Emergency Preparedness Manager (Emergency Management Specialist III)

When our community faces a crisis, do you want to be the one who helps to ensure every family has somewhere safe to turn? The Fairfax County Department of Family Services (DFS) strengthens the well-being of our diverse community by protecting and improving the lives of all children, adults, and families through assistance, partnership, advocacy, outreach, and quality services. This position helps ensure that mission doesn't stop when disaster strikes - it becomes even stronger.

The Opportunity:
As the Emergency Preparedness Manager, you will lead how DFS prepares for and responds to emergencies - especially those affecting people's basic safety and stability. Reporting to the Facilities Operations Manager, you will build and oversee a department-wide emergency preparedness and response program for a large Health and Human Services agency. You will also set expectations, support professional development, and provide supervision for an Emergency Management Specialist II.

A central part of this role is leading DFS's training and planning work for Emergency Support Function (ESF) 6: Mass Care, Emergency Assistance, Housing, and Human Services. You will ensure staff are trained and ready to support family assistance centers, emergency shelters, and other critical services when our community needs them most.

What You'll Do:

• Builds and manages the preparedness program
• Develops, maintains, and implements DFS emergency plans, procedures, and playbooks that align with federal, state, county, and departmental priorities.
• Coordinates readiness activities, including shelter planning and other ESF-6 responsibilities.
• Sets program goals, monitor progress, and represent DFS on relevant emergency management committees and workgroups.
• Leads trainings and exercises
• Designs and delivers emergency preparedness, response, and recovery trainings for DFS staff, with a strong focus on ESF-6 roles.
• Plans and coordinates tabletop, functional, and full-scale exercises.
• Ensures all activities follow NIMS/ICS and county standards and integrate adult learning principles.
• Evaluates and improves readiness
• Analyzes data and feedback from trainings, exercises, and real incidents.
• Develops after-action reports and improvement plans.
• Tracks key performance indicators and recommend updates to plans, training, and procedures.
• Leads during emergencies
• Leads and supports professional staff, contractors, and volunteers working on preparedness activities.
• Serves as a subject matter expert for DFS leadership and staff during incidents.
• Helps coordinate shelter operations and other mass care functions in line with county objectives.
• Participates in drills and activations and recommend changes based on lessons learned.

• May occasionally work outside standard business hours to support facility and emergency needs.
• Serves on the DFS Emergency On-Call Phone Team in two-week rotations, responding 24/7 to emergency issues involving mass care, emergency assistance, housing, and human services.
• Must remain within 90 minutes' travel distance to Fairfax County while on call.

• Has experience in emergency management, ideally in government, human services, public health, or a related field.
• Can turn emergency management principles into clear plans, practical trainings, and coordinated operations.
• Communicates effectively with front-line staff, partners, and leadership, and builds strong relationships.
• Stays calm under pressure and keeps people and equity at the center of your decisions.

• Valid driver's license
• Certificates of Incident Command System (ICS) trainings 100, 200, 300, 400, 700, 800, and 2200 required within 12 months of appointment.

• Bachelor's degree in emergency management or related field.
• Advanced emergency management certifications (e.g., CEM, Virginia Professional Emergency Manager, FEMA Professional Development Series, or EMI coursework beyond required ICS)
• At least 5 years of full-time experience in emergency management with specific involvement in planning, training, and exercise design, preferably within a human services or social services context.
• At least 5 years of full-time experience in emergency management, disaster preparedness, or closely related work in a government or large organizational setting.
• At least 2 years of supervisory experience overseeing professional staff, contractors, or volunteers, including performance management and coaching.
• Experience leading cross-functional teams or workgroups in emergency management or human services settings preferred.
• At least 3 years of full-time experience developing, implementing, and maintaining emergency operations plans, preferably including mass care, shelter operations, family assistance centers, and/or disaster feeding.
• Experience working with or providing support to vulnerable populations (e.g., children, older adults, individuals with disabilities, people experiencing homelessness).

Fairfax County is home to a highly diverse population, with a significant number of residents speaking languages other than English at home (including Spanish, Asian/Pacific Islander, Indo-European, and many others.) We encourage candidates who are bilingual in English and another language to apply for this opportunity.