← Occupation guides

11-9161.00 · Learning planner

Emergency Management Directors: a task-based learning plan

Plan and direct disaster response or crisis management activities, provide disaster preparedness training, and prepare emergency plans and procedures for natural (e.g., hurricanes, floods, earthquakes), wartime, or technological (e.g., nuclear power plant emergencies or hazardous materials spills) disasters or hostage situations.

Explore the complete task inventory first →

Understand the profile before choosing priorities

The table shows the ten highest importance ratings among 31 skills with usable ratings. Skills tied on importance can share a rank. Importance (1–5) and level (0–7) describe different dimensions. A level of 4 is not 4/7 of a course, and neither scale is your personal score. Source dates refer to the underlying rating, not the database release date.

SkillImportance / 5Level / 7Rating date
Service Orientation4.255.2508/2023 · Analyst
Complex Problem Solving4.125.3808/2023 · Analyst
Speaking4.124.2508/2023 · Analyst
Coordination4.005.0008/2023 · Analyst
Monitoring4.004.6208/2023 · Analyst
Critical Thinking4.004.3808/2023 · Analyst
Writing4.004.2508/2023 · Analyst
Judgment and Decision Making4.004.2508/2023 · Analyst
Reading Comprehension4.004.1208/2023 · Analyst
Active Listening4.004.1208/2023 · Analyst

Anchor the plan in an actual task

Choose one reported task you want to understand better. Then choose one to three skills and describe an appropriate learning activity, evidence you will review and a date. For practical work requiring authorization, choose relevant coursework, observation or supervised training.

Service Orientation

Actively looking for ways to help people.

Read the scale examples

These generic examples illustrate the level scale. They are not required activities for emergency management directors.

Level 6: Direct relief agency operations in a disaster area

Level 4: Make flight reservations for customers using an online booking site

What does the person receiving the work need, and how would you confirm the need was met?

Complex Problem Solving

Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.

Read the scale examples

These generic examples illustrate the level scale. They are not required activities for emergency management directors.

Level 6: Develop a plan to provide emergency relief for a major metropolitan area

Level 4: Redesign a floor layout to take advantage of new manufacturing techniques

How would you separate the problem into parts and compare possible explanations?

Speaking

Talking to others to convey information effectively.

Read the scale examples

These generic examples illustrate the level scale. They are not required activities for emergency management directors.

Level 4: Interview applicants to obtain personal and work history

Level 6: Argue a legal case before the Supreme Court

How would you explain the task, audience needs and next step in a short conversation?

Coordination

Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.

Read the scale examples

These generic examples illustrate the level scale. They are not required activities for emergency management directors.

Level 4: Work with others to put a new roof on a house

Level 6: Direct a project requiring coordination between multiple subcontractors

Who would need what information, and at which handoff would timing matter?

Monitoring

Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.

Read the scale examples

These generic examples illustrate the level scale. They are not required activities for emergency management directors.

Level 4: Monitor a meeting and revise the agenda to ensure important topics are discussed

Level 6: Review corporate productivity and develop a plan to increase it

What result or exception would you inspect during the task, and when would you revisit it?

Critical Thinking

Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.

Read the scale examples

These generic examples illustrate the level scale. They are not required activities for emergency management directors.

Level 4: Evaluate customer complaints and determine appropriate responses

Level 6: Write legal brief challenging a federal law

What assumption could change your conclusion, and what evidence would you check first?

Writing

Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.

Read the scale examples

These generic examples illustrate the level scale. They are not required activities for emergency management directors.

Level 4: Write an email to staff outlining new directives

Level 6: Write a novel for publication

What document would another person need, and how would you check that they could act on it?

Judgment and Decision Making

Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.

Read the scale examples

These generic examples illustrate the level scale. They are not required activities for emergency management directors.

Level 4: Evaluate a loan application for degree of risk

Level 6: Decide whether a manufacturing company should invest in new robotics technology

Which options, constraints and consequences would you compare, and what could change the choice?

Reading Comprehension

Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.

Read the scale examples

These generic examples illustrate the level scale. They are not required activities for emergency management directors.

Level 4: Understand an email from management describing new personnel policies

Level 6: Read a scientific journal article describing surgical procedures

Which instruction, constraint or exception in a document would you need to explain accurately?

Active Listening

Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.

Read the scale examples

These generic examples illustrate the level scale. They are not required activities for emergency management directors.

Level 4: Answer inquiries regarding credit references

Level 6: Serve as a judge in a complex legal disagreement

What would you ask the other person to clarify, and how would you confirm you understood?

Review the result

Your plan should explain why the selected skills matter for your chosen task, what you will do next and what evidence you will examine. Revisit the plan after that activity. Completing a worksheet or matching an occupation’s ratings does not establish professional competence.

Keep your worksheet

Download before leaving this page. Unsaved writing remains only in the page and is cleared on refresh. Notes and learning actions are not sent to a server. This guide describes an occupation and supports study planning; it does not provide clinical, legal or equipment-operating procedures.

Source and practice material

Occupational context uses the O*NET® 31.0 Database from the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration, under CC BY 4.0. View the occupation.

Skill Workbench selected and adapted the occupational information and added its own fictional cases, calculations, guidance and worksheets. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed or tested these additions. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.