Emergency Planning Manager (FT, Permanent)

City of Dawson Creek; Dawson Creek; On-site; CAD 90,000 - 135,000; Full time

Job summary

The City of Dawson Creek is seeking an Emergency Planning Manager to lead strategic development and oversight of emergency management and business continuity programs. This role ensures compliance with EDMA, coordinates across municipal departments and external agencies, and serves as the expert advisor on preparedness, response, and recovery.

Reporting to the Deputy Fire Chief, the manager will supervise ESS volunteers, coordinate training and exercises, and advise senior leadership and Council

Qualifications

• Degree, diploma, or certificate in Emergency Management, Public Safety, Emergency Services Administration, or related discipline; or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Minimum five years of progressively responsible experience in emergency management, public safety, municipal operations, or related field.
• Minimum two years of supervisory or management experience.
• Considerable knowledge of emergency management principles, Emergency Operations Centre functions, ICS, emergency preparedness, recovery planning, and business continuity planning.
• Knowledge of the Emergency and Disaster Management Act and related emergency management legislation.
• Working knowledge of municipal operations and service delivery.
• Ability to lead and manage staff in a unionized environment.
• Strong interpersonal, communication, facilitation, and relationship-building skills.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office and related business applications.

Responsibilities

• Develops and implements the City’s multi-year emergency management strategy, annual work plans, and program priorities.
• Ensures municipal compliance with the Emergency and Disaster Management Act (EDMA) and related regulations.
• Develops and maintains emergency management plans, procedures, assessments, and continuity plans.
• Coordinates emergency management initiatives across City departments and with external agencies.
• Leads emergency management training, exercises (tabletop to full-scale), and community education initiatives.
• Oversees the Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) readiness and ESs (ESS) operations.

Skills

Project management

Organizational skills

Analytical skills

Interpersonal skills

Communication

Facilitation

Relationship-building

Microsoft Office

Education

Emergency Management related degree/cert

Tools

Microsoft Office

Job description

Emergency Planning ManagerOctober 2026

JOB DESCRIPTIONEmergency Planning Manager

Department Fire Department Reports To Deputy Fire Chief

Directly Supervises N/A

Indirectly Supervises ESS Volunteers

Union N/A

POSITION SUMMARY:

Reporting to the Deputy Fire Chief, the Emergency Planning Manager is responsible for thestrategic leadership, administration, regulatory compliance, development, implementation, andcontinuous improvement of the City's Emergency Management and Business Continuity Programs.Working independently, the position serves as the City's designated subject matter expert andprofessional advisor on emergency management matters and provides strategic, personnel, andconfidential advice to senior leadership and Council related to organizational preparedness,emergency response, recovery, business continuity, emergency risk management, and legislativeobligations.

KEY DUTIES PERFORMED:

1. Strategic Planning, Compliance, & Corporate Leadership

• a. Develops and implements the City's multi-year emergency management strategy,annual work plans, and program priorities.
• b. Provides advice and recommendations on personnel required to implement annual work plans.
• c. Provides advice and recommendations on training of personnel and staff needed to implement annual work plans.
• d. Monitors organizational compliance with the Emergency and Disaster Management Act (EDMA) and associated regulations and recommends corrective actions where
• e. Provides professional advice and recommendations to Senior Staff and Council regarding emergency management risks, legislative requirements, operationalreadiness, and business continuity.
• f. Leads the development of emergency management policies, procedures, standards,and operational guidelines.
• g. Identifies emerging risks, evaluates organizational preparedness, and developsrecommendations to improve resilience and response capability.
• h. Coordinates corporate emergency preparedness initiatives involving multipledepartments and external agencies.

i. Develops and monitors performance measures and program outcomes foremergency management initiatives.

j. Prepares confidential reports, recommendations, briefing notes, and presentationsfor senior leadership and Council.

k. Acts as the City's designated emergency management professional responsible foradvising on municipal emergency management obligations and organizationalreadiness requirements.

l. Develops recommendations regarding emergency management priorities, resourceallocation, program investments, and organizational preparedness initiatives.

