Assistant Fire Chief

Assistant Fire Chief

The City of Alexandria is located in Northern Virginia and is bordered by the District of Columbia (Potomac River), Arlington and Fairfax counties. With an estimated population of 159,200 and a land area nearly 16 square miles, Alexandria is the seventh largest city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Alexandria has a charming waterfront and is a unique and historic place to live and work. About one-quarter of the City's square miles have been designated as a national or local historic district. We proudly embrace our rich history and seize the endless opportunities that lie ahead. If you are interested in working for the vibrant City of Alexandria, we invite qualified candidates to apply for Assistant Fire Chief of Operations.

An Overview
The Alexandria Fire Department is seeking proven senior executive leaders to join a proud organization with a rich history and a strong tradition in serving the residents, citizens and community in the City of Alexandria. This is a rewarding leadership opportunity to assist the Fire Chief and direct the activities of the Administration or Operations Section.

What You Should Bring
The ideal candidate will have a proven record of leading a diverse staff and a history of consensus building and developing and maintaining strong teams. The Assistant Fire Chief must demonstrate integrity, commitment to diversity and inclusion with a track record of honesty and vision to lead our department. Moreover the candidate must understand the nexus of external relations is integral to internal management while balancing the needs of City Management, community, jurisdictional partners and the department.

• Manages the Fire Emergency Services or EMS functions, conferring with Fire Battalion Chiefs or EMS staff, observing operations at work stations, assigning tasks and projects;
• Acts for the Fire Chief in his/her absence;
• Prepares routine and specialized reports for the Fire Chief and for citizens and citizens' groups;
• Processes and/or resolves complaints, grievances, requests and transfers;
• Assists in planning and organizing the operation of the Department;
• Establishes and enforces policies, procedures, rules and regulations;
• Reviews and revises methods and procedures for operating Departmental functions;
• Responds to major incidents involving Fire Suppression and EMS personnel;
• Coordinates Critical Incident Stress Debriefing (CISD) staff sessions, attends Regional and State meetings, and coordinates CISD training;
• Evaluates the techniques and procedures of medical care given by all EMS personnel;
• Evaluates operating policies and procedures, and recommends changes to improve efficiency and cost-effectiveness;
• Monitors and oversees the ambulance billing process to ensure proper billing, collections, and completeness of required reports;
• Manages the ambulance billing program;
• Maintains liaison with administrators, finance officials, public relations personnel and other staff of the Alexandria Hospital and other agencies involved with the health care delivery system;
• Attends local, Regional, State, and National EMS meetings;
• Directs and coordinates the activities and operations of the Emergency Medical Services Section;
• Reviews daily supervisor activities reports, supervises and evaluates personnel and program operations;
• Assists in the development and monitoring of the division budget, conducts needs assessments and equipment evaluations;
• Prepares reports and correspondence;
• Attends staff meetings and represents the Department at other City and inter-jurisdictional meetings;
• Supervises and participates in the development of new management systems;
• Provides supervision to the clerical/administrative support staff;
• Prepares specifications for new equipment and manages Departmental purchasing operations;
• Attends Council of Governments (COG) Fire Operations Subcommittee meetings, and represents the Fire Chief at other meetings;
• Monitors monthly training to assure quality and required hours are obtained and develops and evaluates minimum standards testing;
• Conducts regular, periodic and special meetings with staff;
• Schedules, assigns, and monitors regular and special projects issued to shift supervisors;
• Inspects vehicles, equipment and supplies for cleanliness, serviceability, proper inventory levels and quality, and conducts factory inspection of new vehicles prior to delivery;
• Keeps abreast of various funding sources and prepares and submits grant proposals;
• Exercises command of staff and material resources in disaster situations having major dimensions, hostage situations, and hazardous materials incidents;
• Assists in the preparation of plans for response to disaster situations;
• Leads, directs and oversees the Fire Emergency Services or Emergency Medical Services Section;
• Provides effective, responsible and continuing leadership in areas of assigned responsibility;
• Continuously formulates, clarifies and implements programs and policies affecting assigned units and functions;
• Coordinates the activities of the assigned area;
• Provides leadership and guidance for the Strategic Planning Process;
  Ensures the development of criteria to evaluate the performance of a variety of programs against the expected results, defines and oversees the collection of data that will provide the information necessary to manage current operations and plan for future needs, evaluates the effectiveness of programs, and coordinates changes to address current and future needs;
• Interprets and analyzes data for budget projections;
• Interprets, formulates, recommends and implements policies, procedures, and precedents in an assigned area;
• Develops and reviews Standard Operating Procedures, General Orders, Medical Protocols, Memoranda and other Departmental Communications;
• Evaluates, coaches/mentors, counsels/disciplines and provides remediation to personnel as needed;
• Prepares and delivers performance evaluations for subordinates;
• Reviews and provides input for performance evaluations for all personnel within the assigned section;
• Makes field inspections of facilities, equipment, personnel and training evolutions;
• Investigates complaints made against the Department;
• Responds to multiple and high-risk alarms, and may assume command at such incidents;
• Responds to emergency incidents to supervise and evaluate subordinates;
• Responds to fires and serious emergencies and, as necessary, advises the Officer-in-Charge or assumes position within the incident management system;
• Critiques an emergency incident after the fact;
• Makes recommendations for improvement for accidents, injuries, loss of damaged property;
• Assesses discipline when appropriate;
• Serves as the liaison and point of contact with other County agencies and civic, business, and community groups, and appears before various groups as senior spokesperson for the Department or as a personal representative of the Fire Chief;
• Develops and approves programs that involve department interaction with the residents and visitors of the City;
• Continues personal higher education and maintains certifications;
• Completes special projects as assigned in support of the City's strategic initiatives;
• Provides City representation to local, regional, State, national and international committees;
• Represents the AFD/CoA in national/state building and fire code hearings;
• Performs related work as required.