EMERGENCY RESPONSE SPECIALIST

Definition

Under direction of a supervisory official in a State department or agency, or in a local government jurisdiction, develops, provides and oversees technical training programs in compliance with Federal rules and regulations; functions as a subject matter expert and provides technical information and instruction to emergency response personnel and assists them in their response efforts; responds to and investigates incidents involving hazardous materials, weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and/or pandemic disaster; performs other related duties as required.

Examples of work

• Interprets Federal and State standards, laws and regulations, advises staff of changes to ensure uniform application for WMD, pandemic disaster, and hazardous materials emergency responders.
• Assists in the development and instruction of pandemic response and recovery, hazardous materials and WMD programs.
• Provides technical training to response personnel in monitoring instrument utilization, response protocol development, research, and safe response considerations.
• Assists in conducting CBRNE (Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, and Explosives) training programs.
• Assist State, County, and local authorities in the event of a WMD incident, pandemic disaster, or other emergency situation with determining priorities, roles and functions of personnel, capabilities and limitations of detection instruments, devices and selection of personal protective equipment.
• Keeps updated and conducts research on new techniques, methods, and practices in the response field.
• During emergency situations, is responsible for maintaining and updating management as per established procedures.
• Establishes and maintains critical emergency management communication between Federal, State and local governments and coordinate with Federal Agencies such as Federal Emergency Management Agency on programs and issues affecting statewide or county emergency management.
• Submit reports on equipment needs, training needs, and other requirements for handling pandemic disaster, hazardous material and WMD incidents.
• Recommends modifications to the emergency response procedures based on regulatory changes, technological changes, or knowledge gained from outcomes of previous emergency situations.
• Assists in developing policies and providing guidance to field staff and/or emergency response personnel in order to achieve emergency management goals.
• May perform disaster response and recovery work in order to prevent, protect, prepare for, respond to, recover from and/or mitigate natural disaster and/or other emergencies.
• Assists in the development and implementation of plans and strategic, operational and tactical procedures, protocols, and templates to execute public heath emergency management functions.
• Required to work under varying conditions and maintains readiness to perform in an emergency response environment that may require on-call duty and/or extended shift work.
• Prepare clear, accurate and concise correspondence in the course of official duties.
• Maintains essential records and files.
• Will be required to learn how to utilize various types of electronic and/or manual recording and information systems used by the agency, office or related units.
• <b>REQUIREMENTS
• EDUCATION</b>
• Graduation from an accredited college or university with a Bachelor's degree.

Experience

Three (3) years of professional and/or technical experience involving emergency response including CBRNE (Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, and Explosives), disaster response to include pandemics, and/or weapons of mass destruction (WMD).

License

Appointees will be required to possess a driver's license valid in New Jersey only if the operation of a vehicle, rather than employee mobility, is required to perform the essential duties of the position.

KNOWLEDGE AND ABILITIES

Knowledge of State of New Jersey and Federal laws and the rules, regulations, policies, procedures and standards.

Knowledge of hazardous materials response, disaster/pandemic response, confined space and trench rescue, general health and safety standards.

Knowledge in the areas of personal protective equipment, toxicity, and exposure limits, decontamination, monitoring and detection, and evidence collection

Knowledge of methods and procedures for conducting investigations.

Knowledge of the techniques of investigative reporting.

Knowledge of training principles and techniques.

Knowledge of electronic communications equipment and data base software utilized during the course of an investigation.

Knowledge of preparation of detailed investigative reports.

Ability to read, interpret and apply Federal and State laws, rules and regulations relating to the response management.

Ability to implement training programs, policies, and procedures for investigative and regulatory investigative duties and techniques.

Ability to effectively implement and follow established safety rules, precautions, policies and procedures in work assignments.

Ability to maintain a calm attitude during periods of stress and emergency for the purpose of ensuring response action is taken without undue delay.

Ability to provide testimony in court or other legal forum.

Ability to learn to utilize various types of electronic and/or manual recording and information systems used by the agency, office, or related units.

Ability to read, write, speak, understand, or communicate in English sufficiently to perform the duties of this position. American Sign Language or Braille may also be considered as acceptable forms of communication.

Persons with mental or physical disabilities are eligible if they can perform essential functions of the job with or without reasonable accommodation. If the accommodation cannot be made because it would cause the employer undue hardship, such persons may not be eligible.

Note

The following examples of work are for illustrative purposes only. A particular position using this title may not perform all duties listed in this job specification. Conversely, all duties performed on the job may not be listed.

Applicants who do not possess the required education may substitute additional experience as indicated on a year-for-year basis with thirty (30) semester hour credits being equal to one (1) year of experience.