Emergency Preparedness Manager (Emergency Management Specialist III)

Emergency Preparedness Manager (Emergency Management Specialist III)

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Emergency Preparedness Manager (Emergency Management Specialist III)

Salary

$83,009.89 - $138,349.74 Annually

Location

PENNINO BUILDING, 12011 GOVERNMENT CENTER PKWY, FAIRFAX (EJ27), VA

Job Type

FT Salary W BN

Job Number

26-00879

Department

Family Services

Opening Date

06/13/2026

Closing Date

6/26/2026 11:59 PM Eastern

Pay Grade

S28

Posting Type

Open to General Public

• Description

• Benefits

• Questions

Job Announcement

When our community faces a crisis, do you want to be the one who helps to ensure every family has somewhere safe to turn? The Fairfax County Department of Family Services (DFS) strengthens the well-being of our diverse community by protecting and improving the lives of all children, adults, and families through assistance, partnership, advocacy, outreach, and quality services. This position helps ensure that mission doesn’t stop when disaster strikes – it becomes even stronger.

The Opportunity:

As the Emergency Preparedness Manager, you will lead how DFS prepares for and responds to emergencies – especially those affecting people’s basic safety and stability. Reporting to the Facilities Operations Manager, you will build and oversee a department-wide emergency preparedness and response program for a large Health and Human Services agency. You will also set expectations, support professional development, and provide supervision for an Emergency Management Specialist II.

A central part of this role is leading DFS’s training and planning work for Emergency Support Function (ESF) 6: Mass Care, Emergency Assistance, Housing, and Human Services. You will ensure staff are trained and ready to support family assistance centers, emergency shelters, and other critical services when our community needs them most.

What You’ll Do:

• Builds and manages the preparedness program

• Develops, maintains, and implements DFS emergency plans, procedures, and playbooks that align with federal, state, county, and departmental priorities.

• Coordinates readiness activities, including shelter planning and other ESF-6 responsibilities.

• Sets program goals, monitor progress, and represent DFS on relevant emergency management committees and workgroups.

• Leads trainings and exercises

• Designs and delivers emergency preparedness, response, and recovery trainings for DFS staff, with a strong focus on ESF-6 roles.

• Plans and coordinates tabletop, functional, and full-scale exercises.

• Ensures all activities follow NIMS/ICS and county standards and integrate adult learning principles.

• Evaluates and improves readiness

• Analyzes data and feedback from trainings, exercises, and real incidents.

• Develops after-action reports and improvement plans.

• Tracks key performance indicators and recommend updates to plans, training, and procedures.

• Leads during emergencies

• Leads and supports professional staff, contractors, and volunteers working on preparedness activities.

• Serves as a subject matter expert for DFS leadership and staff during incidents.

• Helps coordinate shelter operations and other mass care functions in line with county objectives.

• Participates in drills and activations and recommend changes based on lessons learned.

On-Call & Schedule

• May occasionally work outside standard business hours to support facility and emergency needs.

• Serves on the DFS Emergency On-Call Phone Team in two-week rotations, responding 24/7 to emergency issues involving mass care, emergency assistance, housing, and human services.

• Must remain within 90 minutes’ travel distance to Fairfax County while on call.

Who You Are

You are someone who:

• Has experience in emergency management, ideally in government, human services, public health, or a related field.

• Can turn emergency management principles into clear plans, practical trainings, and coordinated operations.

• Communicates effectively with front-line staff, partners, and leadership, and builds strong relationships.

• Stays calm under pressure and keeps people and equity at the center of your decisions.

If you want your emergency management skills to directly protect and improve the lives of children, adults, and families—and to know your work truly matters when it counts—we invite you to apply for the Emergency Preparedness Manager position with the Fairfax County Department of Family Services.

Notes:

Telework policy: Fairfax County’s current telework policy allows employees to telework up to 60% of the weekly working schedule. For this position, that generally equates to a maximum of 3 days a week of remote work and at least 2 days a week in the office at the Pennino Building in Fairfax, VA.

Salary: The salary offer will not exceed the mid-point of the salary range $110,679.92 (Annual rate).

Employment Standards

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:

Any combination of education, experience, and training equivalent to the following: ( (Click on the aforementioned link to learn how Fairfax County interprets equivalencies for "Any combination, experience, and training equivalent to")

Graduation from an accredited four-year college or university with a degree in business administration, public safety, emergency management or related fields; plus four years of professional work experience in emergency management or public safety.

CERTIFICATES AND LICENSES REQUIRED:

• Valid driver's license

• Certificates of Incident Command System (ICS) trainings 100, 200, 300, 400, 700, 800, and 2200 required within 12 months of appointment.

NECESSARY SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS:

The appointee to this position will be required to complete a Criminal Background Check, Child Protective Services, and Driving Record Check to the satisfaction of the employer.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• Bachelor's degree in emergency management or related field.

• Advanced emergency management certifications (e.g., CEM, Virginia Professional Emergency Manager, FEMA Professional Development Series, or EMI coursework beyond required ICS)

• At least 5 years of full-time experience in emergency management with specific involvement in planning, training, and exercise design, preferably within a human services or social services context.

• At least 5 years of full-time experience in emergency management, disaster preparedness, or closely related work in a government or large organizational setting.

• At least 2 years of supervisory experience overseeing professional staff, contractors, or volunteers, including performance management and coaching.

• Experience leading cross-functional teams or workgroups in emergency management or human services settings preferred.

• At least 3 years of full-time experience developing, implementing, and maintaining emergency operations plans, preferably including mass care, shelter operations, family assistance centers, and/or disaster feeding.

• Experience working with or providing support to vulnerable populations (e.g., children, older adults, individuals with disabilities, people experiencing homelessness).

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS:

Ability to input, access, and retrieve information from a computer. Ability to lift up to 25 lbs. Ability to stand, stoop, bend, stretch, walk, climb, sit, kneel, crouch, reach, crawl, lift and handle materials with manual dexterity. Ability to travel to various locations throughout Fairfax County to provide coverage, attend meetings and trainings. Ability to use automated technology. Generally works in an office environment but is also required to perform job duties outside of a typical office setting (e.g. community sites, warehouses, shelters) including outdoor settings in all-weather conditions, during or outside of regular business hours. Must be able to exchange accurate information orally and in writing. Must be able to operate motor vehicles. Work is generally sedentary and performed in a normal office environment. All duties performed with or without reasonable accommodations.

SELECTION PROCEDURE:

Panel interview and may include exercise.

Fairfax County is home to a highly diverse population, with a significant number of residents speaking languages other than English at home (including Spanish, Asian/Pacific Islander, Indo-European, and many others ( .) We encourage candidates who are bilingual in English and another language to apply for this opportunity.

Fairfax County Government prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions, age, marital status, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetics, political affiliation, or military status in the recruitment, selection, and hiring of its workforce.

Reasonable accommodations are available to persons with disabilities during application and/or interview processes per the Americans with Disabilities Act. TTY View phone number on click.appcast.io. View email address on click.appcast.io EEO/AA/TTY.

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