Deputy Fire Chief

The Deputy Fire Chief reports directly to the Fire Chief and serves as a key member of the Fire Department Command Staff, assisting the Fire Chief in the overall leadership, management, administration, and operations of the Fire Department, and serves as acting Fire Chief when needed. This position is responsible for developing and administering departmental programs and processes in alignment with the vision and values set forth by the Fire Chief. The Deputy Fire Chief will perform highly accountable and complex technical work to facilitate department operations, including short and long-term planning, budget administration, personnel management, emergency services delivery, community risk reduction, and community engagement activities.

Job Responsibilities:

• Visits fire stations to meet with personnel to build relationships and trust, discuss current events, resolve issues, and address concerns.
• Successfully leads and manages personnel with varying backgrounds and experience levels; maintains a positive attitude and work environment; champions a team-centric culture that encourages and embraces new ideas, develops team members, and welcomes diverse perspectives.
• Openly exhibits a positive attitude, in word and action, and encourages others to do the same.
• Oversees and ensures employee performance and corrective action if needed, including implementing performance improvement plans, discipline, and other remedial measures.
• Conveys clear expectations, develops personnel at all levels of the organization, and completes staff performance evaluations.
• Resolves questions, conflicts, and problems pertaining to the department; assists with internal investigations and responds to community inquiries and concerns.
• Oversees recruitment, hiring, employee onboarding and separations, and promotional processes; hires, promotes, demotes, and terminates employees upon consultation with Fire Chief, City Manager and Human Resources.
• Ensures behaviors and actions, and those of department personnel, align with the City and departmental mission, vision, and values.
• Responsible for the conduct, efficiency, development, and discipline of assigned personnel, monitoring their individual performance, activity reports, and work priorities.
• Assists in short, mid, and long-term planning; assists in identifying and developing priorities, goals, and objectives for the Department; participates in identifying efficiencies and solving complex public safety issues.
• Responsible for the overall supervision, administration, leadership, and coordination of the operations, administration and community risk reduction divisions, including standards and policies, performance management, employee relations, customer service, prioritizing and assigning work, and all other related activities.
• May be required to plan, direct, and implement policies, operating procedures, and guidelines for Emergency Management, Operations, Logistics/Support Services, Fire Suppression, Fire Prevention, Emergency Medical Services, Community Risk Reduction, etc.
• May be required to respond to, participate in, and serve as the Incident Commander at various complex emergency incidents to guarantee the safety of personnel and determine appropriate strategies and tactics to ensure life safety, incident stabilization, and property conservation.
• Collaborates with colleagues in a way that builds upon ideas and takes personal accountability and ownership of projects, roles, and assignments.
• Develops personnel at all levels of the organization.
• Attends classes, seminars, and other training on a wide variety of fire service topics to understand trends and new techniques, then applies this new information to ensure the success of the department.
• Responds to community inquiries and concerns.
• Prepares memoranda, reports, and metrics for the Fire Chief; research issues; prepares responses, correspondence, ordinances, fee schedules, and agenda items for presentation to the City Administrator and City Council.
• Performs analyses by utilizing organizational performance measures and data reporting tools to identify trends, opportunities, or other patterns for service delivery.
• May be responsible for developing the Department's monthly and annual reports.
• Serves as a technical resource and provides guidance and coaching to other team members.

