Emergency Preparedness Exercise and Evaluation Analyst

Overview

At the California Department of Public Health (CDPH), equity, diversity, and inclusion are at the core of our mission to advance the health and well-being of California’s diverse people and communities. We are genuinely and strongly committed to cultivating and preserving a culture of inclusion and connectedness where we can grow and learn together with a diverse team of employees. In recruiting for team members, we welcome the unique contributions that you can bring to us and the work we do.

The Center for Preparedness and Response (CPR) within the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) is a critical center dedicated to safeguarding the health and well-being of Californians during public health emergencies. CPR coordinates statewide preparedness, response, recovery, and mitigation efforts for events such as natural disasters, disease outbreaks, bioterrorism, and other emergencies impacting public health.

Through robust planning, collaboration with local health departments, and partnerships with federal, state, and community organizations, CPR ensures readiness to manage and mitigate health threats effectively. Its responsibilities include developing emergency response plans, training health professionals, conducting exercises to test response capabilities, and providing resources and guidance to strengthen California’s public health infrastructure. By fostering resilience and preparedness, CPR plays a vital role in protecting the state’s diverse populations from evolving health challenges.

The Emergency Preparedness Exercise and Evaluation Analyst supports CDPH’s mission by leading and coordinating emergency response exercises, trainings, and evaluations to strengthen statewide public health preparedness. The analyst independently develops and implements complex exercises and drills, providing feedback and documenting lessons learned to improve plans, procedures, and policies. They lead the creation of After Action Reports and Improvement Plans, track corrective actions, and report progress to management. The role also includes planning and delivering a variety of emergency response trainings, collaborating with subject matter experts, and enhancing eLearning and webinar content. Additionally, the analyst oversees development of the Multi-Year Integrated Preparedness Plan and ensures alignment with federal grant requirements. The position requires coordination with local jurisdictions, participation in statewide and federal training activities, and occasional travel.

In addition to evaluating each candidate’s relative ability, as demonstrated by quality and breadth of experience, the following factors will provide the basis for competitively evaluating each candidate:

• Experience helping plan or support emergency preparedness activities or training exercises, such as tabletop or drill-based scenarios.
• Ability to develop exercise materials (such as plans, manuals, or evaluation tools) and provide summary results and improvement plans.
• Knowledge of California public health and medical emergency response systems.
• Experience providing technical assistance to local health departments, healthcare partners, and other internal and external stakeholders on exercise planning and evaluation requirements.
• Skill in managing multiple complex projects, timelines, and planning teams; ability to meet deadlines and communicate risks or updates to management.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills for preparing clear and concise documentation; ability to brief leadership and support decision-making processes.
• Ability to coordinate with local, regional, state, federal, healthcare, and private-sector partners to support exercise and training initiatives.
• Ability to travel for meetings, conferences, exercises, and site visits as required (up to 10%).