community forums, and in the office. No work will be performed in potentially dangerous situations and no direct mitigation actions such as clearing brush or cleaning gutters will be done.

Position Needs

• Successful Completion of one (1) assignment as CMAT Team Member Trainee.
• Approval from USDA Forest Service CMAT Lead to participate in CMAT Assignments.

Required Trainings

1. Mitigation Best Practices Training
2. CMAT New Member Training