What Does an Emergency Management Coordinator Do?

Behind the scenes, emergency management professionals work diligently to prepare for, prevent, and mitigate disasters and emergencies for institutions such as municipalities, government agencies, and more. Many residents of a town or city don’t fully understand the hard work that goes in to keeping a community safe. Emergency management coordinators have a lot of responsibility and must exhibit a wide range of skills and abilities to get the job done right.

So, let’s break down the responsibilities of an emergency management coordinator.

What Does an Emergency Management Coordinator Do?

An emergency management coordinator typically creates and prepares specific plans and procedures for responding to threats such as a natural disaster, active assailant, or another community emergency. Zippia explains emergency management coordinators are often in charge of assisting or leading the response during and after emergencies, all while working closely with public safety officials, elected officials, nonprofit organizations, and government agencies.

After emergency plans are in place, it’s important for the emergency management coordinator to run training courses and exercises for staff as well as community volunteers and local agencies to make ensure an effective and coordinated response.

During an emergency, an emergency management coordinator must help in leading the response and is responsible for prioritizing certain actions if necessary. An emergency situation is often hectic, so having a good grasp on procedures and communicating clearly with other team members is key.  

After an emergency, an emergency management coordinator will typically assist in assessing the damages to the community. They are also responsible for coordinating getting assistance and additional supplies to the community if needed.

Zippia outlined some of the following duties of an emergency management coordinator below:

• Assess hazards and prepare plans to respond to emergencies and disasters in order to minimize risk to people and property
• Meet with public safety officials, private companies, and the general public to get recommendations regarding emergency response plans
• Organize emergency response training programs and exercises for staff, volunteers, and other responders
• Coordinate the sharing of resources and equipment within the community and across communities to assist in responding to an emergency
• Prepare and analyze damage assessments following disasters or emergencies
• Review emergency plans of individual organizations, such as medical facilities, to ensure their adequacy
• Apply for federal funding for emergency management planning, responses and recovery and report on the use of funds allocated
• Review local emergency operations plans and revise them if necessary
• Maintain facilities used during emergency operations

How to Become an Emergency Management Coordinator

Typically, emergency management coordinators have a background in emergency response, disaster planning, or public administration, or have received education in emergency management or public health. Some emergency management coordinators have worked in business continuity, have specific licenses or certifications, or a bachelor’s degree.

In college or university, students who are interested in pursuing courses that could lead them to a career in emergency management could study crisis and disaster management or critical infrastructure protection. They could also consider a college curriculum with heavy coursework in subjects related to counterterrorism, homeland security, and protective services operations, according to Healthcare Administration Degree.

Qualities You’ll Find in an Emergency Management Coordinator

There are a few outstanding qualities many would be looking for when hiring an emergency management coordinator, especially with the variety of important tasks an individual with this job would be responsible for. Zippia breaks them down as:

• Communication Skills: Emergency preparedness plans must be written out clearly and shared with all levels of the government as well as the public or community your serving.
• Critical-thinking Skills: In this role an emergency management coordinator must anticipate hazards and problems that may arise from an emergency situation in order to respond quickly and effectively.
• Decision Making Skills: Important and timely decisions are often made in this job during stressful situations. Being able to identify the strengths and weaknesses of all solutions and approaches, as well as the costs and benefits of each action is key.
• Interpersonal Skills: Emergency management coordinators are responsible for working with other government agencies, law enforcement and fire officials, and the community to coordinate emergency responses.
• Leadership Skills: To ensure effective responses to emergencies, emergency management coordinators may need to organize and train a variety of people.

Being an emergency management coordinator is not an easy job. You must possess key skills when assessing potential dangers and threats within your community, such as natural disasters, large-scale accidents, and even terrorist attacks. By devising action plans with your team, you’re working to minimize damage, injuries, and deaths.

At Motorola Solutions, we’re proud to work with incredibly hardworking individuals in the emergency management field and understand the difficulties this job can present. But protecting and saving lives is an incredibly rewarding career as well. Thank you to all of the emergency management professionals out there!