Public Service Leadership in Wildland Fire Preparedness and Response
Are you a collaborative leader who can work effectively across jurisdictions to support wildland fire management? Are you motivated by public service work that protects people, communities, and natural resources across Ontario?
The Ministry of Natural Resources is seeking a proven leader to join the
Aviation, Forest Fire and Emergency Services Branch as the
Assistant Director, Wildland Fire Preparedness & Response. This role provides senior level leadership oversight of Ontario's provincewide wildfire preparedness and response operations within a highly complex, multijurisdictional emergency services environment. Previous experience and knowledge of wildland fire management principles is beneficial but not mandatory.
In this role, you will contribute to the safe, effective, and coordinated delivery of wildland fire preparedness and response services across Ontario. You will work closely with municipalities, First Nations, and provincial, territorial, federal, and mutual aid partners to support provincewide emergency response efforts.
If you are interested in shaping and supporting provincewide wildland fire preparedness and response efforts through strong leadership, collaboration, and sound judgment, this Assistant Director opportunity may be the right next step in your leadership career.
The Ontario Public Service: Strengthening Ontario, together.
A career in the Ontario Public Service (OPS) is driven by purpose. We're building a stronger Ontario by delivering programs and services that make a real difference in people's lives. If you share this ambition, you'll find a workplace that reflects the diversity of the people we serve and empowers you to lead with confidence.
Why Your Leadership Belongs Here
- Purpose that drives you: Lead work that matters. Your leadership will shape policies, programs, and services that improve lives across the province—every day.
- A culture that supports you: Thrive in a flexible, inclusive, and respectful workplace that values your well-being and empowers you to bring your whole self to work.
- A career that grows with you: Explore leadership opportunities across ministries and sectors. With access to mentorship, learning, and mobility, your career can evolve here.
- Recognition that reflects your impact: We value the difference you make. You'll receive competitive pay, a defined-benefit pension, and benefits that support your well-being—plus meaningful recognition for your contributions.
We believe great leadership starts with high standards and strong support. In the OPS, that means showing up with authenticity, acting with integrity, and having the courage to do what's right, even when it's hard.
As a leader, you'll shape a team culture that sparks innovation, supports collaboration, and champions inclusion. You'll help build a workplace that is diverse, anti-racist, and accessible, where everyone feels safe, respected, and able to thrive.
You won't be doing it alone. We invest in our leaders through mentorship, learning opportunities, and cross-ministry networks that help you grow your impact and connect with peers across the organization.
Leadership is about impact, and in this role, you'll have the opportunity to make a meaningful one.
You will:
- Provide senior leadership oversight for provincewide wildland fire preparedness and response operations
- Support emergency response activities across diverse geographic regions and operational contexts
- Lead and support senior managers responsible for wildfire response programs and services
- Work closely with municipalities, First Nations, provincial, territorial, federal, and international partners to support mutual aid and emergency response coordination
- Represent Ontario at provincial, national, and international wildfire and emergency management tables
- Contribute to strategic planning, program modernization, and continuous improvement initiatives
- Provide calm, decisive leadership during high pressure, high stakes emergency situations
- Support organizational readiness, risk management, and change initiatives related to wildfire operations
Meet Your New Team
The Aviation, Forest Fire and Emergency Services Branch (AFFES) is part of Ontario's Ministry of Natural Resources and provides leadership and service delivery for the Ministry's wildland fire management, emergency management and aviation services.
AFFES leads the province's wildfire management program, including prevention, detection, and suppression of forest fires. It also operates Ontario's fleet of specialized aircraft for firefighting and emergency response, supports all-hazards emergency management (such as floods and natural disasters), and provides expertise, personnel, and coordination in complex, multi-agency emergency situations across the province.
The
Wildland Fire Preparedness & Response team supports the safe, effective, and coordinated delivery of provincewide wildfire preparedness and response operations across Ontario. The team plays a critical role in strengthening readiness and response through operational oversight and close coordination with municipalities, First Nations, and provincial, territorial, federal, and mutual aid partners. Operating in a dynamic, high pressure environment, the team's work directly contributes to protecting communities, people, and Ontario's natural resources.
