EXERCISES PROGRAM MANAGER

SmartRecruiters, Inc.; New York (NY); Hybrid; USD 79,000 - 84,000; Full time

Job summary

New York City Emergency Management (NYCEM) seeks an Exercises Program Manager to design, implement, and evaluate internal and interagency exercises. You will lead seminars, workshops, tabletops, functional, and full-scale exercises focusing on all emergency management phases and hazards.

The role reports to the Executive Director, EOC and Exercises, and requires strong collaboration, proactive planning, and the ability to coordinate across multiple agencies.

Qualifications

• Experience with emergency management exercises.
• Familiarity with the Homeland Security Exercise Evaluation Program (HSEEP).
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Excellent facilitation skills.
• Experience managing short-, medium-, and long-term projects.
• Experience leading multiple projects concurrently.
• Strong Microsoft 365 skills (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Teams, SharePoint, Copilot, etc.).
• Strong action-tracking and progress reporting skills.

Responsibilities

• Design, facilitate, and evaluate exercises of all sizes and scopes for New York City’s emergency managers and partners.
• Prepare exercise concepts, objectives, scenarios, briefings, and other user-friendly exercise documentation and supporting materials.
• Develop exercise evaluation plans, guides, and after-action reports.
• Inform Exercises Unit, Readiness Bureau, and agency-wide exercise strategies, including needs assessments and exercise planning sessions.
• Assist with collecting exercise data and information for programmatic tracking and reporting.
• Participate in partner agency exercises, and coordinate NYCEM staff participation in interagency exercises.
• Deliver trainings related to design, facilitation, and evaluation of exercises.

Skills

Exercise design

Exercise facilitation

Project management

Communication skills

Team coordination

Microsoft 365

Progress reporting

Interagency coordination

Education

Bachelor's degree in emergency management or related field

Master's degree in related field

High school diploma with six years of experience

Tools

Microsoft 365

Job description

• Job Category: Policy, Research & Analysis
• Salary Band: $80,000 to $90,000
• Compensation: USD 78,868 - USD 83,670

Job Description

New York City Emergency Management (NYCEM) helps New Yorkers before, during, and after emergencies through preparedness, education, and response. NYCEM is responsible for coordinating citywide emergency planning and response for all types and scales of emergencies. We are staffed by more than 200 dedicated professionals with diverse backgrounds and areas of expertise, including individuals assigned from other City agencies.

The Readiness Bureau prepares the City for emergencies through a continuous cycle of planning, learning, and exercising, using a collaborative and forward-thinking approach.

The Exercises Unit develops and conducts preparedness exercises of all scopes and sizes in coordination with NYCEM’s local, state, and federal partners. These exercises serve to test plan tools, reinforce emergency management best practices, build staff familiarity with time-of-emergency roles, and promote improvement in interagency response coordination.

NYCEM is seeking an Exercises Program Manager to join the Exercises Unit and design, implement, and evaluate NYCEM’s internal and interagency exercises. These include and are not limited to seminars, workshops, tabletops, functional exercises, and full-scale exercises, focusing on all emergency management phases and hazards. The Exercises Program Manager should bring a proactive, adaptable, and participant-focused approach to their work.

The Exercises Program Manager will report to the Executive Director, Emergency Operations Center (EOC) and Exercises, and will:

• Design, facilitate, and evaluate exercises of all sizes and scopes for New York City’s emergency managers and partners.
• Prepare exercise concepts, objectives, scenarios, briefings, and other user-friendly exercise documentation and supporting materials.
• Develop exercise evaluation plans, guides, and after-action reports.
• Inform Exercises Unit, Readiness Bureau, and agency-wide exercise strategies, including the conduct of needs assessments and exercise planning sessions with NYCEM and partner staff.
• Assist with collecting exercise data and information for programmatic tracking and reporting.
• Participate in partner agency exercises, and coordinate NYCEM staff participation in city, state, and federal partner’s interagency exercises.
• Deliver different exercise-related and skillset-based trainings, including courses focused on designing tabletops, exercise facilitation, and exercise evaluation.