2. Emergency Management Program Administration

• a. Leads the development, implementation, maintenance, and evaluation of the City's Emergency Management Program.
• b. Ensures municipal compliance with the Emergency and Disaster Management Act (EDMA), associated regulations, and applicable provincial guidance.
• c. Develops, reviews, updates, and maintains emergency management plans, procedures, assessments, continuity plans, recovery plans, resource inventories, andsupporting documentation required under legislation and best practices.
• d. Develops annual work plans, staffing requirements, priorities, and programobjectives for emergency management activities.
• e. Identifies program gaps, emerging risks, and opportunities for continuousimprovement.
• f. Coordinates emergency management initiatives across City departments to supportorganizational preparedness and resilience.
• g. Coordinates emergency public alerting systems and emergency communicationsplanning.
• h. Participates in regional emergency communications initiatives and planningactivities.
• i. Supports coordination of public information and public messaging during
• j. Establishes and maintains a comprehensive emergency management programframework including planning, training, exercising, compliance monitoring, and
• k. Leads the Corporate Business Continuity Program and provides guidance todepartments regarding business continuity requirements and service restoration priorities

3. Emergency Preparedness, Training, & Exercises

• a. Plans, develops, coordinates, and evaluates emergency management training and
• b. Facilitates tabletop, functional, and full-scale emergency exercises involving City staff, elected officials, volunteers, external agencies, Indigenous governments, andregional partners.
• c. Coordinates orientation and training of employees related to emergencymanagement responsibilities, EOC functions, and regulatory requirements.
• d. Develops and delivers community preparedness and public education initiatives.
• e. Coordinates post-exercise evaluations and corrective action plans.
• f. Coordinates or supports community risk reduction and resiliency initiatives including
• g. FireSmart, public preparedness, mitigation planning, and hazard reduction activities.
• h. Supports integration of hazard mitigation measures into emergency management planning and preparedness initiatives.

4. Emergency Operations & Recovery

• a. Maintains operational readiness of the City's Emergency Operations Centre (EOC).
• b. Participates in EOC activations and may serve in assigned Incident Command System (ICS) and EOC leadership roles.
• c. Provides emergency management expertise and recommendations to senior leadership during emergency events.
• d. Coordinates emergency response and recovery planning activities in cooperation with municipal departments, provincial agencies, Indigenous governments, andpartner organizations.
• e. Leads after-action reviews, debriefings, lessons learned processes, and correctiveaction implementation.
• f. Assists with disaster financial assistance documentation, emergency expendituretracking, and recovery reporting requirements.
• g. Provides strategic advice to EOC leadership and senior management duringemergency activations and may exercise delegated authority, coordinate resourcerequests, and support operational decision-making within established emergencymanagement frameworks.
• h. May be required to work extended hours, weekends, statutory holidays, and on-callassignments during emergencies and activations.

5. Emergency Support Services (ESS)

• a. Serves as the City's lead for Emergency Support Services (ESS).
• b. Provides leadership and operational direction and oversees Emergency SupportServices volunteers during activations, exercises, and deployments.
• recognition programs.
• d. Establishes operational standards, procedures, and performance expectations for
• e. Manages volunteer readiness and deployment capacity to support emergencyresponse requirements.
• f. Coordinates ESS planning, exercises, and operational preparedness.
• g. Activates and manages ESS operations, reception centres, and group lodging facilities as required.
• h. Maintains ESS equipment, supplies, procedures, and operational documentation.
• i. Ensures ESS operations align with provincial standards, training requirements, andbest practices.

6. Partnership Development & Stakeholder Relations

• a. Develops and maintains effective working relationships with Indigenous governments, all levels of government, emergency response agencies, utilities,community organizations, educational institutions, and regional partners.
• b. Coordinates and supports mutual aid agreements, memoranda of understanding,and regional emergency management initiatives.
• c. Represents the City at emergency management committees, regional workinggroups, workshops, conferences, and interagency meetings.
• d. Coordinates engagement, planning, cooperation, and relationship-building activitieswith Indigenous governing bodies in accordance with EDMA requirements.
• e. Supports the incorporation of Indigenous knowledge, cultural safety, and

7. Program Administration & Reporting

• Identifies, develops, administers, and reports on emergency management grant
• programs and funding agreements.
• b. Develops operating budget recommendations and manages approved program
• budgets.
• c. Authorizes expenditures within delegated authority and monitors program
• expenditures to ensure effective use of resources.
• d. Oversees procurement and implementation of emergency management equipment,
• systems, contracts, and services.
• e. Monitors project budgets, funding agreements, and reporting requirements.
• f. Prepares reports, briefing notes, recommendations, presentations, policies, and
• correspondence for senior leadership, committees, and Council.
• procedures, and documentation.h. Evaluates program effectiveness and recommends improvements.

