Emergency Management Specialist (Watch Officer)

Full Job Description

This position is located in the Emergency Operations Branch, Emergency Programs Division, Office of Homeland Security (OHS), U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).

The primary purpose for the position is to serve as a watch stander in support of the mission to provide international and national situational awareness to keep the Secretary and senior management informed of threats or issues related to the Department mission.

Applicants must meet all qualifications and eligibility requirements by the closing date of the announcement including time-in-grade restrictions and specialized experience, as defined below.

Time in grade: Current federal employees applying for a promotion opportunity must meet time-in-grade (TIG) requirement of 52 weeks of service at the next lower grade level in the normal line of progression for the position being filled.

Specialized Experience:GS-12: One year of specialized experience, equivalent to the GS-11 level in the Federal service or equivalent responsibility in the private sector/pay systems that has equipped the candidate with the particular competencies to successfully perform as an Emergency Management Specialist (Watch Officer).

For this position, the specialized experience is performing all of the following: creating and executing emergency response plans; utilizing emergency communication systems; and, communicating with senior staff in order to provide situational information related to emergency preparedness, planning, and response.

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 and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment.

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

• Provide assistance to program officials managing crisis situations and to ensure availability of emergency operations resources.
• Reviews and evaluates incoming reports, information, and programs to ensure timely and effective response to incidents or to train and validate responses to a wide variety of scenarios.
• Operates the USDA incident/emergency computer and communications network.
• Maintains current knowledge and oversight of emergency plans, procedures, and resources.
• Receives and processes emergency notifications and information about other events impacting or affecting USDA operations and programs within the context of the Department's Emergency Management System (EMS).
• Stands watch in support of the Operation Centers mission to provide senior USDA staff with international, national and regional situational awareness.
• Collects information from other government agency SITREPS and SPOTREPS during emergency situations in order to prepare reports that keep the Secretary informed of threats or issues related to the Department's mission.
• Maintains data pertaining to incidents, potential and actual emergency situations, and routine information and data which includes intelligence data, USDA operational data, and information from other U.S. Government agencies.
• Maintains systems for receipt, analysis, and dissemination of information and data pertaining to incidents, potential and actual emergency situations, and routine information and data.
• Operates the Computer Emergency Notification System, Mass Notification Messaging system, IPTV override system, and radiation monitoring systems.