Recovery Programs Director

What We're Looking For: 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.

What You'll Do
• 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. Leadership and Supervisory Responsibilities
• 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 escalate material issues promptly.
• Facilitate collaboration among prime and subcontractor personnel while maintaining clear responsibility for contract performance and quality. What You Need to Succeed:
• Eight (8+ years of progressively responsible experience supporting, administering, or leading federally funded disaster recovery, hazard mitigation, infrastructure, emergency management, or grants programs.
• Eight (8)+ 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.
• Puerto Rico recovery experience and experience working with recipients and subrecipients are strongly preferred.
• 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. Minimum Qualifications, Skills, and Abilities
• 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 the 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.
• Fluency in English and Spanish is strongly preferred for Puerto Rico-based assignments and may be required when interacting directly with subrecipients.
• Ability and willingness to travel approximately 25% to 50%. Licenses and Certifications
• Project Management Professional, Certified Emergency Manager, Certified Floodplain Manager, grants management, Lean Six Sigma, or comparable certification preferred.
• Professional Engineer, Registered Architect, or Licensed Professional Planner credential preferred.
• Valid driver’s license may be required based on travel and field responsibilities. Physical Demands and Work Environment The position is generally performed in a professional office, hybrid, or client-site environment and requires regular communication, extended computer use, close visual attention, participation in virtual and in-person meetings, and occasional travel or field activity. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable qualified individuals to perform the essential functions of the position. Compensation: The approximate compensation range for this position is $111,363
- $154,337 per year. This compensation range is a good faith estimate for the position at the time of posting. Actual compensation is dependent upon factors such as education, qualifications, experience, skillset, and physical work location. Why Choose Us:
• Medical, dental, vision insurance
• 401k Retirement Plan
• Health Savings Account (HSA)
• Flexible Spending Account (FSA)
• Life, AD&D, short-term, and long-term disability
• Professional and personal development
• Generous paid time off
• Commuter and wellness benefits Michael Baker International, a leading provider of engineering and consulting services, including design, planning, architectural, environmental, construction and program management, has been solving some of the world’s most complex infrastructure challenges for more than 85 years with a legacy of expertise, experience, innovation and integrity. Based in Pittsburgh and with over 100 offices nationwide, we partner with clients on everything from roads, bridges, tunnels, mass transit, and airports, to water treatment plants, arctic oil pipelines, environmental restoration and specialized overseas construction. We serve as a trusted adviser to the communities we serve, making them safer, more accessible, more sustainable and more prosperous. We provide visionary leadership in facilitating transformational change for our clients. Our work delivers differentiating innovations and dedicated experts who challenge the status quo and share a world of diverse experience and an impassioned entrepreneurial spirit. We deliver quality of life. We Make a Difference. Michael Baker International is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer. Michael Baker International provides equal employment opportunity for all persons, in all facets of employment. Michael Baker International maintains a drug-free workplace and performs pre-employment substance abuse testing and background checks. We encourage all qualified applicants to apply for any open position for which they feel they are qualified and all will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, creed, age, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, citizenship status, marital status, familial status, pregnancy or childbirth, genetic information, disability, protected veteran status, status with regard to public assistance, or membership or activity in a local human rights commission, or any other legally protected status. EEO is the Law. Applicants to and employees of Michael Baker International are protected under Federal law from discrimination. *It is unlawful in Massachusetts to require or administer a lie detector test as a condition of employment or continued employment. An employer who violates this law shall be subject to criminal penalties and civil liability. *There is no current application deadline. Michael Baker will continue to accept applications on an ongoing basis until the position is filled or no longer needed. TIDAL BASIN Our team has decades of experience and offers innovative and effective solutions to help organizations and communities prepare for, respond to, recover from, and mitigate natural and human-made disasters. We exist to help communities, agencies, and critical infrastructure partners prepare for, respond to, recover from, and strengthen resilience to disasters and disruptions. Today, we deliver that promise as one united team, combining Tidal Basin Group, MLU Services, and Michael Baker International to bring the full resilience lifecycle under one roof. That means clients can move from strategy to execution faster: aligning planning, funding, and compliance with engineering and design, program delivery, contingency operations and logistics, and technology enabled tools that improve visibility and decision-making. When urgency is high, we mobilize quickly. When complexity is high, we integrate disciplines and stay accountable through closeout, so recovery holds up to scrutiny and communities rebuild stronger.