Emergency Management Specialist

State of South Dakota; Pierre (SD); On-site; USD 55,000 - 70,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

Paid holidays

Vacation and sick leave

Dental & vision insurance

Retirement benefits

Job summary

The State of South Dakota, Department of Public Safety's Office of Emergency Management in Pierre, is seeking a full-time Mitigation and Floodplain Management Specialist. The role supports local governments by reviewing floodplain ordinances, encouraging NFIP participation, and assisting with mitigation projects and grant applications.

The position also liaises with State and FEMA officials. Ideal candidates will have a four-year degree or equivalent, strong communication skills, and the ability

Qualifications

• A four-year degree or equivalent in a related field is preferred, but not required.
• Knowledge of government processes and procedures.
• Familiarity with NIMS/ICS and business writing standards.

Responsibilities

• Review and provide technical assistance to communities on floodplain management ordinances.
• Outreach to NFIP communities to encourage participation and mitigation project development.
• Review mitigation plans and provide technical assistance to local governments.
• Serve as liaison between local government officials and State/FEMA officials.
• Coordinate with state and local agencies during disasters and incident responses.

Skills

Critical thinking

Analytical thinking

Logical thinking

MS Word

MS Excel

NIMS/ICS knowledge

Grammar & editing

Education

Four-year degree or equivalent

Tools

MS Word

MS Excel

Job description

Pay Grade: J

Closing Date: 8/28/2026

This is a Full-Time position with the Department of Public Safety Division of Emergency Management. For more information on the Department of Public Safety, please visit https://www.sd.gov/dps.

The South Dakota Office of Emergency Management protects South Dakotans and their property from the effects of natural, manmade, and technological disasters. To fulfill this charge, we recognize the four phases of emergency management: Preparedness, Response, Recovery, and Mitigation. These four phases have various programs and planning steps associated with them.

This position has the exciting role of being a member of the mitigation and floodplain management team and assisting local governmental entities to lessen or eliminate the effects of future disasters through mitigation activities. Duties will include reviewing and providing technical assistance to communities on their floodplain management ordinances, outreach to non-participating National Flood Insurance Program communities to encourage them to join the program, outreach to foster mitigation project development and grant applications, and review of mitigation plans and providing technical assistance to local governments throughout the development process. Additional program duties will include acting as a liaison between local government officials and State/FEMA officials.

This position is fortunate to be a team member for the on-call Duty Officer program, which provides additional training and pay upon becoming a trained Duty Officer. Being a Duty Officer is a scheduled day where calls are taken from county emergency managers when incidents occur in their jurisdiction that are required to be reported to the State and coordinated with other state or federal agencies to handle the incident. On average, one 24 hour on-call shift per three week rotation and one weekend on-call shift every two months. For this reason, the person must live in the Pierre/Ft. Pierre area where cell phone services are available. The Duty Officer is allowed to go about their normal day while they are on call, but must understand they may have brief interruptions to take and coordinate the calls with the appropriate people.

This position will get to work with many state and local agencies in an exciting and fast paced environment when the State Emergency Operations Center is activated. This position will work with the emergency management team to help citizens through the coordination of governmental entities and resources to aid in disaster response.

Occasional travel will take place in-state to promote flood insurance and mitigation project development and occasional out-of-state to attend meetings and conferences to learn new techniques in the ever-changing world of emergency management. The ideal candidate can work with a wide variety of people, be an excellent communicator, self-starter, team player, and can work with limited supervision while promoting office programs and initiatives.

Questionnaire

Applicants will be required to answer a series of job-related questions when submitting an application for this job.

The Ideal Candidate Will Have

A four-year degree or equivalent in a related field is preferred, but not required.

Knowledge Of

• computer applications ranging from Microsoft Word to Microsoft Excel;
• government processes and procedures;
• National Incident Management System (NIMS)/ Incident Command System (ICS);
• grammar usage and mechanics related to business writing and editing.

Skill To

• critical, analytical, and logical thinking.

Ability To

• extract information by asking appropriate questions;
• think on your feet;
• communicate clearly and concisely, both orally and in writing;
• focus on the big picture while also ensuring attention to detail;
• work with many different personalities to reach a consensus;
• remain calm during emergency situations;
• remain flexible;

This position is eligible for Veterans’ Preference per ARSD 55:10:02:08.

Successful applicant(s) will be required to undergo a background investigation. An arrest/conviction record will not necessarily bar employment.

NCRC: If you possess a National Career Readiness Certificate, please submit the certificate with your application. For more information on how to acquire a National Career Readiness Certificate contact a South Dakota Department of Labor and Regulation Job Service Office. A certificate is not necessary to be considered.

The State of South Dakota does not sponsor work visas for new or existing employees. All persons hired will be required to verify identity and eligibility to work in the United States and complete an Employment Eligibility Verification, Form I-9. The State of South Dakota as an employer will be using E-Verify to complete employment eligibility verification upon hire.

The State of South Dakota offers $0 premium employee health insurance option plus eleven paid holidays, generous vacation and sick leave accrual, dental, vision, and other insurance options, and retirement benefits. You can view our benefits information here . This position is a member of Class A retirement under SDRS.

South Dakota Bureau of Human Resources and Administration

Telephone: [phone] Email: [e-mail]