Senior Public Health Specialist - Emergency Preparedness and Response

Position Description

The Senior Emergency Preparedness Specialist is a leader in public health emergency preparedness and response. The position is responsible for emergency planning, project coordination, grant management, and department readiness. Job duties require extensive collaboration with partners in the city and across the metro area. This position will work extensively with the City's Emergency Management Department to ensure the City approaches emergency preparedness and response with one set of objectives.

Work Location

This position may be eligible for flexible work arrangements, including hybrid work with some days working remotely and some days working in the office.

The City of Minneapolis does not sponsor applicants for work visas.

Job Duties and Responsibilities

• Administer and implement a training and education curriculum that supports all personnel who have a role in public health emergency preparedness as part of a department-wide, multi-year emergency preparedness education, training, testing, exercise program in accordance with grant requirements and citywide emergency response standards.
• Maintain professional and collaborative relationships with city staff from all departments, the public, officials from other governmental and industry groups, and emergency responders from multiple jurisdictions as a means of aligning resources and preparing them for emergency responses. Maintain strong partnerships with other local, state, and federal agencies. Support regional, state, and national response and recovery efforts through mutual aid, incident management teams and similar regional, state, or federal organizations and deploy with such organizations as warranted.
• Support the development of a department-wide, multi-year emergency preparedness education, training, testing, exercise program, and interpret and apply State and Federal guidance to assure compliance.
• Coordinate with other City staff across departments to deliver accurate, critical information about health preparedness during emergencies .
• Participate in formulating operational plans, and advising on department policy, department incident management team organization structure, and staffing decisions.
• Coordinate, evaluate, and improve all activities related to the public health preparedness program within the Health Department.
• Assess overall emergency preparedness against established metrics based on performance in assessments, federal reviews, exercises and incidents capturing lessons learned that lead to program improvement.
• Lead the creation of After-Action Reports from actual emergency situations and/or training exercises; document relevant lessons learned that could improve the quality and effectiveness of the Health Department's emergency operations plan.
• Work with key internal and external stakeholders in the planning process by using a whole community approach.
• Research and analyze emergency preparedness issues for department staff, City officials, and external sources.
• Represent the City of Minneapolis at various grant-required exercises, forums, meetings, task forces, work groups, etc.
• Support regional, state and national response and recovery efforts through mutual aid, incident management teams and similar regional, state or federal organizations and deploy with such organizations as warranted.
• Develop and maintain systems for inventory and accountability of assets, including but not limited to grant-funded assets. In coordination with City departments, consider technology enhancements for Health Department emergency preparedness.
• Anticipate future disasters and take preventative and preparatory measures to build disaster resistant and disaster-resilient communities.
• During emergency response operations for the Health Department, serve as a skilled staff position in Health Incident Command, including as command or general staff. For emergencies where the Health Department is not the lead, serve in an Incident Management Team role in the City Emergency Operations Center (EOC) under the direction of the EOC Director or designee.

Working Conditions:
Office and field work, with potential for exposure to health hazards during emergency situations.
Required Qualifications

Minimum Education
Bachelor's degree in emergency management, public health or health care, nursing, human services, planning, public administration or equivalent degree in a closely related field. Master's degree is preferred.

Minimum Experience
Minimum of 3 years relevant experience in health, public health, public administration, emergency management, public safety or disaster services.

Equivalency
An equivalent combination of education and highly related experience in a similar environment may be considered.

Licensure
Highly desirable before hire or must obtain licensure within 12 months of hire:
Licensure FEMA IS 100, 200, 700, 800; FEMA ICS 300 and 400
Psychological First Aid Emergency Management Training Certificate from the State of Minnesota and/or a Certified Emergency Manager Certification through the International Association of Emergency Managers

Selection Process

The selection process will consist of one or more of the following steps: a rating of relevant education and experience (100%). It is important that your application show all the relevant education and experience you possess. This information will be used to determine which candidates will proceed in the selection process. A submitted application is also used to verify the answers to any supplemental questions. Only those candidates who attain a passing score (70%) on each step in the selection process will be placed on the eligible list. The City of Minneapolis Human Resources Department reserves the right to limit the number in any phase of the selection process.

Background Check

The City has determined that a criminal background check and/or qualifications check may be necessary for certain positions with this job title. Applicants may be required to sign an informed consent form allowing the City to obtain their criminal history and/or verify their qualifications in connection with the position sought. Applicants who do not sign the informed consent form will not be further considered for the position.

Drug and Alcohol Testing

All job applicants must pass a pre-employment drug and alcohol test once a conditional offer of employment has been made. Applicants will be required to sign a notification and consent form prior to undergoing drug and alcohol testing. Applicants who do not consent to undergo drug and alcohol testing will not be required to do so and the City will withdraw the conditional job offer, resulting in the job applicant no longer being considered for the position.

Union Representation

This position is represented by a collective bargaining agreement between the City of Minneapolis and the Minneapolis Professional Employee Association (MPEA). For more information on the terms and conditions of this agreement please visit:

Eligible List Statement

The names of applicants who meet minimum qualification and who pass the screening process shall be placed on the eligible list for employment consideration. This list will be certified to the hiring manager who may use the list to fill a vacancy of the same job title. This eligible list will expire three months after it has been established.

Interview Selection

The hiring authority reserves the right to determine the maximum number of candidates to interview from the established eligible list. If the hiring authority decides to interview other than by exam score order, they may select additional people to interview based on a candidate's education or experience related to the field, work history, or skills uniquely related to the operational needs of the position.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• Must have comprehensive knowledge of national, state, and local emergency preparedness issues, and documented training in the National Incident Management System (NIMS).
• Must have comprehensive knowledge of public health functions and public health issues, with particular emphasis on public health emergency preparedness.
• Background or exposure to program or community initiative planning for public health, human services, or public safety. Experience in working with community or advocacy organizations helpful.
• Experienced in working with community agencies and neighborhood groups, particularly with diverse and special needs populations. Fluency in another language helpful.
• Ability to work in an environment which requires flexibility, responsiveness, and multi-tasking.
• Experience in and ability to work in a collaborative environment, particularly with health care systems, public safety systems, multiple agencies, and levels of government.
• Ability to present information and ideas accurately, effectively, and concisely. Good written and verbal communication skills; exposure to and training in public speaking.
• Ability to gather, synthesize and communicate information about biological, chemical and other situations or agents requiring public health emergency response planning and implementation.
• Knowledge of contract management, grant writing, policy development and implementation.
• Familiarity with City of Minneapolis departments, staff, and capabilities.

As the largest and most vibrant city in the state, Minneapolis depends on purposeful, dedicated and innovative employees. Minneapolis has a large variety of careers for people of all experiences and backgrounds who come together for a singular purpose-serving the residents, businesses and visitors of Minneapolis.

The City of Minneapolis is proud to be an Equal Employment Opportunity employer.