City of New York

Job Description

New York City Emergency Management (NYCEM) helps New Yorkers before, during, and after emergencies through preparedness, education, and response. NYCEM is responsible for coordinating citywide emergency planning and response for all types and scales of emergencies. We are staffed by more than 200 dedicated professionals with diverse backgrounds and areas of expertise, including individuals assigned from other City agencies.

The Planning and Resiliency (P&R) Bureau’s mission is to prepare the City to respond and adapt to emergencies through collaborative, scalable planning; comprehensive interagency coordination; and advancing recovery and resiliency. To execute this mission, the P&R Bureau includes Interagency Coordination with an assistant commissioner leading three units made up of subject matter experts in Health and Medical, Human Services, and Critical Infrastructure; Resiliency and Recovery with an assistant commissioner leading the Resiliency Implementation and Resiliency and Recovery Planning units; and the Planning Unit.

The Planning Unit drives the creation, enhancement, and sustainment of comprehensive citywide emergency planning in NYC. The unit works with NYCEM staff and external partners to increase the City’s capacity for developing and maintaining flexible, effective, and actionable planning documents. Additionally, the Planning Unit works with stakeholders to enhance the City’s preparedness for natural, human-caused, and technological hazards through planning initiatives, help identify emerging issues and current planning gaps, and assist with developing trainings and exercises based on planning documents.

With latitude for independent initiative and judgement, NYCEM is seeking an exceptional candidate for the position of Planning Program Manager to manage and support activities related to citywide emergency planning, including overseeing the planning process and management of an all-hazards planning portfolio.

The Program Manager will have broad responsibility to coordinate, implement, and socialize the planning process for citywide emergency response plans, as well as track and maintain all citywide planning documents. This position will be responsible for analyzing and identifying mechanisms to streamline existing processes; establishing and implementing quality assurance measures to produce high-quality, actionable, and user-friendly documents; facilitating intra-agency coordination and communication; facilitate intra- and interagency coordination and communication; supporting unit-level and bureau-wide strategic planning goals; and socializing Unit initiatives.

Responsibilities may include but are not limited to:

• Set agency standards for emergency planning documents by maintaining templates, tools, and trainings
• Collaborate across NYCEM Units, Offices, and Bureaus to socialize the planning process, support plan writers and document leads in the development and finalization of their documents, and provide 1x1 support to agency staff
• Provide a strategic vision for prioritizing updates, enhancements and new planning initiatives for the agency
• Assist in the development and maintenance of citywide emergency plans, including working with internal and/or external stakeholders to document resources and capabilities and streamline planning efforts
• Develop and maintain Planning Unit databases and related SOPs, including management of several Airtable bases, Microsoft Teams channels, and SharePoint sites
• Maintain and enhance the plan sharing process for inter-governmental document sharing in collaboration with Legal
• Oversee the build out, socialization, and maintenance of the interagency planning document library using Microsoft Groups, Teams, and SharePoint (or other platforms as necessary)
• Provide project management leadership and support to assigned projects and assure production of deliverables in alignment with identified goals and objectives
• Review and copy edit all planning documents with an eye toward grammar, formatting, and standardization
• Streamline complex content into user-friendly, comprehensible documents in accordance with editorial policy, including readability and style standards
• Support staff and leadership on cross-functional efforts, including analysis and studies to advance approaches to planning and operational capabilities
• May manage interns, fellows, consultants, and/or specialists
• Lead and support the implementation of strategic initiatives for the Unit and Bureau in line with the agency’s strategic plan
• Work on special projects as assigned
• PLEASE NOTE THE FOLLOWING:

The selected candidate will be assigned to an on-call Emergency Operations Center (EOC) team and will be expected to work non-business hours during some emergencies. These non-business hours include nights, weekends, holidays, and extended week hours outside of a 9AM-5PM schedule. The selected candidate will also participate in trainings to build skills and competencies in emergency response; will participate in drills and exercises associated with the on-call EOC team; and may volunteer to assist with Ready NY emergency preparedness presentations to external groups. EOC teams are on call for three weeks at a time, with six weeks off in between.

Funding – This position is supported with a federal Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI) grant funding through 8/31/2027 with the possibility of an extension.

Candidates must be authorized to work in the United States without employer support to be eligible for selection.

For this position, the “Special Note” below in the Minimum Qualification Requirements does apply.

IN ORDER TO BE CONSIDERED FOR THIS JOB, PLEASE SUBMIT A SEPARATE COVER LETTER IN THE ATTACHMENTS SECTION OF THE APPLICATION PORTAL.

