Infrastructure Program Lead - Disaster Recovery; Cicero, Illinois

Infrastructure Program Lead – Disaster Recovery

(Cicero, Illinois)

ICF seeks an Infrastructure Program Lead to support city and county governments in the Chicago metropolitan area with federally funded disaster recovery and mitigation programs focused on addressing housing needs after past and future disasters. The Disaster Management division works with government agencies and communities to design and implement policies and programs that promote increased resilience to disasters and long‑term housing, economic, and infrastructure recovery.

Our expertise lies in program management, operations, planning, preparedness, technical assistance, training, strategic communications, compliance, monitoring, and performance measurement. We collaborate closely with ICF experts across the firm on related issues such as energy efficiency, green building, finance, and workforce development. Work is conducted in a professional, collegial environment that encourages pursuit of passions and results.

You will manage, review, analyze, and evaluate grant program activities to ensure compliance with grant program requirements and federal and state regulations governing federally funded programs associated with the Community Development Block Grant – Disaster Recovery (CDBG‑DR) infrastructure programs in Illinois, emphasizing the Chicago metropolitan region.

Position is onsite with preference given to candidates based in or near the Chicago metropolitan area.

• Manage and oversee teams and processes that implement CDBG‑DR infrastructure programs, including project scoping, environmental and engineering review, procurement, construction oversight, and closeout for stormwater management, flood mitigation, and other infrastructure recovery projects.
• Provide project management and operational support throughout the grant and project implementation life cycle, including application, scoring, site visits, and the award period.
• Review and modify CDBG‑DR programmatic materials and project files, including standard operating procedures (SOPs), to ensure compliance with federal and state laws, rules, and regulations.
• Develop written products and tools for grantee policies and procedures, program design, and implementation (checklists, procedures, process flows, training materials).
• Review subrecipient requests for funding documentation (applications, capacity plans, implementation plans, scope of work, budgets, schedules, plan reviews, and SOPs) to ensure compliance with state and local program guidelines.
• Provide onsite technical assistance and training on programmatic and procedural requirements, including federal regulations (CDBG‑DR/MIT objectives, procurement, LMI benefit, FEMA match, labor standards, program design).
• Support reporting and data management, coordinating data gathering and entry into federal, state, and local government systems of record.
• Maintain task tracking tools, coordinate ICF staff and resources, and ensure timely completion of assignments and deliverables.
• Collaborate with onsite leads and project managers to support best practices, client policies, and strategy meetings.
• Travel throughout the greater Chicago region; attendance at client offices several days a week may be required.

• Bachelor’s degree in public administration, public policy, government, business administration, or related discipline, or 8+ years of CDBG and/or CDBG‑DR/MIT experience.
• 5+ years of CDBG‑DR/MIT/NDR experience.
• 3+ years of experience with infrastructure and/or stormwater management or flood mitigation programs, including technical assistance to grantees or subrecipients and managing multiple projects.
• Expert-level CDBG‑DR technical assistance skills.
• 1+ year of experience writing technical guidance or procedures.

• Experience in a consulting firm, development organization, or public agency.
• Experience delivering training and technical assistance to state and local government agencies.
• Experience with Illinois state or Chicago‑area governments or non‑profit organizations.
• Experience creating disaster recovery, housing, and community development materials (training…