Director, Emergency Management & Business Continuity

St. John's University; Hempfield Township (Westmoreland County); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive compensation

Comprehensive benefits package

Tuition remission

Job summary

St. John’s University seeks a Director of Emergency Management and Continuity to lead university-wide emergency planning, risk reduction, travel security, and continuity across domestic and international locations.

The role emphasizes prevention, response, and recovery with an all-hazards approach. The successful candidate will author and manage the enterprise continuity program, coordinate across schools and global locations, and ensure preparedness through exercises, governance, and

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Emergency Management, Public Administration, Business, or related field.
• Minimum of 7 years of emergency management/continuity or program management experience; or 5–7 years with a related graduate degree.
• Minimum of 5 years in a supervisory capacity.
• Demonstrated expertise in crisis and continuity planning.
• Familiarity with FEMA, NIMS, HSEEP, and regulatory frameworks.
• Familiarity with travel risk management frameworks, including country/destination risk ratings, traveler tracking platforms, pre‑departure briefings, and institutional duty‑of‑care obligations.
• Completion of ICS courses: IS 100, IS 200, IS 700, IS 800.
• Valid driver’s license (or ability to obtain a NY license).
• Strong communication, collaboration, and problem‑solving skills.
• Ability to manage multiple projects in a fast-paced, high-stakes environment.

Responsibilities

• Lead emergency and continuity planning across the university.
• Coordinate with departments and schools to implement continuity plans.
• Develop and maintain the university’s Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan (CEMP).
• Tailor Emergency Operations Plans for each campus, including international locations.
• Ensure compliance with regulatory and accessibility standards.
• Oversee travel risk management and university-sponsored travel risk governance.
• Design and deliver HSEEP-compliant training, exercises, and outreach.
• Lead partnerships with external emergency agencies and peer institutions.

Skills

Crisis planning

Continuity planning

Risk assessment

Communication

Project management

FEMA/NIMS/HSEEP familiarity

Travel risk management

Driver's license

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Emergency Management, Public Administration, Business, or related field

Tools

ICS IS‑100/200/700/800

Job description

St. John’s, established in 1870, has two New York City campuses; international locations in Rome, Italy; Limerick, Ireland; and Paris, France; and study abroad locations around the world. The Princeton Review and other top rankings consistently recognize the University’s outstanding academics, diverse student body, dynamic internship, and volunteer opportunities, focus on student life, and diverse study abroad offerings. St. John’s University offers more than 100 undergraduate and graduate programs in its six colleges and schools, with a growing number of programs offered online. The University is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education and 12 other major academic and professional associations.

A dedication to diversity, equity and inclusion is at the heart of our mission. As a Catholic and Vincentian university, St. John’s is committed to institutionalizing practices of inclusive excellence to ensure that we welcome and celebrate the intrinsic worth of all members of our community. We will become an even stronger university as we enhance equity at every level of our institution. Our graduates will excel in the competencies and values needed for leadership and service in a rapidly evolving world.

Job Summary

The Director of Emergency Management and Continuity at St. John’s University is a subject matter expert in all aspects of emergency management—including planning, prevention, response, and recovery—as well as business and operational continuity. Using an all-hazards approach, the Director identifies and mitigates risks that could potentially disrupt university operations at any of St. John’s locations, domestic or international.

With a strong operational focus, the Director ensures that emergency management plans are actionable, widely understood, appropriately resourced, and routinely exercised. The goal is to protect lives, property, and university assets while building a resilient institution capable of operating through and recovering from crises.

This position also authors and manages the university’s enterprise continuity program, coordinating across schools, departments, and global locations. The Director ensures all continuity plans remain current and effective in supporting St. John’s through both expected and unexpected disruptions. This role plays a vital part in ensuring university governance, operations, and recovery can continue in the face of man‑made or natural incidents.

An effective communicator, strategic thinker, and skilled project manager, the Director is responsive in emergencies, anticipates risk, closes capability gaps, and fosters a culture of preparedness. This position also collaborates closely with the University’s Operations to develop and execute Homeland Security Exercise and Evaluation Program (HSEEP)-compliant exercises. The role carries 24/7 emergency responsibilities.

Job Responsibilities

Policies, Plans, and Procedures – 40%

• Lead stakeholder committees to develop and maintain emergency and continuity plans.
• Conduct multi‑disciplinary risk assessments and hazard mitigation planning.
• Create, maintain and update the university‑wide Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan (CEMP).
• Tailor Emergency Operations Plans (EOPs) for each campus or center, including international locations.
• Ensure compliance with regulatory and accessibility standards.
• Collaborate with departments and schools to maintain continuity plans that prioritize core missions (teaching, research, housing, and public service).
• Coordinate with Enterprise Risk Management and international campus leaders.
• Establish and maintain a University‑wide travel security governance framework that sets institutional standards for University-sponsored travel risk management, including decision authority, risk‑tolerance thresholds by destination, and approval and documentation expectations applicable to faculty, staff, and students.
• Oversee an operational travel security program that provides a single intake and tracking mechanism for University-sponsored travel, conducts trip‑level risk reviews, delivers pre‑departure briefings for elevated‑risk locations, and coordinates active traveler communications and emergency response.
• Establish a mandatory travel insurance standard covering emergency medical treatment, medical evacuation, trip disruption, and repatriation; enforce verification as part of the travel registration workflow.