Other Essential Duties and Functions

• Oversee the following Divisions: Operations, Administration and Community Risk Reduction.
• Oversee and ensures a comprehensive training program across all disciplines that meet Federal, State, ISO, and NFPA standards.
• Ensures compliance with all state and local fire and EMS certification and regulatory requirements.
• Collaborates with 911 Communications and regional partners to ensure coordinated and effective delivery service.
• Oversee specialty teams, including associated budgets, contracts, agreements, and performance.
• Assist in the development and management of the department’s annual budget, including financial monitoring, reporting, and recommendations to the Fire Chief.
• May serve as liaison to Finance, Budget, and Purchasing; ensure compliance with all applicable financial policies, procedures, and regulations.
• Manages procurement processes, contracts, and asset lifecycle activities, including purchasing methods, surplus, and disposal.
• May serve as project manager for capital projects, including fire stations and apparatus planning, design, and construction.
• Manages member health and safety programs, including physicals, FMLA, workers’ compensation, return-to-work, extended leave, and drug testing.
• Prepares and administers grant applications and ensures compliance with all grant requirements and reporting.
• Responsible for planning, researching, processing, and executing special projects of diverse scope, longer-term time frames, and significant complexity.
• Attends council meetings, committee meetings, and other job-related meetings with architects, business owners, contractors, council members, developers, engineers, other City departments, and the public to maintain positive public/business relations.
• Serve as member of various employee committees and inter-governmental committees as assigned.
• May be on an on-call rotation and responsible for monitoring department activity after hours, providing guidance to shift personnel, responding to incidents in a support or command role, speaking to the media, serving as public information officer, and notifying the rest of the command staff of relevant incidents or issues.
• Performs related work as required.
• Serve as the Fire Chief in the Chief’s absence.
• Performs other duties as assigned.

Emergency Response Status:

As a condition of employment, this position will be required to work as directed during an undeclared and/or declared emergency. The employee is subject to recall around the clock for emergency response operations, which may require irregular work hours, work at locations other than the usual work location, and may include duties other than those specified in the official job description.

Education and Experience:

• Associate degree in Fire Services, Emergency Services, Emergency Medical Services, Fire or Public Administration, or another related field.
• Must be a Certified Firefighter in the State of Georgia and possess an NPQ Firefighter I & II Certification. (Must obtain State of Georgia Firefighter Certification within six months of hire).
• State of Georgia or National Registry EMT or Paramedic Certification required. (Must obtain State of Georgia EMT or Paramedic Certification within six months of hire).
• A minimum of eight years of progressively more responsible experience and five years' experience as a fire officer for a municipal/county fire department of comparable size and complexity.
• Blue Card Incident Command Certification within twelve months of employment.
• Incident Command System (ICS) 100, 200, 300, 400, 700, and 800 within six months of hire.
• Job performance requirements for Fire Officer IV as outlined in the current National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 1021 Standard for Fire Officer Professional Qualifications.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in Fire Services, Emergency Services, Emergency Medical Services, Fire or Public Administration, or another related field
• Executive Fire Officer Designation (EFO)
• Certified Fire Officer Designation (CFO)
• Project Management experience
• Advanced Emergency Management certifications to serve in the Emergency Operations Center (EOC)
• Fire and EMS-related budget experience to include development and oversight.

Other/Special Requirements:

• No felony convictions or disqualifying convictions for the past ten (10) years.
• Provide documentation of meeting the minimum training requirements for the previous two years.
• Possession of or ability to readily obtain a valid driver's license with the appropriate classification/endorsement to support the operation of fire apparatus within three months of being hired, with a satisfactory Motor Vehicle Reports (MVR).

