Public Assistance Consultant

About the role

The Public Assistance Consultant / Specialist supports state, local, tribal, territorial, and other eligible applicants throughout the FEMA Public Assistance (PA) Program lifecycle. The position provides technical and programmatic assistance related to disaster recovery, helping applicants identify eligible damages and costs, develop projects, maintain required documentation, and move projects efficiently from initial damage identification through obligation and closeout.

Key Responsibilities

• Assist applicants with the identification, documentation, and evaluation of disaster-related damages and emergency response costs.
• Conduct or support site inspections and damage assessments, including documenting facility conditions, dimensions, quantities, photographs, and supporting information.
• Assist with development and validation of Damage Descriptions and Dimensions (DDDs), Scopes of Work (SOWs), and cost estimates.
• Evaluate potential eligibility of facilities, work, and costs in accordance with the Stafford Act, 2 CFR Part 200, FEMA PA policy, PAPPG, and applicable state requirements.
• Support project formulation for both emergency work and permanent work, including FEMA PA Categories A–G.
• Collect, organize, review, and reconcile supporting documentation such as invoices, contracts, purchase orders, force-account labor, equipment usage, materials, mutual aid, insurance information, and proof of payment.
• Assist applicants with FEMA Grants Portal, including project documentation, uploads, project tracking, RFIs, and maintaining accurate project records.
• Review project files for completeness and identify documentation gaps or potential eligibility issues before submission.
• Assist applicants in responding to FEMA Requests for Information (RFIs) and other requests from FEMA or the Recipient.
• Support cost estimating and cost-reasonableness reviews using actual costs, contractor estimates, historical costs, FEMA cost-estimating tools, or other appropriate methodologies.
• Review procurement and contracting documentation for consistency with applicable federal, state, and local requirements.
• Track projects through the PA lifecycle, including damage identification, project development, validation, obligation, amendments, reconciliation, and closeout.
• Maintain project trackers, status reports, issue logs, and other management tools to communicate progress and identify projects requiring action.
• Participate in meetings with applicants, FEMA, state emergency management agencies, engineers, contractors, and other recovery stakeholders.
• Identify potential issues involving insurance, environmental and historic preservation, hazard mitigation, duplication of benefits, procurement, or other compliance requirements and coordinate with appropriate specialists.
• Provide applicants with guidance regarding FEMA documentation standards, deadlines, eligibility requirements, and PA policies.
• Support development of appeals, Requests for Equitable Adjustment, or other project-related submissions, as appropriate to the assignment.
• Perform quality-control reviews to ensure project files are complete, accurate, consistent, and defensible in the event of FEMA, state, or federal audit.
• Maintain detailed records of applicant communications, decisions, outstanding actions, and project status.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in emergency management, public administration, business, engineering, construction management, finance/accounting, or a related discipline preferred. Relevant disaster-recovery or FEMA PA experience may substitute for education depending on the position.
• Typically 2+ years of FEMA Public Assistance, disaster recovery, grants management, emergency management, construction/project management, or government programs is preferred. Candidates should have strong analytical, documentation, communication, and organizational skills and be comfortable working directly with governmental applicants.
• Experience with FEMA Grants Portal, PAPPG, 2 CFR Part 200, project formulation, cost estimating, procurement compliance, or PA closeout is highly desirable.
• The position may require deployment to disaster-affected jurisdictions, extended assignments, travel, and work outside normal business hours during periods of disaster response and recovery.

Preferred Skills

• Experience in public sector, disaster response, or emergency management (a plus, not required).
• Demonstrated ability to work independently and take initiative in fast-paced settings.
• Comfortable adapting to new platforms or project types as needed.

Additional Qualifications

• Must be at least 18 years old.
• Eligibility to work in the United States. Must be located in the United States.

• Must be authorized to work in the U.S.
• Successful completion of company and any applicable client background and reference checks is required as a condition of employment.

• Must be willing and able to travel to various work sites as needed.
• Must be willing and able to work long hours in emergency response environments.