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Disaster Response Jobs (NOW HIRING)

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Disaster Response information

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How much do disaster response jobs pay per hour?

As of Jul 22, 2026, the average hourly pay for disaster response in the United States is $20.63, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $17.31 and $22.84 per hour, depending on experience, location, and employer.

What are some common challenges faced by professionals in disaster response, and how can they be managed?

Disaster response professionals often face unpredictable and rapidly changing situations, which can include logistical hurdles, communication breakdowns, and emotional stress. Managing these challenges requires strong adaptability, clear protocols, and effective teamwork. Regular training, mental health support, and reliable communication systems are essential to maintaining resilience and performance in high-pressure environments. Building strong relationships with local agencies and community members also helps streamline coordination and resource allocation during emergencies.

What is the difference between Disaster Response vs Emergency Medical Technician?

AspectDisaster ResponseEmergency Medical Technician
Required CredentialsDisaster response training, certifications in emergency management, first aid, and sometimes specialized coursesEMT certification, CPR, first aid
Work EnvironmentField operations during disasters, including natural and man-made events, often in challenging conditionsPre-hospital emergency care, ambulances, hospitals
Employer & IndustryGovernment agencies, NGOs, emergency management firmsAmbulance services, hospitals, clinics

Disaster Response involves coordinating and providing aid during large-scale emergencies, often requiring specialized training and working in challenging environments. Emergency Medical Technicians focus on providing immediate medical care in emergency settings, primarily within healthcare and ambulance services. While both roles respond to emergencies, Disaster Response covers broader disaster management activities, whereas EMTs specialize in medical treatment.

What job pays the most in emergency response?

In emergency response, high-paying roles include disaster response managers, emergency management directors, and specialized rescue team leaders, often earning six-figure salaries. These positions typically require advanced certifications, leadership skills, and experience in crisis management or logistics.

What Are Disaster Response Jobs?

Disaster response jobs focus on providing emergency relief after a natural or human-made disaster. In this role, you may be asked to take action shortly after a disaster occurs, help with planning and preparation before disasters strike, and help with management during a crisis. The jobs themselves take a variety of forms, from working on the ground to rescue people and pass out supplies to managing communications or raising public awareness about threats. State and federal governments provide many disaster response jobs, but many non-profit and humanitarian organizations also respond to disasters. These roles are not the same as firefighters or police. While both help with disasters, disaster response jobs focus on events like earthquakes, major wildfires, or outbreaks of disease.

What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive in Disaster Response, and why are they important?

To thrive in Disaster Response, you need a solid background in emergency management, risk assessment, and crisis intervention, often supported by relevant degrees or certifications such as FEMA training or Certified Emergency Manager (CEM) credentials. Familiarity with incident command systems, GIS mapping tools, and emergency communication platforms is typically required. Strong problem-solving, adaptability, and teamwork skills help responders manage high-pressure situations and coordinate effectively with diverse agencies. These abilities are crucial for ensuring rapid, organized, and effective responses to emergencies, minimizing harm and aiding affected communities.

Do disaster responders get paid?

Disaster responders are typically paid for their work, especially if they are employed by government agencies, non-profit organizations, or private companies. Compensation varies based on the role, experience, and organization, and may include salary, stipends, or hazard pay, particularly during active disaster response efforts.

What is disaster response?

Disaster response refers to the coordinated efforts and actions taken immediately following a disaster to save lives, reduce health impacts, ensure public safety, and meet the basic needs of affected communities. This phase includes activities such as search and rescue, providing emergency shelter, distributing food and water, and offering medical care. Disaster response is carried out by a range of organizations, including government agencies, humanitarian groups, and emergency services. The goal is to stabilize the situation quickly and lay the groundwork for recovery.

How hard is it to get hired at FEMA?

