Emergency Management Directors

Law, Public Safety, Corrections and SecurityO*NET 11-9161.00United States

Plan and direct disaster response or crisis management activities, provide disaster preparedness training, and prepare emergency plans and procedures for natural (e. g.

COMING SOON See related ASU learning

Median annual earnings: $93,330
Projected change: +5.4%
Typical education: Bachelor's degree
Employment: 15.72K jobs

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Build the skills

ASU learning related to this career

These courses and certificates are connected through catalog career relationships and Lightcast skill tags.

The work

What emergency management directors do

Tasks reported for this occupation, ordered by how often they come up in the role.

Consult with officials of local and area governments, schools, hospitals, and other institutions to determine their needs and capabilities in the event of a natural disaster or other emergency.
Develop and maintain liaisons with municipalities, county departments, and similar entities to facilitate plan development, response effort coordination, and exchanges of personnel and equipment.
Coordinate disaster response or crisis management activities, such as ordering evacuations, opening public shelters, and implementing special needs plans and programs.
Maintain and update all resource materials associated with emergency preparedness plans.
Prepare emergency situation status reports that describe response and recovery efforts, needs, and preliminary damage assessments.
Prepare plans that outline operating procedures to be used in response to disasters or emergencies, such as hurricanes, nuclear accidents, and terrorist attacks, and in recovery from these events.
Develop and perform tests and evaluations of emergency management plans in accordance with state and federal regulations.
Design and administer emergency or disaster preparedness training courses that teach people how to effectively respond to major emergencies and disasters.
Collaborate with other officials to prepare and analyze damage assessments following disasters or emergencies.
Keep informed of activities or changes that could affect the likelihood of an emergency, response efforts, or plan implementation.
Inspect facilities and equipment, such as emergency management centers and communications equipment, to determine their operational and functional capabilities in emergency situations.
Keep informed of federal, state, and local regulations affecting emergency plans, and ensure that plans adhere to those regulations.
Review emergency plans of individual organizations, such as medical facilities, to ensure their adequacy.
Conduct surveys to determine the types of emergency-related needs to be addressed in disaster planning, or provide technical support to others conducting such surveys.
Attend meetings, conferences, and workshops related to emergency management to learn new information and to develop working relationships with other emergency management specialists.
Propose alteration of emergency response procedures, based on regulatory changes, technological changes, or knowledge gained from outcomes of previous emergency situations.
Develop instructional materials for the public and make presentations to citizens' groups to provide information on emergency plans and their implementation processes.
Apply for federal funding for emergency-management-related needs, and administer and report on the progress of such grants.
Train local groups in the preparation of long-term plans that are compatible with federal and state plans.
Provide communities with assistance in applying for federal funding for emergency management facilities, radiological instrumentation, and related items.
Study emergency plans used elsewhere to gather information for plan development.

Pay and outlook

What the job pays and where it is heading

Annual earnings range

Reported earnings by percentile, United States

10th percentile: $54,205
25th percentile: $67,912
50th percentile: $93,330
75th percentile: $126,485
90th percentile: $166,442

The gold marker shows the median. Half earn more than $93,330 and half earn less.

Employment outlook

2025 to 2035 projection

+5.4%average or slower

202515,716 jobs

2035 projected16,562 jobs

846 more positions over the decade, before replacement hiring.

Preparation

Education levels

What people currently working in the career hold. These are not entry requirements.

Bachelor's degree: 68.2%
Master's or Professional degree: 13.6%
Some college: 9.1%
High school diploma or less: 4.6%
Associate degree: 4.6%

Skills

Skills employers ask for

Technical skills appearing most often in job postings for this occupation.

Emergency Management
Emergency Response
Emergency Preparedness
Incident Command Systems
National Incident Management Systems
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
Public Administration
Project Management
Law Enforcement
Emergency Medical Services
Disaster Response
Incident Management
Regulatory Compliance
Crisis Management
Risk Analysis
Continuous Improvement Process
Risk Management
Mitigation
Disaster Preparedness
Hazard Mitigation

How the work gets done

Core competencies

Broad capabilities associated with strong performance in this occupation.

Service Orientation: Actively looking for ways to help people.
Complex Problem Solving: Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
Speaking: Talking to others to convey information effectively.
Coordination: Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
Monitoring: Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
Critical Thinking: Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
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.
Reading Comprehension: Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
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.
Social Perceptiveness: Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
Learning Strategies: Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
Active Learning: Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
Instructing: Teaching others how to do something.
Time Management: Managing one's own time and the time of others.
Systems Analysis: Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.
Persuasion: Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
Systems Evaluation: Identifying measures or indicators of system performance and the actions needed to improve or correct performance, relative to the goals of the system.
Management of Personnel Resources: Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.
Negotiation: Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.

In the market

Job titles and employers

Recent job postings in United States

Common job titles

01Emergency Management Specialists391 postings
02Emergency Managers187 postings
03Emergency Management Coordinators154 postings
04Emergency Management Directors132 postings
05Emergency Preparedness Managers92 postings
06Emergency Management Planners89 postings
07Emergency Response Managers86 postings
08Directors of Emergency Services67 postings
09Emergency Preparedness Coordinators67 postings
10Emergency Preparedness Directors61 postings
11Independent Operators57 postings
12Emergency Response Specialists54 postings
13Emergency Management Program Managers53 postings
14Emergency Preparedness Specialists48 postings
15Emergency Management Analysts44 postings
16Emergency Management Interns40 postings
17Emergency Services Coordinators36 postings
18Emergency Services Managers34 postings
19Operations Managers31 postings
20Emergency Department Managers28 postings

Top employers

01Hagerty Consulting109 postings
02WSP Global98 postings
03Avangrid45 postings
04State of Florida27 postings
05Ac Disaster Consulting24 postings
06HCA Healthcare21 postings
07GHD20 postings
08Crisis24 Protective Solutions, LP19 postings
09Applied Training Solutions16 postings
10AdventHealth13 postings
11NYU Langone Health12 postings
12State of California12 postings
13Essential Healthcare Solutions (Uk) Ltd11 postings
14Charles F. Day And Associates10 postings
15Herc10 postings
16National Emergency Management And Response10 postings
17County Of San Mateo9 postings
18Guthrie9 postings
19Indiana University-Bloomington9 postings
20Jackson Physician Search9 postings

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