What They Do: Emergency management directors prepare plans and procedures for responding to natural disasters or other emergencies. They also help lead the response during and after emergencies.
Work Environment: Most emergency management directors work for state or local governments. However, others may work for private companies, hospitals, or nonprofit organizations.
How to Become One: Emergency management directors typically need a bachelor’s degree, as well as multiple years of work experience in emergency response, disaster planning, or public administration.
Salary: The median annual wage for emergency management directors is $76,730.
Job Outlook: Employment of emergency management directors is projected to grow 3 percent over the next ten years, slower than the average for all occupations.
Related Careers: Compare the job duties, education, job growth, and pay of emergency management directors with similar occupations.
Emergency management directors prepare plans and procedures for responding to natural disasters and other emergencies. They also help lead the response during and after emergencies, often in coordination with public safety officials, elected officials, nonprofit organizations, and government agencies.
Emergency management directors typically do the following:
Emergency management directors are responsible for planning and leading the responses to natural disasters and other emergencies. Directors work with government agencies, nonprofits, private companies, and the general public to develop effective plans that minimize damage and disruptions during an emergency.
To develop emergency response plans, directors typically research "best practices" from around the country and from other emergency management agencies. Directors also must prepare plans and procedures that meet local, state, and federal regulations.
Directors must analyze the resources, equipment, and staff available to respond to emergencies. If resources or equipment is lacking, directors must either revise their plans or get the needed resources from another community or state. Many directors coordinate with fire, emergency medical service, police departments, and public works agencies in other communities to locate and share equipment during an emergency. Directors must be in contact with other agencies to collect and share information regarding the scope of the emergency, the potential costs, and the resources or staff needed.
After plans are developed, emergency management directors typically ensure that individuals and groups become familiar with the emergency procedures. Directors often use social media to disseminate plans and warnings to the general public.
Emergency management directors conduct training courses and disaster exercises for staff, volunteers, and local agencies to help ensure an effective and coordinated response to an emergency. Directors also may visit schools, hospitals, or other community groups to update everyone on plans for emergencies.
During an emergency, directors typically maintain a command center at which personnel monitor and manage the emergency operations. Directors help lead the response, making adjustments to or prioritizing certain actions if necessary. These actions may include ordering evacuations, conducting rescue missions, or opening up public shelters for those displaced by the emergency. Emergency management directors also may need to conduct press conferences or other outreach activities to keep the public informed about the emergency.
Following an emergency, directors must assess the damage to their community and must coordinate getting assistance and supplies into the community if necessary. Directors may need to request state or federal assistance to help execute their emergency response plan and provide support to affected citizens, organizations, and communities. Directors may also revise their plans and procedures to prepare for future emergencies or disasters.
Emergency management directors working for hospitals, universities, or private companies may be called business continuity managers. Similar to their counterparts in local and state government, business continuity managers prepare plans and procedures to help businesses maintain operations and minimize losses during and after an emergency.
Emergency management directors hold about 10,600 jobs. The largest employers of emergency management directors are as follows:
| Local government, excluding education and hospitals | 57% |
| State government, excluding education and hospitals | 17% |
| Hospitals; state, local, and private | 6% |
| Colleges, universities, and professional schools; state, local, and private | 4% |
| Professional, scientific, and technical services | 2% |
Although most emergency management directors work in an office, they also typically travel to meet with various government agencies, community groups, and private companies.
During disasters and emergencies, directors often work in stressful situations.
Most emergency management directors work full time. In addition, most are on call at all times and may need to work overtime to respond to emergencies and to support emergency management operations. Others may work evenings and weekends to meet with various community groups in preparing their emergency response plans.
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Emergency management directors typically need a bachelor's degree, as well as multiple years of work experience in emergency response, disaster planning, or public administration.
Emergency management directors typically need a bachelor's degree in business or public administration, accounting, finance, emergency management, or public health. Some directors working in the private sector in the area of business continuity management may need to have a degree in computer science, information systems administration, or another information technology (IT) field.
Some smaller municipalities or local governments may hire applicants who have just a high school diploma. However, these applicants usually need extensive work experience in emergency management if they are to be hired.
Applicants typically need multiple years of work experience, often with the military, law enforcement, fire safety, or in another emergency management field, before they can be hired as an emergency management director. Previous work experience in these areas enables applicants to make difficult decisions in stressful and time-sensitive situations. Such experience also prepares one to work with various agencies to ensure that proper resources are used to respond to emergencies.
For more information, see the profiles on police and detectives, firefighters, police, fire, and ambulance dispatchers, and EMTs and paramedics.
Some states require directors obtain certification within a certain timeframe after being hired in the position.
Many agencies and states offer voluntary certificate programs to help emergency management directors obtain additional skills. Some employers may prefer or even require a Certified Emergency Manager (CEM), Certified Business Continuity Professional (CBCP), or equivalent designation. Emergency management directors can attain the CEM designation through the International Association of Emergency Managers (IAEM); the certification must be renewed every 5 years. The CBCP designation is given by the Disaster Recovery Institute International (DRI) and must be renewed every 2 years.
Both associations require applicants to complete a certain number of continuing education courses prior to recertification.
Communication skills. Emergency management directors must write out and communicate their emergency preparedness plans to all levels of government, as well as to the public.
Critical-thinking skills. Emergency management directors must anticipate hazards and problems that may arise from an emergency in order to respond effectively.
Decisionmaking skills. Emergency management directors must make timely decisions, often in stressful situations. They must also identify the strengths and weaknesses of all solutions and approaches, as well as the costs and benefits of each action.
Interpersonal skills. Emergency management directors must work with other government agencies, law enforcement and fire officials, and the general public to coordinate emergency responses.
Leadership skills. To ensure effective responses to emergencies, emergency management directors need to organize and train a variety of people.
The median annual wage for emergency management directors is $76,730. The median wage is the wage at which half the workers in an occupation earned more than that amount and half earned less. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $46,670, and the highest 10 percent earned more than $133,580.
The median annual wages for emergency management directors in the top industries in which they work are as follows:
| Professional, scientific, and technical services | $125,930 |
| Hospitals; state, local, and private | $94,310 |
| Colleges, universities, and professional schools; state, local, and private | $79,720 |
| Local government, excluding education and hospitals | $75,670 |
| State government, excluding education and hospitals | $69,450 |
Most emergency management directors work full time. In addition, most are on call at all times and may need to work overtime to respond to emergencies and to support emergency management operations. Others may work evenings and weekends to meet with various community groups in preparing their emergency response plans.
Employment of emergency management directors is projected to grow 3 percent over the next ten years, slower than the average for all occupations.
Despite limited employment growth, about 900 openings for emergency management directors are projected each year, on average, over the decade. Most of those openings are expected to result from the need to replace workers who transfer to different occupations or exit the labor force, such as to retire.
The importance of preparing for and minimizing the risks from emergencies will help sustain demand and employment opportunities for emergency management directors. These workers will be needed to help businesses and organizations continue to provide essential services during and after emergencies.
The outlook for public-sector employment of these managers is often related to budget constraints. Some local and state governments rely on federal financial assistance to fund their emergency management agencies. Counties may not hire full-time, stand-alone emergency management directors, choosing instead to shift the job responsibilities to the fire chief, police chief, or other government employees.
| Occupational Title | Employment, 2021 | Projected Employment, 2031 | Change, 2021-31 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Percent | Numeric | |||
| Emergency management directors | 10,600 | 10,900 | 3 | 300 |
For more information about emergency management directors and their certifications, visit
Disaster Recovery Institute International
A portion of the information on this page is used by permission of the U.S. Department of Labor.