Getting hired at FEMA for disaster response roles typically requires relevant experience, such as emergency management, logistics, or public safety, along with a strong understanding of disaster operations. The application process can be competitive, often involving multiple interviews, background checks, and sometimes security clearances or certifications like ICS or NIMS. Candidates should also demonstrate adaptability and the ability to work in high-pressure environments.
What cities are hiring for Disaster Response jobs? Cities with the most Disaster Response job openings:
What are the most commonly searched types of Disaster Response jobs? The most popular types of Disaster Response jobs are:
What states have the most Disaster Response jobs? States with the most job openings for Disaster Response jobs include:
Infographic showing various Disaster Response job openings in the United States as of July 2026, with employment types broken down into 1% As Needed, 80% Full Time, 17% Part Time, and 2% Contract. Highlights an 93% Physical, 2% Hybrid, and 5% Remote job distribution, with an average salary of $42,907 per year, or $20.6 per hour.
Community Disaster Program Manager

Community Disaster Program Manager

American Red Cross

Saint Augustine, FL • On-site

Full-time

Medical, Dental, Vision, Retirement, PTO

Posted 8 days ago


Job description

Please use Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox when accessing Candidate Home.
By joining the American Red Cross you will touch millions of lives every year and experience the greatness of the human spirit at its best. Are you ready to be part of the world's largest humanitarian network?
Join us-Where your Career is a Force for Good!
Job Description:
Joining the American Red Cross is like nothing else - it's as much something you feel as something you do. You become a vital part of the world's largest humanitarian network. Joining a team of welcoming individuals who are exceptional, yet unassuming. Diverse, yet uncompromising in unity. You grow your career within a movement that matters, where success is measured in people helped, communities made whole, and individuals equipped to never stop changing lives and situations for the better.
When you choose to be a force for good, you'll have mentors who empower your growth along a purposeful career path. You align your life's work with an ongoing mission that's bigger than all of us. As you care for others, you're cared for with competitive compensation and benefits. You join a community that respects who you are away from work as much as what you do while at work.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW (Job Overview):
As a Community Disaster Program Manager, you will ensure effective collaboration with Volunteer Services; identify, mobilize, and engage partners in all communities in assigned geographic area; and determine current readiness resources, facilities, supplies, local vendors, and strategies for addressing gaps. You will work with volunteers to ensure that the communities you serve are ready to respond to disasters.
Join us in meeting the needs of continuous disaster response! Regional disaster employees are required to deploy to disaster relief operations outside of their region at a minimum of once a year. Deployments contribute to skill building, career development and exposure to different types of disasters. Allowances may be provided for personal circumstances and local response activity. Employees must meet all training and physical capacity requirements for deployment.
This position is not eligible for relocation assistance.
WHERE YOUR CAREER IS A FORCE FOR GOOD (Key Responsibilities):
  • Empower Volunteers: Lead and support a diverse volunteer team responsible for the implementation of volunteer-led disaster cycle services programming throughout the assigned geographic area, or functional activities throughout the region. Functional activities include mass care, response, community preparedness, recovery, planning, and readiness.
  • Lead the Program: Implement either disaster cycle services activities within assigned geographic area or specific functional activities within the region
  • Mission Capacity Building: Develop and support disaster volunteers who are the primary workforce, and representative of the communities they serve, both culturally and linguistically Cultivate and develop Disaster Leadership Volunteers, including volunteer partners, to meet specific responsibilities as part of their work in disaster readiness, preparedness, response, and recovery.
  • Engage Community: Lead and coordinate efforts in assigned geographic area to prepare and mobilize communities and engage partners with specific functional expertise and assets to prepare for, respond to, and recover from disasters and emergencies.
  • Manage in a Matrix: Build relationships and collaborate in the matrix management environment with internal partners, including employees and volunteers.
  • Know Your Communities: Act as the Red Cross disaster subject matter expert within the assigned geographic area, to maximize Red Cross presence and community engagement and mobilization. Prospect and partner with organizations and leaders supporting frontline communities and community resiliency before, during and after disasters.
  • Ready to Respond: Initiate and coordinate disaster relief operations in the assigned geographic area, or functional activities in the region in alignment with the Disaster Cycle Services Concept of Operations.
  • Diverse Community: Identify, build trust in, and increase access to disaster services in diverse, historically underserved communities. Build relationships and partnerships with trusted and diverse organizations within assigned priority communities to extend the reach and trust of the Red Cross.

