Homeland Defense Officer

State of Montana • Helena, MT

3d

About The Position

Montana Disaster & Emergency Services (MT DES) is the lead agency coordinating comprehensive emergency management in Montana. In collaboration with local and tribal governments we build, sustain, and improve our ability to prepare for, protect against, respond to, recover from, and mitigate hazards. MT DES is searching for a Homeland Defense and Critical Infrastructure Officer to lead statewide efforts to identify, assess, prioritize, protect, and support restoration of critical infrastructure and community lifelines, with special emphasis on physical infrastructure, operational technology, cybersecurity, and Industrial Control Systems/Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (ICS/SCADA) related risk affecting public safety, continuity of government, and essential services.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in emergency management, public administration, or project management
• Four years of professional work in emergency management
• Must have the ability to obtain and maintain secret-level national security clearance
• Knowledge of emergency management doctrine, state emergency coordination structures, and the Montana Emergency Response Framework, including Emergency Support Functions and related infrastructure coordination mechanisms.
• Knowledge of U.S. Department of Defense and Montana National Guard roles, authorities, and planning processes for homeland defense and defense support of civil authorities, sufficient to integrate Guard capabilities into state critical infrastructure planning and operations
• Knowledge of critical infrastructure sectors and community lifelines, especially physical systems and facilities that support public safety, continuity of government, and essential services in Montana.
• Skill in risk assessment, consequence analysis, information synthesis, and preparation of executive briefings, reports, and situational updates.
• Skill in strategic planning, interagency coordination, and development of plans, annexes, and operational guidance for complex multi-jurisdictional issues.
• Ability to build effective working relationships with the Montana National Guard, government agencies, local jurisdictions, tribal governments, utilities, and private-sector partners.
• Ability to communicate technical infrastructure and cyber-physical issues in clear operational terms for leaders, planners, and partner agencies.

Nice To Haves

• Other combinations of education and experience may be considered
• Military service or experience working with the military highly preferred

Responsibilities

• Serve as MT DES's primary planning and coordination lead for the statewide homeland security and defense plan related to critical infrastructure protection, resilience, and restoration.
• Lead development, maintenance, and integration of plans, annexes, frameworks, and playbooks addressing threats and hazards to critical infrastructure, including hostile acts, cyber disruption, and catastrophic incidents affecting essential services.
• Lead statewide identification and prioritization of critical physical infrastructure and community lifelines, including facilities and systems related to energy, water and wastewater, transportation, communications, public safety, health, dams, and government operations.
• Recommend protection, mitigation, and resilience strategies that reduce risk to critical infrastructure systems and improve continuity of essential services before, during, and after incidents.
• During emergency activations, coordinate with applicable Emergency Support Functions and partner agencies to identify infrastructure impacts, resource requirements, temporary solutions, and restoration priorities.
• Integrate critical infrastructure and ICS/SCADA considerations into the MT DES training and exercise program, including development of scenarios that test infrastructure disruption, degraded operations, and restoration coordination.

What This Job Offers

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