A best-in-class city that attracts best-in-class talent, Philadelphia is an incredible place to build a career. From our thriving arts scene and rich history to our culture of passion and grit, there are countless reasons to love living and working here. With a workforce of over 30,000 people, and more than 1,000 different job categories, the City of Philadelphia offers boundless opportunities to make an impact. 

As an employer, the City of Philadelphia values inclusion, integrity, innovation, empowerment, and hard work above all else. We offer a vibrant work environment, comprehensive health care and benefits, and the experience you need to grow and excel. If you’re interested in working with a passionate team of people who care about the future of Philadelphia, start here.

What We Offer:

  Impact - The work you do here matters to millions. 

  Growth - Philadelphia is growing, why not grow with it? 

  Diversity & Inclusion - Find a career in a place where everyone belongs.

  Opportunities in Tech - Don’t wait for the future, shape it.

  Benefits - We care about your well being.

Agency Description

The Office of Emergency Management (OEM) works to mitigate, plan, and prepare for emergencies; educate the public about preparedness; coordinate emergency response and recovery efforts; and develop tools and identify resources to support the overall preparedness of the City of Philadelphia

Candidates for this position should possess a strong desire to work in a team-oriented, fast-paced, professional public safety environment, and a willingness to serve the public in the fifth largest city in the nation. The successful candidate for this position will assist with the development, strategic planning, implementation, and evaluation of an integrated preparedness program to support the preparedness for and response to emergency incidents in Philadelphia.

The Community Preparedness Program Manager participates in the overall strategic development and rebranding for the “Ready, or Not?” campaign and related programs. The Community Preparedness Program Manager may serve as a media spokesperson.

Work includes, but is not limited to, drafting emergency preparedness messages; developing “Ready, or Not?” curriculum, drafting content for collateral materials such as brochures, fact sheets, press releases and media advisories, public service announcements, social media, emergency text alerts, video scripts, and PowerPoint presentations.

The Community Preparedness Program Manager coordinates a variety of special events and exhibits; develops and maintains working relationships with the media, corporate sponsors, the public, and other key stakeholders. The Program Manager represents the Office of Emergency Management at conferences, community meetings, civic associations, other public meetings, and professional associations and is also responsible for video recording and photo documentation of media briefings, emergency management exercises, and “Ready, or Not?” special events.

The Community Preparedness Program Manager also serves in the City’s Emergency Operations Center or a Joint Information Center, when activated during large-scale emergencies and special events, to provide accurate, timely information and guidance to the public.  

Essential Functions

Under the direction of the Deputy Director for Planning, the Community Preparedness Program Manager is responsible for a range of preparedness education, and promotional activities. Typical examples of work may include:

• Conduct “Ready, or Not?” program evaluations and continually develop targeted outreach strategies to increase community participation and engagement with identified measurable outcomes.
• Plan and coordinate community outreach events. Work with advisory committees, civic associations, community, faith-based groups, special needs groups, and governmental officials to increase “Ready, or Not?” familiarity across the City.
• Appear before special interest groups and community organizations; attends relevant meetings as requested to present programs or materials dealing with emergency preparedness activities.
• Manage the Ready Program Speaker’s Bureau; develop PowerPoint presentations and training curriculum for various audiences.
• Assist the Public Information Program Manager with the development of public information; research and gather information. Draft, edit, proofread and arrange for the publication for a variety of materials, such as fact sheets, pamphlets, brochures, press releases, ads, newspaper articles reports, websites, public service announcements and video products.
• Work with public relations consultants, graphic designers, photographers, and printers to obtain material in accordance with specifications.
• Use social media on a regular basis to promote the “Ready, or Not?” program.
• Serve as secondary Public Information Officer/Joint Information Center Manager in the event of an emergency to coordinate and release information.
• Serve as a backup media spokesperson.
• Maintain community preparedness and outreach strategies subject matter expertise via ongoing trainings and research.
• Perform other emergency management duties and responsibilities as assigned.

Education and Experience

• Completion of a bachelor's degree program at an accredited college or university with major course work in communications, marketing, public relations, journalism, education, social science, or a related area.
• Three years of fulltime, paid community engagement or public relations experience, preferably in emergency management or related public agencies.
• Proficient in public speaking and capable of serving as a media spokesperson.
• Demonstrated ability using Adobe Creative Suite and Windows Media Maker.
• Familiarity with the City of Philadelphia and the Philadelphia media market is preferred but not required. 
• Or, any equivalent combination of training and experience determined to be acceptable by the Office of Emergency Management, which includes a Bachelor’s degree at an accredited college or university in the above program areas, as an educational minimum.

Competencies, Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• Proficiency with Microsoft Office software (Word, PowerPoint, Excel)
• Methods and techniques of disseminating information to the public, and the print and electronic media.
• Techniques and practices of newsgathering, writing, and interview techniques.
• Techniques of speech writing, copywriting, and writing scripts for videos.
• Public relations principles and practices, and effective advertising techniques and practices.
• Public speaking techniques involving conflict resolution and crisis and emergency risk techniques.
• Local media.
• Proficient in Microsoft Office, Adobe Acrobat, Adobe Creative Suite, and Windows Movie Maker.
• Crises communications plans and emergency response plans.
• Photography and videography.

Salary range: $70,000 - $74,250

Please submit a cover letter, resume, and writing sample with your application. Applications without all documents will not be considered. Writing sample should be brief (not to exceed 3 pages) and shows your ability to write a plan, policy or report-style document

• All OEM personnel are required to serve in an on-call capacity and are required to work during non-business hours for extended periods of time in a field environment and during activations of Philadelphia’s Emergency Operations Center (EOC).
• All staff in the Office of Emergency Management must be accessible after regular working hours, weekends, and holidays. All staff may be subject to 24-hour on-call in the event of an emergency. This service may require working irregular hours, work at locations other than the official duty station, under extreme weather conditions, and may include duties other than those specified in the employee’s official position description.
• Must be a Philadelphia resident within six months of appointment and maintain residency for the duration of tenure with the City of Philadelphia.
• Possession of a valid proper class motor vehicle operator’s license issued by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania within six months of hire.
• Ability to physically perform the duties and work in the environmental conditions required of this position.

Did you know?

• We are a Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program qualified employer
• Employees are eligible for a 25% tuition discount program (and sometimes spouses and dependents as well) in partnership with area colleges and universities
• We offer comprehensive health coverage for employees and their eligible dependents
• Our wellness program offers eligibility into the discounted medical plan
• Employees receive paid vacation, sick leave, and holidays
• Generous retirement savings options are available 

Successful candidate must be a city of Philadelphia resident within six months of hire

The City of Philadelphia is an Equal Opportunity employer and does not permit discrimination based on race, ethnicity, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, national origin, ancestry, age, disability, marital status, source of income, familial status, genetic information or domestic or sexual violence victim status. If you believe you were discriminated against, call the Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations at 215-686-4670 or send an email to [email protected]. For more information, go to: Human Relations Website: http://www.phila.gov/humanrelations/Pages/default.aspx

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