Emergency Management Specialist

Emergency Management Specialist

Department: Department of Veterans Affairs

Location(s): Tucson, Arizona

Salary Range: $75341 - $97938 Per Year

Job Summary: The Southern Arizona VA Health Care System is seeking an Emergency Management Specialist to provide the health care system in sustaining national and regional support to the Comprehensive Emergency Management Program.

Major Duties:

• Duties include but not limited to: Assist in the development and implementation of Emergency Management (EM) protocols and methods. Work directly with the VAMC EMS, VISN EMS, and VHA OEM, federal, state, and local partners to coordinate and collaborate on EM related planning and responses. Contribute to planning and organization of activities to ensure that training and operations requirements are fully integrated and coordinated and in compliance with all legal and regulatory requirements. Analyze and evaluate, on a quantitative and qualitative basis, the effectiveness or programs or operations in meeting established goals and objectives. Engage in the review and provide input to the EM manager of Federal, State, local governments, hospital coalitions and consortiums emergency management plans. Analyze, evaluate, and provide recommendations to the VAMC EM to provide a quality program. Review, analyze and coordinate the implementation and evaluation of exercises to test and critique VHA comprehensive emergency management plans and programs. Aid during exercise scenarios using Homeland Security Exercise and Evaluation Program principles and serves as a facility evaluator. Perform hazard vulnerability analysis (HVA) with stakeholders requiring assessment of risks that have the potential to interrupt the continuity of critical operations. Assist in the development and solidification of Memorandums and Agreements, documenting or publicizing risks, or public education and training required to effectively deliver emergency management resources and services. Assist in the advancement of healthcare system programs through risk documentation, mitigation, training of internal and externally in collaboration with community partners. Provide input in the revision and review of policies, procedures, mission objectives and/or organizational design for mission accomplishment of complex and evolving issues and functions, including the development of appropriate national guidance and procedures as it relates to CEMP, Environment of Care (EOC), and COOP activities for VHA. Assist with the development and implementation a variety of EM guidelines and structures for general and specific EM operations including contingency plans and the continuity of operations. Recommends developmental taskings for EM activities. Provide support to the Emergency Management manager in the implementation of EM quality improvements to enhance EM operations and planning activities. Establish and maintain relationships with the stakeholders, and/or community in order to communicate and disseminate program information with results in an understanding of the agency's mission and activities. Provide status reports on availability of resources in issue briefs and resource reporting to VISN and VHA OEM. Manage and coordinate the procurement, mobilization, utilization and demobilization of resources and assets. Working knowledge of technical requirements, wrap around services, and training needs to deploy resources to alternate care sites including critical communication assets to ensure interoperability with local, state and national agencies. Function as an assistant to the EM assigned the responsibility to coordinate as the VAMCs Alternate Disaster Emergency Personnel System (DEMPS) program. Assist in the identification, training and recruitment of qualified volunteers with specific skills for supporting national requirements. Maintain an inventory of Powered Air Purifying Respirators (PAPR) and other decontamination equipment; coordinates with the Industrial Hygienist on annual PAPR functional checks; ensure training is provided to the Decontamination team. Provides and maintains equipment associated with decontamination sustainment. Provide support for the Hospital Incident Command System (HICS) for drills, exercises and planned events- Perform other related duties as assigned. Work Schedule: Monday to Friday, 8:00 AM - 4:30 PM Telework: Not Authorized Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Emergency Management Specialist/PD99788S Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

