Description
The Director of Emergency Management Operations is responsible for the preparation, development, and training of plans for the mitigation, response, and recovery in events of university-wide emergencies, disasters, or other critical incidents. The incumbent ensures University compliance with federal, state and local rules, regulations, and plan development recommendations. The Director works collaboratively with federal, state, county, and local government agencies to establish and maintain critical incident prevention, response, and recovery strategies.
The position is both technical and strategic in nature, balancing compliance mandates with preparedness and educational best practices necessary to position the university well to respond to an incident. Excellent communication and collaboration skills and the ability to think holistically about the university’s approach to emergency management are critical components for success.
The Director reports to the Chief of Police in the Department of Public Safety, with a dotted-line reporting/collaborative structure with the Office of Risk Management. Emergency Management responsibilities fall primarily within Public Safety, though certain aspects require regular partnership with and oversight from areas within Risk Management, responsible for fire safety and external stakeholder engagement.
Emergency Management and Planning
Lead university operations with respect to critical incident planning, strategy development, mitigation, response and recovery management, and emergency preparedness exercises, drills and or training.
Develop and maintain the Northern Illinois University Emergency Operations Plan and associated annexes.
Assist with the coordination, integration, and implementation of emergency response plans and protocols with internal and external service providers.
Develop Incident Action Plans for significant university events, anticipated emergency circumstances and crisis interventions.
Communicate and collaborate with federal, state, and local emergency service providers in the event of anticipated or unanticipated emergencies.
Assess safety shelters and evacuation plans (e.g. tornado shelters, fire evacuation); work with individual departments and building contacts to update and educate as necessary.
Assist departments with creating their building emergency action and continuity of operations plans.
Renew and maintain any agreed-upon safety preparedness designations from external agencies (e.g. National Weather Service StormReady certification).
Training and Education
Design, develop, implement, coordinate, and facilitate departmental training programs, including fire safety, emergency response, senior leadership tabletop exercises, and other mandated training.
Schedule, coordinate, and monitor all classroom training – schedules, locations, dates/times, materials, and attendance.
Maintain training tracking process – track completion and administer certification to recipients and department leadership.
Develop, implement, administer, and maintain the training management system established through FEMA and IEMA.
Research and coordinate training protocols stipulated by statutes and regulations, including details, cost comparisons, and timelines.
Develop lesson plans, course outlines, trainings, and descriptions for the presentation of classes, seminars, emergency management projects, or other critical incident programs at the university or external conferences/symposiums, or other venues as directed.
Fire Safety Officer
Manage the Annual Fire Safety Report for internal and external stakeholders.
Review fire alarm response reports and records in compliance with regulations; conduct follow-up investigations for clarification and/or to determine root cause, if necessary.
Attend and participate in quarterly Clery Committee meetings overseen by the Director of Clery Compliance in the ECO.
Design, plan, and implement residence hall fire drill exercises in partnership with Environmental Health and Safety.
Coordinate DeKalb city/municipal fire department training exercises conducted on campus and any relative campus tours.
Serve as lead NIU representative in negotiating and reviewing the fire protection/EMS services agreement with the Fire Department and other municipalities.
Facilitate Fire Marshal inspections in partnership with Environmental Health and Safety.
Other Compliance Work Relating to State and Federal Mandates
Promote exceptional relationships within the university and local area communities.
Function as an active participant on assigned task forces, special working groups, or committees focused on specific emergency management, fire safety, or critical incident issues as required.
Research and analyze federal, state, county, and local emergency management policies, procedures, rules, regulations, laws, and ordinances as necessary to ensure compliance with governmental and University emergency management requirements.
Attend required annual training.
Maintain records in accordance with state and university records retention policies.
Research and pursue state and federal grant opportunities in support of emergency preparedness, training, and response operations.
Emergency Response
Respond to emergencies, such as natural disasters or other critical incidents; assess environmental conditions in order to recommend the appropriate assignment of material, equipment, and personnel for immediate response.
Assist in coordinating logistics for the Emergency Operations Command Center and convene essential personnel to identify the appropriate response plan to enact.
Other Duties as Assigned
Perform other duties as required by Northern Illinois University Department of Police and Public Safety supervisory or command personnel and the Office of Risk Management.
Requirements
CREDENTIALS TO BE VERIFIED BY PLACEMENT OFFICER
Bachelor’s degree in any field from an accredited college or university.
Three years (36 months) of emergency management experience.
Successful completion of National Incident Management System (NIMS) IS-100 and IS-700 curriculum.
Possession of a valid State of Illinois driver’s license.
No record of conviction of a felony or a crime involving moral turpitude.
KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND ABILITIES (KSAs)
Public Safety and Security — Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
Customer and Personal Service — Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
Administration and Management — Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
English Language — Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
Law and Government — Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
Computers — Knowledge of computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
Active Listening — Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
Complex Problem Solving —Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate alternate solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems, and after considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions — choosing the most appropriate solution.
Service Orientation — Actively looking for ways to help people.
Speaking — The ability to communicate information and ideas effectively so others will understand; ability to engage in public speaking.
Judgment and Decision Making — Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
Writing — Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience and writing grants, reports, etc.
Time Management — Managing one’s own time and the time of others.
Oral Comprehension — The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
Problem Sensitivity — The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
Information Ordering — The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
Creativity — The ability to come up with a number of ideas about a topic.
