Program Specialist II (Wildfire Communications)

Location: College Station, Texas; primary residence required within 30 minutes of the office within 90 days of hire. Travel is required for emergency response, training, and program delivery, sometimes for more than 14 days.

Salary: $4,833.34 per month.

Company

Texas A&M Forest Service provides statewide leadership and technical assistance for sustaining forests and natural resources and serves as Texas’s lead wildfire response agency.

What you will do

• Communicate with and educate media partners, communities, government agencies, and internal audiences about wildfire, aviation operations, aerial firefighting, prevention, and all-hazard response.
• Develop outreach strategies and serve as a public information officer during incidents, providing accurate and timely information.
• Write, edit, and produce press releases, official correspondence, reports, talking points, success stories, and other researched content.
• Collect and coordinate photos, videos, and other content for social media, websites, reports, and documentation of aviation operations.
• Support prevention, post-fire assessment, and emergency response teams while coordinating fire communication and education programs across departments.
• Provide leadership and development support to agency public information officers.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Communications, Range Science, Natural Resource Management, Fire Management, Fire Ecology, Agricultural Leadership, or a closely related field.
• At least two years of experience communicating internally and externally about emergency or wildfire incidents and producing thorough written materials.
• Valid Texas driver’s license or ability to obtain one within 180 days of employment.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.
• Strong written and oral communication skills, independent judgment, adaptability, and the ability to manage multiple priorities.
• Wildfire incident responders must pass the annual Work Capacity Test and meet the required physical fitness standard.

Nice to have

• Experience with aviation operations and terminology, aircraft, aerial firefighting resources, and aviation’s role in emergency response.
• Experience communicating with homeowners, media partners, and local, state, and federal agencies.
• Familiarity with wildfire response terminology.

Culture & Benefits

• Full-time staff position with a guaranteed minimum 40-hour work week and full benefits after 60 days.
• Medical, dental, vision, life, and long-term disability insurance, retirement benefits, and paid time off.
• Educational incentives, tuition reimbursement, professional development, and position-specific training.
• Compensatory time, overtime pay during emergency response, and a uniform allowance.
• Emergency response may include holiday work and extended travel away from the home unit.
• No moving-expense reimbursement is available.

Hiring process

• Applicants must submit a resume, cover letter, transcripts, and references; certifications may also be uploaded.
• Applicants are evaluated against the listed qualifications, education, training, and experience.
• Employment is contingent on credential verification and completion of a criminal history investigation.