Emergency Operations Systems Manager

Chatham County, NC; Pittsboro (NC); On-site; USD 120,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Chatham County, NC seeks a senior technology leader to plan, operate, and secure mission-critical emergency operations and public safety systems. You will oversee technical staff, ensure system resiliency, and coordinate cybersecurity and vendor management during emergencies and routine operations.

The role requires strategic planning, project management, and the ability to act as a technology authority for 9-1-1 operations, emergency management, and interagency coordination, including

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree and five or more years of progressively responsible experience in mission-critical technology systems and public safety communications.
• Experience supporting Emergency Operations Centers/Communications Centers
• Experience managing technology projects, vendors, and capital initiatives
• Experience in local government or public-sector tech environments

Responsibilities

• Supervises, mentors, evaluates, and develops technical staff
• Establishes work priorities and manages workload for operational readiness
• Provides technical leadership during emergency incidents and activations
• Serves as technical owner and SME for Emergency Operations systems
• Ensures continuous availability, reliability, security, and resiliency of mission-critical systems
• Leads planning and implementation of redundant and disaster-resilient architectures
• Oversees service delivery and support operations to achieve SLAs
• Manages vendor relationships, contracts, maintenance agreements, and warranties
• Develops long-range technology roadmaps and replacement strategies
• Supports grant development and capital project planning
• Participates in exercises, after-action reviews, and continuous improvement activities
• Responds to emergency scenes, outages, and EOC activations

Skills

Staff supervision

Project management

Cybersecurity coordination

Technical leadership

Vendor management

Strategic planning

Emergency operations

Education

Bachelor's degree in Information Systems, Computer Science, IT, Electronics, Emergency Management, Public Safety Communications

Tools

P25 trunked radio systems

Job description

This position performs advanced managerial, technical, and professional work responsible for the planning, operation, security, resiliency, support, and continuous improvement of mission-critical emergency operations, emergency communications, and supporting technology systems. The position provides leadership for technical staff, oversees service delivery and infrastructure operations, and serves as the primary technology authority for systems supporting 9-1-1 operations, emergency management, responder safety, public warning, continuity of government, and interagency coordination.

Work includes strategic planning, systems architecture, cybersecurity coordination, project management, customer support oversight, infrastructure resiliency, disaster recovery, vendor management, budget development, lifecycle replacement planning, and emergency response support. The position exercises considerable independent judgment and may provide operational leadership for all Emergency Operations technology functions during emergencies, EOC activations, major incidents, and system outages. Work is performed under limited supervision and requires a high degree of independent and skillful judgment, particularly during emergency incidents, EOC activations, and system failures where decisions have immediate public safety impact.

The following essential functions serve as a general guide for this position. Position functions are subject to change based on departmental needs and external factors including, but not limited to, regulatory requirements.

• Supervises, mentors, evaluates, and develops technical staff;
• Establishes work priorities and manages workload to ensure operational readiness;
• Provides technical leadership during emergency incidents and activations;
• Serves as technical owner and subject matter expert for Emergency Operations systems;
• Ensures continuous availability, reliability, security, and resiliency of mission‑critical systems;
• Leads planning and implementation of redundant and disaster‑resilient technology architectures;
• Serves as Recovery Point of Contact during technology outages and cyber incidents impacting Emergency Operations;
• Oversees public safety radio systems, interoperability resources, microwave systems, and supporting infrastructure;
• Directs subscriber programming, encryption management, and interoperability planning;
• Oversees communications tower infrastructure, generators, UPS systems, HVAC systems, and monitoring systems;
• Maintains readiness of deployable communications assets and contingency communications platforms;
• Oversees Emergency Operations specific servers, storage systems, virtual environments, applications, networks, and backup systems;
• Manages service delivery and support operations to ensure service level objectives are achieved;

