Careers

Description:

The Snohomish County Health Department’s Public Health Emergency Preparedness and Response (PHEPR) Program is hiring two Emergency Management Specialists to strengthen the department’s ability to prepare for, respond to, and recover from public health emergencies. These positions perform professional-level work across planning, training, exercises, response operations, and partner coordination, with responsibilities that scale and shift based on emerging risks and real-world incidents. Each specialist will hold a primary focus area while cross-training to support broader program functions, ensuring a flexible and resilient preparedness system.

We are recruiting for two distinct focus areas within this classification: (1) a Training and Exercise Specialist, who will lead the design, coordination, and evaluation of preparedness trainings and exercises in alignment with HSEEP and local/regional priorities, and (2) a Risk Communications Specialist, who will strengthen public health emergency communication systems, including message development, partner coordination, and integration of risk communication into preparedness planning and response operations. Both roles will work closely with internal staff and external partners to build operational readiness, support emergency activations through ICS roles, and drive continuous improvement through after-action processes and capability assessments.

 

Job Duties

Examples of Work Performed:

• Prepare and respond to public health emergencies using skills, training, and procedures as a member of the PHEPR Program. Participate in and support emergency responses in assigned ICS roles and tasks. 
• Contribute to annual Integrated Preparedness Plans (IPP), AARs/IPs, risk/capability assessments (e.g., THIRA/SPR, HVA), readiness assessments, and corrective-action tracking work.
• Embed and integrate equity, access, and inclusion principles into all work—including planning, training, exercises, outreach, volunteer management, partner engagement, and response operations.
• Maintain accurate documentation (plans, SOPs, checklists, job aids, rosters, inventories) . and accurate records (training completions, inventories, volunteer rosters, MOUs, AARs/IPs, assessments) in shared repositories, ensuring consistency with grant and program requirements.
• Coordinate with Region 1 and Puget Sound partners on cross-jurisdiction topics, projects, and priorities (e.g., ESF-8, fatality management, surge planning, alternate care, etc.). Build and sustain the relationships needed for effective emergency preparedness and response. 
• Support risk communication, information management, and situational awareness processes; keep public-facing preparedness information current and accurate.
• Participate in required public health or emergency management trainings/drills/exercises; maintain role-appropriate credentials.
• Collaborate with Health Department staff to support effective emergency preparedness and response functions.
• Maintain working knowledge of ICS/NIMS and fulfilling assigned Emergency Operations Center or Incident Management Team roles during trainings, exercises, and responses.
• Coordinate with local, regional, and state partners (DEM, NWHRN, EMS Council, mortuary services, healthcare facilities, DHS BioWatch, UASI workgroups, etc.) to share resources, lessons learned, and best practices.
• Support WebEOC needs for the health department, collaborate with external partners as needed; ensure staff have access to emergency notifications, complete all required WA Secures drills. 
• Support staff and volunteer readiness, departmental logistics and operations, and resource management (through tasks such as WAServ rosters, MCM inventories/trailers, Power BI trackers, readiness assessments, etc.) consistent with program needs and requirements.
• Assist with the tracking of grant-funded deliverables (PHEP/CRI/FPHS/NACCHO/UASI), prepare succinct status reports, and contribute to relevant workplans/strategic plans. 
• Coordinate the preparation and delivery of trainings, accurate briefings, and partner presentations; facilitate meetings and communities of practice; maintain SCHD preparedness and response resources (e.g., SCHD Emergency Response Toolkit, internal/external preparedness page, etc.).

Associated Duties:

• Perform other duties as assigned.
• Respond, as requested, to Emergency Operations Centers during a public health/health care emergency activation.
• May be required to work extended workdays during a response, including weekends.
• Participate in local, regional, and state related meetings and communities of practice related to public health preparedness.  

 

 

Skills/Eligibility:

kills for the position may be gained through education, certification, relevant job experience or a combination, such as:

• Bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution in Emergency Management or closely related field
• Two (2) years of Public Health, Emergency Management or closely related field, preferred. 

Licenses, Certifications, and Other Information:

• Master’s degree from an accredited institution in Emergency Management or closely related field preferred.
• Completion of relevant emergency management courses such as the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Independent Study Series and appropriate National Incident Management System (NIMS) and Incident command System (ICS) courses; ICS 100 and 700 to be completed within two weeks of employment.
• Completion of Homeland Security Exercise Evaluation Program (HSEEP), preferred
• Valid Washington State Driver’s license or ability to obtain one within thirty (30) days of hire and a driving record which meets the requirements of Snohomish County’s insurance carrier.
• Successful completion of a background check pursuant to RCW 43.43.830.