Career Opportunity

DES Exercise and Training Lead - Department of Emergency Management (8603 ESC III)

Recruitment: REF43223N

Published: August 13, 2024

Apply using SmartRecruiters, the City and County of San Francisco's application portal.

About:

The San Francisco Department of Emergency Management (DEM) manages disaster preparation, mitigation, and response; 9-1-1 dispatch, and homeland security grant distribution for the City and County of San Francisco. DEM was created in 2006 by local legislation that reorganized the Emergency Communications Department and the Office of Emergency Services into a single agency. For more information on the Department of Emergency Management, please visit: http://www.sfdem.org/. 

This position is located within the Division of Emergency Services (DES), which prepares for and responds to “not so everyday” emergencies in San Francisco.  Primary functions of the Division include managing San Francisco’s Emergency Operations Center, monitoring citywide situational awareness, performing hazard and threat analysis, developing and overseeing the City’s emergency plans and training program, engaging and developing community partners in disaster resilience, and coordinating citywide logistics.

Application Opening: July 18, 2024
Application Deadline: No sooner than August 1, 2024 (11:59 PM PT)
Recruitment ID: PEX-8603-149537

Role description

Appointment Type: This is a Permanent Exempt (PEX) appointment not to exceed three (3) years. However, appointees would have an opportunity to reapply for an additional term. This position is exempt from Civil Service Commission rules pursuant to the City and County of San Francisco, Charter Section 10.104, and incumbents are considered “at will” and serve at the discretion of the Appointing Officer.  This is a full time, 40 hours per week appointment.

The San Francisco Department of Emergency Management (DEM) is currently hiring one (1) permanent exempt, full-time position in classification 8603 Emergency Services Coordinator III as a DES Exercise and Training Lead.  Under the direction of the Integrated Preparedness Lead, this position is responsible for the development, maintenance and revision of the emergency and disaster trainings, exercises, and credentialing programs from start to finish. This position is a vital part of all phases of integrated preparedness which can include emergency planning elements including document updates and improvement planning to include tracking of lessons experienced from exercises and real-world events. Priorities for this position will be determined based on the lessons learned from recent unplanned and planned events and in preparation for future unplanned and planned large-scale events hosted in the City and County of San Francisco. 

The DES Exercise and Training Lead will also plan for, design, execute, and prioritize new types of trainings and specific emergency exercises in key areas: incident command, earthquake, public safety power shutoff, multi-casualty incident, localized utility emergency, displaced persons, severe storm, and planned events.    

Additional essential functions of the DES Exercise and Training Lead position include, but are not limited to, the following:  

• Develops and implements training and exercise procedures, and supervises subordinate personnel with training, exercise, and credentialing responsibilities.
• Recommends disaster and emergency planning policies, provides information on and interpretation of policies and procedures, and acts as technical advisor on studies and problems relating to emergency-based exercises.
• Collaborates with and provides information and advice to governmental representatives, public safety agencies, community groups, organizations, and the public regarding exercise development and execution.
• Prepares difficult and complex technical records, plans, and planning reports.
• Represents DEM in public meetings with other city agencies, community partners, agency representatives, and elected officials to provide information on exercise policies and procedures and explain departmental decisions.
• Analyzes and interprets exercise data and prepares recommendations by assessing, analyzing, and implementing opportunities for improvement which includes negotiating and resolving difficult and complex coordination issues and problem solving.
• Coordinates and liaises with agencies both internal and external to the city regarding implementation of improvement planning related to lessons learned from exercises, and from the City’s response to planned or unplanned events such as weather and climate change related incidents, large outdoor music festivals, parades, dignitary events, and sporting events.
• Performs other duties as assigned.

Working Conditions:   

• This position will be required to carry a work-issued cell phone.
• This position is required to serve as a 24/7 on-call Duty Officer on a rotational basis; this position will require flexibility to perform various assignments both scheduled and unscheduled such as responding to an Emergency Operation Center, supporting special events and leading community outreach and may include working weekends, evenings, shifts, and holidays, as necessary.
• This position will be required to obtain a Type III level Credential in at least two Incident Command System positions within two years of employment. Training time toward this achievement will be allowed as a portion of the workday.

