Sr. Advisor, Emergency Response & Fire Protection

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JOB SUMMARY

The Sr. Advisor, Emergency Response & Fire Protection provides strategic leadership, technical authority, and field oversight for emergency preparedness, emergency response teams, fire protection, fire engineering, and major accident response at the Rio Grande LNG Facility and Marine Export Terminal in Brownsville, Texas. The role is accountable for establishing and sustaining an integrated, risk-based emergency management program that protects personnel, the public, the environment, physical assets, and continuity of operations.

This position serves as the site subject matter expert for LNG emergency response planning, industrial firefighting, incident command, fire protection system assurance, tactical response planning, emergency drills and exercises, and coordination with regulatory agencies, local authorities, mutual-aid partners, and external emergency services. The incumbent translates credible major accident scenarios and operating risks into executable response strategies, trained team capabilities, reliable equipment, and measurable readiness standards.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Emergency Response Program Leadership
  • Own, develop, implement, and continuously improve the facility Emergency Response Program across LNG process areas, storage, utilities, marine terminal, warehouses, laboratories, administration buildings, and associated infrastructure.
  • Establish the emergency management governance model, response philosophy, team structure, command roles, escalation criteria, duty coverage, callout arrangements, and readiness expectations.
  • Maintain integrated emergency plans and procedures for credible fires, releases, explosions, medical emergencies, marine events, security events, severe weather, natural hazards, utility failures, and other foreseeable emergencies.
  • Ensure emergency plans are controlled, accessible, exercised, reviewed following material changes and incidents, and integrated with operating, maintenance, security, medical, environmental, and business continuity arrangements.
  • Provide emergency preparedness reports, readiness metrics, risk-based priorities, resource needs, and improvement recommendations to site and corporate leadership.
• Emergency Response Teams and Competency
  • Lead the design, staffing, organization, qualification, and ongoing development of the Emergency Response Team and industrial fire brigade.
  • Define responder roles and competency profiles for incident commanders, fire team leaders, firefighters, hazardous materials responders, rescue personnel, medical responders, control room personnel, accountability coordinators, and support functions.
  • Establish initial, refresher, practical, and scenario-based training requirements commensurate with assigned duties and foreseeable LNG emergencies.
  • Maintain training records, qualification matrices, physical capability requirements, respiratory protection readiness, PPE requirements, and periodic competency verification.
  • Develop instructors, assessors, team leaders, and succession capability to sustain emergency response coverage through all operating conditions.
• Fire Protection and Firefighting Equipment
  • Provide technical authority and lifecycle oversight for firewater pumps, storage, distribution, hydrants, monitors, hose systems, foam systems, deluge and water spray systems, fixed extinguishing systems, portable extinguishers, fire and gas detection, alarms, emergency communications, breathing apparatus, protective clothing, rescue tools, and response vehicles.
  • Develop risk-based inspection, testing, preventive maintenance, impairment, isolation, compensatory-measure, and restoration requirements in partnership with Maintenance, Engineering, Operations, and Reliability.
  • Review system availability, deficiencies, impairments, overdue tests, equipment obsolescence, spare-parts risks, and temporary arrangements affecting emergency response capability.
  • Participate in acceptance testing, commissioning, functional performance testing, firewater flow testing, foam proportioning tests, alarm testing, and verification of emergency system interfaces.
  • Ensure emergency equipment inventories, inspection records, location plans, operating instructions, and deployment strategies remain current and readily available.
• Fire Engineering and Safety Critical Elements
  • Provide fire engineering input to design, Management of Change, hazard reviews, facility modifications, temporary operations, shutdowns, commissioning, startup, and major maintenance activities.
