Protect our Land, Ascend with Us!

Ascension is seeking a dependable, analytical, and highly organized professional who can operate effectively in a federal training, emergency management, grant administration, or program support environment.

The ideal candidate will bring experience supporting complex programs involving multiple stakeholders, deadlines, reviews, documentation requirements, and quality standards. The Consultant should be comfortable organizing information, analyzing program materials, coordinating subject matter experts, preparing decision-support products, and helping stakeholders resolve issues that could affect the timeliness or quality of training program reviews.

The strongest candidate will:

• Understand federal program operations and the importance of documentation, objectivity, quality assurance, and responsible stewardship of public funds.
• Be capable of managing assignments with limited supervision while maintaining regular communication with project leadership.
• Demonstrate sound judgment when reviewing sensitive or procurement-related information.
• Anticipate scheduling, documentation, or coordination risks before they affect deliverables.
• Communicate professionally with Government personnel, training providers, instructors, reviewers, subject matter experts, and other stakeholders.
• Translate complex review findings into concise reports, trackers, presentations, recommendations, and action items.
• Remain effective in an environment where workload may be intermittent, deadline-driven, and distributed throughout the year.

Summary of the Contractor Role

The Consultant will provide execution-level support to FEMA’s Training Partners Program through program analysis, reporting, coordination, logistical support, documentation, and stakeholder engagement.

The position may support activities associated with:

• Curriculum review and recertification.
• Instructor audits.
• Grant application review consultation.
• Review Board planning and execution.
• Subject matter expert coordination.
• Review comment collection and reconciliation.
• Documentation and records management.
• Process improvement.
• Performance reporting.
• Section 508 coordination and accessibility review support, as assigned.

The Training Partners Program sponsors the development, delivery, and evaluation of training through grants, cooperative agreements, and interagency agreements. Its training programs support first responders, emergency managers, and elected and appointed officials. The program applies the Analysis, Design, Development, Implementation, and Evaluation model to curriculum development and evaluation.

The Consultant is expected to support the operational processes that help FEMA determine whether training materials and delivery methods meet applicable quality, accuracy, instructional, administrative, and program requirements. The overall objective is to help ensure that federal funds result in consistently high-quality training.

Anticipated Day-to-Day Activities

• Coordinate curriculum reviews, instructor audits, grant application reviews, Review Boards, and related program activities.
• Develop schedules, review calendars, task trackers, milestone plans, contact lists, and status reports.
• Communicate review requirements, deadlines, evaluation criteria, and submission instructions to training partners, reviewers, subject matter experts, and FEMA stakeholders.
• Distribute course materials, review packages, instructor credentials, evaluation forms, reference materials, and other documentation to authorized participants.
• Review submitted materials for completeness, consistency, organization, and readiness for technical or programmatic evaluation.
• Analyze reviewer feedback, program data, audit results, evaluation comments, and supporting documentation to identify trends, risks, discrepancies, and required follow-up actions.
• Compile comments received before, during, and after curriculum reviews, instructor audits, grant reviews, or Review Board activities.
• Reconcile conflicting or duplicative reviewer comments and prepare consolidated findings for Government review.
• Prepare briefing materials, meeting agendas, minutes, decision documents, correspondence, executive summaries, presentations, reports, and recommendations.
• Facilitate meetings, working sessions, review panels, and consensus-building discussions involving geographically dispersed subject matter experts.
• Apply consensus-building techniques, including the Delphi Method or comparable structured review methods, when supporting grant application reviews or SME panels.
• Track reviewer assignments, deliverable due dates, open actions, risks, approvals, and final dispositions.
• Monitor whether reviews and audits are completed within applicable turnaround periods and promptly elevate potential delays.
• Support instructor audits by coordinating with training providers and arranging access to course materials, credentials, delivery schedules, and evaluation requirements.
• Document observations concerning instructor methodology, adult learning practices, course delivery, participant engagement, and adherence to established standards.
• Process post-review and post-audit paperwork, approvals, records, and final documentation.
• Maintain organized electronic files, review histories, trackers, correspondence, and supporting records in accordance with FEMA and Ascension requirements.
• Evaluate existing workflows and recommend practical improvements to reduce administrative burden, strengthen consistency, and improve review-cycle visibility.
• Coordinate with Section 508 specialists when training products or supporting materials require accessibility testing or remediation.
• Protect procurement-sensitive, proprietary, personally identifiable, and other controlled information.
• Participate in quality control reviews to ensure work products are complete, accurate, professionally written, and ready for Government acceptance.
• Travel to training delivery sites, audit locations, meetings, or other authorized locations when required and approved.