PLEASE NOTE THE FOLLOWING

As part of NYCEM's emergency response mission, this position participates on an Emergency Operations Center (EOC) team. During emergency activations, team members may be required to work evenings, weekends, holidays, or extended shifts in support of City response operations. Outside of activations, EOC members participate in periodic training and exercises to maintain operational readiness, and may volunteer to assist with Ready NY emergency preparedness presentations to external groups. EOC teams are on call for three weeks at a time, with six weeks off in between.

Please note, the high end of the salary range is available to candidates who have been in City service two or more years.

Funding – This position is supported with a federal Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI) grant funding through 8/31/2027 with the possibility of an extension.

Candidates must be authorized to work in the United States without employer support to be eligible for selection. Note that NYCEM does not participate in eVerify, which is required for the reauthorization of some visas.

The selected candidate will generally be required to work in person at the designated office location three days per week, subject to applicable telework policies and reasonable accommodations.

For this position, the “Special Note” below in the Minimum Qualification Requirements does apply.

We as an agency recognize that valuable leadership and analytical experience may be gained through public service, military service, academia, nonprofit organizations, the private sector, volunteer leadership, or other professional settings. Candidates are encouraged to describe transferable experiences that demonstrate their qualifications.

NYCEM is committed to providing reasonable accommodations throughout the application and hiring process for qualified applicants with disabilities. NYCEM follows the NYC reasonable accommodation process under NYC Human Right Law, and accommodation requests from employees will be handled through this process.

PREFERRED SKILLS

NOTE: Candidates are not expected to possess every preferred qualification. Successful applicants may demonstrate equivalent knowledge, transferable experience, or the ability to quickly learn new systems and technologies.

• Experience with exercise participation, design, delivery, and evaluation.
• Familiarity with the Homeland Security Exercise Evaluation Program (HSEEP).
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Excellent facilitation skills.
• Experience managing short-, medium-, and long-term projects.
• Experience leading multiple projects concurrently.
• Strong Microsoft 365 skills (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Teams, SharePoint, Copilot, etc.).
• Strong action-tracking and progress reporting skills.
• Familiarity with NYC agency core competencies.
• High interest in emergency management.

In addition, the selected candidate will be able to demonstrate a proven ability in the following areas, from the agency’s performance management model:

Competencies

• o Knowledge – demonstrates or has the ability to develop the knowledge necessary to perform the responsibilities of the position.
• o Work Ethic and Productivity – produces consistently high quality, accurate, and on-time deliverables; takes responsibility, is dependable, and accountable, and follows through; is responsive to requests from leadership.
• o Strategic Problem Solving and Innovation – is thoughtful and deliberate in approach to solving problems; demonstrates innovation and creative thinking.
• o Effective Communication – Demonstrates the ability to communicate information clearly and effectively to diverse audiences, including during time-sensitive and high-pressure situations.
• o Teamwork – encourage collaboration and motivate others; is able to both lead and follow when necessary; is an active listener and consider a broad range of perspectives.

**Studies have shown that women, people of color, and other under-represented groups are less likely to apply for jobs unless they believe they are able to perform every task in the job description. We are interested in finding the best candidate for the job and will consider any equivalent combination of knowledge, skills, education and experience to meet qualifications. If you are interested in applying, we encourage you to think broadly about your background and skill set for the role.**

EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS SPECIAL - 94612

Qualifications

1. A four-year high school diploma or its educational equivalent approved by a state's department of education or a recognized accrediting organization and six years of satisfactory full-time professional experience in one or a combination of the following: emergency management, fire, police, or military service, public safety, public health, public administration, urban planning, engineering, or another specialized area to which the appointment is to be made; or

2. A baccalaureate degree from an accredited college and two years of satisfactory full time professional experience in the areas listed in "1" above; or

3. A master's degree from an accredited college in emergency management, public administration, urban planning, engineering, economics, political science, the physical sciences ,or related field and one year of satisfactory full-time professional experience in the areas listed “1