1

Federal Emergency Management Jobs (NOW HIRING)

$125K - $163K/yr

Managing the daily operations related to emergency management programs not limited to; planning ... Mythbuster on Federal Hiring Policies for additional information). For more information on ...

$125K - $163K/yr

Managing the daily operations related to emergency management programs not limited to; planning ... Mythbuster on Federal Hiring Policies for additional information). For more information on ...

next page

Showing results 1-20

Federal Emergency Management information

See salary details

$38.5K

$89.2K

$145.5K

How much do federal emergency management jobs pay per year?

As of Jun 14, 2026, the average yearly pay for federal emergency management in the United States is $89,223.00, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $62,500.00 and $109,000.00 per year, depending on experience, location, and employer.

What degree do I need to work for FEMA?

To work for FEMA, a bachelor's degree is typically required, often in fields such as emergency management, public administration, or related areas. Some positions may require additional certifications or experience in emergency response or disaster management.

What are some common challenges faced by professionals working in Federal Emergency Management, and how can applicants prepare for them?

Professionals in Federal Emergency Management often face the challenge of responding to unpredictable and high-pressure situations, such as natural disasters or national emergencies, which require quick decision-making and adaptability. Team members frequently collaborate with various agencies, local governments, and community organizations to coordinate effective responses. Applicants can prepare by gaining experience in crisis management, improving their communication skills, and familiarizing themselves with federal emergency protocols. Staying current with disaster response technologies and participating in simulation exercises can also help candidates succeed in this dynamic field.

What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive in Federal Emergency Management, and why are they important?

To thrive in Federal Emergency Management, you need a background in emergency management, public administration, or a related field, often supported by a relevant degree and experience with incident response. Familiarity with systems like the National Incident Management System (NIMS), FEMA’s Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS), and certifications such as FEMA’s Professional Development Series are typical requirements. Strong decision-making, leadership, and communication skills are essential for coordinating responses and collaborating with diverse agencies. These capabilities are critical for ensuring efficient disaster response, public safety, and effective resource management during emergencies.

Is it hard to get hired at FEMA?

Getting hired at FEMA can be competitive due to the specialized nature of emergency management roles and the federal hiring process. Candidates often need relevant experience, security clearances, and sometimes certifications such as ICS or NIMS, which can add to the selection criteria. The application process typically involves multiple steps, including assessments and interviews.

What does federal emergency management do?

Federal Emergency Management involves coordinating disaster response and recovery efforts, developing emergency plans, and providing resources to mitigate the impact of natural and man-made disasters. Professionals in this field often work with government agencies, use incident management tools, and may require certifications such as ICS or NIMS to effectively manage emergencies.

What is Federal Emergency Management?

Federal Emergency Management refers to the coordinated efforts led by the federal government, primarily through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), to prepare for, respond to, recover from, and mitigate the impacts of disasters and emergencies in the United States. This includes natural disasters like hurricanes, floods, and wildfires, as well as man-made events such as terrorism or hazardous material incidents. The goal of federal emergency management is to protect lives, property, and the environment by supporting communities before, during, and after emergencies. FEMA works alongside state, local, tribal, and territorial governments, as well as other federal agencies and private sector partners, to ensure effective disaster response and recovery.

What is the highest paying emergency management job?

The highest paying emergency management roles are typically senior positions such as Emergency Management Directors or Chiefs, with salaries often exceeding $100,000 annually. These roles require extensive experience, leadership skills, and often advanced certifications in emergency management or related fields.

What is the difference between Federal Emergency Management vs Emergency Management Coordinator?

AspectFederal Emergency ManagementEmergency Management Coordinator
CertificationsFEMA certifications, ICS, NIMSFEMA certifications, ICS, NIMS
Work EnvironmentFederal agencies, disaster sites, national levelLocal government, community, organizational level
Employer & IndustryFederal government, FEMA, DHSMunicipalities, private organizations, state agencies

Federal Emergency Management professionals focus on national disaster response and policy, often working within federal agencies like FEMA. Emergency Management Coordinators typically operate at the local or organizational level, coordinating disaster preparedness and response within communities or organizations. Both roles require similar certifications and skills but differ mainly in scope and work environment.