PREFERRED SKILLS

• Superior organizational skills with the ability to prioritize and manage several complex projects simultaneously in a high-pressure work environment
• Superior editing and written communications skills with consideration of audience, layout, and usability
• Experience with database build out and maintenance, especially using Airtable or similar platforms
• High proficiency with Microsoft Office products, especially Microsoft Teams, SharePoint, and Groups
• Excellent verbal communications skills and the ability to give high-level presentations in various subject matters to a wide range of stakeholders
• Experience distilling complex information into manageable, actionable briefing and planning documents
• Experience managing multiple projects in a high-pressure work environment
• Strong project management skills and a demonstrated ability to work independently or collaboratively to deliver complex projects within specified deadlines
• Experience navigating complex documents and providing edits and suggestions
• Flexibility towards shifting needs and priorities
• Excellent evaluative and decision-making skills with appropriate follow-up
• Strong interpersonal skills with an ability to work well within a team structure
• Management experience preferred
• Coaching and mentoring skills a plus
• Graphic design experience a plus
• Experience in data analysis and visualization preferred
• Ability to synthesize processes into quantifiable metrics and reports
• Familiarity and/or interest in emergency planning and hazard preparedness, response, recovery, and resilience
• Experience writing emergency, technical, and/or operational plans preferred.
• Interest in learning technical meteorological, climatological, and hazard-specific information, with a commitment to staying current on the latest developments in these areas.

In addition, the selected candidate will be able to demonstrate a proven ability in the following areas, from the agency’s performance management model:

Competencies:

o Knowledge – possesses appropriate subject matter expertise.

o Work Ethic and Productivity – produces consistently high quality, accurate, and on-time deliverables; takes responsibility, is dependable, and accountable, and follows through; is responsive to requests from leadership.

o Strategic Problem Solving and Innovation – is thoughtful and deliberate in approach to solving problems; demonstrates innovation and creative thinking.

o Effective Communication – communication is clear, precise, and timely; understands their audience and display confidence in delivering their message.

o Teamwork – encourage collaboration and motivate others; is able to both lead and follow when necessary; is an active listener and consider a broad range of perspectives.

• Studies have shown that women, people of color, and other under-represented groups are less likely to apply for jobs unless they believe they are able to perform every task in the job description. We are interested in finding the best candidate for the job and will consider any equivalent combination of knowledge, skills, education and experience to meet qualifications. If you are interested in applying, we encourage you to think broadly about your background and skill set for the role.**

MINIMUM QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS

1. A four-year high school diploma or its educational equivalent approved by a state's department of education or a recognized accrediting organization and six (6) years of satisfactory full-time professional experience in one or a combination of the following: emergency management, fire, police, or military service, public safety, public health, public administration, urban planning, engineering, or another specialized area to which the appointment is to be made; or

2. A baccalaureate degree from an accredited college and two (2) years of satisfactory full time professional experience in the areas listed in "1" above; or

3. A master's degree from an accredited college in emergency management, public administration, urban planning, engineering, economics, political science, the physical sciences, or related field and one (1) year of satisfactory full-time professional experience in the areas listed “1" above, at least two (2) years of which must have been in one of those areas, or another specialized area to which the appointment is to be made.

4. Education and/or experience equivalent to "1", "2", or "3" above. However, all candidates must have a four-year high school diploma or its educational equivalent.

Special Note:

To be eligible for placement in Assignment Level II, individuals must have, after meeting the minimum requirements, one additional year of professional experience as described in "1" above.

NOTE: New York City residency is generally required within 90 days of appointment. However, City Employees in certain titles who have worked for the City for 2 continuous years may also be eligible to reside in Nassau, Suffolk, Putnam, Westchester, Rockland, or Orange County through a waiver process. To determine if the residency requirement applies to you, please discuss with the agency representative at the time of interview.

EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS SPECIAL - 94612

Qualifications

1. A four-year high school diploma or its educational equivalent approved by a state's department of education or a recognized accrediting organization and six years of satisfactory full-time professional experience in one or a combination of the following: emergency management, fire, police, or military service, public safety, public health, public administration, urban planning, engineering, or another specialized area to which the appointment is to be made; or

2. A baccalaureate degree from an accredited college and two years of satisfactory full time professional experience in the areas listed in "1" above; or

3. A master's degree from an accredited college in emergency management, public administration, urban planning, engineering, economics, political science, the physical sciences ,or related field and one year of satisfactory full-time professional experience in the areas listed “1" above, at least two years of which must have been in one of those areas, or another specialized area to which the appointment is to be made.

4. Education and/or experience equivalent to "1", "2", or "3" above. However, all candidates must have a four-year high school diploma or its educational equivalent.

Special Note:

To be eligible for placement in Assignment Level II, individuals must have, after meeting the minimum requirements, one additional year of professional experience as described in ""1"" above.

Additional Information

The City of New York is an inclusive equal opportunity employer committed to recruiting and retaining a diverse workforce and providing a work environment that is free from discrimination and harassment based upon any legally protected status or protected characteristic, including but not limited to an individual's sex, race, color, ethnicity, national origin, age, religion, disability, sexual orientation, veteran status, gender identity, or pregnancy.

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