Clarification from the agency

This job is open to: U.S. citizens

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is calling on those who want to help protect American interests and secure our Nation. DHS Components work collectively to prevent terrorism; secure borders and our transportation systems; protect the President and other dignitaries; enforce and administer immigration laws; safeguard cyberspace; and ensure resilience to disasters. We achieve these vital missions through a diverse workforce spanning hundreds of occupations. Make an impact; join DHS.

When disaster strikes, America looks to FEMA. Now FEMA looks to you. Join our team and use your talent to support Americans in their times of greatest need. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) prepares the nation for all hazards and manages Federal response and recovery efforts following any national incident. We foster innovation, reward performance and creativity, and provide challenges on a routine basis with a well-skilled, knowledgeable, high performance workforce. Please visit www.fema.gov for additional information.

EMERGENCY ASSIGNMENT:  IMAT employees are subject to a 24-hour on call work schedules in the event of an emergency and be willing to be relocated to emergency sites with little notice.  The teams deploy as soon as notified to respond and are on the scene within 12 hours.  Once on scene, the teams operate and function under intense physical and mental stress until the response mission is accomplished.  This service will require irregular and/or long working hours which may be under austere environments that include living and working in temporary facilities such as tents, warehouse, or other expediently established facilities, significant damage to critical infrastructure that prevents ready access to potable water (other than for drinking), other than basic medical care, and other routinely available services.  Work may include duties other than those specified in the employee’s official position description and may involve some physical exertion including activities such as long periods of standing; walking over rough, uneven, or rocky surfaces; recurring bending, stooping, stretching, reaching, or similar activities; carrying and lifting of moderately heavy items (up to 50 pounds).

In this position, you will serve as the External Support Branch Director Type II for Region 9 IMAT. Typical assignments include:

When deployed, the External Support Branch Director provides logistical support to a variety of missions to include responder support camps, mass care and temporary housing operations, staging area operations, and other external facility coordination efforts. Specifically, the individual performs the following duties:

• Oversees staging area unit functions;
• Determines initial staging requirements to support the incident objectives in coordination with section chiefs, branch directors, and State partners;
• Works with the Operations Section to project the State’s requirements and adjust accordingly;
• Provides required logistics support to Mass Care functions (Emergency Assistance, Housing, and Human Services), and voluntary agencies;
• Determines support camp requirements and assesses responder support camp strategies to support the incident objectives in coordination with section chiefs, branch directors, and the Logistics Management Center (LMC) at the National Response Coordination Center;
• Oversees Temporary Housing Unit function and determines initial temporary housing staging requirements to support the housing plan;
• Determines site for Disaster Recovery Center, oversees set up, and provides ongoing support;
• Collects, analyzes, and applies situational information to develop and coordinate branch demobilization; and
• Coordinates with partners regarding the disposition of incident response resources, furniture, fixtures, and responder camps.

When not deployed, typical responsibilities include:

• Participating in exercises at the national, regional and state levels; all training as required by the position with states and other federal agencies, professional development as required for team member development and FEMA Qualification System (FQS) certification, and emergency management training and workshops; development of regional catastrophic planning for all-hazard responses;
• Providing input for the development of and participates in the execution and documentation of functions and plans that affect critical aspects of FEMA’s mission, operational responses and programs; basic instruction on disaster-related topics to regions, state and local authorities;
• Assisting in the development of plans, goals, and objectives for new initiatives and programs;
• Evaluating and providing recommendations for improving effectiveness of existing programs and activities.

Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. citizen to be considered for this position
• You must successfully pass a background investigation.
• 24 hour on-call work schedule during emergency response periods required.
• You must be able to obtain and maintain a Government credit card.
• Selective service registration is required for males born after 12/31/59.
• Please review "Other Information" section for additional key requirements.

To ensure the accomplishment of our mission, DHS requires every employee to be reliable and trustworthy. To meet those standards, all selected applicants must undergo, successfully pass, and maintain a background investigation for High Risk Investigation Level as a condition of placement into this position. This may include a credit check after initial job qualifications are determined, a review of financial issues, such as delinquency in the payment of debts, child support and/or tax obligations, as well as certain criminal offenses and illegal use or possession of drugs (please visit: Mythbuster on Federal Hiring Policies for additional information). For more information on background investigations for Federal jobs please visit OPM Investigations.

Please ensure you meet the qualification requirements described below and that you clearly describe how your experience meets these requirements within your resume.

Qualifications

The qualification requirements listed below must be met within 30 days of the closing date of the announcement.

To qualify for this position at the IT-03 level (starting salary $58.42 per hour), your resume must clearly demonstrate at leats one full year of specialized experience equivalent to the next lower grade (IT-02) in the Federal Service.  This experience may have been gained in the federal government, a state or local government, a non-profit organization, the private sector, or as a volunteer; however, your resume must clearly describe at least one year of the following specialized experience.  Specialized experience for this position includes:

1. Utilizing Incident Command System (ICS) concepts, principles, and processes in emergency management tasks;
2. Coordinating logistical support operations in response to disasters (i.e., Commodities Distribution; selection and setup of field offices; Fuel Distribution; Staging Operations; Fleet Management; Manufactured Housing Staging/Operations; Branch and other office space establishment.); and
3. Determining logistical requirements necessary to meet the needs of and support operations external to a field office and coordinating the necessary procurement actions to support these requirements.

Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional, philanthropic, religious, spiritual, community, student, social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.

Your application must show that you meet all requirements for this position. You may be found “not qualified” if you do not possess the minimum competencies required for the position.

NOTE: It is recommended you include in your resume any Position Task Book(s) you have completed and date(s) of completion in MM/DD/YY format.

NOTE: Qualifications are based on breadth/level of experience. In addition to describing duties performed, applicants must provide the exact dates of each period of employment (from MM/DD/YY to MM/DD/YY) and the number of hours worked per week if part time. As qualification determinations cannot be made when resumes do not include the required information, failure to provide this information may result in disqualification. Applicants are encouraged to use the USAJOBS Resume Builder to develop their federal resume. For a brief video on How to Create a Federal Resume, click here.

NOTE: If you are using the USAJOBS Resume Builder, please insert the dates of employment in MM/DD/YY format at the top of the “Duties, Accomplishments, and Related Skills” text field for each period of employment included on your resume. 

Current or former FEMA Reservists/DAE employees: To accurately credit your experience for these intermittent positions, make sure to list the dates (from MM/DD/YY to MM/DD/YY) of each deployment, along with the job title and specific duties you were responsible for during each deployment.  Failure to provide this information may result in disqualification.

How you will be evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

We will review your resume, supporting documentation, and your responses to the occupational questionnaire to ensure you meet the minimum qualification requirements. Applicants whose assessment score rates 90 and above, may be considered for further review by subject matter experts, in regards to the criteria defined in the vacancy announcement.

Veterans’ preference does not apply to the IMAT program selection process.

We recommend that you preview the online questions for this announcement before you start the application process.

Interview Requirement: Interviews may be required for this position.  Failure to complete the interview may result in removal from consideration.