The Emergency Management Coordinator is a professional position within Bedford County’s Office of Administration and serves as a member of the County’s senior leadership team. This position is responsible for coordinating the County’s emergency management program and advising the County Administrator on potential and active emergency situations.
Duties and responsibilities include, but are not limited to, developing and maintaining emergency preparedness plans and mutual aid agreements; coordinating countywide emergency response and recovery efforts; serving as the primary liaison between County Administration and public safety agencies, government partners, businesses, community organizations, schools, and the public on emergency management matters; performing related administrative duties; and carrying out other assignments as directed.
Work is performed under the general supervision of the Deputy County Administrator, with considerable latitude for independent judgment, decision-making, and initiative.
Essential Duties & Responsibilities:
- Serves as Bedford County’s primary liaison to the Virginia Department of Emergency Management in accordance with VA 44-146.19 & 21.
- Supports the integration of County and surrounding public safety agencies, including Bedford County Fire & Rescue, Bedford County Sheriff’s Office, Bedford Police Department, and Virginia State Police, into the whole of government and community preparation, response, and recovery of emergencies and disaster.
- Maintains partnership with local Town Administration and staff to support Emergency Management functions as defined in VA code.
- Maintains liaison with other state and federal agencies who have public safety jurisdiction or that support coordinated emergency responses such as the Department of Wildlife Resources, National Weather Service, VA National Guard, FBI, and US Marshalls.
- Maintains relationships, liaisons, and exchanges with County Departments and above-mentioned organizational categories to facilitate plan development, coordinate response efforts, personnel and equipment.
- Supports the County’s strategic priorities, objectives, and long-term goals through effective representation of risk and capability assessments and information.
- Responsible for oversight of the Emergency Operations Plan in accordance with VA 44-146.19. Maintains all resource materials and stays informed of federal, state, and local regulations affecting emergency plans and ensures compliance.
- Maintains a training and exercise program for all stakeholders involved in the Emergency Operations Plan inclusive of existing and emerging threats to the County conducted through tabletop, drill, functional and full-scale exercises, on a regular basis and conducts after action reviews for improvement planning.
- Maintains local asset list of equipment, personnel, and systems for local, regional, and statewide mutual aid planning and execution, including capability assessments.
- Prepare Emergency Management's operating budget; monitors expenditures against approved budget; reviews purchase requisitions, invoices, and recommends payment of purchases; oversees inventory of emergency management's supplies and equipment.
- Coordinate funding strategies for emergency preparedness and response programs, including grant budgeting, cost tracking, and resource allocation by working collaboratively with public safety departments.
- Searches for and applies for state and federal grants and applies for federal funding for emergency management related needs. Administers and reports on the progress of such grants to County staff and community stakeholders.
- Plans and directs disaster response, crisis management activities and disaster preparedness training (compatible with local, state, and federal plans) for County staff and community partners.
- Maintains awareness of critical infrastructure and takes action to ensure resilience and dependability in times of disaster or emergency needs.
- Consults with officials of local and area governments, schools, hospitals and other institutions to determine their needs and capabilities in the event of a natural disaster or emergency.
- Works closely with the Public Information Officer to keep the community and media informed regarding emergency situations, including weather and other events of significant public interest.
- Develops instructional materials for citizens and community stakeholders providing information on emergency plans and implementation of such.
- Conducts reviews of stakeholder plans to support organization efforts and ensure coordination with local and state plans.
- In the event of an emergency, maintains a coordination structure that is flexible and scalable to support County efforts and stakeholders needs.
- Maintain a process to assess damage and impacts to the community following disaster including coordination with local and state officials to request and receive assistance related to disaster response and recovery.
- Coordinates disaster applications after disaster declaration to allow affected businesses and persons to apply for appropriate state or federal aid as specified in the disaster declaration.
- Works with Public Safety Departments to coordinate any required evacuations by establishing the extent of the area to be evacuated; provides methods of warning and notification, performs home checks before re-habitation, ensures required
- transportation is available; and provides plans for securing the evacuated areas.
- Coordinates housing shelters and/or long-term congregate facilities needed for emergencies; inspects shelters to ensure needed supplies are available; trains and supervises shelter staff.
- Accomplishes all tasks as appropriately assigned or requested by management.
- Performs special projects as assigned.
- Consistently demonstrates ability to respond to changing situations in a flexible manner in order to meet current needs and reprioritizes work as necessary.
Education / Experience:
Bachelor's degree in Emergency Management, Public Safety, Public Administration, or a closely related field. The ideal candidate will possess five (5) or more years of progressively responsible experience in emergency management, public safety planning, or a related field, including experience coordinating or managing programs. An equivalent combination of education, training, and professional experience that demonstrates the required knowledge, skills, and abilities may be considered in lieu of the educational requirement.
The successful candidate must demonstrate the ability to build collaborative relationships and possess exceptional interpersonal and communication skills, including the ability to communicate effectively, both orally and in writing, with elected officials, government agencies, citizens, media representatives, business leaders, and other stakeholders.
Knowledge / Skills and Abilities:
The position requires the ability to influence and implement County policies, procedures, and standards across departments without direct supervisory authority. Candidates must possess strong analytical, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills, as well as the ability to think strategically and proactively to address current and future emergency preparedness needs.
The ability to interpret and apply county, state, and federal laws, policies, procedures, and emergency management programs is required. The successful candidate must also be able to represent the County at meetings, public events, and with community organizations, including occasional work outside of normal business hours.
Certifications/ Licenses:
Completion of FEMA Incident Command System (ICS) courses 100–400 and 700–800 required. The successful candidate must be able to complete the FEMA Basic Emergency Management Academy within two years of employment. Certification as a Certified Emergency Manager (CEM) or Virginia Professional Emergency Manager (VPEM) is strongly preferred.
A valid Commonwealth of Virginia driver's license with an acceptable driving record is required.
Physical Requirements:
The physical requirements described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made for individuals with disabilities.
This is light work requiring the exertion of force occasionally, up to 10 pounds of force frequently, and a negligible amount of force constantly to move objects; work requires reaching, grasping and repetitive motions; vocal communication is required for expressing or exchanging ideas by means of the spoken work; hearing is required to perceive information at normal spoken word levels; visual acuity is required for preparing and analyzing written or computer data, visual inspection involving small defects and/or small parts, operation of machines, operation of motor vehicles or equipment, determining the accuracy and thoroughness of work and observing general surroundings and activities.
Environmental Factors:
Employee is subject to inside and outside environment and atmospheric conditions. The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate.
Special/Additional Requirements:
Subject to a complete criminal history background search, drug screening, employment and education verification with acceptable results.
Employee must be able to travel as needed. Employee will be required to work beyond a normal schedule during emergency situations which may include rotating shifts, evenings, weekends, and holidays.
