OPS Floodplain Ordinance Specialist

Requisition No: 877122


Agency: Division of Emergency Management

Working Title: OPS Floodplain Ordinance Specialist - 31902054

Pay Plan: Temp

Position Number: 31902054


Salary: $28.00/Hour


Posting Closing Date: 06/17/2026


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Floodplain Management Specialist - OPS

Bureau of Mitigation

Florida Division of Emergency Management

This position is located in Tallahassee, FL

The Florida Division of Emergency Management (FDEM) plans for and responds to both natural and man-made disasters. These range from floods and hurricanes to incidents involving hazardous materials or nuclear power. FDEM is the liaison between federal, state, and local agencies. FDEM prepares and implements a statewide Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan, routinely conducts extensive exercises to test state and county emergency response capabilities, provides technical assistance to local governments as they prepare emergency plans and procedures, as well as conducts emergency operations trainings for state and local government agencies.

FDEM serves as the lead agency for the State Emergency Response Team (SERT), whose primary goal is the coordination of the state's efforts during disaster response and recovery. This coordination is conducted within the State Emergency Operations Center (SEOC) in Tallahassee. Additionally, FDEM manages the State Watch Office; the 24-hour a day operation tasked with providing situational awareness to stakeholders statewide. After a disaster, FDEM conducts damage assessment surveys and advises the Governor of the State of Florida on whether to declare an emergency and seek federal relief funds. It is against this backdrop that FDEM strives to demonstrate its mission of "Coordinate, collaborate, and communicate with our community stakeholders for a resilient Florida", along with our vision of "Leading the Profession in building prepared and resilient communities".

Position Overview and Responsibilities:

This position serves as an OPS Ordinance Specialist; this role is responsible for facilitating review, approval, and timely adoption of local flood damage prevention ordinance amendments to ensure that each of Florida's 469 National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) participating communities has local regulations that are compliant with 44 Code of Federal Regulations, Section 60.3, and the Florida Building Code (FBC). This will include, but not be limited to:

• Maintain Florida's Higher Standards database.
• Monthly reports on ordinance work status.
• Maintain the master ordinance tracking database.
• Conduct quality control on all ordinance amendment drafts.
• Assist with the development of technical assistance/guidance for communities.
• Assist communities with the adoption of new Flood Insurance Studies (FIS) and Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRM) after a Letter of Final Determination (LFD) is issued by FEMA.
• Present technical information to a wide range of stakeholders, including Floodplain Administrators, building officials, planners, engineers, and surveyors.
• Conduct technical research to assist in developing guidance for community officials and other written products.
• Attend, conduct, and facilitate workshops, training, other meetings, and presentations with local governments.
• Perform assigned duties during EOC activation to support emergency response and recovery efforts.
• Perform other duties as assigned, including deployment for disaster events.

In response to emergency events, FDEM employees may be required to work irregular hours, to work more than eight hours per day, to work extended periods (including nights, weekends, and holidays), to work at locations other than their official headquarters, and to perform duties in addition to those outlined in the employee's position description. Employees must be able to deploy to emergency sites with limited advance notice.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

• Ability to travel for non-emergency purposes 25% of the time.
• Familiarity with or eagerness to learn 44 CFR 60.3.
• Familiarity with or eagerness to learn to write, review, and revise ordinances.
• Familiarity with or eagerness to learn flood provisions in the Florida Building Code.
• Knowledge of effective public speaking techniques and utilization of presentation software.
• Ability to track and coordinate multiple important deadlines.
• Knowledge of data analysis and reporting tools.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office programs and Salesforce.
• Ability to effectively communicate, orally and in writing, create presentations, conduct training, and write reports.
• Ability to learn new systems and tools, document processes, and complete process maps.
• Experience with streamlining and documenting processes.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Certified Floodplain Manager (CFM) certification or ability to obtain within 12 months of employment.
• Valid driver's license.
• Ability to travel for non-emergency purposes 25% of the time, with a possibility of over 40 hours in a work week.
• Experience with public speaking and presentation software.
• Experience using Microsoft Office Suite (Excel, Word, Outlook) with the ability to learn and navigate FDEM enterprise business systems.

Special Notes:

The State of Florida is an Equal Opportunity Employer/Affirmative Action Employer and does not tolerate discrimination or violence in the workplace.

FDEM is committed to successfully recruiting and onboarding talented and skilled individuals into its workforce. FDEM appreciates the service and sacrifices made by veterans and their family members and recognizes the immeasurable value veterans bring to the workplace and is committed to increasing the number of veterans that serve in its workforce.

FDEM is committed to increasing recruitment and hiring of individuals with disabilities and improving employment outcomes. An individual with a disability is qualified if he or she satisfies the skills, experience, and other job-related requirements for a position and can perform the essential functions of the position with or without reasonable accommodation. Candidates requiring a reasonable accommodation, as defined by the Americans with Disabilities Act, must contact the FDEM Human Resources Office at View phone number on click.appcast.io. FDEM requests applicants notify the Human Resources Office in advance to allow sufficient time to provide the accommodation.

The State of Florida supports a Drug-Free workplace. All employees are subject to reasonable suspicion drug testing in accordance with section 112.0455, F.S., Drug-Free Workplace Act.

Successful completion of background screening will be required for this position.

The State of Florida and FDEM participate in E-Verify. This federal law requires all employers to verify the identity and employment eligibility of all persons hired to work in the United States.

In response to emergency events, FDEM employees may be required to work irregular hours, to work more than 8 hours per day, to work extended periods (including nights, weekends, and holidays), to work at locations other than their official headquarters, and to perform duties in addition to those outlined in the employee's position description. Employees must be able to deploy to emergency sites with limited advance notice.

Candidates requiring a reasonable accommodation, as defined by the Americans with Disabilities Act, must notify the agency hiring authority and/or People First Service Center View phone number on click.appcast.io). Notification to the hiring authority must be made in advance to allow sufficient time to provide the accommodation.

The State of Florida supports a Drug-Free workplace. All employees are subject to reasonable suspicion drug testing in accordance with Section 112.0455, F.S., Drug-Free Workplace Act.

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