Emergency Management Director

Plan and direct disaster response or crisis management activities, provide disaster preparedness training, and prepare emergency plans and procedures for natural (e.g., hurricanes, floods, earthquakes), wartime, or technological (e.g., nuclear power plant emergencies or hazardous materials spills) disasters or hostage situations.

O*NET reports this occupation under titles such as: 911 Communications Manager; Emergency Management Coordinator; Emergency Management Director; Emergency Management System Director (EMS Director); Emergency Manager; Emergency Planner; Emergency Preparedness Manager; Emergency Services Director; Emergency Services Program Coordinator; Public Safety Director

Tasks

• Consult with officials of local and area governments, schools, hospitals, and other institutions to determine their needs and capabilities in the event of a natural disaster or other emergency.
• Develop and maintain liaisons with municipalities, county departments, and similar entities to facilitate plan development, response effort coordination, and exchanges of personnel and equipment.
• Coordinate disaster response or crisis management activities, such as ordering evacuations, opening public shelters, and implementing special needs plans and programs.
• Prepare emergency situation status reports that describe response and recovery efforts, needs, and preliminary damage assessments.
• Maintain and update all resource materials associated with emergency preparedness plans.
• Prepare plans that outline operating procedures to be used in response to disasters or emergencies, such as hurricanes, nuclear accidents, and terrorist attacks, and in recovery from these events.
• Develop and perform tests and evaluations of emergency management plans in accordance with state and federal regulations.
• Collaborate with other officials to prepare and analyze damage assessments following disasters or emergencies.
• Design and administer emergency or disaster preparedness training courses that teach people how to effectively respond to major emergencies and disasters.
• Keep informed of activities or changes that could affect the likelihood of an emergency, response efforts, or plan implementation.
• Inspect facilities and equipment, such as emergency management centers and communications equipment, to determine their operational and functional capabilities in emergency situations.
• Review emergency plans of individual organizations, such as medical facilities, to ensure their adequacy.
• Keep informed of federal, state, and local regulations affecting emergency plans, and ensure that plans adhere to those regulations.
• Conduct surveys to determine the types of emergency-related needs to be addressed in disaster planning, or provide technical support to others conducting such surveys.
• Attend meetings, conferences, and workshops related to emergency management to learn new information and to develop working relationships with other emergency management specialists.

Knowledge

• Public Safety and Security
• Administration and Management
• Law and Government
• English Language
• Communications and Media
• Customer and Personal Service
• Education and Training
• Telecommunications
• Personnel and Human Resources
• Computers and Electronics
• Geography
• Transportation
• Administrative

Skills

• Speaking
• Reading Comprehension
• Active Listening
• Writing
• Critical Thinking
• Monitoring
• Learning Strategies
• Active Learning
• Mathematics

Abilities

• Oral Comprehension
• Oral Expression
• Deductive Reasoning
• Speech Clarity
• Written Comprehension
• Written Expression
• Problem Sensitivity
• Inductive Reasoning
• Fluency of Ideas
• Information Ordering
• Speech Recognition
• Originality
• Category Flexibility
• Near Vision
• Visualization
• Speed of Closure
• Flexibility of Closure
• Perceptual Speed
• Selective Attention
• Time Sharing
• Far Vision