How to hire an emergency management director

How to hire an emergency management director, step by step

Here's a step-by-step emergency management director hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write an emergency management director job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new emergency management director
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does an emergency management director do?

Post an emergency management director job for free, promote it for a fee

Post free

1. Identify your hiring needs

   The emergency management director hiring process starts by determining what type of worker you actually need. Certain roles might require a full-time employee, whereas part-time workers or contractors can do others.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   Hiring the perfect emergency management director also involves considering the ideal background you'd like them to have. Depending on what industry or field they have experience in, they'll bring different skills to the job. It's also important to consider what levels of seniority and education the job requires and what kind of salary such a candidate would likely demand.

   The following list breaks down different types of emergency management directors and their corresponding salaries.

   Type of Emergency Management Director	Description	Hourly rate
   Emergency Management Director	Emergency management directors prepare plans and procedures for responding to natural disasters or other emergencies. They also help lead the response during and after emergencies, often in coordination with public safety officials, elected officials, nonprofit organizations, and government agencies.	$34-172
   Emergency Preparedness Coordinator	Emergency Preparedness Coordinators work diligently to prepare for, prevent, and somehow lessen a community's hardships if and when they face emergencies. Most residents don't always understand the hard work that goes into maintaining the safety of a community... Show more	$15-55
   Emergency Planner	As an emergency planner, it is their responsibility to assess risks, write and implement safety development plans and reports, organize safety exercises, and train people for emergency response operations in case of a crisis, natural calamities, and accidents may arise. By anticipating these unfortunate events, they could help avoid or lessen the damage that may cost the company's fortune... Show more	$15-52

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Emergency Preparedness
   • Emergency Management
   • Public Safety
   • Emergency Response
   • Emergency Services
   • Disaster Response
   • Incident Management
   • EOC
   • EMS
   • Incident Command System
   • OSHA
   • Law Enforcement
   • Emergency Situations
   • Nims

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage first aid clinic using EMT skills for injury's clinic visits, lose time, and light duty incidents.
   • Manage the strategic oversight and operational performance for the department.
   • Relay information to the appropriate first responder agency.
   • Communicate OSHA, NFPA and NIOSH standards to customer.
   • Participate in control burns as well as wildland firefighting.
   • Assist in training new ERT members in their initial classes and training.

   More emergency management director duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your emergency management director job description is one of the best ways to attract top talent. An emergency management director can vary based on:

   • Location. For example, emergency management directors' average salary in hawaii is 52% less than in illinois.
   • Seniority. Entry-level emergency management directors 80% less than senior-level emergency management directors.
   • Certifications. An emergency management director with certifications usually earns a higher salary.
   • Company. Working for an established firm or a new start-up company can make a big difference in an emergency management director's salary.

   Average emergency management director salary

   $161,105yearly

   $77.45 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level emergency management director salary

   $72,000 yearly salary

   Updated January 23, 2026

   Average emergency management director salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	Illinois	$190,532	$92
   2	New York	$181,758	$87
   3	District of Columbia	$176,732	$85
   4	West Virginia	$171,514	$82
   5	New Hampshire	$171,457	$82
   6	Delaware	$170,089	$82
   7	Pennsylvania	$166,855	$80
   8	Connecticut	$166,535	$80
   9	Kentucky	$166,397	$80
   10	Minnesota	$162,194	$78
   11	California	$161,551	$78
   12	Ohio	$159,926	$77
   13	Nevada	$158,397	$76
   14	North Dakota	$155,166	$75
   15	Montana	$154,203	$74
   16	Wyoming	$152,570	$73
   17	Indiana	$148,238	$71
   18	Massachusetts	$147,795	$71
   19	Virginia	$144,056	$69
   20	Iowa	$143,710	$69

   Average emergency management director salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Saint Francis Health System	$264,749	$127.28	2
   2	St. Joseph's Health	$235,944	$113.43	3
   3	St. Joseph Healthcare	$222,353	$106.90	1
   4	Emory Healthcare	$221,254	$106.37	34
   5	New York University	$211,798	$101.83	1
   6	AtlantiCare	$203,353	$97.77	14
   7	H Mart	$189,074	$90.90
   8	Red Robin	$184,249	$88.58
   9	Mission Regional Medical Center	$179,564	$86.33	37
   10	Tyler Junior College	$167,265	$80.42
   11	University of Florida	$164,937	$79.30	34
   12	Under Armour	$154,894	$74.47	44
   13	MUFG EMEA	$154,865	$74.45
   14	Clinical Management Consultants	$154,164	$74.12
   15	*n/a*	$152,247	$73.20	2
   16	Cisco	$149,084	$71.67	59
   17	Tenet Healthcare	$146,681	$70.52	48
   18	New York State Restaurant Association	$143,956	$69.21
   19	Minnesota Limited	$142,995	$68.75	3
   20	Liberty Mutual Insurance	$140,158	$67.38	6

