Access & Functional Needs Specialist (Emergency Mgmt Specialist II)

Salary : $67,425.90 - $112,377.41 Annually
Location : FAIRFAX (EJ11), VA
Job Type: FT Salary W BN
Job Number: 25-00812
Department: Emergency Mgmt and Security
Opening Date: 04/05/2025
Closing Date: 4/18/2025 11:59 PM Eastern
Pay Grade: S24
Posting Type: Open to General Public

Job Announcement

This position develops and manages effective, inclusive, and innovative outreach and engagement initiatives among Fairfax's disabilities and access and functional needs communities in relation to disaster preparedness, planning, response, and mitigation. Also provides guidance during the emergency planning process reviewing plans, annexes, policies, trainings, and exercises to ensure compliance with ADA, NIMS, CPG 101, EMAP, and related local, state, or federal regulations as required. Works under the direction of the Assistant Coordinator of Communications and Community Engagement for the Department of Emergency Management & Security (DEMS).

Supports the department's community engagement activities with a focus on emergency preparedness efforts for persons with access and functional needs and disabilities.

• Supports community engagement: Focuses on emergency preparedness for persons with access and functional needs and disabilities.
• Promotes inclusivity & equity: Supports the One Fairfax policy by addressing the needs of individuals with disabilities, older adults, and those with limited English proficiency.
• Builds partnerships: Engages with the disability community to deliver emergency preparedness presentations, webinars, and recommendations.
• Develops & manages communication materials: Creates and ensures accessibility of digital and printed materials.
• Assists with the management of social media & marketing: Oversees agency platforms (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Nextdoor), contributes to newsletters, designs graphics, and manages emergency alerts and website content.
• Supports language access: Coordinates translation services to enhance accessibility.
• Serves as a department communicator: Assists with media relations, public messaging, and crisis communications for the agency.
• EOC support: Works in the Fairfax County Emergency Operations Center (EOC) during local emergency activations.

This position is considered "essential personnel" and will be required to report to work regardless of the emergency situation (weather, transportation, other disaster).

Due to the nature of the position and the responsibilities associated with the position, the incumbent, at times, will be required to work nights, weekend and be available for emergency activations. Emergency Operation Center (EOC) activations may require 12 hours or longer shifts, which will include evenings, weekends and holidays.
Illustrative Duties
(The illustrative duties listed in this specification are representative of the class but are not an all-inclusive list. A complete list of position duties and unique physical requirements can be found in the position description.)

• Establishes and maintains liaisons with agency program managers to insure efficient and continued use of volunteers;
  
• Prepares and presents speeches to civic and community organizations to promote volunteerism;
  
• Serves as project manager on diverse, medium-sized county-level emergency management programs;
  
• Regularly facilitates and convenes meetings with county agencies, recommends appropriate courses of emergency action, establishes emergency planning guidelines, and ensures compliance with federal, state and county emergency management guidance;
  
• Conducts independent research, prepares, develops and manages assigned projects/ programs in a variety of complex emergency management areas;
  
• May supervise other employees on a recurring or project basis;
  
• Coordinate and work directly with residential and business partners;
  
• Developing new relationships, researching and identifying available grant resources; .

Required Knowledge Skills and Abilities
(The knowledge, skills and abilities listed in this specification are representative of the class but are not an all-inclusive list.)

• Knowledge of emergency disaster plans of local, federal and state governments;
  
• Ability to supervise both professional level staff and volunteers effectively;
  
• Ability to effectively demonstrate interpersonal and organizational skills;
  
• Ability to effectively communicate, both orally and in writing;
  
• Ability to develop, implement and evaluate program goals and objectives;
  
• Ability to operate emergency communications equipment, computers, wireless devices, etc.;
  
• Ability to effectively coordinate a variety of emergency management related activities.

