Career profile for Emergency Services Director

What does an Emergency Services Director do?

Emergency Services Directors plan and direct disaster response or crisis management activities, provide disaster preparedness training, and prepare emergency plans and procedures for natural (e.

In addition, Emergency Services Directors

g,
, hurricanes, floods, earthquakes), wartime, or technological (e,
g,
, nuclear power plant emergencies or hazardous materials spills) disasters or hostage situations.

What kind of tasks does an Emergency Services Director perform regularly?

Emergency Services Directors are often responsible for overseeing or executing some or all of the following tasks:

Keep informed of activities or changes that could affect the likelihood of an emergency, as well as those that could affect response efforts and details of plan implementation.
Prepare emergency situation status reports that describe response and recovery efforts, needs, and preliminary damage assessments.
Prepare plans that outline operating procedures to be used in response to disasters or emergencies, such as hurricanes, nuclear accidents, and terrorist attacks, and in recovery from these events.
Coordinate disaster response or crisis management activities, such as ordering evacuations, opening public shelters, and implementing special needs plans and programs.
Develop and maintain liaisons with municipalities, county departments, and similar entities to facilitate plan development, response effort coordination, and exchanges of personnel and equipment.
Apply for federal funding for emergency-management-related needs and administer and report on the progress of such grants.
Design and administer emergency or disaster preparedness training courses that teach people how to effectively respond to major emergencies and disasters.
Collaborate with other officials to prepare and analyze damage assessments following disasters or emergencies.
Consult with officials of local and area governments, schools, hospitals, and other institutions to determine their needs and capabilities in the event of a natural disaster or other emergency.
Attend meetings, conferences, and workshops related to emergency management to learn new information and to develop working relationships with other emergency management specialists.
Inspect facilities and equipment, such as emergency management centers and communications equipment, to determine their operational and functional capabilities in emergency situations.
Propose alteration of emergency response procedures based on regulatory changes, technological changes, or knowledge gained from outcomes of previous emergency situations.
Develop and perform tests and evaluations of emergency management plans in accordance with state and federal regulations.
Keep informed of federal, state, and local regulations affecting emergency plans and ensure that plans adhere to these regulations.
Review emergency plans of individual organizations, such as medical facilities, to ensure their adequacy.
Develop instructional materials for the public and make presentations to citizens' groups to provide information on emergency plans and their implementation processes.
Maintain and update all resource materials associated with emergency preparedness plans.
Provide communities with assistance in applying for federal funding for emergency management facilities, radiological instrumentation, and other related items.
Train local groups in the preparation of long-term plans that are compatible with federal and state plans.
Conduct surveys to determine the types of emergency-related needs to be addressed in disaster planning or provide technical support to others conducting such surveys.
Study emergency plans used elsewhere to gather information for plan development.
Develop and implement training procedures and strategies for radiological protection, detection, and decontamination.

The above responsibilities are specific to Emergency Services Directors. More generally, Emergency Services Directors are involved in several broader types of activities:

Activities	Importance	Details
Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships		Developing constructive and cooperative working relationships with others, and maintaining them over time.
Making Decisions and Solving Problems		Analyzing information and evaluating results to choose the best solution and solve problems.
Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates		Providing information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person.
Communicating with People Outside the Organization		Communicating with people outside the organization, representing the organization to customers, the public, government, and other external sources. This information can be exchanged in person, in writing, or by telephone or e-mail.
Developing and Building Teams		Encouraging and building mutual trust, respect, and cooperation among team members.

Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships

Developing constructive and cooperative working relationships with others, and maintaining them over time.

Making Decisions and Solving Problems

Analyzing information and evaluating results to choose the best solution and solve problems.

Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates

Providing information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person.

Communicating with People Outside the Organization

Communicating with people outside the organization, representing the organization to customers, the public, government, and other external sources. This information can be exchanged in person, in writing, or by telephone or e-mail.

Developing and Building Teams

Encouraging and building mutual trust, respect, and cooperation among team members.

What is an Emergency Services Director salary?

The median salary for an Emergency Services Director is $76,250, and the average salary is $84,310. Both the median and average roughly describe the middle of the Emergency Services Director salary range, but the average is more easily affected by extremely high or low salaries.

Many Emergency Services Directors earn significantly more or less than the average, due to several factors. About 10% of Emergency Services Directors earn less than $42,230 per year, 25% earn less than $55,660, 75% earn less than $104,880, and 90% earn less than $142,870.

Between the years of 2020 and 2030, the number of Emergency Services Directors is expected to change by 5.7%, and there should be roughly 1,000 open positions for Emergency Services Directors every year.

Median annual salary: $76,250
Typical salary range: $42,230 - $142,870
Projected growth (2020 - 2030): 5.7%

What personality traits are common among Emergency Services Directors?

Interests

Career interests describe a person's preferences for different types of working environments and activities. When a person's interest match the demands of an occupation, people are usually more engaged and satisfied in that role.

Compared to most occupations, those who work as an Emergency Services Director are usually higher in their Social and Enterprising interests.

