Fresh Listing

Posted: January 8, 2026 (6 days ago)

This job was posted recently. Fresh listings typically have less competition.

Emergency Management Specialist (Preparedness)

Federal Emergency Management Agency

Department of Homeland Security

Fresh

Location

Salary

$83,482 - $130,080

per year

Closes

January 15, 2026More FEMA jobs →

GS-11 Pay Grade

Base salary range: $62,107 - $80,737

Typical requirements: 1 year specialized experience at GS-10. Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree, or 3 years graduate study.

Note: Actual salary includes locality pay (15-40%+ depending on location).

Job Description

Summary

This job involves helping prepare for and respond to emergencies caused by chemical, radiological, or nuclear threats, such as advising teams on safety plans and reviewing response exercises.

You'll work in a federal agency office in Chicago, supporting staff and partners to build better preparedness strategies.

It's a good fit for someone with experience in emergency planning who enjoys problem-solving in high-stakes situations and has a background in hazards like radiation.

Key Requirements

  • One year of specialized experience equivalent to GS-09 level, including developing or evaluating radiological emergency preparedness plans, procedures, or response exercises under supervision
  • For GS-12 level: One year of specialized experience equivalent to GS-11, including developing/evaluating plans, providing advice on emergency programs, and compiling workload data from various sources
  • Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree, or 3 years of graduate education leading to such a degree (if related), or a combination of education and experience
  • Current federal employees must have 52 weeks at the next lower grade or equivalent
  • Time-in-grade and qualification requirements met within 30 days of closing date
  • Resume limited to two pages, with detailed descriptions of relevant experience, education, job titles, employers, dates, duties, and hours worked per week

Full Job Description

In this position you will work as a Technological Hazards Specialist within the Technological Hazards Branch of the National Preparedness Division in Region 5.

The ideal candidate for this position will be experienced in providing expert level advice and assistance to FEMA staff and stakeholders concerning a variety of issues pertaining to preparedness activities involving chemical, radiological, or nuclear threats and hazards.

Current Federal employees must have served 52 weeks at the next lower grade or equivalent grade band in the Federal service.

The time-in-grade and qualification requirements must be met within 30 days of the closing date of this announcement.

To qualify for this position at the GS-11 level, you must possess one full year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-09 level in the Federal government, which has equipped you with the skills needed to successfully perform the duties of the position.

Experience may be obtained in the federal government, a state or local government, or private sector, and must demonstrate the following: Developing or evaluating radiological emergency offsite preparedness and/or response plans and procedures and/or evaluating radiological emergency response exercises under supervision OR Education Possess a Ph.D.

or equivalent doctoral degree or 3 full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree or LL.M., if related.

Failure to provide your transcript will result in an ineligible rating.

OR Combination of education and experience To qualify for this position at the GS-12 level, you must possess one full year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-11 level in the Federal government, which has equipped you with the skills needed to successfully perform the duties of the position.

Experience may be obtained in the federal government, a state or local government, or private sector, and must demonstrate the following: Developing or evaluating radiological emergency offsite preparedness and/or response plans and procedures; AND Providing advice and guidance on the execution of emergency preparedness programs; AND Compiling, reconciling, and correlating voluminous workload data from a variety of sources.

Please read the following important information to ensure we have everything we need to consider your application: Do not copy and paste the duties, specialized experience, or occupational assessment questionnaire from this announcement into your resume as that will not be considered a demonstration of your qualifications for this position.

Please limit your resume to two pages. The USAJOBS database will not allow an applicant to submit an application that includes a resume over two pages.

Your resume serves as the basis for experience related qualification determinations, and you must highlight your most relevant and significant work experience and education (if applicable), as it relates to this job opportunity.

Please use your own words, be clear, and specific when describing your work history. We cannot make assumptions regarding your experience. Are you qualifying based on your work experience?

Qualifications are based on your ability to demonstrate in your resume that you possess one year of the specialized experience for this announcement at a comparable scope and responsibility.

To ensure all of the essential information is in your resume, we encourage you to use the USAJOBS online Resume Builder.

If you choose to use your own resume, it must contain the following information organized by experience/position: (1) job title, (2) name of employer, (3) start and end dates of each period of employment (from MM/DD/YY to MM/DD/YY), (4) detailed description of duties performed, accomplishments, and related skills, and (5) hours worked per week (part-time employment will be prorated in crediting experience).

Federal experience/positions must also include the occupational series, grade level, and dates in which you held each grade level.

Are you a current or former FEMA Reservist/Disaster Assistance Employee (DAE)?

To accurately credit your experience from intermittent positions and Reservist Deployments, you must list the dates (from MM/DD/YY to MM/DD/YY) of deployments that are relevant to your qualifying experience, along with the job title and specific duties you were responsible for during each deployment.

Determining length of General or Specialized Experience is dependent on the above information.

Failure to provide the above information in your resume may result in your application being found "not qualified." Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional, philanthropic, religious, spiritual, community, student, social).

Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills, and provides valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment.

You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.

For additional information on crediting experience and/or education, please reference the OPM General Schedule Qualification Standards. Major Duties:

What will I do in this position if hired?

The primary purpose of this position is to perform emergency management work supporting the Radiological Emergency Preparedness (REP) Program including managing, coordinating, and implementing Federal emergency planning and preparedness activities.

Typical assignments include: Serving as the primary point of contact (Site Specialist) for the assigned nuclear power plant.

Supporting development, coordination, and evaluation of REP training and exercise activities.

Compiling and analyzing exercise and drill data and develop written reports to assess the level of preparedness in communities near nuclear power plants.

Preparing specified sections of REP related reports, information papers, and briefings for Regional leadership, emergency managers, and other stakeholders.

Evaluating Offsite Response Organizations (OROs) REP plans to ensure adequacy and conformance with standards, regulations, practices, training, and procedures.

Promotion Potential: Future promotions will be dependent on your ability to perform the duties at a higher level, the continuing need for an employee assigned to the higher level, and administrative approval.

What else do I need to know? At FEMA, our mission is to help people before, during and after disasters, and every employee at FEMA has a role in emergency management.

Every FEMA employee has regular and recurring emergency management responsibilities, though not every position requires routine deployment to disaster sites.

All positions are subject to recall around the clock for emergency management operations, which may require irregular work hours, work at locations other than the official duty station, and may include duties other than those specified in the employee's official position description.

Travel requirements in support of emergency operations may be extensive in nature (weeks to months), with little advance notice, and may require employees to relocate to emergency sites with physically austere and operationally challenging conditions.

Check your resume before applying to catch common mistakes

Browse Similar Jobs

Posted on USAJOBS: 1/8/2026 | Added to FreshGovJobs: 1/9/2026

Source: USAJOBS | ID: FEMA-BBR-12861835-IMP