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

• Knowledge of the functions and requirements to plan and administer the Fire Department, including an understanding of the Insurance Services Office (ISO) Fire Suppression Rating Schedule (FSRS), National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) standards, Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulations, the International Fire Code (IFC), and applicable state and federal labor laws.
• Ability to provide effective and constructive communication; champions a culture that encourages and embraces new ideas, develops individuals, and welcomes and encourages diverse perspectives.
• Ability to think critically, strategically, and innovatively.
• Ability to maintain a positive attitude, approach the job with enthusiasm and curiosity, and promote a solutions-oriented work culture.
• Ability to safely command and mitigate various emergency incidents of diverse size and complexity.
• Knowledge of modern firefighting and rescue techniques, methods, and practices.
• Comprehensive knowledge of leadership techniques, principles, and procedures to assign work, schedule, supervise, train, and evaluate the work of assigned staff.
• Knowledge of basic budgeting principles and practices as well as the administration of grants.
• General knowledge of human resources and modern business principles, theories, and practices, including laws and regulations, recruitment, and selection.
• Knowledge of organizational development, including training principles and practices.
• Ability to monitor and assess other individuals or the organization's performance to make improvements or take corrective action. Motivates, develops, teaches, and directs people as they work.
• Comprehensive knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer services, including setting, and meeting service quality standards and evaluating customer satisfaction.
• Ability to use logic and reasoning to understand, analyze, and evaluate complex situations and research information to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to the problem.
• Ability to develop and maintain cooperative and professional relationships with employees, managers, and representatives from other departments and organizations. Shares knowledge with staff for mutual and departmental benefit.
• Ability to establish and implement effective administrative programs and procedures.
• Ability to plan and organize daily work routine. Establishes priorities for the completion of work in accordance with sound time-management methods. Performs a broad range of supervisory responsibilities.
• Ability to communicate complex ideas and proposals effectively so others will understand, including preparing reports, memorandums, letters, agendas, and policies.
• Ability to read and write English.
• Ability to perform arithmetic, algebraic, and statistical calculations.
• Ability to monitor important and complex projects concurrently.
• Ability to employ forecasting techniques, economic and accounting principles, and practices in the analysis and reporting of financial data.
• Ability to deal effectively with the public in groups and one-to-one.
• Ability to operate an automobile, personal computer, general office equipment, or other equipment as necessary to complete essential functions.
• Skilled in the use of Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, e-mail software, and other computer programs.
• Ability to apply principles of rational systems; interpret instructions furnished in written, oral, diagrammatic, or schedule form; and exercise independent judgment to adopt or modify methods and standards to meet variations in assigned objectives.
• Ability to exercise judgment, decisiveness, and creativity in situations involving evaluating information against measurable or verifiable criteria.

Physical Demands:

The work is medium work and requires exerting up to 50 pounds of force occasionally, up to 30 pounds of force frequently, and/or up to 10 pounds of force constantly to move objects. Additionally, the following physical abilities are required: balancing, climbing, crouching, feeling, manual dexterity, grasping, hearing, lifting, mental acuity, reaching, repetitive motion, speaking, standing, stooping, talking, and visual acuity.

Work Environment:

Work is primarily performed in indoor settings (office areas), vehicles, and in the outdoors during day and night shifts. Outdoor settings can involve exposure to extreme temperatures; a variety of weather conditions; contaminated surroundings; noise; contagious diseases; moving mechanical parts; high, precarious places; cramped surroundings, poor lighting/limited visibility; possible structural instability; electrical hazards; vibrations, poor air quality; falling objects; and various atmospheric conditions (smoke, fumes, odors, gases, alarms, dirt, dust, water, toxic and noxious chemicals, solvents, oils, and airborne particles). In situations of emergencies, work may involve exposure to chaotic situations, traffic, and encompassing tragic situations involving injuries, death, and emotionally charged reactions. The noise level in the work environment is usually quiet in office settings and loud at emergency scenes.

Disclaimer:
All applicants tentatively selected for a position will be required to submit to pre-employment drug testing and background investigations prior to hire.

The City of Woodstock is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, religion, age, or disability in employment or the provision of services.

E-Verify: In accordance with state and federal law, this employer will provide the Social Security Administration (SSA) and, if necessary, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), with information from each new employee’s Form I-9 to confirm work authorization. In order to determine whether Form I-9 documentation is valid, this employer uses E-Verify’s photo screening tool to match the photograph appearing on some permanent resident and employment authorization cards with the official U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ (USCIS) photograph.

Employers may not use E-Verify to pre-screen job applicants or to re-verify current employees and may not limit or influence the choice of documents presented for use on Form I-9.

IMPORTANT: If the Government cannot confirm that you are authorized to work, this employer is required to provide you written instructions and an opportunity to contact SSA and/or DHS before taking adverse action against you, including terminating your employment.

The City of Woodstock provides a competitive benefits and compensation package to eligible employees, including paid time off, health, dental, vision, and employer-paid long-term disability as well as life insurance; an employer-paid pension plan and 457 tax-deferred savings plan with employer match; and a discounted gym membership.

Starting Base Pay Rate Range: $100,164.50 - $125,832.43 annually and based on experience, education, & certifications.

Review the Deputy Fire Chief Recruiting Brochure here.

For more information on City of Woodstock, please visit www.woodstockga.gov.