Qualifications: To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 11/20/2025. Time-In-Grade Requirement: Applicants who are current Federal employees and have held a GS grade any time in the past 52 weeks must also meet time-in-grade requirements by the closing date of this announcement. For a GS-11 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-09. The grade may have been in any occupation, but must have been held in the Federal service. An SF-50 that shows your time-in-grade eligibility must be submitted with your application materials. If the most recent SF-50 has an effective date within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate you possess one-year time-in-grade, as required by the announcement. In this instance, you must provide an additional SF-50 that clearly demonstrates one-year time-in-grade. Note: Time-In-Grade requirements also apply to former Federal employees applying for reinstatement as well as current employees applying for Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) appointment. You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below: You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-9 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Knowledge of the pertinent laws, objectives, precedents, guidelines and policies governing various emergency management programs and operations enough to assist with development and execution of a comprehensive emergency management program; knowledge of analytical and evaluation methods and thorough understanding of how regulatory programs are administered to select and apply program evaluation and measurement techniques (data gathering methodologies) in determining compliance with emergency preparedness and management rules and regulations; ability to respond quickly to emergency situations where degree of hazard could be of a high nature; knowledge of a variety of emergency, contingency and operations plans, policies, and directives enough to provide advice and assistance; skill in applying basic data gathering methodologies to collect various types of information and knowledge of database entry programs and management; knowledge of the Microsoft Office Suite software (Outlook, Word, Excel and PowerPoint). Previous experience in emergency management is required. OR, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree, or, 3 full years of progressively higher graduate education leading to such a degree, or, an LL.M.. OR, Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have an combination of specialized experience and education beyond 2 full years of graduate education. Analytical Reasoning Compliance Emergency Management Public Safety and Security Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religions; spiritual; community; student; social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. Note: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. Part-time experience will be credited on the basis of time actually spent in appropriate activities. Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must indicate clearly the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such employment. Physical Requirements: The work is sedentary during non-emergency situations. However, participation in field exercises and operational support missions may require strenuous physical activity to include carrying persons and equipment, walking long distance, climbing, working long hours, long periods of standing, and bending and stooping. May include various housing and living conditions to include non-climate controlled, limited privacy sleeping facilities (for example, cots, tents, hot-bunking, gymnasiums, or similar), limited shower and laundry facilities, and limited feeding options (such as shelf-stable meals, meals-ready-to-eat (MREs), and field kitchens). Incumbent must have and maintain a valid motor vehicle operator's license. During emergency situations the incumbent may be required to remain available 24 hours per day, seven days per week for multiple weeks. Incumbent is subject to work under emergency notification and contact procedures. EMS will be provided and must carry a government provided mobile communication device. For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/.

How to Apply: All applicants are encouraged to apply online. To apply for this position, you must complete the questionnaire and submit the documentation specified in the Required Documents section below. The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (ET) on 11/20/2025 to receive consideration. To preview the questionnaire click https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12832455. To begin, click Apply Online to create a USA JOBS account or log in to your existing account. Follow the prompts to select your USA JOBS resume and/or other supporting documents and complete the occupational questionnaire. Click Submit My Answers to submit your application package. NOTE: It is your responsibility to ensure your responses and appropriate documentation is submitted prior to the closing date. Beginning September 27, 2025, Federal agencies will only accept resumes up to two pages in length to comply with the Merit Hiring Plan. Resumes longer than two pages will result in ineligibility for further consideration for the position. USAJOBS will not allow you to upload or build resumes longer than two pages, and you will need to update the resumes in your profile before applying for a job. Resumes should include information relevant to the knowledge, skills, abilities, and competencies of the position to which you are applying. VA is unable to make assumptions about qualifications if not clearly listed. Resumes must be legible so they can be reviewed for eligibility, minimum qualifications and other position requirements listed in the job announcement. Your resume must be 5MB or less. We recommend saving and uploading your resume as a PDF to maintain formatting and number of pages. We also accept GIF, JPG, JPEG, PNG, RTF, TXT, PDF, ODT or Word (DOC or DOCX). We do not accept PDF portfolio files. We recommend using a sans-serif font size like Lato, if available. Other widely available options are Calibri, Helvetica, Arial, Verdana, Open San Source Sans Pro, Roboto or Noro Sans. Make your page margins 0.5 inches. Consider using 14-point size font for titles and 10-point for the main text in your resume. The resume builder can help you create a resume using these recommendations and uses the information in your USAJOBS profile to help you get started. Helpful Hints for Creating a Two-Page Resume: Prioritize most relevant and recent experience Use concise, results focused language Align language from the job announcement Focus on demonstrating skills and competencies Remove outdated or unrelated experience Use the USAJOBS resume builder Additional guidance on this new requirement and resume building tools can be found at: https://help.usajobs.gov/faq/application/documents/resume/page-limit https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/hiring-information/merit-hiring-plan-resources/applicant-guidance-on-the-two-page-resume-limit/ Special Employment Consideration: VA encourages persons with disabilities to apply, including those eligible for hiring under 5 CFR 213.3102(u), Schedule A, Appointment of persons with disabilities [i.e., intellectual disabilities, severe physical disabilities, or psychiatric disabilities], and/or Disabled veterans with a compensable service-connected disability of 30% or more. Contact the Agency Contact for information on how to apply under this appointment authority via the Selective Placement Coordinator. The Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) and Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provide eligible displaced Federal/VA competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. To be qualified you must submit appropriate documentation (a copy of the agency notice, your most recent performance rating, and your most recent SF-50 noting current position, grade level, and duty location) and be found well-qualified for this vacancy. To be well-qualified: applicants must possess experience that exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors, and who are proficient in most of the required competencies of the job. Information about ICTAP and CTAP eligibility is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website at http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/workforce-restructuring/employee-guide-to-career-transition/. During the application process you may have an option to opt-in to make your resume available to hiring managers in the agency who have similar positions. Opting in does not impact your application for this announcement, nor does it guarantee further consideration for additional positions.

Application Deadline: 2025-11-20