Company Description

The Ember Alliance is a national organization of wildland fire practitioners, researchers, analysts, and instructors dedicated to increasing the pace and scale of prescribed fire. The mission of The Ember Alliance is to restore the relationship between communities and fire on the landscape.

The Resilient Communities and Ecosystems Department (RCE) advances fire-adapted communities in collaboration with community members, nonprofit partners, fire protection districts, counties, and other government agencies by (1) leading community wildfire planning efforts, (2) collaboratively enabling wildfire risk mitigation from the local to state level, (3) providing technical assistance and applied research to support fire and forest management, and (4) leading research to answer critical wildfire mitigation implementation questions that inform and improve our Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP) work. We are recognized as a leader in CWPP development and have earned a reputation for collaboratively developing holistic and actionable plans.

The Ember Alliance is a just and transparent workplace that strives for clear and kind communication. Our team is committed to centering fire practitioners from traditionally underrepresented backgrounds, including those who have not worked in fire before. We are dedicated to a workplace that recognizes the inherent value of our employees, which supports work/life balance, and that supports growth.

Job Description

The Ember Alliance is hiring a full-time position in the Greater Fort Collins, Colorado area. The potential candidate can work from home but must be able to work from the office when required.

The Assistant Project Manager position is responsible for assisting with duties as needed by Project Managers and the RCE Program Manager who supervises CWPP project managers within the RCE Department. This will largely include implementing work to meet project CWPP deliverables. The Assistant Project Manager will receive training and mentorship from their supervisor, as well as other team members, to learn basic project management skills such as budget management, and the CWPP development process. The position is office-based but has a minimal field component including but not limited to training or performing field assessments across a multi-state region and facilitating in-person community and partner meetings. Candidates should have a passion for collaborative planning to prepare communities for wildfire.

Duties & Responsibilities

• Support CWPP planning process and document generation and other similar projects with directives from supervisor, program managers, director, and project managers.
• Build and maintain relationships with clients, partners, and communities relevant to projects. This may include planning partner meetings.
• Assist in coordinating and facilitating CWPP Core Team meetings, partner meetings, and community meetings to meet project objectives and foster holistic and equitable cross-boundary wildfire planning.
• Support Project Managers with administrative tasks such as working with Accounting to run time and expense reports.
• Assist with miscellaneous duties as needed across Departments.
• Demonstrate a strong work ethic, including a commitment to principles of Duty, Integrity and Respect.
• Part of this position may require travel and field time in support of CWPPs. May work in variable weather conditions, at remote locations, on difficult and hazardous terrain, and under physically demanding circumstances.
• Assist in maintaining and reporting to RCE Program Manager on project budgets to track progress, keep project on budget, and coordinate with accounting team to invoice clients.

Breakdown of duties: 90-95% planning and project management, 5-10% travel and field time.

Qualifications

Minimum Qualifications

Relevant Experience

• Excellent written and verbal communications skills.
• Willingness to learn and accept feedback from peers/supervisors.
• Experience working on projects with a team.

Education

• Minimum of an associate's degree OR demonstrates written and verbal communication skills (as deemed sufficient by the hiring team).

Technical Skills

• Written and verbal communication skills.
• Competent in using Microsoft Suite products including Excel, Word, etc.

Desired Qualifications

• Experience with technical writing.
• Experience working on projects with clients.
• Basic understanding of community engagement.
• Passion for TEA’s ecological and social missions.

What Makes You Stand Out

• Background in wildfire or community planning.
• GIS or coding experience.

If you think you are a good fit for the job and for The Ember Alliance, we encourage you to apply even if you are unsure that you meet every qualification.

Additional Information

Schedule Requirements

This is an at-will position. The average work week is 40 hours, but the schedule may vary depending on project needs.

Pay and Benefits

Salary: $26.50 per hour salary annualized as $ 55,120. The Ember Alliance uses an hourly wage for all employees. Overtime will be based on operational needs.

Benefits: The Ember Alliance is proud to offer a competitive benefits package for permanent-full-time employees which includes health and dental insurance coverage with an employer match of 80% for the employee only, an employer sponsored $50,000 life insurance policy, paid time off, paid holidays, bereavement leave, paid sick leave, long-term disability, and benefits coverage for up to two weeks of leave-with-out-pay per year. Additionally, full-time employees with three months of employment are entitled to participate in an immediately vested 401k tax-advantaged retirement savings plan with 4% employer match.

Work Location

Fort Collins, CO Office/work from home

The Ember Alliance is headquartered in Fort Collins, CO. Our team works nationally on planning projects.

Potential employee may work from home with supervisor approval but must be able to work from the office when required, minimally once every two weeks. Preferred location is the greater Fort Collins, CO area.

How to Apply

Interested applicants should submit a one-page cover letter, a writing sample, three professional references, and a resume. Only applications through SmartRecruiters will be considered. Review of applications will be on-going. Applications for this position will no longer be accepted after October 10, 2025. If the position is not filled from applications within this time frame, a new position opening will be posted. Please specify your earliest available start date.

Required: Must be 18 years of age or older, have a current and valid U.S. driver’s license, and be legally eligible to work in the U.S. Employees are required to complete a Background Check and Motor Vehicle Record Check prior to employment. Employees required to hold a company credit card may be subjected to a credit check. Failure to pass any of these checks does not automatically disqualify you from employment.