  • Review fire hazard analyses, code studies, firewater demand, hydraulic calculations, foam application strategies, passive fire protection, fireproofing, detection coverage, egress, access, spacing, and emergency isolation assumptions.
  • Identify fire protection and emergency response systems designated as Safety Critical Elements and support development of measurable performance standards covering functionality, availability, reliability, survivability, and dependency.
  • Lead or participate in assurance activities that verify Safety Critical Elements can perform their required function under major accident conditions.
  • Assess barrier impairments and degraded emergency capability, recommend compensatory controls, define escalation thresholds, and support timely restoration decisions.
• Major Accident Scenarios and Tactical Response Planning
  • Translate hazard studies, consequence assessments, fire and explosion analyses, emergency planning assumptions, and operating experience into scenario-specific Tactical Response Plans.
  • Develop tactics for LNG and hydrocarbon releases, vapor cloud movement, pool and jet fires, equipment fires, tank and impoundment events, loading-arm or ship-shore transfer incidents, toxic releases, confined-space rescue, high-angle rescue, and multiple-casualty events.
  • Define safe approach routes, staging areas, exclusion zones, command posts, firefighting media, water and foam demand, equipment placement, responder limitations, withdrawal criteria, evacuation actions, and public-protection interfaces.
  • Validate tactical plans through field walkdowns, tabletop exercises, functional drills, simulations, and full-scale exercises, and revise plans using lessons learned.
  • Ensure response tactics recognize the limitations of intervention and prioritize life safety, isolation, controlled shutdown, exposure protection, containment, and escalation prevention.
• Drills, Exercises, Assurance, and Learning
  • Develop and execute an annual, risk-based drill and exercise program that tests individuals, teams, command functions, communications, accountability, evacuation, firefighting, rescue, medical response, mutual aid, and external-agency interfaces.
  • Establish exercise objectives, evaluation criteria, controller and evaluator arrangements, safety plans, after-action reviews, corrective actions, and closure verification.
  • Conduct readiness audits, field inspections, equipment deployment drills, unannounced callout tests, and assurance reviews to verify sustained capability.
  • Lead emergency response debriefs and support investigations following actual events, near misses, alarms, system failures, and significant exercises.
  • Track lessons learned and ensure improvements are incorporated into plans, equipment, staffing, training, design, and operating practices.
• Legal, Regulatory, and External Coordination
  • Maintain a compliance register and assurance program for applicable emergency response and fire protection obligations, permit commitments, approved manuals, company standards, and Authority Having Jurisdiction requirements.
  • Support regulatory inspections, audits, information requests, plan reviews, readiness demonstrations, and corrective-action commitments involving PHMSA, FERC, USCG, OSHA, Texas authorities, and local jurisdictions.
  • Coordinate with local fire departments, emergency medical services, law enforcement, Local Emergency Planning Committees, port stakeholders, public officials, hospitals, contractors, and mutual-aid organizations.
  • Maintain mutual-aid arrangements and ensure external responders understand plant hazards, site access, emergency control capabilities, firefighting resources, communications, and command interfaces.
  • Monitor changes to laws, regulations, codes, standards, permits, and recognized industry practice, and lead implementation of applicable changes through the management system.
• Other Responsibilities
  • Partner with Operations, Maintenance, Engineering, Marine Operations, Security, Medical, Environmental, Projects, Legal, Contracts, Procurement, and Communications to integrate emergency preparedness into business and operational decisions.
  • Provide emergency response and fire protection input to budgets, staffing plans, contracts, equipment specifications, service agreements, capital projects, and long-range asset plans.
  • Serve in assigned incident command or emergency management roles during actual incidents and exercises.
  • Participate in the site on-call duty schedule and maintain readiness to support emergencies and critical operational activities.