How to qualify

Education:  Possession of a baccalaureate degree from an accredited college or university; AND

Experience: Four (4) years of experience in emergency/disaster planning and management or a closely related field; AND   

Required Certifications/License: 

• Completion of United States Department of Homeland Security, FEMA, Emergency Management Institute Courses: IS 100.b or ICS 100, IS 200.b or ICS 200, and IS 700/800; AND
• Possession and maintenance of a valid Driver’s License (a California Driver's License is required upon appointment)

Substitution: 

• Possession of a baccalaureate degree from an accredited college or university in Business, Public Administration, Emergency Management or a closely related field can substitute for up to two (2) years of the required experience.
• Possession of a master's degree from an accredited college or university in Business, Public Administration, Emergency Management or a closely related field can substitute for up to three (3) years of the required experience.
• Additional qualifying experience in emergency/disaster planning and management, as described above, may substitute for the required degree on a year-for-year basis for up to two (2) years of the required education.  Thirty (30) semester units or forty-five (45) quarter units equal one (1) year.

Desirable Qualifications:  

• Local, state, or federal emergency response experience in an Incident Command Post, Department Operations Center or Emergency Operations Center
• Strong organizational skills
• Experience speaking in front of large groups
• Experience designing and facilitating at least one emergency management exercise
• Strong written and oral communication skills
• Experience supervising professionals

Note: One year of full-time employment is equivalent to 2000 hours (2000 hours of qualifying work experience is based on a 40-hour work week). Any overtime hours that you work above forty (40) hours per week are not included in the calculation to determine full-time employment

VERIFICATION: Verification of Education and Experience: Applicants may be required to submit verification of qualifying education and experience at any point during the recruitment and selection process. If education verification is required, information on how to verify education requirements, including verifying foreign education credits or degree equivalency, can be found at https://sfdhr.org/how-verify-education-requirements   

Note: Falsifying one’s education, training, or work experience or attempted deception on the application may result in disqualification for this and future job opportunities with the City and County of San Francisco.   

All work experience, education, training and other information substantiating how you meet the minimum qualifications must be included on your application by the filing deadline. Information submitted after the filing deadline will not be considered in determining whether you meet the minimum qualifications. Applicants must meet the minimum qualification requirement by the final filing date unless otherwise noted.

What else should I know?

SELECTION PROCEDURES: The selection process will include evaluation of applications in relation to minimum requirements.  Applicants meeting the minimum qualifications are not guaranteed advancement to the interview.  Depending on the number of applicants, the Department may establish and implement additional screening mechanisms to comparatively evaluate the qualifications of candidates.  If this becomes necessary, only those applicants whose qualifications most closely meet the needs of the Department will be invited for an interview.

Minimum Qualification Supplemental Questionnaire (MQSQ): Candidates will be required to complete a MQSQ as part of the employment application. This MQSQ is designed to obtain specific information regarding an applicant's experience in relation to the Minimum Qualifications (MQs) for this position. The MQSQ will be used to evaluate if the applicant possesses the required minimum qualifications.

Note:  Applicants who meet the minimum qualifications are not guaranteed advancement through all of the steps in the selection procedure.

Additional Information Regarding Employment with the City and County of San Francisco:

• Information About the Hiring Process
• Conviction History
• Employee Benefits Overview
• Equal Employment Opportunity
• Disaster Service Worker
• ADA Accommodation
• Right to Work
• Copies of Application Documents
• Diversity Statement

HOW TO APPLY
Submit your application through this job ad. Applicants will receive a confirmation email from notification@careers.sf.gov that their online application has been received in response to every announcement for which they file. Applicants should retain this confirmation email for their records. Failure to receive this email means that the online application was not submitted or received.

Analyst Information: If you have any questions regarding this recruitment or application process, please contact the analyst, Bola Akinwa at Omobolanle.akinwa@sfgov.org.

The City and County of San Francisco encourages women, minorities and persons with disabilities to apply. Applicants will be considered regardless of their sex, race, age, religion, color, national origin, ancestry, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition (associated with cancer, a history of cancer, or genetic characteristics), HIV/AIDS status, genetic information, marital status, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, military and veteran status, or other protected category under the law.