WHAT YOU NEED TO SUCCEED (Minimum Qualifications):
  • Education: Bachelor's degree required, or equivalent combination of education and related experience required.
  • Experience: Minimum 5 years of related experience with building, mobilizing, leading and developing volunteer teams to execute a social services program or service.
  • A current valid driver's license and good driving record is required.

REQUIRED SKILLS AND ABILITIES:
  • Excellent interpersonal, verbal, and written communication skills.
  • Demonstrated analytical and decision-making skills to interpret program trends, results, formulate recommendations, and develop creative processes for continuous program or service improvements.
  • Proven record of accomplishment of collaboration with diverse groups and individual's representative of all the demographics of this community, managing multiple priorities, facilitation, problem solving, marketing, leadership, and partnership management.
  • Intermediate level proficiency with Microsoft Office software, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook.
  • Ability to work outside of regular duty hours including nights and weekends.

RESIDENCY REQUIREMENTS
  • Chapter-based positions: Geographic Community Disaster employees are expected to work daily in their assigned geographic area to engage and mobilize communities and support volunteers.
  • Regional positions: Regional leadership and functional employees are expected to work daily within their region's geographic area to provide leadership and functional support, engage and mobilize communities, and support volunteers.

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS
The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. While performing the duties of this Job, the employee is regularly required to sit; use hands to handle or feel; and talk or hear. The employee is frequently required to reach with hands and arms. The employee is occasionally required to stand; walk and stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl. The employee must frequently lift and/or move up to 15 pounds and occasionally lift and/or move up to 30 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception and ability to adjust focus. The work environment will consist of moderate noise (i.e. business office with computers, phones and printers, light traffic). The employee must have the ability to work in a small cubicle and have the ability to sit at a computer terminal for an extended period of time.
WHAT WILL GIVE YOU THE COMPETITIVE EDGE (Preferred Qualifications):
  • Bilingual in English and Spanish is highly preferred
  • Experience in recruiting volunteers is a plus

DISCLAIMER: The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by individuals assigned to this position. They are not intended to be construed as an exhaustive list of responsibilities, duties and skills required of personnel so classified.
BENEFITS FOR YOU:
As a mission-based organization, we believe our team needs great support to do great work. Our comprehensive package includes:
  • Medical, Dental Vision plans
  • Health Spending Accounts & Flexible Spending Accounts
  • PTO: Starting at 15 days a year; based on FLSA status and tenure
  • Holidays: 11 paid holidays comprised of six core holidays and five floating holidays
  • 401K with 6% match
  • Paid Family Leave
  • Employee Assistance
  • Disability and Insurance: Short + Long Term
  • Service Awards and recognition

Apply now! Joining our team will provide you with the opportunity to
make your career a force for good!
The American Red Cross is an Equal Opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, race, color, religion, national origin, disability, protected veteran status, age, or any other characteristic protected by law.
Qualified applicants with arrest or conviction records will be considered for employment in accordance with the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance for Employers, San Diego Fair Chance Ordinance, the California Fair Chance Act and any other applicable state and local laws.
AmeriCorps, the federal agency that brings people together through service, and its partners - the Peace Corps, AmeriCorps Alums, National Peace Corps Association, and the Service Year Alliance - launched Employers of National Service to connect national service alumni with opportunities in the workforce. American Red Cross is proud to be an EONS partner and share our employment opportunities with the network of organizations.
Interested in Volunteering? Visit redcross.org/volunteertoday to learn more, including our most-needed volunteer positions.
To view the EEOC Summary of Rights, click here: Summary of Rights