Minimum Requirements:

• Bachelor's degree in Fire Protection Engineering, Fire Science, Emergency Management, Safety, Engineering, or related technical discipline.
• Minimum 10 years of progressive experience with industrial emergency response, firefighting, fire protection, or emergency management experience.
• Minimum 5 years supporting LNG, gas processing, refining, petrochemical, chemical, terminal, or other major-hazard operations.
• Experience leading an industrial emergency response team, fire brigade, incident command function, or comparable emergency organization.
• Demonstrated working knowledge of NFPA 59A and the NFPA standards applicable to industrial fire protection, emergency response, inspection, testing, maintenance, and training.
• Working knowledge of PHMSA 49 CFR Part 193, OSHA 29 CFR Part 1910, USCG 33 CFR Part 127, and applicable federal, state, and local fire and emergency management requirements.
• Experience developing Emergency Response Plans, Tactical Response Plans, pre-incident plans, drill programs, training matrices, and competency assessments.
• Ability to obtain and maintain a Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC).
• Ability to participate in a rotating on-call schedule and respond to site emergencies outside normal working hours.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Master's degree in Fire Protection Engineering, Emergency Management, Safety, Engineering, or related discipline.
• Professional Engineer (PE) in Fire Protection, Certified Fire Protection Specialist (CFPS), Certified Emergency Manager (CEM), Certified Safety Professional (CSP), or equivalent recognized credential.
• NFPA 1081 industrial fire brigade, NFPA 1041 fire service instructor, NFPA 1021 fire officer, HAZMAT technician, emergency medical, technical rescue, or equivalent qualifications appropriate to assigned duties.
• Experience with LNG liquefaction, LNG storage, marine loading, firewater and foam systems, consequence modeling, and emergency planning for large-scale export facilities.
• Experience supporting FERC-authorized LNG facilities and coordinating with PHMSA, USCG, OSHA, the Texas State Fire Marshal, local fire departments, Local Emergency Planning Committees, and mutual-aid organizations.
• Experience applying Safety Critical Element and barrier management concepts, including performance standards, assurance activities, impairment controls, and restoration priorities.

Work Environment

• Must be able to wear all necessary PPE equipment to perform job functions.
• Operates in a complex construction environment.
• Exposure to indoor and outdoor weather conditions.
• Not necessarily protected from weather and temperature changes. Possible exposure to hot, cold, wet, humid, or windy weather conditions.
• Exposure to moving mechanical parts and electrical circuits.
• Exposure to constant or intermittent sounds of a pitch level sufficient to cause marked distraction.
• Routinely uses standard office and field communications equipment such as computers, phones, photocopiers w/scanner and fax, and radios.

Able to meet the following physical demands of the job, with or without reasonable accommodations:

• Ability to drive to other Company work locations as required.
• Ability to move throughout all areas of the facility, including being physically capable of traveling to a designed muster point during emergency situations.
• Stand and/or sit continuously and perform job functions for a full shift.
• The incumbent is required to have fully mechanical motion and usage of all extremities.
• Physically able to walk, stand, bend, stoop, kneel, reach, twist, lift, push, pull, climb, balance, crouch, handle, and lift items weighing up to 20 lbs. without assistance.
• Visual acuity corrected to perform job functions. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception and ability to adjust focus.
• Must be able to clearly communicate with others via radio, phone, and verbal methods.
• May be required to enter confined spaces.
• May be required to work at elevated heights and access elevated structures without assistance.

Other Duties

Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities, and activities may change at any time with or without notice.

*In compliance with federal law, all persons hired will be required to verify identity and eligibility to work in the United States and to complete the required employment eligibility verification document form upon hire.

NextDecade provides equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all applicants without regard to race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, marital status, amnesty, or status as a covered veteran in accordance with applicable federal, state and local laws. NextDecade complies with applicable state and local laws governing nondiscrimination in employment in every location in which the company has facilities.

DOT Requirements: The US Department of Transportation (DOT) and the company have adopted regulations governing the control of drug use by persons in certain job classifications. This position is subject to the Federal Pipelines Regulation; and is stipulated in the 49 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) part 40 that requires drug and alcohol testing and must meet the testing standards. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential functions as defined per Company policy.

NEXTDECADE VALUES

• Safety – We make safety a priority. Everything we do relies on the safety of our people and the communities around us.
• Integrity – We do the right thing, and are open, ethical, and fair. We hold ourselves to the highest standards in all that we do.
• Honesty – We value truth and honesty in ourselves and others. We honor our commitments and take responsibility for our actions.
• Respect – We listen, and respect people, the environment, and the communities in which we live and work.
• Transparency – Transparency builds trust. We promote open communication with our people, our customers, and all our stakeholders.
• Diversity – We value diversity of people and thought. It takes people with different strengths, ideas, and cultural backgrounds to make our company succeed.