Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Administrator - Department of Emergency Management (0954 Deputy Director IV)

The San Francisco Department of Emergency Management (DEM) manages disaster preparation, mitigation, and response; 9-1-1 dispatch, and homeland security grant distribution for the City and County of San Francisco. DEM was created in 2006 by local legislation that reorganized the Emergency Communications Department and the Office of Emergency Services into a single agency. For more information on the Department of Emergency Management, please visit: http://www.sfdem.org/. 

Application Opening: September 8, 2025
Application Deadline: Interested applicants are encouraged to apply immediately as the filing period may close at any time but no sooner than 4:30 PM (PDT) on September 19, 2025.
Recruitment ID: PEX-0954-159112

Appointment Type: This is a Permanent Exempt (PEX), Category 6 appointment. This position is exempt from Civil Service Commission rules pursuant to the City and County of San Francisco, Charter Section 10.104. The incumbent is “at will” and serves at the discretion of the Appointing Officer. 

Under direction of DEM’s Executive Director, the 0954 Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Administrator (Deputy Director IV) is responsible for all functions and activities of the EMS Agency in a very complex pre-hospital and hospital system. The EMS Administrator provides leadership and direction in developing new programs and establishing organizational policies, priorities and objectives to improve patient care and outcomes to residents and visitors of San Francisco, focusing on building coordination and collaboration among the participants in the EMS system to identify and operationalize the specific components of these broader goals. The incumbent is responsible for ensuring that the EMS system meets local, state and federal regulations governing EMS systems and for providing reports on the performance of the EMS system to local authorities and the public. The position participates in committees for EMS and disaster planning across City departments and represents the Department with state and local commissions and with national, state, regional and local agencies as well as the media. The incumbent  also plans, develops, and monitors the budget for the Division and make decisions on allocation of resources within the division.

The EMS Administrator is an integral member of the DEM Executive Team. The DEM Executive Team with input from policy makers, providers, and other stakeholders, makes policy decisions of critical impact affecting the City.  The EMS Administrator oversees the development of the Division’s strategic plans and interim goals; establishes policies and Division priorities; adjusts plans to respond to emerging and/or urgent issues; directs the allocation of resources to achieve timely outcomes and measurable goals within budget guidelines; and performs related duties as required.  EMS Administrator assumes ultimate responsibility for all programs and activities of the EMS Agency.

Major, important, and essential duties of the Deputy Director position include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Plan, administer, monitor, organize, direct and coordinate the review of the CCSF Emergency Services system including services provided by multiple provider agencies in compliance with State and Local requirements.
• Establish standards, goals and objectives for EMS system operation. Monitor the system performance through quality assurance and analyzing the "gap" to produce training and recommendations for system improvement.
• Training and certification for all emergency pre-hospital care personnel and oversee/monitor training and certification programs. Enforce applicable laws, regulations, policies and contract requirements.
• Conduct long-range program planning to improve current operations and to meet future needs.
• Analyze and evaluate current and pending legislation related to EMS Programs and make changes as needed.
• Hire and direct the activities of agency staff; evaluate staff performance through coaching, mentoring, development and monitoring of work plans to operational goal and objectives, take action on disciplinary matters if needed to improve performance.
• Direct emergency medical and disaster planning in cooperation with the Public Health Department, including patient tracking and Mass Casualty Incidents. Help coordinate the Medical Health Operations Area Coordinator (MHOAC) program and provide MHOAC function, EMS Branch Manager or EMS Liaison at the SFDPH Department Operations Center or the CCSF Emergency Operations Center in time of declared disaster.
• Communicate regularly with DEM’s Executive Director on status of the EMS system, semi-annually reports to the Health Commission, weekly meetings with local, State organizations and work in coordination with the DEM PIO on media inquiries and the promotion of the CCSF EMS system.
• Coordinate with the EMS Agency Medical Director in the development, execution and quality review of EMS system policies designed to improve patient care and outcomes in SF.
• Work to establish collaboration among EMS providers, hospitals, public health and safety professionals and members of the community to eliminate disparities and raise the level of care in the EMS system.
• Work with DEM and other partners to provide public education, coordinate EMS research efforts between Public health, academia and EMS providers.
• Prepare required reports such as the EMS Annual Report, report to the SF Health Commission in partnership with SFDPH, maintain public facing system performance dashboards, address public concerns and comments at the EMSAC meetings, represent the CCSF EMS Program with national, state, regional and local agencies.
• Develop, plan and monitor budget to program plan, communicate in detail justification of changes to the budget or development of new initiatives or proposals that have been identified through system surveillance that will impact the EMS system. Through monitoring and surveillance of budget programmatic options are discussed with the DEM Director to reduce or eliminate potential cost overruns.
• Perform other related duties as assigned.

