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Emergency Management Specialist

Department of Veterans Affairs
Veterans Health Administration
Washington, DC VA Medical Center

Summary

Provides operational and administrative support to the Emergency Management Program by coordinating resources, tracking supplies and budgets, and helping ensure facilities remain prepared and compliant with emergency readiness standards. Works closely with the Network Emergency Manager to support planning, prioritization, and response activities, and serves as a key point of contact with national emergency management offices when needed.

Overview

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Accepting applications
Posted this week · Apply by 06/15/26
Due by 11:59 p.m. ET on June 15, 2026
Location
1 vacancy in the following location:
Work site options
Telework eligible
No
Remote job
No
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Salary
$102,415 - $133,142 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 12
Promotion potential
None
Pay scale and grade determines the salary of the job.
Work schedule
Full-time
Travel Required
25% or less - You may be expected to travel for this position.
Appointment type
Permanent
Occupations and job series
Supervisory status
No
Federal service type
This job is in the Competitive Service
Represented by a union
Yes
Drug test
No
Security clearance
Not Required
Position sensitivity and risk
Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk
Jobs require a background check and some require a security clearance. The type depends on the job.
Background check type
Financial disclosure required
No
Some jobs require financial disclosure to identify conflicts of interests.
Announcement number
CBTF-12979059-26-ED
Control number
871958000

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Duties

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Duties:

  • Participates in an emergency management team that identifies and resolves complex resource and healthcare management changes before during and after emergency situations.
  • Oversees the Emergency Management Program and Preparedness for the medical center and community based outpatient clinics.
  • Acts jointly with the Chief Fiscal Officer in the development, maintenance and tracking of budgets and capital expenditure plans.

  • Performs support work for the Emergency Management Program by tracking and procuring contingency supplies and equipment, maintenance of databases and ensure resources are available and meets mission objectives.

  • Provides support work in organizing network emergency management support activities as necessary.

  • Serves as the primary point of contact coordinating with the VHA Office of Emergency Management with regards to the program, in the absence of the VISN Network Emergency Manager.

  • Ensures facilities meet all applicable accreditation and regulatory requirements maintaining operational readiness and capability.

  • Collaborates with the Network Emergency Manager in establishing emergency preparedness, program priorities, scheduling work activities to meet the goals and objectives for field sites.

  • Interacts in a professional and competent manner with individuals of executive level responsibilities and authority.

  • Performs other related duties as assigned.

Work Schedule: Position is subject to recall around the clock for emergency management operations, which may require irregular work hours, work locations other than the official duty station, and may include duties other than those specified in the employee's official position description. Travel requirements in support with little advanced notice and may require employees to relocate to emergency sites with physically austere and operationally challenging conditions.
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Position Description/PD#: Emergency Management Specialist/PD99789S
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

OUR MISSION: To fulfill President Lincoln's promise "To care for those who have served in our nation's military and for their families, caregivers, and survivors" - by serving and honoring the men and women who are America's Veterans. How would you like to become a part of a team providing compassionate whole health care to Veterans.

Whole Health is an approach to health care that empowers and equips people to take charge of their health and well-being and live their life to the fullest. VA is committed to Whole Health and values Veteran and Employee health and wellbeing. As a VA employee, you will practice Whole Health in an environment that supports personalized and proactive care.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job
  • To be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process. In addition to the application and questionnaire, this position requires an online assessment. The online assessment measures critical general competencies required to perform the job.
  • Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959
  • Physical Requirements: The work required does not inherently include any physical requirements essential for successful job performance that could not otherwise be performed with accommodation or workplace adjustment. A pre-placement physical examination is not required.
  • Subject to background/security investigation
  • A current valid state driver's license is required. Note: We cannot accept photographs. Therefore, please do not submit a copy of your license with your application package. If an interview is requested, you will be required to provide your driver's license for verification of required endorsements.
  • Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements (https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-acceptable-documents). Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued identification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment.
  • Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP)
As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary period or 2-year trial period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider:
  • your performance and conduct;
  • the needs and interests of the agency;
  • whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and
  • whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service.
Upon completion of your probationary period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 06/15/2026.

