The Director, Emergency Preparedness and Safety, leads the Aquarium's emergency preparedness, safety, security, and business resilience efforts to protect employees, volunteers, visitors, animals, facilities, and operations. Provide organizational leadership in developing and maintaining programs that identify and mitigate risks, strengthen safety culture and emergency preparedness, ensure regulatory compliance, and enable the Aquarium to prevent, respond to, and recover from emergencies and operational disruptions. Collaborate across departments to foster a culture in which safety and emergency preparedness is a shared responsibility; concerns are addressed, and safe practices are embedded in everyday decisions and operations, organizational planning, and projects.
This is a full-time regular position offering a comprehensive benefits package. The schedule will be Monday-Friday 9:00 am - 5:00 pm with the option for a hybrid schedule, working some days on-site and some days remotely. Remote days are only available for residents of MA, RI, NH, ME, NY and VT.
ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS- Serve as the Aquarium's primary liaison, as appropriate, with local, state, and federal emergency management agencies, law enforcement, fire departments, public health agencies, homeland security agencies, and other emergency response partners.
- Partner with departments to identify critical functions, dependencies, vulnerabilities, and recovery priorities.
- Incorporate business continuity and resilience considerations into strategic planning, operational planning, capital projects, facility changes, technology initiatives, and other organizational decisions.
- Oversee security and access-control practices for the Boston and Quincy campuses in collaboration with Campus Operations, Animal Care, Visitor Experience, and other appropriate stakeholders.
- Lead the development, maintenance, and continuous improvement of the Aquarium's Emergency Management Plan (EMP) and incident command system, including emergency procedures, response protocols, training, drills, exercises, and refresher activities.
- Lead the Emergency Response Team (ERT), ensuring appropriate coverage, training, communications, and operational readiness. Serve as a key organizational resource during emergency events and support the incident command system and decision-making.
- Lead investigation and response following significant incidents, injuries, property damage, security events, or other incidents requiring investigation or insurance involvement.
- Lead the Aquarium's Safety Committee and establish priorities for hazard identification, risk reduction, employee engagement, training, communication, and continuous improvement.
- Ensure the processes for reporting, investigating, tracking, and mitigating workplace hazards, accidents, incidents, and near misses are effective.
- Ensure designated employees maintain required licenses, certifications, qualifications, and safety training in compliance with OSHA, the Department of Public Health, and other regulatory agencies.
- Ensure accident and incident investigations identify contributing factors and root causes, and develop and monitor corrective and preventive actions. Coordinate with Talent & Culture regarding workers' compensation matters and required OSHA recordkeeping and reporting.
- Identify emerging compliance requirements and coordinate implementation of changes.
- Support executive leadership and the Board, as appropriate, with reporting on operational risks, trends, preparedness metrics, and mitigation efforts.
- Promote management accountability for safety and emergency preparedness and provide leaders with tools and guidance to effectively manage safety within their areas.
- Develop and maintain an annual safety and risk-management work plan and report progress, trends, and significant risks to organizational leadership.
- Promote continuous improvement by evaluating the effectiveness of safety, emergency preparedness, and risk-management programs and implementing improvements as needed.
QUALIFICATIONSMinimum Training and Experience- Bachelor's degree in emergency management, Public Safety, Homeland Security, Public Health, or related field required.
- Minimum of 5-7 years of experience in emergency management, crisis response, public safety, public health preparedness, or related operational leadership roles.
- Experience coordinating incident response and collaborating with EMS within large, complex, or public-facing organizations preferred.
- Direct experience in a workplace health and safety role with deep knowledge of OSHA, ANSI, and local regulatory standards.
Certifications- FEMA Incident Command System (ICS) and National Incident Management System (NIMS) certifications required or ability to obtain within a designated timeframe.
- Certified Emergency Manager (CEM), CBCP, or related professional certifications preferred.
Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities- Experience working in large campuses, public-facing institutions, museums, zoos, aquariums, healthcare, higher education, or similar complex environments preferred.
- Knowledge of emergency operations, continuity planning, regulatory compliance, and risk mitigation practices required.
- Strong leadership, organizational, and crisis management skills.
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills, including crisis communications, training, and public speaking skills.
- Ability to evaluate and communicate operational risks to executive leadership and stakeholders in a clear, strategic, and actionable manner.
- Demonstrated ability to make rapid, sound decisions in high-pressure situations.
- Strong collaboration and stakeholder relationship management abilities.
- Demonstrated ability to manage multiple priorities with professionalism, discretion, and sound judgment.
- Analytical thinker with strong operational execution and problem-solving capabilities.
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