What does an emergency management specialist do?
An emergency management specialist is responsible for planning and facilitating emergency drills and programs for awareness of unforeseen situations and disastrous events. Emergency management specialists coordinate with the community officers and other institutions to identify program resources, including the budget limitations and training responders. They also analyze the occurrence of natural disasters and outline plans ahead to ensure that the community people are well-equipped. An emergency management specialist handles the recovery efforts and funding requests for the community affected by disasters and follows protocols.
Emergency management specialist responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real emergency management specialist resumes:
- Identify facilities and personnel resources within the state to achieve rapid effective dispensing of SNS.
- Provide hazardous materials (HAZMAT) response capability for unknown or suspect incidents.
- Receive inbound calls and dispatch roadside assistance for AAA customers who need help.
- Assist FEMA and coordinate disaster response and recovery activities to include damage assessments, and individual assessments.
- Use HICS system in all drills/real responses.
- Instruct various first aid and CPR courses for county employees.
- Develop and conduct exercises and drills in compliance with HSEEP.
- Assist EHS manager in OSHA health and safety oversight of production activities.
- Serve as NSF representative on various interagency NIMS ICS training and policy groups.
- Activate the EOC for 7 major typhoons , 8 installation exercises, and 5 camp events.
- Perform semi-annual EAP dry-runs (drills) on the main COMSEC account.- complete NIMS require training.
- Interpret and apply NFPA and OSHA laws, regulations, principles, theories, policies and procedures.
- Design and develop several data / information collection and analysis tools to assist EOC staff in their decision making.
- Authore state-level HAZMAT plan and reviews on biannual basis, share broadly to coordinate response capabilities and operational planning.
- Provide employee training on health and safety (lockout/tagout, bloodborne pathogens, respirator fit testing, etc . )
Emergency management specialist skills and personality traits
We calculated that 8% of Emergency Management Specialists are proficient in Emergency Management, DHS, and Emergency Response.
We break down the percentage of Emergency Management Specialists that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Emergency Management, 8%
Developed educational seminar on the event and delivered the program at a statewide meeting of all Connecticut hospital emergency management officials.
- DHS, 8%
Worked closely with program offices and OCPO portfolio managers to ensure procurement acquisition packages met FAR and DHS requirements.
- Emergency Response, 6%
Provided guidance for coordinating resource task requirements with Centers/Offices within CDC and/or scientists as they relate to effective emergency response activities.
- Emergency Preparedness, 6%
Coordinate program management activities in areas of national security, emergency preparedness, and Federal inter-agency coordination.
- Incident Management, 5%
Develop presentations for and teach blocks of instruction in incident management system planning and the CDC incident management system.
- Federal Agencies, 4%
Reviewed and redeveloped Continuity of Operations (COOP) Plans for federal agencies in order to meet federal compliance regulations.
Common skills that an emergency management specialist uses to do their job include "emergency management," "dhs," and "emergency response." You can find details on the most important emergency management specialist responsibilities below.
Communication skills. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for an emergency management specialist to have is communication skills. Their role and responsibilities require that "emergency management directors must be able to clearly convey their emergency preparedness plans, both orally and in writing, to a variety of audiences." Emergency management specialists often use communication skills in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "implemented technology upgrades to the existing communications equipment at the fixed eoc and also mobile command platform. "
Leadership skills. Another soft skill that's essential for fulfilling emergency management specialist duties is leadership skills. The role rewards competence in this skill because "to ensure effective responses to emergencies, emergency management directors need to organize and train a variety of people." According to an emergency management specialist resume, here's how emergency management specialists can utilize leadership skills in their job responsibilities: "conduct specialized em training for senior wing leadership (i.e., eoc responsibilities). "
The three companies that hire the most emergency management specialists are:
- CDM Smith77 emergency management specialists jobs
- Wsp USA Buildings Inc.21 emergency management specialists jobs
- Eliot Community Human Services Inc5 emergency management specialists jobs
Choose from 10+ customizable emergency management specialist resume templates
Build a professional emergency management specialist resume in minutes. Our AI resume writing assistant will guide you through every step of the process, and you can choose from 10+ resume templates to create your emergency management specialist resume.Compare different emergency management specialists
Emergency management specialist vs. Radiological defense officer
There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, emergency management specialist responsibilities require skills like "emergency management," "dhs," "emergency preparedness," and "incident management." Meanwhile a typical radiological defense officer has skills in areas such as "radiological," "logistics," "customer service," and "interagency." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.
On average, radiological defense officers reach similar levels of education than emergency management specialists. Radiological defense officers are 0.6% less likely to earn a Master's Degree and 2.3% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Emergency management specialist vs. Chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear officer
In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, emergency management specialist responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "emergency management," "dhs," "emergency response," and "emergency preparedness." Meanwhile, a chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear officer has duties that require skills in areas such as "decontamination procedures," "logistics," "nco," and "nuclear biological." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.
In general, chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear officers achieve similar levels of education than emergency management specialists. They're 4.0% less likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 2.3% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Emergency management specialist vs. Civil preparedness officer
There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, an emergency management specialist is likely to be skilled in "emergency management," "dhs," "emergency response," and "emergency preparedness," while a typical civil preparedness officer is skilled in "humanitarian assistance," "construction projects," "local governance," and "civil rights."
When it comes to education, civil preparedness officers tend to earn higher degree levels compared to emergency management specialists. In fact, they're 5.2% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 4.6% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Emergency management specialist vs. Hazard mitigation officer
Even though a few skill sets overlap between emergency management specialists and hazard mitigation officers, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, an emergency management specialist might have more use for skills like "emergency management," "dhs," "emergency response," and "emergency preparedness." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of hazard mitigation officers require skills like "foreclosure," "loan modifications," "mortgage loans," and "assistance program. "
The average resume of hazard mitigation officers showed that they earn similar levels of education compared to emergency management specialists. So much so that theyacirc;euro;trade;re 4.1% less likely to earn a Master's Degree and more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree by 0.1%.Types of emergency management specialist
Updated January 8, 2025