Time-In-Grade Requirement: Applicants who are current Federal employees and have held a GS grade any time in the past 52 weeks must also meet time-in-grade requirements by the closing date of this announcement. For a GS-12 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-11. The grade may have been in any occupation, but must have been held in the Federal service. An SF-50 that shows your time-in-grade eligibility must be submitted with your application materials. If the most recent SF-50 has an effective date within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate you possess one-year time-in-grade, as required by the announcement. In this instance, you must provide an additional SF-50 that clearly demonstrates one-year time-in-grade. Note: Time-In-Grade requirements also apply to former Federal employees applying for reinstatement as well as current employees applying for Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) appointment.

You may qualify based on your experience as described below:

  • Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience that equipped you with the knowledge, skills, and abilities to successfully perform the duties this position, and that is typically in or related to the position to be filled. To be creditable, specialized experience must have been equivalent to at least the next lower grade level (GS-11) in the Federal service. Specialized experience is experience in emergency management where you applied your knowledge of the laws, guidelines and policies governing various emergency management programs and operations to assist in developing, executing, and analyzing an emergency management program; applying data analytical and evaluation methods to determine program compliance with emergency preparedness and management rules and regulations; and applying a working knowledge of a variety of emergency, contingency and operations plans, policies, and directives to provide advice and assistance. At this level applicants should possess skills to prepare emergency situation status reports that describe response and recovery efforts, needs, and preliminary damage assessments and prepare plans that outline operating procedures to be used in response to disasters or emergencies and in recovery from these events. Note: Experience must be fully documented on your resume and must include job title, duties, month and year start/end dates AND hour worked per week.
Best Qualified Criteria:
  • Leads a full comprehensive Emergency Management Plan (CEMP) /Continuity of Operations Plan for a large complex healthcare system or comparable organization, covering all phases of emergency management.
  • Manages or co-manages an emergency management program for a medium-to-large facility with substantial CEMP/COOP responsibility.
  • Supports specific elements of CEMP/COOP, such as annexes, hazard vulnerability analysis, or continuity tasks, under guidance.
  • Basic related experience in emergency management, safety, preparedness, or continuity planning with limited direct CEMP/COOP involvement.
Preferred Experience:
  • Healthcare emergency management program leadership: Leading or managing a Comprehensive Emergency Management Program (or equivalent) in a hospital, VA, or large healthcare system, including writing and maintaining Emergency Operations Plans and Continuity of Operations Plan (COOP) plans.
  • Federal/VA and interagency coordination: Direct experience coordinating with VA Office of Emergency Management (VA OEM), Veterans Integrated Service Network (VISN) offices, National Disaster Medical System (NDMS), and DoD/Emergency Support Function (ESF) partners, or similar federal, state, and local emergency management agencies.
  • Incident management, Hospital Command Center (HCC), and decontamination operations hands on experience activating, staffing, and supporting a HCC or Incident Management Team during drills and real incidents and or managing or supervising decontamination programs (First Receiver Decon), including Powered Air Purifying Respirator (PAPRs) and other specialized equipment, unit leaders, and team training and sustainment funding.
  • Exercise design, Hazard Vulnerability Analysis (HVA), and Emergency Management analytics designing and evaluating exercises using Homeland Security Exercise and Evaluation Program (HSEEP) principles, writing After-Action Reports and Improvement Plans, and tracking corrective actions to closure and or conducting healthcare Hazard Vulnerability Analyses, using data gathering and evaluation methods to assess risk and regulatory compliance (The Joint Commission (TJC), Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF), NIMS, etc.).
  • Volunteer deployment and large-scale staff coordination Managing a Disaster Emergency Personnel System (DEMPS) type programs equivalent, including recruiting, training, and deploying volunteers for national or regional mission and or maintaining automated alert and notification systems, cascade call lists, and employee/patient accountability processes before, during, and after emergencies.
License Requirement: A current valid state driver's license is required. Note: We cannot accept photographs. Therefore, please do not submit a copy of your license with your application package. If an interview is requested, you will be required to provide your driver's license for verification of required endorsements.

