Emergency Management Director

Emergency Management Director

Bannock County serves more than 90,000 residents and is anchored by Pocatello - a regional hub with a strong industrial base, a major university, and a diverse risk environment that includes wildfire corridors, seismic activity, hazardous materials infrastructure, and severe weather. The Office of Emergency Management plays a central role in protecting this community, coordinating preparedness, response, and recovery across local, state, federal, and private-sector partners.

Bannock County is at an inflection point. Increasing risk complexity, growing interagency coordination demands, and heightened expectations for community readiness require a more proactive, relationship-driven emergency management program.

The next Emergency Management Director will be, first and foremost, a builder - of relationships, of trust, and of community commitment to preparedness. Emergency management doesn't work without willing partners. The ability to earn buy-in from elected officials, first responders, private industry leaders, and community organizations is not a nice-to-have in this role. It is the job.

This is a single-incumbent, director-level position with direct access to elected county leadership. You will serve as the county's principal advisor on emergency management and as the Commissioners' Authorized Representative to regional, state, and federal partners. The technical dimensions of the role are real - and supported. A dedicated county grants team and an established community partner provide hands-on assistance with federal grant programs, so you can focus on what matters most: leading the program and building the coalitions that make it work.

"We can teach emergency management. We can't teach the instinct to build trust, the drive to bring people together, or the ability to make a community believe that preparedness matters. If those describe you, we want to hear from you."

In the first year, a successful Director will:

• Have built trusted, productive relationships with the Sheriff, Fire Chief, city and county department leaders, and key community stakeholders
• Have earned credibility with the Board of County Commissioners as a reliable, clear-eyed and technically sound advisor
• Be actively championing a culture of preparedness - making the case for emergency readiness in terms that resonate with each audience
• Have a clear picture of the county's risk landscape and a prioritized plan for addressing the most critical gaps
• Have the program's grant portfolio and compliance requirements organized and on track, working in partnership with the county grants team

Over time, a successful Director will:

• Develop proactive approaches utilizing, planning and mitigation driven decisions, not solely reactionary response
• Become the trusted convener for multi-agency coordination - the person all partners want at the table
• Strengthen the county's positioning for state and federal funding through strong relationships and well-managed programs
• Build a resilient program that deploys multi-agency networks, contingency plans and strengthens continuity of operations

This role is designed for a relationship-builder and program champion. The knowledge, skills and abilities below reflect what we believe successful candidates will enact on a regular basis:

Knowledge

Emergency Management Code & Principles
- Federal, state, County, and local emergency services, authorities, laws, regulations, policies, and program requirements,Emergency management principles and all-hazard planning across mitigation, preparedness, response, continuity, and recovery,

Assessment & Planning
- Threat and hazard identification methods, capability assessment, resource identification, mitigation planning, and critical-infrastructure protection, and how to integrate risk-analysis in emergency planning,

Emergency Management Operations
- Emergency Operation Center operations, public safety response and escalation framework, NIMS, ICS, exercise design, after-action processes, and multi-agency incident coordination,

Grant & Budget Management
- Public-sector budgeting, grant-funded program administration, sub-recipient oversight, records management, and compliance documentation.

Skills

Communication & Persuasion
- Communicate and present complex, sensitive, or urgent information clearly, accurately, and persuasively in oral and written form,Lead through influence, motivate collaboration, and maintain effective working relationships with people who do not report to the position,

Cross-Group & Training Effectiveness
- Build collaborative and effective EOC activities and coordinate people, information, resources, and priorities during activations,Develop, maintain, administer, and evaluate emergency plans, procedures, training, drills, and exercises, and

Organization & Technology
- Manages multiple concurrent priorities, deadlines, and stakeholder demands without losing detail or momentum,Works independently and in teams while managing concurrent priorities and…