STATE FORESTS PROGRAM SPECIALIST - 08042026-79609

State of Tennessee; Nashville (TN); On-site; USD 47,000 - 63,000; Full time

Job summary

State of Tennessee is seeking a qualified professional to coordinate forest management and protection activities across statewide programs in Davidson County, Nashville, TN. The role involves planning, prevention, detection, suppression, monitoring and logistics for forestry and fire management initiatives.

The candidate will work under general supervision, applying technical expertise in program coordination, field operations, and interagency collaboration.

Qualifications

• > Education and Experience: Bachelor’s degree and 3 years in forestry-related fields.
• > Substitution of Education for Experience: grad-level forestry coursework may substitute for experience.
• > Substitution of Experience for Education: relevant field experience may substitute for education, year-for-year.

Responsibilities

• > Coordinates forest management and protection activities statewide or district-wide.
• > Builds patrols, timber cruising, boundary inspections, and forest health work.
• > Develops policies, procedures, and performance measures for program management.
• > Maintains relationships with Emergency personnel and other agencies for coordination.
• > May provide training and oversee grants and contract expenditures.

Skills

GIS

Forestry Management

Wildland Firefighting

Policy Development

Education

Bachelor's degree

Graduate coursework substitution

Experience substitution for education

Tools

GPS Unit

Fire Line Hand Tools

Safety Equipment

Job description

State of Tennessee Job Information

Opening Date/Time 08/04/2026 12:00AM Central Time

Job Information

Opening Date/Time 08/04/2026 12:00AM Central Time

Closing Date/Time 08/17/2026 11:59PM Central Time

Salary (Monthly) $4,562.00

Salary (Annually) $54,744.00

Job Type Full-Time

City, State Location Nashville, TN

Department Agriculture

LOCATION OF (1) POSITION(S) TO BE FILLED: DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, DAVIDSON COUNTY

This position is within Forestry Administration and is assigned a statewide territory.

Qualifications

Education and Experience: Graduation from an accredited college or university with a bachelor's degree and three years of full-time experience in one or a combination of the following: wildland firefighting, fire science/management, natural resource data science, watershed management/hydrology, reforestation, forest management, Geographic Information Systems (GIS), urban natural resource management, or acceptable related field.

Substitution of Education for Experience: Additional qualifying graduate course work in forestry or similar natural resources curriculum that may include fire science, natural resource data science, watershed management/hydrology, reforestation, forest management, or related curriculum may substitute for the required experience, on a year for year basis, to a maximum of two years.

Substitution of Experience for Education: Qualifying full-time wildland firefighting, fire science/management, emergency management, natural resource data science, watershed management/hydrology, reforestation, forest management, Geographic Information Systems (GIS), urban natural resource management/community engagement, entomology/pathology, natural resource restoration, wildlife, biology or related acceptable field experience may be substituted for the required education, on a year-for-year basis, to a maximum of four years.

Necessary Special Qualifications: Applicants for this class must:

• Possess and maintain a valid vehicle operator's license in some positions;
• Possess and maintain a Commercial Pesticide Applicator Certification in some positions;
• Pass a physical fitness test for participation in wildland and prescribed fire activities in some positions;
• Possess and maintain a Forest Inventory Analysis Certification in some positions.

Examination Method: Education and Experience, 100%, for Preferred Service positions.

Overview

Under general supervision, is responsible for coordinating the forest management and protection activities to include planning, prevention, detection, suppression, monitoring, and logistics for specialized forestry or fire management work of statewide or district-wide related programs of considerable difficulty and performs related work as required.

An employee in this class uses considerable technical expertise in coordination of forest management and protection activities or specialized forestry or fire management work of a statewide related programs or district-wide related programs. This class differs from Forestry District Manager in that an incumbent of the latter is responsible for district budgets, personnel decisions, and administrative supervision of a staff performing forestry or fire management programs.

Responsibilities

• Coordinates forest management and protection activities to include planning, prevention, detection, suppression, monitoring, and logistics for specialized forestry or fire management work of statewide or district-wide related programs.
• Builds or patrols fire line, performs timber cruising activities, boundary line inspections, forest health management work and/or timber sale setup.
• Makes recommendations to the administration on related program goals, objectives, strategies, and performance measures. Develops effective policies and procedures for efficient program management.
• Maintains current and develops new working relationship with Emergency personnel and other state agencies and may serve on various working groups, councils, committees to coordinate and/or direct programmatic objectives.
• May develop and provide required training for statewide program implementation.
• May write, apply, analyze and verify grants and contractual expenditures and revenues are effectively and appropriately implemented.
• May monitor timber markets by reviewing market price reports, milled delivered prices, and other factors to determine timber value and product demand.
• May monitor logging sites through visual inspection to determine contract compliance, visual and environmental impact best management practices compliance.
• May oversee a fire program or state forest program as an Assistant District Forester.
• May supervise subordinates by conducting performance evaluations and time management.

Competencies (KSA's)

• Action Oriented
• Interpersonal Savvy
• Customer Focus
• Instills Trust
• Courage

Knowledges

• Administration and Management
• Communications and Media
• Sales and Marketing
• Biology
• Geography

Skills

• Active Learning and Listening
• Critical Thinking
• Reading Comprehension
• Speaking
• Writing

Abilities

• Deductive Reasoning
• Inductive Reasoning
• Mathematical Reasoning
• Number Facility
• Problem Sensitivity

Tools & Equipment

• Office Equipment
• Safety and Heavy Equipment
• Fire Line Hand Tools
• GPS Unit
• Mobile and Portable Radios

TN Driver Standards

State of Tennessee positions that may involve driving responsibilities require candidates to meet the following minimum driver qualifications:

• A valid driver's license
• For the past five years, the candidate's driver record must not have record of the following violations: driving under the influence (DUI), reckless driving, license suspension for moving violations, more than 4 moving violations.

Please include your Driver's License Information under the Licenses and Certifications section of your application.

• Agencies may allow an exception based on other factors.