Functional Responsibilities:
- Direct the overall strategy, governance and operations of the Emergency Operations Center during emergency and non-emergency periods.
- Ensure effective 24/7 emergency call-taking, dispatch, incident coordination, escalation, notification and documentation services are maintained to approved standards.
- Establish and maintain the EOC operating model, roles, authorities, escalation arrangements, SOPs, guide cards, communication protocols and performance standards.
- Ensure effective inter-departmental and inter-agency communication and coordination during emergencies and significant operational events.
- Maintain EOC readiness for routine incidents, major emergencies, crises, system failures and other business disruptions through appropriate staffing, procedures, systems and contingency arrangements.
- Lead, manage and evaluate EOC management and operational staff, ensuring a skilled, responsive, accountable and appropriately staffed team.
- Establish EOC training, competency and quality assurance requirements and ensure personnel participate in relevant readiness activities and exercises within the EOC operational scope.
- Establish, monitor and report EOC performance measures covering call handling, dispatch, response times, incident documentation, escalations, quality assurance, system availability and other agreed service indicators.
- Review significant incidents, performance trends and operational exceptions and ensure corrective and preventive actions are implemented and tracked.
- Ensure the EOC remains in a state of readiness with reliable CAD, emergency telephony, radio, CCTV interfaces, mapping, recording, data and other operational technologies.
- Define operational requirements for procurement, maintenance, resilience, integration and upgrade of EOC systems, equipment and facilities.
- Maintain effective business continuity and fallback arrangements for loss of critical EOC systems, communications, utilities or facilities.
- Build and maintain effective relationships with government agencies, emergency services, internal departments, service providers and other stakeholders supporting emergency management and response.
- Ensure appropriate governance over confidential, personal and operationally sensitive information, including access controls, data handling and disclosure requirements.
- Represent the EOC in senior management meetings, operational forums, emergency planning activities and relevant external engagements.
- Identify and lead opportunities for innovation, systems integration, automation and process improvement to enhance EOC efficiency, resilience and effectiveness.
Qualifications:
- Bachelor’s Degree in Emergency Management, Public Safety, Homeland Security, Public Administration, Security Management or a related field. An advanced degree is highly desirable for complex operations.
- Certification in Emergency Management, Emergency Communications, Crisis Response or Disaster Recovery from recognized institutions such as APCO International, FEMA Emergency Management Institute, IAEM or equivalent is advantageous.
- Minimum of 5 years of experience in emergency management, crisis response or a closely related field, with at least 3 years in a leadership or management role within an Emergency Operations Center or similar environment.
- Demonstrated experience managing a 24/7 operational environment, multi-agency emergency coordination, emergency communication systems and operational performance.
Strong working knowledge of CAD, emergency telephony, radio communications, incident management technology, performance reporting and business continuity arrangements.
