Strategic Initiative Leader – Disaster Resilience

Freese and Nichols • Fort Worth, TX

19h • Hybrid

About The Position

Freese and Nichols is seeking a Strategic Initiative Leader – Disaster Resilience to define, build, and scale a new national service line focused on helping communities prepare for, respond to, and recover from disasters across the full lifecycle. As the Strategic Initiative Leader, you will champion a strategy that expands Freese and Nichols’ role across the disaster lifecycle—from preparedness and mitigation to response and recovery. You will work across practices, geographies, and markets to align people, capabilities, client relationships, teaming partners, and contract vehicles around a shared vision for client service continuity. This role will help position Freese and Nichols to support our clients before disasters occur, mobilize quickly when events happen, and guide communities through long-term recovery and resilience implementation.

Requirements

• Minimum of 12 years of progressive experience in disaster resilience, emergency management, infrastructure resilience, public sector consulting, disaster recovery, hazard mitigation, flood risk management, planning, engineering, program management, or a related field.
• Bachelor’s degree in engineering, planning, emergency management, public administration, environmental science, public policy, or a related field.
• Demonstrated success leading business development, client engagement, strategy development, and/or market growth in a public sector consulting environment.
• Experience working with local, regional, state, and/or federal clients involved in disaster preparedness, mitigation, response, recovery, infrastructure resilience, or public funding programs.
• Ability to translate complex policy, funding, technical, and operational issues into clear market strategies, client solutions, and actionable implementation plans.
• Strong executive presence with the ability to build trust with clients, internal stakeholders, technical leaders, teaming partners, and firm leadership.
• Demonstrated ability to lead through influence across practices, geographies, disciplines, and organizational structures.
• Strong understanding of the disaster lifecycle and the relationships among preparedness, mitigation, response, recovery, funding, infrastructure planning, and long-term resilience.
• Excellent communication, facilitation, writing, and presentation skills.

Nice To Haves

• Experience supporting disaster resilience, emergency management, hazard mitigation, disaster recovery, or infrastructure resilience programs for local, state, or federal agencies.
• Knowledge of federal and state funding programs, including FEMA, HUD CDBG-DR/CDBG-MIT, Hazard Mitigation Assistance, and similar resilience and recovery funding sources.
• Experience developing, managing, or supporting pre-disaster advisory contracts, on-call contracts, technical assistance programs, or disaster recovery engagements.
• Established relationships with public sector clients, emergency management organizations, funding agencies, and resilience stakeholders.
• Demonstrated success in business development, strategic planning, and executive-level client relationship management.
• Ability to translate complex technical, funding, and policy issues into actionable business strategies and client solutions.
• Experience leading cross-functional teams and influencing outcomes across multiple disciplines and organizational boundaries.
• Strong executive presence, communication skills, and ability to build trust with both clients and internal stakeholders.
• Professional registration or certification such as PE, CFM, AICP, PMP, or similar credentials.
• Active participation in relevant professional and industry organizations.

Responsibilities

• Refine and implement Freese and Nichols' Disaster Resilience strategy, including growth priorities, market positioning, investment needs, and measures of success.
• Translate client needs, market shifts, funding trends, and policy changes into actionable service offerings, growth strategies, and client solutions.
• Shape and communicate a differentiated disaster resilience value proposition that leverages FNI's technical expertise, client relationships, and integrated service capabilities.
• Own growth and revenue objectives for the Disaster Resilience initiative, developing and executing pursuit strategies across local, state, and federal markets.
• Capture pre-positioned advisory, on-call, and technical assistance contracts that enable rapid deployment of FNI services before, during, and after disaster events.
• Identify, advance, and support strategic pursuits, including emergency management, resilience planning, disaster recovery, infrastructure funding, and program management opportunities.
• Integrate services via a cross-practice of team that includes resilience planning, engineering, emergency management, funding, data analytics, and program management capabilities.
• Identify capability gaps and develop strategies to address them through strategic hiring, staff development, partnerships, and targeted teaming arrangements.
• Establish and maintain strategic teaming relationships that enhance FNI's ability to compete for and deliver complex resilience, emergency management, and recovery programs.
• Develop and coordinate disaster funding strategies that help clients leverage federal, state, and local resilience and recovery funding programs.
• Partner with technical and marketing leaders to develop thought leadership, client education, and external messaging that reflects FNI's expertise and credibility.
• Monitor emerging resilience trends, policy developments, funding programs, and competitive dynamics to inform strategy and maintain market leadership.

Benefits

• Comprehensive benefits package
• Paid overtime for salaried employees
• Annual bonus
• Access to company cabins in Red River, New Mexico and Banner Elk, North Carolina

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior