Public Assistance Program Specialist​/Administrative Assistant

Position: Public Assistance Program Specialist / Administrative Assistant
Job
Title:
IN-Client-Public Assistance Program Specialist

Work Arrangement:
Hybrid

Worksite Address:
302 W. Washington St Indianapolis, IN 46204
Pay Rate: $$/hr. on 1099 without benefits

Short

Description:

Public Assistance Program (PAP) Specialist is to assist the program, the program director, and the grant applicants through consistent communication and organization

Essential Duties/Responsibilities:

The mission of Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) Public Assistance (PA) Grant Program is to provide assistance to state, tribal and local governments, and private non-profit organizations so that communities can quickly respond to and recover from man-made or natural disasters or emergencies declared by the President of the United States. Through the PA Program, FEMA provides supplemental Federal disaster grant assistance to account for various disaster recovery activities including debris removal, emergency protective measures, and the repair, replacement, or restoration of disaster-damaged, publicly owned/eligible private non-profit facilities.

The PA Program also encourages the protection of these damaged facilities from future events by providing assistance for hazard mitigation measures during the recovery process.

After a Presidential Disaster is declared, the program specialist will spend a considerable amount of time working in the FEMA Grants Portal system, which is a website where all PA grants are tracked and administered. This is a system that is used by the state, FEMA, and local applicants alike. Below is a list of common tasks associated with this system:

• Register new applicant organizations in the Grants Portal system

• Review and approve/deny RPA submissions to make sure the registering organization is eligible under PA program guidelines.

• Review and approve/deny project applications associated with a disaster event

• Update contact information listed in the Grants Portal

• Assist applicants in the upload of disaster-related documentation

• Assist with system access issues

• Pull disaster data from Portal to build reports for agency leadership

In addition to the items listed above, the program specialist also has to remain available for questions that come from applicants. PA staff will regularly receive phone calls and emails from applicants who have questions ranging from profile creation issues all the way down to the steps needed to update a contact phone number in the Portal. Most often, we receive questions about the status of submitted project applications and their ongoing reviews.

This task is multiplied by the number of applicants and the number of projects each applicant has. In a "normal" disaster declaration, IN/FEMA Public Assistance Program can have up to 600 applicants and each applicant has up to 10 or more projects.

Working with FEMA

PA Program Specialists must work with FEMA to accomplish a variety of tasks associated with the PA program. Below is a breakdown of the regular tasks the position will be involved in:

• Participate in a weekly call with FEMA staff related to an open disaster event

• Participate in a monthly call with FEMAs closeout team related to past disasters

• Update/submit quarterly report documentation to FEMA staff

• Discuss any significant applicant project issues with appropriate FEMA staff

• Communicate all relevant policy/programmatic updates with relevant stakeholders

In addition to the items listed above, the program specialist also has to be available to answer any questions that may come from our FEMA contacts, as we often see issues come up with project applications or RPA submissions from applicants. It is the specialist's responsibility to address these issues on behalf of the state. Not doing so could mean an applicant missing out on possible funding.

Disaster project closeout

In addition to the work done with disaster projects in the Grants Portal, there are several tasks that program specialists are responsible for outside of that system, which usually come up when a project is ready to be closed out. Below are some of the major tasks that have to be addressed away from the Grants Portal:

• Closeout document review

• In-person project…