IEM is seeking a
Full-Time Deputy Project Manager to support FEMA Public Assistance recovery programs across Puerto Rico. This role supports the Project Manager in overseeing program execution, team operations, and delivery of technical services, ensuring timelines, reporting, and performance goals are met. The Deputy Project Manager helps lead daily operations, manages team coordination, tracks project status, and maintains client reporting while anticipating needs and providing visibility to leadership. This position serves as a key liaison between the Project Manager, COR3, Subrecipients, FEMA stakeholders, and internal teams, requiring strong leadership, project management, and FEMA PA expertise in a fast-paced recovery environment.
Primary Location:
- Live within a commutable distance to Guaynabo and San Juan, Puerto Rico.
- Work in an Office Environment with a team.
Travel Requirements:
- This position may require travel to complete work assignments or attend meetings.
Essential Functions:
- Support the Project Manager in leading daily execution of FEMA Public Assistance operations, ensuring timely delivery, quality, and compliance.
- Coordinate staff assignments, schedules, and deliverables while providing hands-on leadership, coaching, and performance oversight.
- Track project status, risks, deadlines, and resource needs, proactively identifying issues and implementing corrective actions.
- Prepare and deliver executive reports, dashboards, and client updates, maintaining clear and proactive communication.
- Maintain project documentation, tracking systems, and quality controls to ensure compliance with FEMA, COR3, and audit requirements.
- Provide technical guidance on FEMA PA eligibility, scoping, cost review, reimbursement, amendments, and closeout activities, translating policy into actionable direction.
- Review documentation and support RFI's, time extensions, scope changes, and other grant management actions with strong defensibility.
- Serve as a primary liaison with FEMA, COR3, Subrecipients, and internal teams, ensuring alignment and a strong client-service approach.
- Support contract administration, invoicing, and staffing needs while identifying opportunities to enhance client support.
- Operate effectively in a high-volume, fast-paced recovery environment with strong ownership, organization, and sound judgment.
Minimum Qualifications:
- Experience: Five (5) years or more of experience in disaster recovery, grants management, project management, public administration, construction management, infrastructure recovery, or a related field.
- Experience working with FEMA PA, municipalities, state agencies, private non-profits, and/or disaster recovery applicants/subrecipients.
- Strong understanding of FEMA PA project lifecycle, including eligibility, scope development, cost documentation, RFIs, amendments, reimbursement, procurement, and closeout.
- Experience managing staff, deadlines, client deliverables, and multiple concurrent assignments.
- Degree: Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Architecture, Planning, Public Administration, Business Administration, Emergency Management, Construction Management, or a related discipline.
- Bilingual: English and Spanish (oral and written).
Preferred Qualifications:
- Demonstrated success supporting complex, multi-workstream programs with responsibility for scope, schedule, risk, staffing, deliverables, and stakeholder coordination.
- Experience in project controls, including schedule development, milestone tracking, risk/issue management, dependencies, resource allocation, and performance reporting.
- Ability to manage multiple priorities and deadlines in fast-paced, high-accountability environments.
- Strong executive communication skills, delivering clear, decision-ready updates and recommendations to senior leadership.
- Experience coordinating teams in matrixed environments, including assigning work, tracking progress, and escalating issues.
- PMP, CDBG-DR, FEMA EMI, Six Sigma, emergency management, or grants management certifications preferred.
- Experience with tools such as Grants Portal, PR DRS, Excel, SharePoint, Smartsheet, Power BI, Microsoft Planner, or similar platforms.
- Valid driver's license required.
Additional Information:
- Office Locations: Often, these offices are either owned by the client we work with or by IEM. All candidates are expected to follow any rules and regulations of the office in which they are required to work for that project.
Benefits and more:
- 10 paid Holidays
- Vacation Pay
- Sick Pay
- 401 (K) plan with matching
- Company paid STD and LTD
Equal Employment Opportunity. All IEM employment decisions, including recruiting, hiring, placement, training availability, promotion, compensation, evaluation, disciplinary actions, and termination of employment, if necessary, are made without regard to an individual's race, color, religion, creed, sex (including sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression), national origin, ancestry, age, physical or mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, pregnancy (including childbirth and related medical conditions), marital status, military or veteran status, citizenship or immigration status, or any other characteristic protected under applicable law.
Reasonable Accommodation. IEM is committed to providing reasonable workplace accommodations for individuals with disabilities. If you require assistance or reasonable accommodation during any part of the application or employment process, please email IEMhumanresources@iem.com with specific details about the requested accommodation. All accommodation requests are reviewed case-by-case in compliance with applicable law.