Helene Recovery Officer

Buncombe County Government is hiring a Helene Recovery Officer to lead our recovery from Tropical Storm Helene. Our community was severely impacted by Helene which was the largest natural disaster in the history of the state of North Carolina with an estimated impact of $60 Billion across the state. Buncombe County is located in the center of the disaster area with over 10000 homes impacted by the storm in our county alone.

Due to the historic nature of this event this newly created position will require complex problem-solving skills an innovative mindset and a commitment to public service. This is a new position in our organization and the Recovery Officer will be standing up the newly created Helene Recovery Office including hiring up to 5 additional staff to support this work. This Office is committed to restoring and rebuilding our community with a focus on the quality of lives for all Buncombe County residents.

This role will be at the forefront of recovery and heavily involved in projects such as redevelopment of parks housing repair and assistance stabilization of landslides and waterways and economic recovery projects.

This is a senior position within the government administration and reports directly to the County Managers Office. This position will be highly visible in the public eye and will interface with local and national media. The Recovery Officer will coordinate with departmental leadership as well as State of North Carolina and Federal Government partners. We are looking for applicants with experience in administering contracts and programs in disaster recovery FEMA CDBG and other HUD Programs.

This position is in-person and will work from 200 College Street in downtown Asheville NC. This position will work from 8AM to 5PM from Monday to Friday.

Purpose of the position:

The purpose of this position is to oversee Buncombe Countys Tropical Storm Helene disaster recovery efforts organizing coordinating and advancing local recovery initiatives. This role facilitates collaboration among government agencies nonprofit organizations and community leaders to implement recovery strategies align efforts and drive progress toward County recovery goals to ensure a unified and effective response.

Minimum Education Training and/or Experience (required at time of hire): Bachelors degree in public administration business administration planning emergency management or related field and five (5) years of experience in emergency management disaster recovery planning project development and management grant administration; or an equivalent combination of education and experience.

Essential Functions of the position:

• Oversee development implementation and management of enterprise-wide long term Helene recovery plan including a portfolio of projects to be carried out across multiple departments.

• Provide Enterprise Level project management by planning coordinating communicating and governance to achieve an organization wide result with a defined beginning and end.

• Regularly coordinate and communicate with internal and external stakeholders to foster positive relationships and engage with representatives from federal agencies non-governmental organizations as well as the local and state partners.

• Assist in the administration and implementation of the Helene recovery budget by ensuring the maintenance collection and consolidation of budget data.

• Write administer and advise on grants and loans for Helene recovery.

• Collect and analyze data/information relevant to the Helene recovery program prepare documents and reports for specified planning and evaluation projects and present oral and written analysis of data.

• Align recovery efforts with departmental organizational and community planning.

• Ensure efficient and effective execution of program activities.

• Performs other related duties as assigned.

Knowledge Skills & Abilities:

• Knowledge of local state and federal laws and regulations relevant to disaster recovery activities and/or business functions; and of the principles and practices of public administration and management.

• Knowledge of the general principles of financial management and generally accepted accounting principles and/or grants administration practices.

• Knowledge of grant writing acquisition and management

• Ability to direct and organize program activities and/or projects; to establish goals and objectives that support the strategic plan; to identify problems evaluate alternatives and implement effective solutions; to develop and evaluate policies and procedures; to prepare reports; to communicate effectively; and to supervise the work of others.

• Knowledge of related computer systems databases and spreadsheet use to ensure efficiency.

• Ability to analyze data identify trends and deliver proposals that are clear engaging data-based accurate and aligned with Buncombe Countys strategic goals.

• Possesses leadership and excellent project management skills. Outstanding communication and interpersonal skills including experience working directly with users and collaborating across internal teams to deliver complex projects.

In order to uphold internal pay parity and equity salaries are non-negotiable for new and current Buncombe County employees. All new employees are paid according to their years of relevant education and experience above minimum requirements for the position and employees have the opportunity to obtain pay increases via cost of living increases and promotions.

Buncombe County Government realizes the importance of a diverse professional workforce and the need to foster a responsive and innovative organizational culture one that fully engages all of our employees honoring and building on each employees unique experiences opinions and perspective.

It is the policy of Buncombe County to provide equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all persons regardless of race natural hair or hairstyles ethnicity creed color sex sexual orientation gender identity or expression national origin or ancestry marital or familial status pregnancy veteran status religious belief or non-belief age or disability or any other legally protected class under federal or NC State law. EEO practices and employment decisions regarding recruitment hiring assignment promotion and compensation shall not be based on any of these protected classes. In addition the County expressly prohibits any form of workplace harassment or discrimination.

Applicants for employment are invited to participate in the affirmative action program by reporting their status as a protected veteran or other minority. In extending this invitation we advise you that: (a) workers (applicants) are under no obligation to respond but may do so in the future if they choose; (b) responses will remain confidential within the human resource department; and (c) responses will be used only for the necessary information to include in our affirmative action program. We are a company that values diversity. We actively encourage women minorities veterans and disabled employees to apply. Refusal to provide this information will have no bearing on your application and will not subject you to any adverse treatment.