• Coordinates technology deployments, upgrades, and infrastructure improvements;
• Reviews system performance and develops recommendations for service improvement;
• Develops and maintains disaster recovery and business continuity plans;
• Coordinates cybersecurity initiatives and risk mitigation efforts;
• Ensures compliance with applicable standards, regulations, and policies;
• Conducts department risk assessments and develops mitigation strategies;
• Leads department technology projects from planning through implementation;
• Manages vendor relationships, contracts, maintenance agreements, and warranties;
• Oversees inventory control, asset tracking, and lifecycle replacement planning;
• Researches and recommends new technologies and solutions;
• Assists in development of operating and capital budgets;
• Develops long‑range technology roadmaps and replacement strategies;
• Supports grant development and capital project planning;
• Maintains SOPs, SLAs, disaster recovery documentation, and technical standards;
• Participates in exercises, after‑action reviews, and continuous improvement activities;
• Responds to emergency scenes, communications failures, and EOC activations;
• Participates in after‑hours support and on‑call responsibilities;
• Serves as Emergency Management Staff Duty Officer on‑call to respond to emergency situations, including evening, weekend, and holiday hours;
• Performs related duties as assigned.

Bachelor’s degree in Information Systems, Computer Science, Information Technology, Electronics, Emergency Management, Public Safety Communications, or a related field and five (5) years of progressively responsible experience supporting mission‑critical technology systems, public safety communications systems, emergency operations technology, or related infrastructure, including supervisory experience; or an equivalent combination of education, training, certifications, and experience.

Preferred Qualifications

• Ten (10) or more years supporting public safety or mission‑critical systems
• Experience supporting Emergency Operations Centers and/or Emergency Communications Centers
• Experience managing P25 trunked radio systems and interoperability resources
• Experience supervising technical, network, infrastructure, or communications personnel
• Experience managing technology projects, vendors, and capital initiatives
• Experience in local government or public‑sector technology environments

Preferred Certifications

• Communications Unit Leader (COML)
• Communications Technician (COMT)
• Information Technology Service Unit Leader (ITSL)
• NIMS / ICS Certifications

• Extensive knowledge of mission‑critical communications systems and infrastructure;
• Knowledge of public safety communications technologies and interoperability principles;
• Knowledge of cybersecurity, business continuity, and disaster recovery practices;
• Ability to supervise and develop staff;
• Ability to lead complex technical projects and multidisciplinary teams;
• Ability to communicate effectively with technical and non‑technical audiences;
• Strong analytical, organizational, customer service, and problem‑solving skills;
• Ability to prepare reports, budgets, plans, and technical documentation;
• Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with public safety agencies, vendors, elected officials, and the public.

Physical Requirements

This work requires the frequent exertion of up to 50 pounds of force and occasional exertion of up to 100 pounds of force; work regularly requires speaking, hearing, use of hands and fingers, handling, feeling and reaching with hands and arms, frequently requires standing, walking and sitting and occasionally requires climbing, balancing, stooping, kneeling, crouching, crawling, tasting, smelling, pushing, pulling, lifting and repetitive motions; work has standard vision requirements and requires close vision, distance vision, ability to adjust focus, depth perception, color perception, night vision and peripheral vision; work requires vocal communication to express or exchange ideas orally and to convey detailed or important instructions to others accurately, loudly or quickly; work requires hearing to perceive information at normal spoken levels and to receive detailed information through oral communications; work requires preparing and analyzing written or computer data, using measuring devices, operating machines, operating motor vehicles or equipment and observing general surroundings and activities; work occasionally requires wet, humid conditions (non-weather), working near moving mechanical parts, working in high, precarious places, exposure to fumes or airborne particles, exposure to toxic or caustic chemicals, exposure to outdoor weather conditions, exposure to extreme heat (non-weather), exposure to the risk of electrical shock, working with explosives, wearing a self‑contained breathing apparatus and exposure to bloodborne pathogens and may be required to wear specialized personal protective equipment; work is generally in a moderately noisy location (e.g. business office, light traffic).

Special Requirements

• Must possess a valid North Carolina driver’s license. Class B within one year of employment.
• Must be available for after‑hours support, emergency callouts, disaster response, and extended periods.
• Must successfully complete and pass applicable background investigations.
• Must possess or obtain and maintain public safety credentials and access authorizations.