More about Federal Emergency Management jobs
What cities are hiring for Federal Emergency Management jobs? Cities with the most Federal Emergency Management job openings:
What states have the most Federal Emergency Management jobs? States with the most job openings for Federal Emergency Management jobs include:
What job categories do people searching Federal Emergency Management jobs look for? The top searched job categories for Federal Emergency Management jobs are:
Infographic showing various Federal Emergency Management job openings in the United States as of June 2026, with employment types broken down into 100% Full Time. Highlights an 67% In-person, and 33% Remote job distribution, with an average salary of $89,223 per year, or $42.9 per hour.
Supervisory Emergency Management Specialist

Supervisory Emergency Management Specialist

Federal Emergency Management Agency

On-site, Remote

$125K - $163K/yr

Full-time

Medical, Dental, Vision, Life, Retirement, PTO

Posted 7 days ago


Federal Emergency Management Agency rating

8.4

Company rating: 8.4 out of 10

Based on 16 frontline employees who took The Breakroom Quiz

159th of 649 rated public administrative organizations


Job description

Summary
This position is located in region two, St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands. The ideal candidate for this position will analyze major aspects of programs to improve their effectiveness, developing organizational or emergency management policies and program initiatives, advising senior officials on those programs, and managing personnel.
Learn more about this agency
Duties
Help
What will I do in this position if hired?
In this position, you will serve as Supervisory Emergency Management Specialist. Typical assignments include:
  • Managing the daily operations related to emergency management programs not limited to; planning, preparedness, resiliency, recovery, response, continuity, and mitigation.
  • Providing project management along with various aspects of technical assistance in FEMA's
    preparedness, resilience, response and recovery programs focused upon efforts to ensure the
    Territory is better positioned for future events.
  • Providing guidance and technical assistance to Internal and External Customers, such as Senior
    Territory Emergency Management Personnel concerning complex, unusual, or
    unprecedented Federal emergency management initiatives.
  • Advising senior level officials on major components of emergency management programs.
  • Providing technical advice and assistance on quality assistance and process improvement
    practices in relation to emergency management services to federal and territorial
    emergency management preparedness and response activities.

What else do I need to know?
At FEMA, our mission is to help people before, during and after disasters, and every employee at FEMA has a role in emergency management. Every FEMA employee has regular and recurring emergency management responsibilities, though not every position requires routine deployment to disaster sites. All positions are subject to recall around the clock for emergency management operations, which may require irregular work hours, work at locations other than the official duty station, and may include duties other than those specified in the employee's official position description. Travel requirements in support of emergency operations may be extensive in nature (weeks to months), with little advance notice, and may require employees to relocate to emergency sites with physically austere and operationally challenging conditions.
Requirements
Help
Conditions of employment
To ensure the accomplishment of our mission, DHS requires every employee to be reliable and trustworthy. To meet those standards, all selected applicants must undergo, successfully pass, and maintain a background investigation for Top Secret/SCI is a condition of placement into this position. This may include a credit check after initial job qualifications are determined, a review of financial issues, such as delinquency in the payment of debts, child support and/or tax obligations, as well as certain criminal offenses and illegal use or possession of drugs (please visit: Mythbuster on Federal Hiring Policies for additional information). For more information on background investigations for Federal jobs please visit OPM Investigations.
Please ensure you meet the qualification requirements described below.
Key Requirements:
  1. You must be a U.S. citizen to apply for this position.
  2. You must successfully pass a background investigation.
  3. Selective Service registration required.
  4. Current federal employees must meet time-in-grade requirements.
  5. You must be able to obtain and maintain a Government credit card.
  6. You must be able to deploy with little or no advance notice to anywhere in the United States and its territories for an extended period of time.
  7. Please review the Additional Information section for additional key requirements.

Qualifications
Current Federal employees must have served 52 weeks at the next lower grade or equivalent grade band in the Federal service. The qualification requirements listed below must be met by the closing date of this announcement.
To qualify for this position at the GS-14 level, you must possess one full year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-13 level in the Federal government, which has equipped you with the skills needed to successfully perform the duties of the position. Experience may be obtained in the federal government, a state or local government, or private sector, and must demonstrate the following:
  • Directing the response and recovery readiness planning of private or public organizations;
  • Advising senior executives on emergency management programs;
  • Using executive-level analyses of programs to make decisions that improve effectiveness and efficiency of operations; AND
  • Exercising technical and administrative supervision of a team.

Please read the following important information to ensure we have everything we need to consider your application:
  • Do not copy and paste the duties, specialized experience, or occupational assessment questionnaire from this announcement into your resume as that will not be considered a demonstration of your qualifications for this position.

  • Please limit your resume to two pages. The USAJOBS database will not allow an applicant to submit an application that includes a resume over two pages.
  • Your resume serves as the basis for experience related qualification determinations, and you must highlight your most relevant and significant work experience and education (if applicable), as it relates to this job opportunity. Please use your own words, be clear, and specific when describing your work history. We cannot make assumptions regarding your experience.