Emergency Services Directors typically have very strong Social interests. Social occupations frequently involve working with, communicating with, and teaching people. These occupations often involve helping or providing service to others.

Also, Emergency Services Directors typically have strong Enterprising interests. Enterprising occupations frequently involve starting up and carrying out projects. These occupations can involve leading people and making many decisions. Sometimes they require risk taking and often deal with business.

Values

People differ in their values, or what is most important to them for building job satisfaction and fulfillment.

Compared to most people, those working as an Emergency Services Director tend to value Independence, Relationships, and Achievement.

Most importantly, Emergency Services Directors strongly value Independence. Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to work on their own and make decisions.

Second, Emergency Services Directors strongly value Relationships. Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to provide service to others and work with co-workers in a friendly non-competitive environment.

Lastly, Emergency Services Directors strongly value Achievement. Occupations that satisfy this work value are results oriented and allow employees to use their strongest abilities, giving them a feeling of accomplishment.

Psychological Demands

Each occupation brings its own set of psychological demands, which describe the characteristics necessary to perform the job well.

In order to perform their job successfully, people who work as Emergency Services Directors must consistently demonstrate qualities such as dependability, leadership, and integrity.

Below, you'll find a list of qualities typically required of Emergency Services Directors, ranked by importance:

Demands	Importance	Details
Dependability		Job requires being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations.
Leadership		Job requires a willingness to lead, take charge, and offer opinions and direction.
Integrity		Job requires being honest and ethical.
Initiative		Job requires a willingness to take on responsibilities and challenges.
Cooperation		Job requires being pleasant with others on the job and displaying a good-natured, cooperative attitude.

Dependability

Job requires being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations.

Leadership

Job requires a willingness to lead, take charge, and offer opinions and direction.

Integrity

Job requires being honest and ethical.

Initiative

Job requires a willingness to take on responsibilities and challenges.

Cooperation

Job requires being pleasant with others on the job and displaying a good-natured, cooperative attitude.

What education and training do Emergency Services Directors need?

Many Emergency Services Directors will have a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.

Emergency Services Directors usually need several years of work-related experience, on-the-job training, and/or vocational training.

Educational degrees among Emergency Services Directors

0.1% did not complete high school or secondary school
8.0% completed high school or secondary school
14.9% completed some college coursework
9.4% earned a Associate's degree
38.2% earned a Bachelor's degree
27.4% earned a Master's degree
2.1% earned a doctorate or professional degree

Knowledge and expertise required by Emergency Services Directors

Emergency Services Directors may benefit from understanding of specialized subject areas, such as public safety and security, administration and management, or law and government knowledge.

The list below shows several areas in which most Emergency Services Directors might want to build proficiency, ranked by importance.

Knowledge areas	Importance	Details
Public Safety and Security		Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
Administration and Management		Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
Law and Government		Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
Customer and Personal Service		Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
Communications and Media		Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.

Public Safety and Security

Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.

Administration and Management

Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.

Law and Government

Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.

Customer and Personal Service

Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.

Communications and Media

Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.

Important Abilities needed by Emergency Services Directors

Emergency Services Directors must develop a particular set of abilities to perform their job well. Abilities are individual capacities that influence a person's information processing, sensory perception, motor coordination, and physical strength or endurance. Individuals may naturally have certain abilities without explicit training, but most abilities can be sharpened somewhat through practice.

For example, Emergency Services Directors need abilities such as oral comprehension, oral expression, and written comprehension in order to perform their job at a high level. The list below shows several important abilities for Emergency Services Directors, ranked by their relative importance.

Abilities	Importance	Details
Oral Comprehension		The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
Oral Expression		The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
Written Comprehension		The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
Written Expression		The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
Problem Sensitivity		The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing that there is a problem.

Oral Comprehension

The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.

Oral Expression

The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.

Written Comprehension

The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.

Written Expression

The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.

Problem Sensitivity

The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing that there is a problem.

Critical Skills needed by Emergency Services Directors

Skills are developed capacities that enable people to function effectively in real-world settings. Unlike abilities, skills are typically easier to build through practice and experience. Skills influence effectiveness in areas such as learning, working with others, design, troubleshooting, and more.

Emergency Services Directors frequently use skills like complex problem solving, speaking, and service orientation to perform their job effectively. The list below shows several critical skills for Emergency Services Directors, ranked by their relative importance.

Skills	Importance	Details
Complex Problem Solving		Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
Speaking		Talking to others to convey information effectively.
Service Orientation		Actively looking for ways to help people.
Judgment and Decision Making		Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
Reading Comprehension		Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.

Complex Problem Solving

Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.

Speaking

Talking to others to convey information effectively.

Service Orientation

Actively looking for ways to help people.

Judgment and Decision Making

Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.

Reading Comprehension

Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.

What is the source of this information?

The information provided on this page is adapted from data and descriptions published by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration under the CC BY 4.0 license. TraitLab has modified some information for ease of use and reading, and the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment, and Training Administration has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications.

If you have any questions or suggestions about this information, please send a message.

Career profile Emergency Services Director

Emergency Services Director

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