Department:           Emergency Management          

Pay Grade:               114     ($66,547.36 – $103,148.41)                        

FLSA Status:             Exempt

GENERAL DESCRIPTION:

Responsible for specialized technical, professional and administrative work in developing, coordinating, maintaining and directing the County’s Emergency Management Program. Must be able to assume the duties of the Incident Commander during an EOC activation.

ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS:

  1. Manage, organize and direct county-wide emergency preparedness and response programs to include preparation, maintenance, and the completion of the duties, responsibilities, and activities as designated by Florida Statute Chapter 252 and in compliance with Florida Administrative Code Division 27P.
  2. Provides primary coordination for emergencies/disasters affecting the county which include natural, civil, technological, and ecological incidents.
  3. Supervises and makes command decisions or recommendations during crisis or disaster situations.
  4. Responsible for the County’s Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan (CEMP), Local Mitigation Strategy (LMS), and LMS Working Group, to include developing, updating, and implementing these respective plans.
  5. Responsible for all relevant emergency management plans to include, but not limited to, Debris Management Plan, Recovery Plan,  [VV1] 
  6. Develop, maintain and revise other emergency mitigation, response and recovery plans as needed for the Emergency Management Department. This includes dealing with emergencies and disasters such as hurricanes, wildfires, tornadoes, hazardous materials, terrorism and pandemics, which shall be accomplished in accordance with County, State and Federal regulations.
  7. Develop policies, procedures and guidelines, to conduct Recovery Programs, specifically Community Relations, Damage Assessment, Debris Management[VV2] , Disaster Recovery Centers,  Unmet Needs,   and Re-entry (Local) activities.
  8. Develop After-Action plans after each incident, or when necessary, and include supporting documentation (forms, matrix’s, etc.)
  9. Ensure compliance with the established Program Capabilities Assessment Checklist and participate in the Emergency Management Scope of Work activities.
  10. Conduct education and public relation awareness presentations and training designed to inform various groups of Emergency Management activities.
  11. Maintain good working relationships and coordination between the department and other county departments, as well as with Elected Officials, City, School Board, State and Federal Agencies, Civic and Health Officials to promote the success of the Emergency Management Program. Direct multi-agency activities.
  12. Develop and coordinate emergency management drills and exercises; prepare scripts and scenarios; issue instructions to participants and act as exercise controller; advise and critique the performance of participants.
  13. Ability to coordinate hazards analysis on a variety of potential hazards to identify and verify the possible risk to the community.
  14. Develop, coordinate and maintain county-wide communication equipment and capabilities for emergency related response and recovery activities.
  15. Plan, prioritize, assign, and supervise the work of staff involved in emergency management activities.
  16. Work with EOC or County IT staff to ensure proper communications, computer and network technologies are in place that are critical to the function of the EOC between the State and other EOC’s. Ensure county EOC facility remains operational ready.
  17. Perform a variety of responsible duties related to Emergency Management Operation, handling special projects and other duties as assigned.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND ABILITIES:

  • Must be available and prepared to respond to any emergency/disaster or potential emergency disaster seven (7) days a week, twenty-four (24) hours a day.  
  • Ability to provide strong leadership and decision-making abilities and collaborate well with others.
  • Ability to react calmly and promptly during an emergency/disaster crisis for a prolonged period.
  • Extensive knowledge of the current methods and techniques of emergency management including the Incident Command System.
  • Knowledge of local, state and federal response agencies.
  • Ability to interpret federal and state laws to formulate policy for implementation to local level.
  • Ability to organize and mobilize personnel and resources for an integrated and systematic response to actual and potential emergencies/disasters.
  • Knowledge of or ability to comprehend parameters of Hazardous Material Release response planning activities.
  • Ability to communicate clearly and concisely both orally and in writing.
  • Possess computer knowledge and skills.
  • Knowledge of or ability to comprehend County departmental policies, rules and regulations.
  • Knowledge of or ability to comprehend County geography and of resources available for response to disaster or another emergency event.
  • Ability to prepare and coordinate the preparation of comprehensive reports and departmental budget.

MINIMUM EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE:

  • High school diploma or equivalent; and
  • A minimum of fifty (50) hours of training in business or public administration, business or public management, or emergency management or preparedness. (A bachelor’s degree may be substituted for this training requirement); and
  • Four (4) years of verifiable experience in emergency management to include improving emergency preparedness, disaster response, and recovery. Must have direct supervisory experience with at least 1 major emergency or disaster.

(A master’s degree in business or public administration, communications, finance, homeland security, public health, criminal justice, meteorology or environmental science may be substituted for 2 of the 4 years’ experience)

(Accreditation as a Certified Master Exercise Practitioner through FEMA; Certified Emergency Manager through the International Association of Emergency Managers; or Florida Professional Emergency Manager through the Florida Emergency Preparedness Association may be considered in lieu of the specific experience requirement above, but must be maintained in good standing until the experience requirements are met); and

  • Completion of a minimum of 150 hours in comprehensive emergency management training through, or approved by, FEMA to include the following NIMS courses:  ICS-100 through ICS–400; IS-700 and IS-800 within the last 10 years.
  • Bachelor’s degree preferred.

LICENSES, CERTIFICATIONS, OR REGISTRATIONS:

  • Must have a valid Florida Driver’s License or ability to obtain within 30 days of appointment.

ESSENTIAL PHYSICAL SKILLS:

  • Acceptable eyesight (with or without correction)
  • Acceptable hearing (with or without hearing aid)
  • Ability to access, input, and retrieve information from a computer
  • Ability to access file cabinets for filing and retrieval of data
  • Ability to sit at a desk and view a display screen for extended periods of time
  • Ability to type at the rate of 60 words per minute.
  •   Ability to communicate both orally and in writing.
  •   Moderate (up to 50 lbs.) lifting and carrying.

ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS:

Primarily works inside in an office environment, however circumstances may require work out of doors in various weather conditions for prolonged periods of time

THIS IS A DISASTER ESSENTIAL POSITION.

DeSoto County is an Equal Opportunity Employer. It is the policy of the County to administer its employment practices without regard to race, color, creed, religion, national origin, ethnicity, age, gender, pregnancy, marital status, veteran status or disability. This policy applies to all employment practices and personnel actions including, but not limited to, recruitment, screening, selection, hiring, training and development, determinations of pay and benefits, evaluation, scheduling, job assignments, promotion, transfer, demotion, layoff, discipline and dismissal.

The County complies with all applicable federal, state and local laws mandating equal employment opportunity practices and prohibiting impermissible discrimination. The County will not tolerate any discrimination based upon an individual’s race, color, creed, religion, national origin, ethnicity, age, gender, pregnancy, marital status, veteran status or disability.

 [VV1]Incomplete sentence

 [VV2]Somewhat duplicative of no. 5