- This role requires mandatory travel, which can be extensive at times depending on operational demands and emergency response requirements.
- Leadership Experience: You bring established experience leading people and teams, with clear accountability for results, team development, and performance. You lead by setting direction, coaching others, and building a culture of trust, inclusion, and high performance.
- Setting Direction and Priorities: You provide clear priorities, performance expectations, and strategic focus in complex and evolving environments.
- Judgement and Accountability: You demonstrate strong judgment, integrity, and accountability in executive level decision making.
- Dispersed Operations Leadership: You support and lead teams and response systems operating across diverse, geographically dispersed regions.
- Change and Modernization Leadership: You lead organizational change, navigate ambiguity, and help teams adapt during periods of modernization.
- Clear and Executive Level Communication: You communicate complex information clearly and confidently to staff, executives, and stakeholders.
- Trust and Credibility Building: You are known for building trust and credibility quickly through transparent and respectful communication.
- Stakeholder and Partner Engagement: You maintain strong, constructive relationships across internal teams, external partners, and intergovernmental stakeholders.
- Representation at Senior Tables: You represent the organization effectively at executive, intergovernmental, and external forums.
- Communication Under Pressure: You exercise sound judgment and composure when communicating in high pressure, sensitive, or time critical situations.
- Enterprise Level Thinking: You bring strong strategic thinking skills and the ability to operate effectively at an enterprise level.
- Complex Issue Analysis: You assess complex issues, risks, and tradeoffs to support well reasoned, defensible decisions.
- Balancing Short and Long Term Objectives: You balance immediate operational needs with long term strategic goals and public service outcomes.
- Judgment in Ambiguity: You make timely, thoughtful decisions in ambiguous, rapidly evolving, or high stakes environments.
- Turning Strategy into Action: You translate strategic priorities into clear plans, actions, and measurable results.
The following would be considered an asset:
- Province Wide Wildland fire Operations Oversight: You bring experience supporting or overseeing largescale wildfire or emergency response operations across broad geographic areas.
- Emergency Response Coordination: You understand the coordination required to support safe and effective emergency operations in fastmoving, high stakes environments.
- Intergovernmental and Partner Engagement: You work effectively with municipalities, First Nations, and provincial, territorial, federal, and mutual aid partners to support coordinated response efforts.
- Operational Readiness and Support: You contribute to planning, preparedness, and operational readiness activities that enable effective wildfire response.
- Leadership in High Pressure Situations: You provide calm, steady leadership and sound operational judgment during time sensitive and high pressure situations.
- Risk and Safety Awareness: You apply sound judgment when assessing operational risks and supporting safe response decisions.
If you are excited about this position and meet most, but not all, of the listed qualifications, please still consider applying. We recognize that no one person might have every qualification in this job ad, and you just might be the right candidate!
Think this role could be right for you?
We're here to support you every step of the way. These short videos can help you feel confident and prepared:
- Navigating Our Hiring Process(2 min) – Get a clear overview of each stage in our structured hiring process so you know what to expect and how to prepare.
- Application Preparation Tips(4 min) – Learn how to showcase your leadership experience in ways that align with how we evaluate applications during the screening stage, increasing your chances of being shortlisted.
Take a few minutes to explore these resources. They're designed to set you up for success.
We are building an inclusive workforce that reflects the communities we serve. We encourage everyone interested in working with us to apply, including people with disabilities, Indigenous, Black and racialized individuals, as well as people from all ethnicities, cultures, sexual orientations, gender identities and gender expressions.
Our hiring process is accessible, consistent with Ontario's
Human Rights Code and the
Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005. We are working to prevent and remove barriers in our hiring processes and can offer accommodation to address specific needs related to Code-protected grounds such as disability, family status and religion. For more information about accommodation during the hiring process please contact us.
Learn more about the work the OPS is doing to create an inclusive, anti-racist, accessible and diverse workplace:
- diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives
- accessibility
- Anti-Racism Policy