Physical Requirements and Work Environment: The work is mostly sedentary although some physical effort may be required to meet fieldwork requirements. Lifting 50 pounds, moving, pushing, etc. During emergency events, the employee would be expected to work significant extended hours under very austere conditions. Work is generally in an office setting, but emergency incidents and training and exercise events may require prolonged duty days and/or work to be conducted under austere field conditions. Position may require frequent travel.

For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/.

Additional information

Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicant's criminal history prior to accepting a tentative job offer. For more information about the Act and the complaint process, visit Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP) at The Fair Chance Act.

Reasonable Accommodation (RA) Requests: If you believe you have a disability (i.e., physical or mental), covered by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended that would interfere with completing the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, you will be granted the opportunity to request a RA in your online application. Requests for RA for the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments and appropriate supporting documentation for RA must be received prior to starting the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments. Decisions on requests for RA are made on a case-by-case basis. If you meet the minimum qualifications of the position, after notification of the adjudication of your request, you will receive an email invitation to complete the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, based on your adjudication decision. You must complete all assessments within 48 hours of receiving the URL to access the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments if you received the link after the close of the announcement. To determine if you need a RA, please review the Procedures for Requesting a Reasonable Accommodation for Online Assessments.

Receiving Service Credit for Earning Annual (Vacation) Leave: Federal Employees earn annual leave at a rate (4, 6 or 8 hours per pay period) which is based on the number of years they have served as a Federal employee. VA may offer newly-appointed Federal employee's credit for their job-related non-federal experience or active duty uniformed military service. This credited service can be used in determining the rate at which they earn annual leave. Such credit must be requested and approved prior to the appointment date and is not guaranteed.

This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies.

The Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) and Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provide eligible displaced VA competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. To be qualified you must submit appropriate documentation (a copy of the agency notice, your most recent performance rating, and your most recent SF-50 noting current position, grade level, and duty location) and be found well-qualified for this vacancy. To be well-qualified: applicants must possess experience that exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors, and who are proficient in most of the required competencies of the job. Information about ICTAP and CTAP eligibility is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website at http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/workforce-restructuring/employee-guide-to-career-transition/.

Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.

How you will be evaluated

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

Your qualifications will be evaluated based on your application materials (e.g., resume, supporting documents), your responses on the application questionnaire, and your responses to all assessments required for this position. You will be assessed on the following Competencies for this position:

  • Attention to Detail
  • Communication
  • Customer Service
  • Emergency Management
  • Flexibility
  • Incident Management
  • Integrity/Honesty
  • Interpersonal Skills
  • Learning
  • Planning and Evaluating
  • Reading Comprehension
  • Self-Management
  • Stress Tolerance
  • Teamwork
  • Vulnerabilities Assessment

Your experience must be fully documented on your resume and must include job title, duties, month and year start/end dates AND hours worked per week. A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. Part-time experience will be credited on the basis of time actually spent in appropriate activities. Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must indicate clearly the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such employment. IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. Overstating your qualifications and/or experience in your application materials or application questionnaire may result in your removal from consideration. Cheating on the online assessment may also result in your removal from consideration.

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; 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.

During the application process you may have an option to opt-in to make your resume available to hiring managers in the agency who have similar positions. Opting in does not impact your application for this announcement, nor does it guarantee further consideration for additional positions.

Special Employment Consideration: VA encourages people with impairments to apply, including those eligible for hiring under 5 CFR 213.3102(u), Schedule A, Appointment of persons with impairments [i.e., intellectual, severe physical, or psychiatric), and/or veterans with a compensable service-connection of 30% or more. Contact the Agency Contact for information on how to apply under this appointment authority via the Selective Placement Coordinator.

Veterans Health Administration

OUR MISSION: To fulfill President Lincoln's promise "To care for those who have served in our nation's military and for their families, caregivers, and survivors" - by serving and honoring the men and women who are America's Veterans. How would you like to become a part of a team providing compassionate whole health care to Veterans

Agency contact information

Erika Dowell
Phone
(216) 791-3800 X11226
Email
Erika.Dowell@va.gov
Address
Washington VA Medical Center
50 Irving Street, Northwest
Washington, DC 20422
US

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