8. Health & Safety Responsibilities

• All employees are responsible for helping to maintain a safe and healthy workplace. In thisrole, you are expected to:
• a. Performing duties in accordance with established policies, procedures, and safetyrequirements.
• b. Completing routine cleaning and housekeeping duties in reception and public areas.
• c. Take reasonable care to protect your own health and safety and the health and
• safety of others.
• d. Follow all Occupational Health & Safety (OHS) policies, procedures, regulations, and
• instructions.
• e. Use and wear required personal protective equipment (PPE) and safety devices.
• f. Avoid unsafe behaviour that could put yourself or others at risk and ensure you arefit for work and not impaired.
• g. Report to your supervisor any unsafe conditions, hazards, damaged or missing safetyequipment, or violations of safety rules.
• h. Cooperate with workplace safety committees, safety representatives, andWorkSafeBC Officers as required.

REQUIRED KNOWLEDGE, ABILITIES & SKILLS:

• 1. Degree, diploma, or certificate in Emergency Management, Public Safety, Emergency ServicesAdministration, or a related discipline; or an equivalent combination of education andexperience.
• 2. Minimum five years of progressively responsible experience in emergency management,public safety, municipal operations, or a related field.
• 3. Minimum two years of supervisory or management experience.
• 4. Considerable knowledge of emergency management principles, Emergency OperationsCentre functions, Incident Command System (ICS), emergency preparedness, recoveryplanning, and business continuity planning.
• 5. Knowledge of the Emergency and Disaster Management Act and related emergency
• 6. Working knowledge of municipal government operations and service delivery.
• 7. Working knowledge of collective agreement administration, supervisory practices, andemployment-related legislation.
• 8. Ability to lead and manage staff in a unionized environment.
• 9. Ability to develop policies, procedures, strategic plans, and operational recommendations.
• 10. Strong project management, organizational, and analytical skills.
• 11. Strong interpersonal, communication, facilitation, and relationship-building skills.
• 12. Ability to exercise sound judgement and make decisions in dynamic and high-pressuresituations.
• 13. Proficiency with Microsoft Office and related business applications.
• 14. Valid Class 5 Driver's Licence.
• 15. Satisfactory Criminal Record Check.

DESIRABLE KNOWLEDGE, ABILITIES AND SKILLS:

• 1. Certified Emergency Manager (CEM), Associates Certificate in Emergency Management, or
• 2.ICS 300 andICS 400 training.
• 4. Business Continuity Institute (BCI) training or certification.
• 6. Experience supervising multiple service areas.
• 7. Experience working with emergency response agencies, RCMP, and regulatory enforcementprograms.
• NOTE: The duties listed are not set forth for the purpose of limiting the assignment of work and are not to be
• construed as a complete list of the duties normally to be performed under a job title or those duties temporarily
• performed outside the normal line of work.

• POSITION SUMMARY:
• Reporting to the Deputy Fire Chief, the Emergency Planning Manager is responsible for the strategic leadership, administration, regulatory compliance, development, implementation, and continuous improvement of the City's Emergency Management and Busin...
• KEY DUTIES PERFORMED:
• 1. Strategic Planning, Compliance, & Corporate Leadership
• REQUIRED KNOWLEDGE, ABILITIES & SKILLS:
• 1. Degree, diploma, or certificate in Emergency Management, Public Safety, Emergency Services Administration, or a related discipline; or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
• 2. Minimum five years of progressively responsible experience in emergency management, public safety, municipal operations, or a related field.
• 3. Minimum two years of supervisory or management experience.
• 4. Considerable knowledge of emergency management principles, Emergency Operations Centre functions, Incident Command System (ICS), emergency preparedness, recovery planning, and business continuity planning.
• 5. Knowledge of the Emergency and Disaster Management Act and related emergency management legislation.
• 6. Working knowledge of municipal government operations and service delivery.
• 7. Working knowledge of collective agreement administration, supervisory practices, and employment-related legislation.
• 8. Ability to lead and manage staff in a unionized environment.
• 9. Ability to develop policies, procedures, strategic plans, and operational recommendations.
• 10. Strong project management, organizational, and analytical skills.
• 11. Strong interpersonal, communication, facilitation, and relationship-building skills.
• 12. Ability to exercise sound judgement and make decisions in dynamic and high-pressure situations.
• 13. Proficiency with Microsoft Office and related business applications.
• 14. Valid Class 5 Driver's Licence.
• 15. Satisfactory Criminal Record Check.
• DESIRABLE KNOWLEDGE, ABILITIES AND SKILLS:
• 1. Certified Emergency Manager (CEM), Associates Certificate in Emergency Management, or similar designation.
• 2.ICS 300 andICS 400 training.
• 4. Business Continuity Institute (BCI) training or certification.
• 6. Experience supervising multiple service areas.
• 7. Experience working with emergency response agencies, RCMP, and regulatory enforcement programs.