PLANNING ANALYST, FIRE - FIRE EMERGENCY

County of Los Angeles; California; On-site; USD 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

County of Los Angeles Fire Department seeks qualified candidates for emergency Planning Analyst positions related to disaster response and countywide planning.

Under the emergency order, initial appointments may be made for up to 90 days with a path to permanent County employment. Successful candidates will be evaluated on performance during the initial period and may advance to permanent appointment.

Qualifications

• Master's Degree in Planning, Public Administration, or Business Administration.*
• Four years experience in a responsible staff capacity analyzing and recommending solutions for organization, programs, budgets, or urban planning problems at Administrative Assistant III level.

Responsibilities

• Develops contractual agreements with other agencies with complex terms.
• Researches, develops, and recommends revenue enhancements, new programs and policies.
• Advocates the Fire Department's position on legislative matters and represents the Fire Chief on state committees.
• Negotiates with city managers and County Counsel to finalize agreements.
• Evaluates demographic data and uses advanced computer programs for service delivery models and analyses.
• Reviews service delivery trends and makes long-range planning recommendations.

Skills

Analytical thinking

Policy analysis

Negotiation

Research

Education

Master's Degree in Planning/Public Administration/Business Administration

Administrative Assistant III level experience

Job description

FIRE DEPARTMENT

TYPE OF RECRUITMENT: OPEN COMPETITIVE - FIRE EMERGENCY

EXAM NUMBER 34482A-FR

APPLICATION FILING PERIOD

Applications will be accepted from Friday, October 30, 2026, at 8:00 a.m. (PT) until Monday, November 2, 2026, before 5:00 p.m. (PT). All applications must be received before 5:00 p.m. (PT) on Monday, November 2, 2026, to be accepted.

The LA County Board of Supervisors has unanimously ratified a Proclamation of Local Emergency in response to the windstorms and wildfires, including the Palisades and Eaton Fires, that have devastated communities across the County. We are looking for qualified and passionate individuals to assist the County in mobilizing resources and support needed to help our residents recover and rebuild. If you are looking for a new career that will directly benefit the population of LA County, this may be the opportunity for you.

The Los Angeles County Fire Department is seeking qualified candidates to fill emergency PLANNING ANALYST vacancies related to this unprecedented natural disaster.

Under the emergency order, applicants who meet the requirements may be hired for an initial period of up to 90 days, with an opportunity for permanent County employment.

During your initial work period, you will be assessed on your work performance. This assessment will be weighted 100%.

Those who successfully pass the assessment will be considered for permanent appointment to PLANNING ANALYST.

• Develops contractual agreements with other agencies that are often politically sensitive and do not follow established standards; variables include intricate property tax pass-through issues, unusual financial terms, or atypical service delivery specifications. (Example: annexations of cities to Fire Protection District.)
• Researches, develops, and recommends innovative revenue enhancements, new programs, policies and procedures, and methods for monitoring existing programs. (Example: Benefit Assessment.)
• Acts as advocate for the Fire Department's position on critical legislative matters, including:
• Represents the Fire Chief on State-wide committees and in meetings with legislators and/or their staffs to seek introduction or support of legislation.
• Meets with fire associations, employee organizations and other agencies to urge support.
• Recommends the Department's position on proposed legislation, drafts testimony, and prepares legislative proposals for County or fire association sponsorship.
• Evaluates demographic data and utilizes advanced computer programs to produce scientific service delivery models and sophisticated statistical analyses.
• Negotiates with city managers, city attorneys, and representatives of the County Counsel to resolve conflicts and finalize agreements.
• Develops comprehensive standards, recommendations and plans to maintain or modify service levels in order to achieve optimum deployment of emergency response units.
• Conducts studies of proposed municipal annexations, fees for Departmental services and other highly complex and sensitive matters.
• Analyzes service delivery trends and area economic forecasts and makes recommendations to management for long-range planning.
• Reviews draft environmental impact reports and prepares fire service related mitigation responses.

