Recovery Programs Director

Michael Baker International•Guaynabo, PR

About The Position

The Recovery Programs Director provides senior-level leadership, client engagement, technical direction, and portfolio oversight for complex federally funded disaster recovery and hazard mitigation programs serving State, Local, Tribal, and Territorial clients. The Director leads FEMA Public Assistance (PA), Section 406 hazard mitigation, Section 428 Alternative Procedures, the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP), and related recovery engagements from mobilization and project formulation through obligation, reimbursement, audit readiness, and closeout. The role integrates program management, staffing, risk management, quality control, stakeholder coordination, and compliant delivery across multidisciplinary teams. The position leads and develops multidisciplinary teams, establishes delivery standards and accountability, and oversees workforce planning, recruiting, onboarding, coaching, mentoring, and professional development. It also supports business development through technical approaches, scopes of work, staffing plans, proposals, presentations, and client briefings, while promoting knowledge transfer and local capacity building across Puerto Rico and other jurisdictions. The position is generally performed in a professional office, hybrid, or client-site environment. It requires regular communication, extended computer use, close visual attention, participation in virtual and in-person meetings, and occasional travel or field activity. Travel is approximately 25% to 50%.

Requirements

Eight or more years of progressively responsible experience supporting, administering, or leading federally funded disaster recovery, hazard mitigation, infrastructure, emergency management, or grants programs.
Eight or more years of management and leadership experience, including direct supervision or matrix leadership of professional and technical teams.
Demonstrated experience with FEMA PA and at least one of the following: HMGP, Section 406 mitigation, Section 428 Alternative Procedures, hazard mitigation planning, or federal grant compliance.
Experience managing complex, multi-project portfolios and client-facing engagements involving schedules, budgets, staffing, deliverables, quality, and contractual requirements.
Experience developing or defending eligibility, scope, cost, documentation, compliance, reimbursement, or funding positions with governmental or federal stakeholders.
Experience supporting audit readiness, monitoring, closeout, corrective actions, or resolution of complex programmatic issues.
Bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution in engineering, architecture, planning, emergency management, public administration, business administration, finance, accounting, construction management, environmental science, or a related field. A relevant master’s degree may be considered in lieu of the required experience in accordance with company policy.
Advanced knowledge of FEMA PA policy, the Public Assistance Program and Policy Guide, HMGP or HMA requirements, Section 406 mitigation, Section 428 Alternative Procedures, and applicable federal cost principles.
Working knowledge of 2 CFR Part 200, procurement, cost reasonableness, insurance, EHP/NEPA, documentation retention, audits, appeals, reimbursements, and grant closeout.
Ability to lead portfolio-level delivery, prioritize high-risk or high-value projects, and align work to the applicable disaster declaration, policy version, and funding pathway.
Ability to establish governance, project controls, dashboards, KPIs, issue logs, risk registers, QA/QC processes, and executive reporting.
Strong executive-level communication, facilitation, negotiation, technical writing, presentation, and interpersonal skills.
Demonstrated judgment in complex or sensitive client matters and ability to escalate issues with clear options and recommendations.
Ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced, deadline-driven environment and adjust staffing and work plans as needs evolve.
Proficiency with Microsoft 365 and experience using grants management, project tracking, reporting, or data visualization systems.
Ability and willingness to travel approximately 25% to 50%.
Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable qualified individuals to perform the essential functions of the position.

Nice To Haves

Puerto Rico recovery experience and experience working with recipients and subrecipients.
Fluency in English and Spanish is strongly preferred for Puerto Rico-based assignments and may be required when interacting directly with subrecipients.
Project Management Professional, Certified Emergency Manager, Certified Floodplain Manager, grants management, Lean Six Sigma, or comparable certification.
Professional Engineer, Registered Architect, or Licensed Professional Planner credential.
A valid driver’s license may be required based on travel and field responsibilities.

Responsibilities

Provide executive and programmatic oversight for FEMA PA, Section 406 mitigation, Section 428 Alternative Procedures, HMGP, and related disaster recovery engagements.
Serve as a senior advisor and escalation point for clients and project leadership on program strategy, eligibility, compliance, risk, delivery, and stakeholder issues.
Lead mobilization, governance, work planning, staffing, communications, reporting cadence, and performance expectations for task-order and portfolio-based engagements.
Oversee project formulation and review, including damage descriptions, scopes of work, cost estimates, benefit-cost analyses, EHP documentation, procurement support, insurance considerations, RFIs, amendments, reimbursement, appeals, closeout, and audit support.
Coordinate multidisciplinary workstreams covering engineering and feasibility, cost estimating, EHP, BCA, grant compliance, hazard mitigation planning, QA/QC, data analysis, reporting, administration, and logistics.
Monitor schedules, budgets, staffing, deliverables, documentation, risks, corrective actions, and client commitments.
Embed audit-ready documentation, decision tracking, peer review, and QA/QC controls into daily workflows to reduce rework, funding risk, deobligation exposure, and downstream findings.
Maintain productive relationships with senior government officials, FEMA, recipients, subrecipients, regulatory partners, internal executives, teaming partners, and technical stakeholders.
Translate federal requirements into practical workflows, tools, templates, checklists, training, and implementation guidance.
Support business development through scopes of work, staffing plans, technical approaches, proposals, presentations, client briefings, and identification of emerging recovery needs.
Promote knowledge transfer, local capacity building, staff development, and consistent program execution across Puerto Rico and other jurisdictions.
Lead and develop project managers, workstream leads, technical specialists, grants professionals, analysts, and administrative personnel across multidisciplinary teams.
Establish clear roles, decision rights, performance standards, workload priorities, and accountability for deliverables.
Direct workforce planning, recruiting, onboarding, mobilization, succession planning, coaching, mentoring, and professional development.
Conduct program-level risk, quality, financial, resource, and reporting reviews and promptly escalate material issues.
Facilitate collaboration among prime and subcontractor personnel while maintaining clear responsibility for contract performance and quality.