Are you qualifying based on your work experience?
  • Qualifications are based on your ability to demonstrate in your resume that you possess one year of the specialized experience for this announcement at a comparable scope and responsibility. To ensure all of the essential information is in your resume, we encourage you to use the USAJOBS online Resume Builder. If you choose to use your own resume, it must contain the following information organized by experience/position: (1) job title, (2) name of employer, (3) start and end dates of each period of employment (from MM/DD/YY to MM/DD/YY), (4) detailed description of duties performed, accomplishments, and related skills, and (5) hours worked per week (part-time employment will be prorated in crediting experience). Federal experience/positions must also include the occupational series, grade level, and dates in which you held each grade level.

  • Are you a current or former FEMA Reservist/DAE employee? To accurately credit your experience from intermittent positions and Reservist Deployments, you must list the dates (from MM/DD/YY to MM/DD/YY) of deployments that are relevant to your qualifying experience, along with the job title and specific duties you were responsible for during each deployment.

  • Determining length of General or Specialized Experience is dependent on the above information. Failure to provide the above information in your resume may result in your application being found "not qualified."

  • Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional, philanthropic, religious, spiritual, community, student, social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills, and provides valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.

  • For additional information on crediting experience and/or education, please reference the OPM General Schedule Qualification Standards

Education
No Educational Substitution: There is no educational substitution for this position, and you must meet the qualifications listed in the "requirements" section of this announcement.
Reasonable Accommodation (RA) Requests: If you have a disability (i.e., physical or mental), covered by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended that interferes with completing the USA Hire Competency Based Assessment, you may request a RA in your online application. Requests and supporting documentation for a RA must be received prior to starting the USA Hire Assessment. Decisions for a RA are made on a case-by-case basis. If your RA request is approved and you meet minimum qualifications, you will receive an email invitation to complete the USA Hire Assessment. If you receive the USA Hire URL link after the close of the announcement, you must complete all assessments within 48 hours. To determine if you need a RA, please review the Procedures for Requesting a Reasonable Accommodation for Online Assessments.
Additional information
  • If you receive a conditional offer of employment for this position, you will be required to complete an Optional Form 306, Declaration for Federal Employment, and to sign and certify the accuracy of all information in your application, prior to entry on duty. False statements on any part of the application may result in withdrawal of offer of employment, dismissal after beginning work, fine, or imprisonment.
  • The Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs Act prohibits the Department of Homeland Security and its Components from requesting an applicant's criminal history record before that individual receives a conditional offer of employment. In accordance with 5 U.S. Code § 9202(c) and 5 C.F.R § 920.201 certain positions are exempt from the provisions of the Fair Chance to Compete Act. Applicants who believe they have been subjected to a violation of the Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs Act, may submit a written complaint to FEMA-Misconduct@fema.dhs.gov.
  • DHS uses E-verify, an internet based system, to confirm the eligibility of all newly hired employees to work in the United States. Learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities.
  • The Department of Homeland Security encourages persons with disabilities to apply, to include persons with intellectual, severe physical or psychiatric disabilities, as defined by 5 CFR § 213.3102(u), and/or Disabled Veterans with a compensable service-connected disability of 30 percent or more as defined by 5 CFR § 315.707. Veterans, Peace Corps/VISTA volunteers, and persons with disabilities possess a wealth of unique talents, experiences, and competencies that can be invaluable to the DHS mission. If you are a member of one of these groups, you may not have to compete with the public for federal jobs. To determine your eligibility for non-competitive appointment and to understand the required documentation, click on the links above or contact the Servicing Human Resources Office listed at the bottom of this announcement.
  • A one-year probationary period is required for new Federal competitive service employees and new supervisors and managers.
  • Applying to this announcement certifies that you give permission for DHS to share your application with others in DHS for similar positions.
  • During the application process you will have an option to opt-in to make your resume available to hiring managers in the agency who have similar positions. Opting in does not impact your application for this announcement, nor does it guarantee further consideration for additional positions.
  • This is a Non-Bargaining Unit position.

Expand Hide additional information
Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.
Benefits
Help
A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.
DHS offers competitive salaries and an attractive benefits package, including health, dental, vision, life, and long-term care insurance; retirement plan; Thrift Savings Plan [similar to a 401(k)]; Flexible Spending Account; Employee Assistance Program; personal leave days; and paid federal holidays.
Other benefits may include flexible work schedules; tuition reimbursement; transportation subsidies; uniform allowance; health and wellness programs; and fitness centers. DHS is committed to employee development and offers a variety of employee training and developmental opportunities. For more information, go to the DHS Careers website and select "Benefits." Disabled veteran leave will be available to any federal employee hired on or after November 5, 2016, who is a veteran with a service- connected disability rating of 30 percent or more.
Review our benefits
Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.

What Federal Emergency Management Agency employees say

Pay

Benefits

Hours and flexibility

Workplace

Get the full story on Breakroom