Employment Standards
MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:

Any combination of education, experience, and training equivalent to the following:(Click on the aforementioned link to learn how Fairfax County interprets equivalencies for "Any combination, experience, and training equivalent to")
Graduation from an accredited four-year college or university with a degree in business administration, public safety, emergency management or related fields, plus two years of professional work experience in emergency management or public safety.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• Ability to effectively communicate verbally and in writing
• Ability to extract data, analyze and present
• Ability to problem solve
• Proficiency in the use of information technology tools applicable to modern office productivity software

CERTIFICATES AND LICENSES REQUIRED:

• Driver's License (Required)
• Incident Command System (ICS) 100 (Required within 12 months)
• Incident Command System (ICS) 200 (Required within 12 months)
• Incident Command System (ICS) 700 (Required within 12 months)
• Incident Command System (ICS) 800 (Required within 12 months)
• Incident Command System (ICS) 300 (Required within 18 months)
• Incident Command System (ICS) 400 (Required within 18 months)
• FEMA Professional Development Series (on-Line classes) - Within 24 months

NECESSARY SPECIAL REQUIREMENT:
The appointee to the position will be required to complete a criminal background check, child protective services registry check and driving record check to the satisfaction of the employer.

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS:
The position requires individual to be able to lift up to 25 pounds, speak articulately in person and on the telephone, work long periods at a desk and participate as required as a civilian member of an emergency response organization. All duties performed with or without reasonable accommodations.

SELECTION PROCEDURE:
Panel interview; may include exercise.

The population of Fairfax County is very diverse where 38.7% of residents speak a language other than English at home (Spanish, Asian/Pacific Islander, Indo-European, and others) and we encourage candidates bilingual in English and a foreign language to apply to this opportunity.

Fairfax County Government prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions, age, marital status, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetics, political affiliation, or military status in the recruitment, selection, and hiring of its workforce.Reasonable accommodations are available to persons with disabilities during application and/or interview processes per the Americans with Disabilities Act. TTY 703-222-7314. . EEO/AA/TTY.

#LI-SP1
Merit Positions

Fairfax County is proud to offer employees an attractive and comprehensive benefits program, including the following:

• Medical/Vision/Dental Insurance Coverage
• Group Term Life Insurance
• Long Term Disability
• LiveWell Program
• Flexible Spending Programs
• Paid Leave (annual, sick, parental, volunteer activity, and more!)
• Paid Holidays
• Contributory Retirement Plan
• Deferred Compensation
• Employee Assistance Program
• Employees' Child Care Center
• Commuter Benefit Program
• Continuous Learning Opportunities

NOTE: Fairfax County Government is a qualifying employer under the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program. For more information about the PSLF program:

For additional details please visit the
Non-Merit Positions

Non-Merit Benefit Eligible: scheduled to work a minimum 1,040 hours and no more than a maximum of 1,560 hours in a calendar year.

• Medical/Vision/Dental Insurance Coverage
• Flexible Spending Program
• Deferred Compensation

Temporary: scheduled to work a maximum of 900 hours in a calendar year.

• No benefits

01

What is the highest level of education that you have completed?

• Less than 12th grade
• High school diploma or GED
• Some college
• Associate's degree
• Bachelor's degree
• Master's degree
• Doctorate degree

02

If you answered "Some college" for the highest level of education completed, please indicate the number of quarter or semester hours you have completed towards a degree.

• Less than 45 quarter hours
• 45 to less than 90 quarter hours
• 90 to less than 135 quarter hours
• 135 to less than 180 quarter hours
• 180 or more quarter hours
• Less than 30 semester hours
• 30 to less than 60 semester hours
• 60 to less than 90 semester hours
• 90 to less than 120 semester hours
• 120 or more semester hours
• Not applicable

03

Please indicate the major(s) or minor(s) for your completed degree(s). Check all that apply.

• Business administration
• Public safety
• Emergency management
• Public administration
• Other (related field)
• Other (non-related field)
• Not applicable

04

If you answered "Other (related field)" or "Other (non-related field)" for the previous question, please list all of your majors and minors. If this question does not pertain to you, or you do not have a degree, enter "Not applicable".
05

Do you currently possess a valid driver's license?