REQUIREMENTS TO QUALIFY:

Option I: A Master's Degree in Planning, Public Administration, or Business Administration*

Option II: Four years experience in a responsible staff capacity** analyzing and making recommendations for the solution of problems of organization, program, systems, legislation, budget, revenue, personnel, or urban research and planning, at the level of the Los Angeles County class of Administrative Assistant III***

You MUST meet the above requirement(s) in order to be appointed to fill any vacancies related to this recruitment.

**Staff capacity having done work in an organization, the primary purpose is to assist and support administration in the efficient operation of its functions by doing research into matters such as: utilization of personnel; allocations of funds/budgeting; workloads and workload fluctuation; legislation analysis; programs or procedures for accomplishing work objectives; and developing recommendations as a result of the above research.

***Administrative Assistant III in the service of Los Angeles County is defined as analyzing and making recommendations for the solution of highly complex operating, budgetary and financing, and other management problems of a County department, and participates in the implementation of their solution.

LICENSE:

A valid California Class C Driver License or the ability to utilize an alternative method of transportation when needed to carry out job-related essential functions.

PHYSICAL CLASS:

Physical Class 2 – Light: This class includes administrative and clerical positions requiring light physical effort that may include occasional light lifting to a 10-pound limit and some bending, stooping, or squatting. Considerable ambulation may be involved.

SPECIAL REQUIREMENT INFORMATION:

To receive credit for your education, include a legible copy of all relevant official documents, including your diploma, transcript, or letter/certificate from an accredited institution or email it to [e-mail] within five (5) calendar days of filing your application. The document should show the date the degree was conferred and be in English; if it is in a foreign language, it must be translated and evaluated for equivalency to U.S. standards. For more information on our standards for educational documents, please visit: https://file.lacounty.gov/SDSInter/dhr/070812_PPG123.pdf (Download PDF reader) and https://file.lacounty.gov/SDSInter/dhr/205105_PPG_123_ACE_Resource_Guide.pdf (Download PDF reader)

If you are unable to attach the required documents, please e-mail them to [e-mail] within five (5) calendar days of filing. Include your Name, Exam Number, and the Exam Title on the emailed documents.

We do not accept password-protected documents. Ensure documents are unlocked before attaching to your application or sending to the exam analyst.

NOTE: If credit is given for course work, transcripts must indicate completion of required course work. All transcripts/degrees may be reviewed for content and curriculum emphasis.

EXAMINATION CONTENT:

During your initial work period, the appointing department will evaluate your performance. Those who achieve a passing score on this evaluation will be considered for permanent appointment.

APPLICATION & FILING INFORMATION:

Applications must be filed online only and will be reviewed for interview consideration on an ongoing basis. If you have not been contacted within 60 days and the recruitment remains open or reopens for filing, we encourage you to submit a new application. This will allow you to reaffirm your interest and update any relevant information.

Many important notifications will be sent electronically to the email address provided on the application, so it is important that you provide a valid email address. Please add Erik.walton@fire,lacounty.gov, [e-mail] as well as [e-mail], and [e-mail] to your email address and list of approved senders to prevent email notifications from being filtered as spam/junk/clutter mail.

You have the ability to opt out of emails from LA County. If you unsubscribe, you will not receive any email notification for any examination for which you apply with Los Angeles County. Regardless of whether you choose to unsubscribe, you can always check for notifications by logging into governmentjobs.com and viewing your profile inbox, which saves a copy of all emailed notices.

Plan to submit your online application well in advance before the posting closes as you may be required to verify your email address. This only needs to be done once per email address, and if you already have a job seeker account on www.governmentjobs.com/careers/lacounty, you can verify at any time by logging in and following the prompts. This is to enhance the security of your online application and to ensure you do not enter an incorrect email address.

Department Contact Name: Fire Examination Section. Department Contact Phone: [phone]. Department Contact Email: [e-mail]. Teletype Phone: [phone].