Administrative Assistant

Overview

Location Middletown, CT | Date Opened 1/5/2026 | Salary $63,777 - $82,530/year | Job Type Open to the Public | Close Date 1/15/2026

Introduction:
The Connecticut Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection (DESPP) is hiring an Administrative Assistant with the Division of Emergency Management and Homeland Security (DEMHS) in Middletown.

What We Can Offer You

• NEW:
  Visit our State Employee Benefits Overview page to learn about our medical and dental insurance plans, sick/vacation/personal leave accruals, state holidays, tuition reimbursement and more!
• Professional growth and development opportunities.
• A healthy work/life balance to all employees.

Our state has a lot to offer - from fun activities for all ages, to great food and shopping, to beautiful state parks and forests, to our diverse cultures and rich history. Connecticut is a great place to live! Learn more about Connecticut here.

This is a full-time, 40 hour per week position on first shift. Schedule is Monday-Friday between 8:00am and 4:30pm.

The Division of Emergency Management and Homeland Security (DEMHS) is charged with developing, administering, and coordinating a comprehensive and integrated statewide emergency management and homeland security program that encompasses all human-made and natural hazards, and includes prevention, mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery components to ensure the safety and well-being of the citizens of Connecticut.

Critical missions of DEMHS include terrorism prevention, coordination of emergency preparedness, response, recovery, and mitigation, and administering federal emergency management and homeland security grant programs, including disaster aid.

DEMHS manages the state’s response to emergencies in coordination with local municipalities, other state agencies and federal and nongovernmental partners. This may include operation of the State Emergency Operations Center (SEOC) if activated by the Governor.

This position will report directly to the Deputy Commissioner for DESPP, responsible for DEMHS, and support the Deputy Commissioner with their daily administrative function support needs. Examples of daily duties could include:

• Meet daily with the Deputy Commissioner to establish their daily schedule and identify what support they will require for their scheduled activities;
• Schedule meetings (in person and virtual) for the Deputy Commissioner;
• Create meeting agendas, attend meetings, and complete meeting minutes;
• Prepare documents for signature and obtain necessary approvals to apply signatures;
• Support records retention and filing needs of the Division;
• Prepare and submit travel authorization requests;
• Triage Divisional staff requests needing leadership action;
• Support activations of the State Emergency Operations Center (SEOC) in Hartford.

DESPP is committed to protecting and improving the quality of life for all by providing a broad range of public safety services, training, regulatory guidance, and scientific services utilizing enforcement, prevention, education and state of the art science and technology. DESPP is structured on three key Strategic Pillars created by Commissioner Ronnell Higgins.

• Operational Efficiency, Efficacy and Excellence
• Making decisions through the thoughtful and informed use of data
• Challenging the "that’s the way it always been done" construct—i.e., thinking outside the box as to how we can improve
• Constantly seeking better results
• Shared Fiscal Responsibility
• Recognizing our collective responsibility to steward the agency's resources
• Realigning planned budgetary actions to ensure that they are in taxpayers' interests
• Preparing together for potential budget stresses and fiscal challenges
• Ethics and Accountability
• Critically and constantly measuring our practices against our policies
• Performing quarterly performance evaluations agency-wide to measure success and flag areas needing improvement
• Regularly engaging external partners for feedback and assessments
• Opening our doors to Connecticut students and workers for apprenticeships, internships, and career pathways

For an inside look at what it's like to work as an employee for the State…