Director, Office of Emergency Management

Position Summary

The Director of Emergency Management is responsible for all-hazards emergency and disaster mitigation preparedness response and recovery activities for the City of Philadelphia. All-hazards includes all types of natural hazards technological hazards and human-caused threats. Working collaboratively with all levels of government non-profit private sector and community organizations the Director shall strategically lead a comprehensive program and full-service team that is available 24 / 7 / 365.

The Director is called upon to be an advisor to the Mayor Managing Director Deputy Managing Director and City leadership on emergency management topics as well as to be the direct interface with emergency management functions at the state and federal level. The Director will strategically lead teams and programs that provide services to disaster survivors create organization for complex planned and unplanned incidents facilitate resource requests conduct community engagement and public messaging analyze threats and hazards manage chemical facility reporting are responsible for grants management and other disaster related functions with 24 / 7 / 365 service availability.

This position is on-call and will require arrangements for coverage when unavailable.

Essential Functions

• Operational Oversight and Crisis Management Leadership
• Serve as the focal point for operational coordination and decision-making for OEMs coordination and support activities as well as direct service-delivery overseeing the entire agencys response and recovery roles during emergencies disasters and large planned events.
• Coordinate the citys emergency preparedness response recovery and mitigation efforts across all departments and with external partners including federal state and regional agencies.
• Oversee emergency preparedness response and recovery missions from the Emergency Operations Center and in the field with a high level of availability 24 / 7 / 365.
• Direct emergency operations during incidents including activation and management of the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) Citys mobile command post and other field and incident support sites
• Serve as the County Emergency Management Coordinator to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
• Find opportunities within OEM and across its partners to ensure operational readiness for Philadelphias risks.
• Provide guidance and direction to staff through modeling and coaching to ensure effective decision-making and coordination.
• Ensure timely and accurate alert & warning capabilities on behalf of the City of Philadelphia.
• Provide emergency management services to other volatile uncertain complex and ambiguous crises experienced by the City.
• Strategic Leadership and Policy Development for Readiness
• Serve as senior advisor to the Mayor and Cabinet members regarding emergency management activities.
• Develop executive policy and strategy including a multi-year strategic plan and an annual baseline schedule using emergency management best practices.
• Rooted in the citys Emergency Operations Plan (EOP) and related annexes and hazard-specific plans oversee development prioritization implementation and evaluation of emergency management plans preparedness and training for OEM and partner agencies based on external requirements after-action reports risk assessments and best practices.
• Coordinate with city leadership to ensure continuity of government (COG) and continuity of operations (COOP) planning.
• Lead the development and execution of city-wide emergency exercises and drills; evaluate performance and implement improvements.
• Establish organizational policy manage and resolve personnel management matters.
• Financial and Administrative Management
• Oversee and monitor the formulation and execution of a budget management of grants and development of contracts with designated support units across city government.
• Oversee the management and executive administration of the Homeland Security Grant Program for the Philadelphia Urban Area Security Initiative through the Southeast PA Regional Task Force.
• Intergovernmental and External Relations
• Serve as the central liaison with federal state local and non-governmental emergency management and related agencies and officials.
• Serve as the citys primary liaison with the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency Federal Emergency Management Agency and US Department of Homeland Security for issues related to critical infrastructure and special events public utilities hospitals and other key partners.
• Serve as a member of the Executive Board for the Southeast Pennsylvania Regional Task Force.
• Collaborate and negotiate with high-level agency officials and provide advisory services.
• Serve on committees with various departments agencies commissions and other emergency management groups.
• Promote and maintain effective relationships with a variety of community organizations and partner agencies.
• Communicate with and educate the public about their hazard risk and preparedness through public education campaigns and community outreach related to disaster preparedness.
• And other duties as assigned.

Required Competencies Knowledge Skills and Abilities

Knowledge :

Skills :

Abilities :

All OEM personnel are required to serve periodically in an on-call capacity which may require the following conditions of work : work outside of typical business hours or for extended periods of time; work during states of emergency; work in a field environment in a 24 / 7 watch center or during activations of Philadelphias Emergency Operations Center (EOC).

Example on-call work environments include but are not limited to scenes with the following conditions : materials that are on fire; utilities that are compromised; compromised structures; scenes near hazardous materials storage that may be compromised; scenes in congregate living settings or in or near crowds; scenes near downed vegetation or other debris; or scenes near flooding and water-damaged materials.

All work is performed while donning a level of personal protective equipment that 1) is recommended by the incident safety officer and 2) for which OEM personnel have received training. Example on-call response tasks include but are not limited to the following : working at a computer or with a portable tablet; observing and documenting conditions remotely or in the field; staffing an incident command post; communicating with responders or survivors; operating vehicles up to your licensed class; staffing facilities for survivors; transporting materials; being near a site where a serious injury or loss of life has occurred; sitting standing walking climbing crawling or lifting or carrying materials.

Qualifications :

Bachelors degree in emergency management public administration homeland security or a related field; masters degree preferred.

At least 8 to 10 years of progressively responsible experience in emergency management public safety disaster relief or crisis response with at least 4 years in a senior leadership role.

Preferred Experience :

FEMA ICS / NIMS certifications and relevant professional credentials (e.g. CEM CBCP) strongly preferred.

Possession of a valid proper class motor vehicle operators license issued by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania within six months of hire.

Successful completion of FEMA Independent Study courses (ISand 800) within the first month of appointment and Pennsylvania Emergency Management County Professional certification within one year of appointment.

All selected applicants must undergo and successfully complete a background investigation as a condition of placement in this position.

Candidates should possess a strong desire to work in a team-oriented fast-paced flexible and professional public service environment and a willingness to serve the public in the sixth-largest city in the nation. The ideal candidate is self-motivated solutions-oriented easily adapts has diverse project management experience anticipates needs and brings a robust set of soft skills including integrity diplomacy communication and persuasion.

Additional Information :

TO APPLY :   Interested candidates must submit a cover letter and resume.

Salary Range :  $170000-$186000

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Effective May 22 2023 vaccinations are no longer required for new employees that work in non-medical non-emergency or patient facing positions with the City of Philadelphia. As a result only employees in positions providing services that are patient-facing medical care (ex : Nurses doctors emergency medical personnel) must be fully vaccinated.

The City of Philadelphia is an Equal Opportunity employer and does not permit discrimination based on race ethnicity color sex sexual orientation gender identity religion national origin ancestry age disability marital status source of income familial status genetic information or domestic or sexual violence victim status. If you believe you were discriminated against call the Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations at or send an email to

For more information go to : Human Relations Website : Work :

No

Employment Type : Full-time

Key Skills

Crisis Management,Marketing,Public Relations,Fundraising,Media Relations,Constant Contact,Strategic Planning,Social Media Management,Team Management,Public Speaking,Wordpress,Writing Skills

Experience : years

Vacancy : 1