4. Writing an emergency management director job description

   An emergency management director job description should include a summary of the role, required skills, and a list of responsibilities. It's also good to include a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager. To help get you started, here's an example of an emergency management director job description:

   Emergency management director job description example

   Invenergy drives innovation in energy. Powered by decades of entrepreneurial experience and unparalleled execution, we solve the energy challenges facing our customers and communities. We provide power generation and storage solutions at scale around the world to create a cleaner energy future. We develop. We build. We own. We operate. We are Invenergy.
   Job Description
   
   Position Overview
   
   The primary responsibility of the Director, Emerging Technologies is the evaluation of operations and maintenance aspects of technologies new to the Invenergy fleet. This position works closely with the Development, Asset Management, and Origination to identify the financial, technical, and human resources necessary to maintain and operate facilities and projects for the long term as well as for pilot/test periods. The position is part of the Site Operations organization and is located in Invenergy's Chicago office.
   
   Responsibilities
   
   + Collaborate with internal and external resources to identify operations and maintenance activities associated with new technology.
   
   + Evaluate new generation technologies for use in existing generation sites to improve operational performance in changing/evolving markets.
   
   + Participate in discussions with internal and external stakeholders to support analysis of emerging technologies.
   
   + Evaluate new/emerging technologies for use; develop and maintain knowledge of new idea in the industry and academia.
   
   + Develop and maintain documentation summarizing operations and maintenance requirements for emerging technologies.
   
   + Provide updates and background information on new technology to Operations and Asset Management personnel on a routine basis.
   
   Required Skills
   
   + Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical, electrical, chemical engineering preferred, other disciplines considered. Work experience may be considered as a substitute for the degree.
   
   + A minimum of seven (7) years' experience with strong working knowledge of electrical and mechanical operations and maintenance requirements. Strongly prefer experience in operations and maintenance of at least one core generation method (wind, solar, or gas turbine).
   
   + Ability to handle daily communication of expectations, provide feedback and work collaboratively.
   
   + High degree of flexibility and the capacity to work in a rapidly changing and ambiguous environment.
   
   + Proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite programs.
   
   + Excellent oral and written communication skills, organizational skills, and very strong interpersonal skills are essential.
   
   Benefits
   
   Eligible for medical, dental, vision, 401(k), bonus, paid time off, etc.
   
   Invenergy believes inclusion drives innovation
   
   Diverse teams are better teams. The perspectives and experiences that people from different backgrounds bring to an organization drive better decisions and improved business results. Invenergy employees are inclusive and welcoming of all colleagues of all backgrounds, genders, races, sexual orientations, religions and abilities.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   To find the right emergency management director for your business, consider trying out a few different recruiting strategies:

   • Consider internal talent. One of the most important sources of talent for any company is its existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals. Reach out to friends, family members, and current employees and ask if they know or have worked with emergency management directors they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit emergency management directors who meet your education requirements.
   • Social media platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter now have more than 3.5 billion users, and you can use social media to reach potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your emergency management director job on Zippia to find and recruit emergency management director candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Your first interview with emergency management director candidates should focus on their interest in the role and background experience. As the hiring process goes on, you can learn more about how they'd fit into the company culture in later rounds of interviews.

   You should also ask about candidates' unique skills and talents to see if they match the ideal candidate profile you developed earlier. Candidates good enough for the next step can complete the technical interview.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new emergency management director

   Once you've selected the best emergency management director candidate for the job, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, this letter should include details about the benefits and perks you offer the candidate. Ensuring that your offer is competitive is essential, as qualified candidates may be considering other job opportunities. The candidate may wish to negotiate the terms of the offer, and you should be open to discussion. After you reach an agreement, the final step is formalizing the agreement with a contract.

   It's also important to follow up with applicants who do not get the job with an email letting them know that the position is filled.

   To prepare for the new emergency management director first day, you should share an onboarding schedule with them that covers their first period on the job. You should also quickly complete any necessary paperwork, such as employee action forms and onboarding documents like I-9, benefits enrollment, and federal and state tax forms. Finally, Human Resources must ensure a new employee file is created for internal record keeping.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

   Sign up to download full list

   Sign up

How much does it cost to hire an emergency management director?