Minimum Qualifications: 

Education: Possession of a Bachelor's degree in Business, Health Administration, Public Administration, or a closely related field; AND

Experience: Five (5) years of experience in a responsible managerial capacity with an Emergency Medical Services Agency (EMSA) providing operational and/or quality improvement oversight of the EMS system, of which all experience must include supervisory experience.

Education Substitution: Additional qualifying work experience may be substituted for the required education on a year-for-year basis for up to a maximum of two (2) years. One year of work experience is equal to 30 semester or 45 quarter units).

Experience Substitution: Possession of a Master's degree in Business, Health Administration, Public Administration, or a closely related field may substitute for one year of experience.

Note: One year of full-time employment is equivalent to 2000 hours (2000 hours of qualifying work experience is based on a 40-hour work week). Any overtime hours that you work above forty (40) hours per week are not included in the calculation to determine full-time employment.

Verification of Education and Experience: 
Applicants may be required to submit verification of qualifying education and experience at any point during the recruitment and selection process. If education verification is required, information on how to verify education requirements, including verifying foreign education credits or degree equivalency, can be found at https://sfdhr.org/how-verify-education-requirements   

Note: Falsifying one’s education, training, or work experience or attempted deception on the application may result in disqualification for this and future job opportunities with the City and County of San Francisco.   

All work experience, education, training and other information substantiating how you meet the minimum qualifications must be included on your application by the filing deadline. Information submitted after the filing deadline will not be considered in determining whether you meet the minimum qualifications.

Selection Procedures: 
The selection process will include evaluation of applications in relation to minimum requirements.  Applicants meeting the minimum qualifications are not guaranteed advancement to the interview.  Depending on the number of applicants, the Department may establish and implement additional screening mechanisms to comparatively evaluate the qualifications of candidates.  If this becomes necessary, only those applicants whose qualifications most closely meet the needs of the Department will be invited for an interview.

Note:  Applicants who meet the minimum qualifications are not guaranteed advancement through all of the steps in the selection procedure.

Additional Information Regarding Employment with the City and County of San Francisco:  

• Information About The Hiring Process  
• Conviction History  
• Employee Benefits Overview    
• Equal Employment Opportunity   
• Disaster Service Worker  
• ADA Accommodation  
• Right to Work  
• Copies of Application Documents  
• Diversity Statement  

Statement on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion: At the City and County of San Francisco, we share a commitment to a diverse, inclusive and equitable community. Each member of our organization is responsible and accountable for what they say and do to make San Francisco an inclusive and equitable place to live and work by employing fair and just practices to and for all.  

How to Apply:
Submit your application through this job ad. Applicants will receive a confirmation email from [email protected] that their online application has been received in response to every announcement for which they file. Applicants should retain this confirmation email for their records. Failure to receive this email means that the online application was not submitted or received.

Analyst Information: If you have any questions regarding this recruitment or application process, please contact the analyst, Emily Liang at [email protected]. 

The City and County of San Francisco encourages women, minorities and persons with disabilities to apply. Applicants will be considered regardless of their sex, race, age, religion, color, national origin, ancestry, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition (associated with cancer, a history of cancer, or genetic characteristics), HIV/AIDS status, genetic information, marital status, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, military and veteran status, or other protected category under the law.