Prevention/Education Team Leader

Introduction

This position develops a comprehensive fire prevention education program on a local, district, region, state or multi-state level to reduce human-caused wildfires. The program includes components of education, engineering, and enforcement.

Duties

• Develops a strategic communication plan with key messages. Delivers persuasive fire prevention education programs to large community groups such as homeowner associations, key community leaders, elected officials, fire departments and agency partners to address needed behavioral changes to reduce wildfires.
• Identifies community activities/events that provide an opportunity to reach communities with fire prevention education activities and messages.
• Responds to wildland fire conditions that are frequently extreme.
• Establishes agency and community communications and collaboration with the agency public affairs officers, agency prevention personnel, Incident Management teams, local fire departments, key community leaders and elected officials to plan.
• Collaborates with partners to identify fire causes, recognize the threat of the problem to the geographic area and target specific prevention education programs.
• Prepares and produces a variety of prevention education products including news releases, educational products including billboards, radio and television ads, posters, flyers, and door hangers targeting fire causes including debris burning, arson, campfires, mechanical equipment failure and children.
• Works with billboard business owners and the National Ad Council for public service placement of Smoky Bear billboards.
• Works with the state highway department to display fire prevention messages on electronic signs.
• Supervises a team of two to five specialists including a Prevention Education Specialist(s) and an agency public affairs officer/PIO1or2. In addition, the complexity of the assignment may call for additional PIOs, PETMs, prevention technicians, a graphic artist, a business manager, and an agency liaison. The PETL assigns tasks, evaluates performance, reviews program effectiveness and resolves conflicts that may arise, ensures the safety and welfare of the assigned staff; leads and maintains a focus team safety; holds daily safety briefings.
• Maintains positive interpersonal relationships. Employs good listening skills with co-workers, agency personnel, and community partners. Is responsive to requests and needs of others.
• Works with national, regional and local media to address fire causes, fire weather and fire fuel conditions in creative ways to get the fire prevention message before the public.
• Works with NOAA and weather radio and television weather forecasters to include fire danger in their daily weather reports.
• Manages procurements including office space rental, GPO printing, office supplies, lodging, equipment rental, per diem supported by agency procurement personnel.
• Establishes effective community relations with elected officials, key community leaders and agency partners. In consultation with agency administrators, initiates, plans, and leads briefings, presentations at agency meetings and community meetings. Establishes and implements procedures for information exchange and coordination with the National Interagency Fire Information Center (WO), regional; fire prevention manager and area IMTs.
• Prepares a final report of team activities and team recommendations for needed follow-up with community organizations, elected officials and agency partners.
• Prepares mobilization plan keyed to activity level of media, attendance at community events, coordination with IMTs, partner agencies, fire departments, community organizations, and key community leaders and elected officials.

Position Knowledge and/or Requirements

• Completion of P0410, national team leader course.
• Superior oral and written communications skills.
• Superior leadership skills to lead team to achievement in a short period of time to lead social change in a community.
• Flexibility and diplomacy to deal with elected officials, interagency partners, homeowners, some of which may not want change and may withhold support.
• Satisfactory performance as a PETM or PETLT.

Supervisory Controls

• Reports to the agency administrator who provides the PETL broad agency policies and performance expectations through a formal delegation of authority.
• The PETL develops comprehensive, well-defined policies, objectives and strategies, incorporating program components with tactical operations.
• Completed work is reviewed only from an overall standpoint in terms of effectiveness in meeting expected results.

Guidelines

Guidelines, in the form of broad agency policy, practice and procedure, are available, but contain gaps in specificity.

The incumbent uses judgment in determining appropriate actions to take by interpreting and adapting existing guidelines for application to specific cases or problems.

Complexity

The work includes varied duties that require many different and unrelated processes and methods.

Decisions as to what needs to be done depend upon the incumbent choosing a course of action from many alternatives after assessing unusual situations or circumstances.

The work requires making many decisions concerning such things as interpretation of considerable data, planning of the work, and/or refinement of the methods and techniques to be used.

Scope and Effect

Work products often affect the social, physical, and economic well-being of many people.

Personal Contacts

Contacts are with a wide variety of people outside the employing agency including news media and public action groups, frequently in unstructured settings.

Purpose of Contacts

The purpose of many of the external contacts is to influence and motivate the audiences. Often the contacts, e.g., some homeowners, may be skeptical and uncooperative.

Physical Demands

The work requires moderate physical exertion.

Work Environment

Moderate risks and discomfort.