Director, Emergency Management

Rice University • Houston, TX

1d • $122,496 - $140,000 • Onsite

About The Position

Rice University seeks a visionary and community-oriented leader to serve as the next Director of Emergency Management. This position is pivotal in ensuring a campus environment where innovation and safety seamlessly coexist. The Director will play a pivotal role in building a broad, collaborative umbrella of protection that integrates traditional emergency management with policing and emergency medical services, all while reflecting the "culture of care" that uniquely defines the Rice community. The Director provides strategic leadership for university-wide emergency management. This executive leads and directs the university’s efforts to develop, implement, test, document, and maintain plans for emergency management, institutional business continuity, and comprehensive emergency response across all academic, administrative, and research departments. A critical component of this role involves managing complex, cross-functional relationships on university-wide resilience initiatives. The Director interacts regularly with Executive Leadership, Senior Management, and Key Functional Areas to appropriately link all emergency response, mitigation, and recovery plans.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution. Preferred fields: Emergency Management, Public Administration, Homeland Security, Public Safety, Criminal Justice, or a closely related field.
• In lieu of the education requirement, additional related experience, above and beyond what is required, may be substituted on an equivalent year-for-year basis.
• 4+ years of progressively responsible professional experience in emergency management, public safety, or emergency coordination.
• In lieu of the experience requirement, additional related education, above and beyond what is required, may be substituted on an equivalent year-for-year basis.
• Deep operational knowledge of safety and disaster/recovery procedures, the Incident Command System (ICS), National Incident Management System (NIMS), and National Response Framework (NRF) structures (ICS 100, 200, 700, and 800 certifications required upon hire)
• Experience managing and leading multiple projects and team members
• Exceptional interpersonal skills with a proven track record of building consensus among diverse stakeholder groups (faculty, students, staff, law enforcement, and civil officials)
• Ability to lead, influence, and earn the respect of cross-functional partners
• Strong leadership and executive presence
• Ability to analyze and resolve problems; action-oriented with the ability to make decisions and function effectively in stressful situations
• Ability to distill complex, fluid situations into clear, actionable, and empathetic messaging for executive leadership and the public under intense pressure
• Knowledge of IT operations and familiarity with disaster/recovery operations
• Proficiency with emergency notification software (e.g., Everbridge), business continuity planning software, and standard EOC management platforms (e.g., WebEOC)

Nice To Haves

• Advanced ICS training (ICS 300 and ICS 400)
• Prior emergency management experience at a higher-education research university, with a demonstrated understanding of safeguarding sensitive laboratory research and navigating a residential campus culture.

Responsibilities

• Provides strategic leadership to the university-wide emergency management team
• Plans, coordinates, and manages the activities of the Emergency Management Team (EMT), which is responsible for planning and preparation of the university’s emergency response plans
• Maintains the physical and virtual Incident Command Center (ICC) in a constant state of operational readiness; manages ICC activations and coordinates the Emergency Management Team
• Proactively identifies, reports, and leads the resolution of high-impact risks, gaps, and corrective action plans
• Ensures institutional alignment with FEMA, NIMS, Clery Act mandates (specifically emergency notifications and timely warnings), and Texas state safety standards
• Regularly reviews the university’s emergency response and business continuity plans
• Conducts periodic reviews of emergency notification processes and tools
• Leads governance of the university’s crisis management plans through the university’s incident response teams and overarching crisis communication plan
• Reviews the university’s effectiveness in responding to emergency situations and evaluates response plans and processes
• Designs and executes campus-wide tabletop, functional, and full-scale exercises and drills compliant with Homeland Security Exercise and Evaluation Program (HSEEP) standards for senior leadership, staff, and students
• Collaborates with incident response team leads to present, resolve, and implement potential emergency management issues to ensure a unified approach to mitigation and resilience
• Designs and develops operating procedures for incident command centers, including locations, standards, equipment, and processes
• Prepares incident command centers for immediate activation
• Serves within a dynamic, NIMS-aligned command structure where the Chief of Police leads tactical and life-safety incidents, while Executive Leadership directs high-level policy and institutional emergencies. During major activations, this role transitions to Incident Command Center (ICC) Director to focus on resource coordination, logistics, and long-term recovery rather than front-line command
• Identifies university-wide business continuity and other vulnerabilities
• Provides consulting and guidance to key functional areas in the design, development, maintenance, and implementation of business continuity plans
• Creates and documents business continuity activation processes
• Educates the university about business continuity issues and assists business areas in addressing these issues effectively
• Leads After-Action Review (AAR) processes following exercises or real-world events, drafting formal Improvement Plans (IPs) to systematically improve institutional resilience
• Serves as the primary university representative to local, regional, state, and federal emergency management agencies (e.g., City of Houston Office of Emergency Management, Harris County OHSEM, Texas Division of Emergency Management, FEMA)
• Performs all other duties as assigned

Benefits

• Rice University HR | Benefits: https://knowledgecafe.rice.edu/benefits
• Rice Mission and Values: Mission and Values | Rice University https://www.rice.edu/mission-values

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Director