Emergency Manager

The incumbent is responsible for coordination of the new VISN 2 network-wide Comprehensive Emergency Management Program (CEMP) and for the strategic direction, integration, and oversight of emergency management activities across the entire VISN's multi-state, multi-HSA footprint, and serves as the VISN's direct and primary liaison to national program offices, including the VHA Office of Emergency Management (OEM). *This position requires incumbent to live in the new VISN 2 catchment area.

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 11/10/2026. Time-In-Grade Requirement: Applicants who are current Federal employees and have held a GS grade any time in the past 52 weeks must also meet time-in-grade requirements by the closing date of this announcement. For a GS-14 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-13. The grade may have been in any occupation, but must have been held in the Federal service. An SF-50 that shows your time-in-grade eligibility must be submitted with your application materials. If the most recent SF-50 has an effective date within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate you possess one-year time-in-grade, as required by the announcement. In this instance, you must provide an additional SF-50 that clearly demonstrates one-year time-in-grade. You may qualify based on your experience as described below: Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-13 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Expert, authoritative knowledge of the organizations, programs, missions, and functions of a multi-state Veterans Integrated Service Network and its constituent Health Service Areas and medical facilities, together with mastery of advanced analytical and investigative techniques essential to determining Network-wide veteran care demands and site-specific needs during emergencies spanning multiple jurisdictions Authoritative knowledge of the roles, authorities, doctrine, and coordination mechanisms of FEMA, HHS/ASPR, DHS, CISA, DoD, NDMS, State and local emergency management and public health agencies, healthcare coalitions, and other external stakeholders, sufficient to represent the Network and reconcile interagency requirements with VA/VHA mission priorities Comprehensive, authoritative knowledge of current VA directives, regulations, and manuals, and of the emergency plans of other federal agencies supported by VA during emergency/disaster situations across a multi-state footprint. Knowledge of the requirements of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), The Joint Commission (TJC), Office of Information Technology, National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), and Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF), sufficient to independently resolve conflicting or ambiguous applications of these standards across multiple states and HSAs Knowledge of Network and HSA-level emergency plans across all subordinate Health Service Areas, and must independently reconcile differing requirements among the Department of Health & Human Services, the National Disaster Medical System (NDMS), the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), DoD Contingency Plans, and National Incident Management System (NIMS) doctrine across multiple states. Must possess mastery of the Incident Command System (ICS) as the operational model for incident management at a multi-jurisdictional scale For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/. Physical requirements: The work is mostly sedentary, although physical effort may be required to meet fieldwork requirements across the Network's expanded multi-state footprint, including lifting up to 50 pounds and moving or pushing equipment. During emergency events, the incumbent is expected to work extended hours under harsh conditions, potentially across multiple states and time zones. The incumbent's work is generally conducted in an office setting; however, emergency incidents, and training and exercise events across the Network's multi-state footprint, may require prolonged duty days and work under harsh field conditions in any of the states or HSAs comprising the Network. The position requires frequent, and at times extended, multi-state travel, including travel to national program office engagements. New VISN 2 travel catchment area includes Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina. Position is subject to recall around the clock for emergency management operations Network-wide, which may require irregular work hours, work locations other than the official duty station across the Network's multi-state footprint, and duties beyond those specified in this position description. Travel requirements may arise with little advance notice and may require relocation to emergency sites, potentially in other states, under physically harsh and operationally challenging conditions. Incumbent must be able to obtain a travel card. Estimated travel is 50% of duties to HSAs, Meetings and Training as needed or directed by the Deputy Network Director or Network Director.