Although most jobs do not require it, it’s a good idea to know a foreign language if you plan on working in emergency management. Below introduces the common qualifications for this unique career.
Required Education
Most jobs will require a bachelor’s degree related to leadership, public policy or emergency administration. The latter will integrate various planning and recovery activities related to developing, sustaining and improving of response programs. Students will learn about how to respond to potential threats, natural disasters and acts of terrorism. These programs promote proactive leadership tools that can handle dangerous, unpredictable and catastrophic situations. Students learn how to minimize risks to responders and the public while increasing efficiency and response time.
Resource: Top 10 Emergency Management Bachelor’s Degrees Online 2016-2017
These programs include classes in leadership development, which emphasize understanding the effective approaches to management, and the basic principles of emergency administration, which includes the four phases of emergency response, incident command systems and the National Response Framework (NRF). Students learn about the complete spectrum of natural and human-generated crises and disasters. They learn about international humanitarian standards and comparative disaster consequences. Learning about emergency planning will help leaders maintain civic and business operations that minimize the disaster’s impact on the community.
Requited Abilities
Job candidates will need to have excellent verbal, written and interpersonal communication skills. They must know how to develop and maintain budgets, schedules and project plans. Job candidates will need to demonstrate an in-depth knowledge of local, regional and national emergency services and programs. They must know how to create informative presentations, develop training modules and implement strategies to achieve organizational goals. Emergency managers will need strong analytical and decision-making skills to develop creative processes for continuous improvements
Most jobs will require a proven track record of team collaboration, program facilitation, collective problem solving, creative leadership and partnership management. Having excellent team orientation, public speaking and project management skills will strengthen a job candidate’s application. Strong technical skills are expected, such as advanced proficiency with MS Office software and law enforcement databases. During the interview, job candidates may be asked to demonstrate their knowledge of disaster response operations and management, which includes the four phases of mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery.
Working Conditions
Emergency manager job positions will have physical requirements. Depending on work assignment, they may be required to regularly travel to external locations. During this time, they may have to constantly walk, stand and lift or move objects weighing 20 to 50 pounds. Emergency managers need to have good hand-eye coordination and manual dexterity because they will use laptops and emergency equipment in mobile work stations. They may have to sit for long periods of time, or drive a vehicle under challenging conditions.
Some work is performed indoors in temporary offices, but they still may be potential for exposure to safety and health hazards. These include diseases and injuries related to emergency services relief work. During periods of non-emergency, emergency managers will still need to regularly travel and participate in meetings and conferences throughout the state and region. Some managers may on 24-hour call during periods of major disaster.
The EPA offers a list of college programs that are approved by the one and only federal Emergency Management Institute (EMI). Knowing a foreign language will increase resume effectiveness and job candidate competitiveness for those who want to work in emergency management.