• Yes
• No

06

How many years of full-time equivalent professional work experience do you have in emergency management or public safety?

• None
• Less than one year
• One to less than two years
• Two to less than three years
• Three to less than four years
• Four to less than five years
• Five to less than six years
• Six or more years

07

How many years of full-time equivalent experience do you have in writing emergency plans and annexes?

• None
• Less than one year
• One to less than two years
• Two to less than three years
• Three to less than four years
• Four to less than five years
• Five to less than six years
• Six or more years

08

How many years of full-time equivalent experience do you have with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) law of 1990 in relation to state and federal employment standards?

• None
• Less than one year
• One to less than two years
• Two to less than three years
• Three to less than four years
• Four to less than five years
• Five to less than six years
• Six or more years

09

How many years of full-time equivalent experience do you have in reviewing emergency plans and annexes for compliance with ADA and existing federal and state laws covering reasonable accommodations and accessibility factors?

• None
• Less than one year
• One to less than two years
• Two to less than three years
• Three to less than four years
• Four to less than five years
• Five to less than six years
• Six or more years

10

How many years of full-time equivalent experience do you have assisting with outreach events, to include conducting and participating in presentations, workshops and fairs for a large and diverse audience?

• None
• Less than one year
• One to less than two years
• Two to less than three years
• Three to less than four years
• Four to less than five years
• Five to less than six years
• Six or more years

11

Do you have any experience in assisting with developing, managing, and/or implementing comprehensive outreach programs in emergency preparedness to the vulnerable population?

• Yes
• No

12

Please indicate your level of proficiency with Microsoft Word.

• Beginner (Basic knowledge of creating, editing, formatting, and saving simple documents; inserting simple tables; and proofreading documents for accuracy)
• Intermediate (Knowledge of common commands such as creating a title; using, modifying, and creating styles; setting up the ruler; indenting paragraphs, using tabs and tables; inserting captions, footnotes, endnotes, special characters, or hard page breaks; using page numbering; creating headers and footers; inserting graphics; inserting an equation, adding comments and tracking changes.)
• Advanced (Extensive knowledge of almost all function of program including mail merge, macros, creating a table of contents, creating bookmarks and cross-referencing.)
• No experience

13

Please indicate your level of proficiency with Microsoft Excel.

• Beginner (Basic knowledge of creating a worksheet; performing calculations in a worksheet; modifying and formatting a worksheet; printing workbook contents)
• Intermediate (Knowledge of inserting and modifying graphic objects in a worksheet; customizing and enhancing workbooks; analyzing data using Pivot Tables, Slicers, and Pivot Charts)
• Advanced (Extensive knowledge of increasing productivity and improving efficiency by streamlining workflow; collaborating with others using workbooks; auditing worksheets; analyzing data; working with multiple workbooks; importing and exporting data, using Excel with the web)
• No experience

14

Please indicate your level of proficiency with Microsoft PowerPoint.

• Beginner (Basic knowledge of opening, saving and closing files; creating backwards compatible files for working with older versions of PowerPoint; utilizing the find and replace tool; applying and modifying pre-designed WordArt; spacing and arranging objects and images; converting bulleted list into flowcharts)
• Intermediate (Knowledge of applying templates and themes; converting text to diagrams and tables; inserting images and clip art; adding sound effects and music clips, adding video and animation; adding and configuring interactive action buttons; incorporating review comments and embedded MS Office content; use advanced features for saving and distributing your file)
• Advanced (Extensive knowledge in customizing PowerPoint for your own work environment; fully leveraging the power of master slides to creating consistent and easy-to-update designs; simplifying internal communication or reviews with embedded notes and comments; reusing (not re-entering) data from other applications; adding multimedia elements; recording voice-overs for presentations; setting up a self-running slideshow display for a lobby or event kiosk)
• No experience

15

This position is deemed "essential personnel" and on occasion could have non-standard working hours. Are you willing and able to work nights, weekends, holidays and be available for emergency activations?

• Yes
• No

Required Question