Exercises and Outreach – 20%

• Design and deliver HSEEP‑compliant training, exercises, and public preparedness campaigns.
• Maintain a multi‑year training and exercise calendar.
• Develop outreach programs for students, faculty, and staff on preparedness and resilience.
• Build partnerships with NYC Emergency Management, regional universities, and professional associations.

Community Education and Engagement – 15%

• Develop and lead campus‑wide education and outreach initiatives to promote understanding of emergency management tools, plans, and individual preparedness responsibilities.
• Deliver engaging, accessible content to students, faculty, and staff through workshops, briefings, printed materials, digital campaigns, and orientation programs.
• Ensure emergency plans and continuity tools are not only developed but also understood and embraced by the campus community.
• Partner with Student Affairs, Residence Life, Human Resources, and academic units to embed preparedness education into community life and institutional culture.
• Foster a culture of shared responsibility and proactive risk reduction.

Strategy and Continuous Improvement – 15%

• Serve as a standards champion across departments to build institutional resilience.
• Identify and prioritize innovative risk reduction strategies.
• Track corrective actions and incorporate lessons learned from exercises and incidents.
• Advance the integration of continuity into emergency response planning.
• Implement a travel risk intelligence and monitoring capability with centralized visibility into active University-sponsored trips, automated country/city risk ratings, alerts for emerging global incidents, and direct support for emergency response coordination, with redundant access for Public Safety and program administrators.

Emergency Response – 5%

• Serve as Incident Commander or assist in ICC role assignment during EOC activations.
• Lead operational setup and readiness for all potential EOC sites.
• Deploy to incident locations as needed and support international response operations.

Partnership Development – 5%

• Establish partnerships with peer institutions and private‑sector stakeholders.
• Facilitate integration, liaison, and best‑practice sharing across continuity communities.

Competencies, Education, Experience

Required Education

• Bachelor’s degree in Emergency Management, Public Administration, Business, or related field.

Required Experience

• Minimum of 7 years of emergency management/continuity or program management experience; or 5–7 years with a related graduate degree.
• Minimum of 5 years in a supervisory capacity.

Required Skills And Certifications

• Demonstrated expertise in crisis and continuity planning.
• Familiarity with FEMA, NIMS, HSEEP, and regulatory frameworks.
• Familiarity with travel risk management frameworks, including country/destination risk ratings, traveler tracking platforms, pre‑departure briefings, and institutional duty‑of‑care obligations.
• Completion of ICS courses: IS 100, IS 200, IS 700, IS 800.
• Valid driver’s license (or ability to obtain a NY license).
• Strong communication, collaboration, and problem‑solving skills.
• Ability to manage multiple projects in a fast‑paced, high‑stakes environment.

Preferred Qualifications

• Master’s degree (MBA or related field).
• Certified Emergency Manager (CEM), CBCP, or FEMA MEP certification.
• Experience in a higher education or global enterprise setting.
• Strong data management and information security awareness.

Supplemental Information

Institutional Impact

• The Director strengthens university‑wide resilience and governance during emergencies.
• Leads major event planning support and contributes to unplanned incident response.
• Manages a significant Public Safety budget and partners with all university departments.

Authority and Decision-Making

• Develops and advises on emergency and continuity policies.
• Makes real‑time decisions during crises, including priority‑setting and resource deployment.
• Advises senior university leadership on readiness, response, and recovery strategies.

Key Relationships

• Collaborates with university leaders, Public Safety personnel, faculty, and operations teams.
• Serves as liaison to external emergency agencies and peer institutions.
• Represents Public Safety in university‑wide meetings on risk, continuity, and compliance.

Direct Reports

• One Manager (to be hired)
• Important Note- St. John’s is NOT an E-Verify Employer

St. John’s offers a competitive compensation program which is commensurate with your qualifications, experience, and contingent upon the departmental budget. St. John’s University considers factors such as (but not limited to) scope and responsibilities of the position, candidate’s work experience, education/training, key skills, internal peer equity, as well as market and organizational considerations when extending an offer.

We also offer an extremely comprehensive benefits program to meet the diverse needs of our workforce. Along with exceptional benefits such as medical, dental, life insurance, long term disability insurance, tuition remission, generous 403(b) employer contribution, employee assistance program, and liberal paid time off policies, faculty and staff can also enjoy St. John’s performing arts, libraries, bookstores, dining facilities, campus recreation and sporting events

Any offer of employment is subject to receipt by St. John’s University of satisfactory references, verification of employment and education.

St. John’s University is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national or ethnic origin, age, status as an individual with a disability, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.