Benefit Cost Analyst

IEM is looking for a Full Time-Benefit Cost Analyst as part of the Mitigation and Resilience team. This position is responsible for performing detailed benefit-cost analyses (BCA) for hazard mitigation projects under FEMA programs such as the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP), Pre-Disaster Mitigation (PDM), and the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) program, and other projects or programs as required. This position focuses on completing engineering feasibility reviews, BCAs and developing BCA methodologies to support positive and potentially negative Cost Effectiveness determinations; extracting data from BCA projects that may have been developed under a FEMA BCA tool prior to version (ex: 5.2.1 5.3 or 4.4 etc.). Familiarity with hydrology/hydraulics, HEC-RAS, HEC-HMS, GIS to produce maps and evaluate production runs for pre and post mitigation scenarios is a preferred quality. This position focuses on evaluating proposed mitigation projects to ensure their economic feasibility and alignment with FEMA guidelines, while contributing to the broader objective of reducing risks from natural disasters and helping communities build back stronger and more resilient.

 

Primary Location:

• Candidates can originate from anywhere in the United States, you will work remotely from home or personal office location.
• All remote work environments require the ability to maintain minimum Internet speeds of 25 Mbps upload and 3 Mbps download, as well as a ping rate of 100 ms or less during working hours, regardless of the type and number of devices using your Internet connection. You must also have account privileges and access to your Internet service provider account during working hours for the purpose of maintaining the Internet connection, if needed.

 

Travel Requirements:

• This position may require travel to complete work assignments or attend meetings.

 

Essential Functions:

• Primary responsibilities consist of working with state, local government and federal agencies to assess and validate proposed project cost effectiveness, advise on submitting competitive mitigation project applications.
• This includes:
  • Extracting data from files, other BCA packages, newspaper articles, the internet and any other source that will support cost effectiveness assessments.
  • Preparing preliminary BCAs for screening projects for efficiency and to prioritize projects for potential ranking and submission under specified grant programs.
  • Developing a detailed BCA with the FEMA BCA tool Version 6.0 (or current version) for HMA sub-applications/sub-grants using a FEMA-approved methodology with a summary and supporting documentation to demonstrate project cost-effectiveness.
  • Reviewing BCAs to ensure the analyst provided adequate supporting documentation and the project has a passing benefit cost ratio (BCR) or sufficient documentation to justify a “Not cost effective” determination.
  • Ensuring mitigation project proposals comply with FEMA’s BCA guidelines and criteria.
  • Evaluating the applicability of pre-determined benefits to proposed projects (when applicable) such as:
    • Acquisitions and Elevations in the Special Flood Hazard Area (SFHA)
    • Residential Hurricane Wind Retrofits
    • Non-Residential Hurricane Wind Retrofits
    • Individual Tornado Safe Rooms
    • Hazard Mitigation Grant Program Post Wildfire
  •  Evaluating and reviewing Studies and reports such as Hydrologic & Hydraulic (H&H) studies related to drainage project applications.
  • Providing technical support for FEMA-funded programs such as HMGP, BRIC, PDM, and others.
  • Collecting and analyzing data related to hazard risk, including natural disaster probabilities, community vulnerabilities, and historical damage reports, and presenting findings to key stakeholders, including government agencies, funding authorities, and project teams.

 

Minimum Qualifications:

• 7-10+ years of experience in benefit-cost analysis development and showcased proficiency with BCA tools
  • Must be able to discuss previous personal BCA runs in a manner that supports your determinations
• Expert understanding of applicable federal, state, and local rules and