Assistant Medical Director - Fire and EMS Department (FEMS)

POSITION:   Assistant Medical Director
OFFICE:        Fire and EMS Department (FEMS)
OPEN:          July 22, 2026
CLOSED:    September 6, 2026
GRADE: Public Safety Excepted Service, Grade 2 (PS-2)
SALARY: $265,295.63

This is an Excepted Service position. Selected candidate must be a District resident or establish residency within 180 days of hire.

Current District of Columbia residents will receive priority and advanced preference for screening and interviews.

 

background

This position is located in the DC Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department (FEMS). FEMS is an all-hazards agency providing state-of-the-art emergency medical patient care, treatment and transportation to people in the District of Columbia. This position serves as Assistant Medical Director. This position is established to assist the Medical Director in providing medical direction and oversight for the delivery of medical care, emergency medical training, and medical quality assurance programs of the Department. To learn more about FEMS, visit fems.dc.gov

The incumbent works under the supervision of the Medical Director, who provides administrative direction with assignments in terms of broadly defined mission and functions. The incumbent determines the approaches and methods necessary to independently carry out the mission of the agency to meet program, service or function goals and requirements. Incumbent has authority for directing and evaluating the work of subordinates assigned to functions under his/her area of responsibility, especially related to EMS Quality Improvement, training, and education. Results of the work are considered as technically authoritative and are normally accepted without significant change. If the work should be reviewed, the review concerns such matters as effectiveness and efficiency in meeting objectives to provide the highest level of emergency medical services to District of Columbia residents and visitors who are acutely ill or injured.

Guidelines include the DC Government and Department memorandums, special orders, general orders, and the District Personnel Manual; department budget, accounting, and contracting regulations and procedures, principles and theories of sound organizational management; and the ability to apply this knowledge to the resolution of management problems. The incumbent exercise a high degree of judgment, decisiveness, and resourcefulness in interpreting and applying District regulations, and laws, as well as general principles of public safety management.

 

Major duties

• Participates with the Medical Director and Assistant Chief of EMS in the development of guidelines, policies, procedures, rules and regulations designed to monitor and optimize the overall quality of pre-hospital emergency medical care.
• Provides EMS training and education programs at the Department's Training Academy and other sites.
• Manages and supervises subordinate managers, supervisors and support staff.
• Approves, recommends, modifies or rejects formal requests prepared by subordinate supervisors, i.e. promotions, reassignments, details, awards, performance evaluations, etc.
• Researches and develops activities related to emergency medical protocols for the department, and ongoing maintenance and education related to those protocols.
• Collaborates with the Medical Director, Assistant Chief of EMS, and other FEMS officials on all specifications, repairs, and maintenance activities relative to ambulance vehicles, medical equipment and supplies, and other support equipment.
• Participates in the design and adoption of new methodology and technology related to emergency care.
• Participates in the preparation of specifications for the purchase of new medical equipment, supplies, and medications.
• Assists with design and implementation of management information systems that assist in operations, training, quality assurance and overall administration.
• Performs needs analysis, software selection, hardware selection, system maintenance, and reporting of results.
• Collaborates with the Medical Director, Fire Chief, and Assistant Chief of EMS on leadership and guidance related to response times and performance measures of the EMS system; and departmental activities in demand management and service enhancement, with programs such as StreetCalls.
• Recommends and implements criteria for evaluation of field clinical operations, and establishes standards for medical performance and proper documentation of medical care administered by field providers.
• Provides advice and recommendations of a continuous quality improvement program to ensure proficiency of clinical skills of department EMS members.
• Collaborates with the Medical Director, Fire Chief, and Assistant Chief of EMS on activities related to optimizing relationships with District of Columbia hospitals and other health care providers.
• Assists the Medical Director and Assistant Chief of EMS at the scene of major incidents and Multiple Casualty Incidents involving Fire and Emergency Medical Services as directed.
• In the event of major emergency situations, participates at an appropriate level with the Medical Director, FEMS Chiefs, and other agencies (Emergency Management, Department of Health) on incident mitigation and safe operations.
• Reviews serious medical quality issues under the oversight of the Medical Director, and recommends, approves, or forwards to a higher level.
• As directed, participates with or represents the Medical Director at staff meetings, community meetings, and other civic functions.
• Attends regular staff meetings for the purpose of establishing policies and programs for current FEMS operations.
• Develops medically-related scientific investigations and research projects that will presumably benefit the emergency medical care provided to the citizens of the District and others visiting and working in the city.
• Develops and conducts research related to EMS in order to add to the body of knowledge and improve patient care in the District of Columbia and internationally.
• Serves as Acting Medical Director in the absence of the Medical Director in appropriate departmental activities.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

 

COMPETENCIES, KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND ABILITIES

• Mastery and understanding of the environment, principles, ethics and special human relations in the field of medicine.
• Mastery of and ability to perform specified diagnostic and therapeutic practices and procedures.
• Ability to identify a medical problem and determine appropriate action.
• Mastery in organizing and implementing a quality improvement program that will lead to national accreditation and ensure proficiency of clinical skills for the agency's EMS field providers.
• Mastery of the agency's organizational philosophy and policies that direct all managers and supervisors.
• Ability to maintain managerial control under extremely stressful conditions, and exercise a high degree of self-discipline.
• Demonstrated experience in providing leadership in a managerial /supervisory capacity and in a team-based environment.
• Demonstrated ability to develop policies, procedures, rules and regulations designed to monitor the quality medical care performed by the agencies pre-hospital care providers.
• Demonstrated ability to communicate orally and in writing with customers, clients and general public.
• Demonstrates creative thinking and flexibility to effectively manage multiple projects.
• Excellent interpersonal skills to build collaborative working relationships with a wide variety of individuals at all levels.
• Incumbent must possess a valid driver’s license.

 

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

• Must have an allopathic or osteopathic medical degree (M.D., D.O.)
• Must have a valid Medical License and be eligible to be licensed to practice medicine without restriction in the District of Columbia.
• Must be an American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) board-certified physician in a medical specialty that represents the broad patient base that the Department serves, such as emergency medicine, family medicine, or internal medicine, and most preferably have completed Emergency Medicine Residency Training and Board­ Certification by the American Board of Emergency Medicine (ABEM).
• Must have a valid Federal Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) license in good standing.
• Incumbent shall preferably possess experience in emergency medical services, such as successful completion of a recognized fellowship in emergency medical services.

 

RESIDENCY REQUIREMENT

There is a legal requirement that each new appointee to the Excepted Service either:

1. be a District of Columbia resident at the time of appointment; or
2. become a District resident within one hundred eighty (180) days of appointment.

The law also requires that Excepted Service employees remain District residents during the duration of the individual’s appointment. Failure to remain a District resident for the duration of the appointment will result in forfeiture of employment.

If you are interested in this role, please upload your resume and answer the questionnaire. Only the candidates deemed most suited for the position based on resume will receive a call to schedule further discussion.