Program Manager, Recovery

Ashevillenc; Asheville (NC); On-site; USD 70,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

The City of Asheville is seeking a Program Manager, Recovery to oversee a portfolio of recovery projects and coordinate cross-department efforts. This grant-funded role requires strong leadership to ensure project delivery, compliance, and quality across initiatives.

The role emphasizes planning, monitoring budgets and timelines, and communicating progress through reports and briefings for stakeholders, with a focus on resilience and community recovery.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s Degree or an equivalent combination of experience and education.
• Three (3) years of experience leading or coordinating development projects.
• Experience performing in a leadership capacity.

Responsibilities

• Oversee a portfolio of recovery projects and serve as primary oversight for the Recovery team.
• Collaborate across the organization to ensure productivity, compliance, and quality of work.
• Plan, develop, and prioritize disaster recovery projects; monitor progress and milestones.
• Monitor budget, schedule, and resource utilization against plan.
• Prepare reports and briefings for public consumption; communicate program goals.
• Coordinate with internal support to ensure adherence to city policy and procedures.

Skills

Leadership

Project coordination

Stakeholder management

Education

Bachelor’s degree

Job description

The City of Asheville is seeking highly qualified applicants for the Program Manager, Recovery position, who oversees and coordinates a portfolio of projects included in ongoing recovery efforts. This strategic partner consults on and collaborates with recovery efforts across the organization to ensure the productivity, compliance, and quality of work being performed. This is a grant-funded position.

• Leads a portfolio of assigned recovery projects and serves as the primary point of oversight on behalf of the Recovery team.
• Collaborate with recovery efforts across the organization to ensure the productivity, compliance, and quality of work being performed. Participates in the design and review of engineering and architectural projects.

• Initiates and facilitates the planning, development, and prioritization of disaster recovery projects, including capital and programmatic projects as assigned. Monitors project progress to identify irrevocable decisions and major stage-gates.
• Monitors and evaluates progress to ensure project performance (timeline, budget, and resource utilization) against plan.
• Prioritizes project work across the assigned project portfolio in a resource-limited environment. Reviews and guides project roadmaps to proactively identify and avoid conflicts in resourcing.
• Collaborates with internal staff to develop and deliver strategic communications that enhance understanding and visibility of program goals and priorities. Prepares reports and briefings for public consumption, providing updates, findings, and project status.
• Tracks, analyzes, and synthesizes project data to support continuous quality improvement efforts. Develops evaluation reports and presentations.
• Maintains accurate project data and records, including regular progress reports and special documentation as requested. Coordinate with internal support departments to ensure project adherence to city policy and procedure.

Required

• Bachelor’s Degree or an equivalent combination of experience and education.
• Three (3) years of experience leading or coordinating development projects
• Experience performing in a leadership capacity

Preferred

• Experience working in the public sector
• Experience working in a recovery organization or on recovery-related projects
• Experience working on projects with federal or state funding. Examples include, but are not limited to, Federal Emergency Management Agency Public Assistance (FEMA-PA), or Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP), and Community Development Block Grants - Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR)

Data Utilization:

• Evaluates complex or multi-source data to identify trends, risks, or performance gaps.
• Determines analytical approaches when guidance is limited.
• Exercises discretion in interpreting ambiguous findings.
• Develops recommendations influencing operational decisions, programs, or resource allocation.
• May design or improve reporting methods or evaluation criteria.

Human Interaction:

• Negotiates outcomes across departments or organizations.
• Represents organizational interests publicly or intergovernmentally.
• Shapes collaboration strategies and stakeholder relationships.

Equipment, Machinery, Tools, and Material Utilization:

• Ensures appropriate technology use across staff.
• Implements workflow or system changes.

Verbal Aptitude:

• Develops organizational messaging, policy interpretation, or executive-level communications.

Mathematical Aptitude:

Ability to apply mathematical concepts and quantitative reasoning appropriate to job responsibilities.

Functional Reasoning:

• Aligns team activities with operational objectives.
• Resolves competing operational demands.

Situational Reasoning:

• Independently evaluates ambiguous situations.
• Balances competing priorities and risks.
• Makes decisions with incomplete information.

Critical Thinking:

• Synthesizes complex information from multiple sources.
• Challenges assumptions and evaluates competing perspectives.
• Anticipates downstream impacts of decisions.
• Develops innovative or preventative solutions.

Physical Ability Requirement:

Sedentary work involves lifting no more than 10 pounds at a time and occasionally lifting or carrying articles like docket files, ledgers, and small tools. Although a sedentary job is defined as one that involves sitting, a certain amount of walking and standing is often necessary in carrying out job duties. Jobs are sedentary if walking and standing are required occasionally and other sedentary criteria are met.

Sensory Requirement:

Tasks require frequent or precise sensory discrimination. For example, distinguishing multiple colors/shades, interpreting detailed visual or auditory cues, or clear oral communication in group or noisy settings. Errors due to sensory limitations could impact work quality or safety.

Environmental Factors:

Essential functions are performed in standard office or controlled indoor environments. No exposure to adverse conditions is required.