Exercise Planner

MELE Associates, Inc. (MELE) maintains a contract with the National Security Administration (NNSA) Office of Nuclear Incident Response (NA-81). MELE requires an exceptional candidate to fill a Counterterrorism Exercise Planner position to assist in the planning, execution, and evaluation of the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) internal and interagency nuclear incident response exercises. These actions primarily consist of working with a small team to plan the exercise while supporting the exercise director and the evaluation team with finalizing exercise evaluation guides, inputting controller observations into a database, and drafting/reviewing exercise after action reviews.

The emergency response organization position will require support outside of normal office hours. Additionally, certification as an emergency response team member is required with frequent on-call duties. Will require domestic and infrequent international overnight travel.

Essential Functions:

• Provide guidance, consultation, and facilitation for the Federal client and project team by planning, designing, executing, and evaluating exercises supported with exercise-related products.
• Support the planning and design phases to NNSA asset, intra- and inter-agency, and national level nuclear incident response exercises by preparing and disseminating products such as the Exercise Plan (EXPLAN), Controller/Evaluator (C/E) Handbook, Master Scenario Events List (MSEL), player briefings, and After Action Reports/Corrective Action Plans (AAR/CAP) in the Homeland Security Exercise Evaluation Program (HSEEP) format.
• Develops, coordinates, and assists in the implementation of annual exercise and training and staffing plans.
• Develops, schedules, and assists in the execution of all levels of training and administration of exercises.
• Prepares and manages complex training aids including their design and creation to support a wide range of exercise objectives
• Provides operational and staff support to disaster preparedness requirements and program responsibilities of Nuclear Emergency Support Team (NEST) Render Safe program managers (i.e. Joint Technical Operations Team, Accident Response Group, and Render Safe Stabilization Operations).
• All other duties as assigned.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s Degree (desired fields include Emergency Management, First Responder, Antiterrorism, Security fields, or equivalent). Preference is made to degrees within the national security mission to include Homeland Security, International Affairs, Emergency and Disaster Management, Government & Politics, or cognate disciplines.
• Minimum five years emergency response program experience with an emphasis radiological and nuclear response policy and expertise preferred. Minimum two years of experience developing, planning, executing exercises including TTX, CPX, FTX and After-Action events and HSEEP qualified.
• 1 to 7 years of experience in one or more of the disciplines of exercise design, emergency management, terrorism/WMD terrorism response, foreign affairs, and law enforcement.
• Demonstrated experience must include one and preferably more than one of the following disciplines:
  • exercise design, development, coordination, and facilitation of realistic CT/WMD tabletop exercises (TTXs)
  • law enforcement and/or emergency management experience that includes the response to terrorist/WMD threats and attacks
  • infrastructure protection
  • CT/WMD national policy, planning, and security affairs.
• Must be able to professionally deliver technical briefings and material in a Senior Leader environment supported by subject matter policy expertise to guide policy discussions.
• Demonstrated writing and editing skills in the creation of documents and procedures.
• Willingness to work directly with clients in an environment that changes rapidly; must possess a mature approach to personal interactions with others.
• Skilled in articulating complex issues at an easily understood level in both oral and written form.
• Professional level of fluency in Microsoft Office (particularly PowerPoint) suite of applications.
• Must have or will be expected to quickly learn the following skills: video editing and design (Premiere Pro), virtual platform management and facilitation (Microsoft Teams and Zoom)
• Must be an independent self-starter with excellent organizational skills, an ability to multi-task, and comfortable working with a team of technical experts in varying fields of security and emergency operations disciplines
• Must have excellent research and analytical skills and public speaking or facilitation experience, and experience working collaboratively with strong interpersonal skills.
• Both domestic and international travel requirements comprise approximately 10% of the job; a U.S. passport is required.
• Able to work after hours, extended shifts, and on weekends when required during emergency responses and exercises.
• Travel is required. Travel is "best cost" to the government and only economy airfare and economy-class rental cars will be allowed.
• Able to lift 50 pounds, carry your own luggage, and walk up to a quarter of a mile to work locations.
• Candidate must have a valid Top-Secret security clearance. DOE site access requires the qualified candidate to be a U.S. citizen, have a valid Top-Secret security clearance, and obtain a DOE “Q” security clearance within 30 days of employment.
• The candidate’s written consent to conduct a background check for the purposes of obtaining a security clearance may be required as a condition of employment.
• Certain positions requiring a security clearance may require the periodic successful completion of a counterintelligence-scope polygraph examination.
• Ongoing reviews and tests for the absence of any illegal substances may be conducted as a requirement for ongoing access to DOE sites. The candidate’s written consent to conduct such tests may be required as a condition of employment.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience working with the interagency on matters related to radiological and nuclear response is recommended.

Location:

Washington D.C. National Capitol Area Remote; Potentially Onsite at DOE Headquarters, Forrestal Building in the future.

Salary:

• Salaries are determined based on several factors including external market data, internal equity, and the candidate’s related knowledge, skills, and abilities for the position.

Benefits MELE Offers Our Team

• Hybrid remote/office work environment – must work at MELE’s headquarters office in Rockville, MD three days a week (two days working from home)
• Employer-paid employee Medical, Dental and Vision Care
• Low-Cost Family Health Care offered.
• 11 Paid Federal Holidays
• Paid time off (PTO)
• 401(k) with Employer Match

Requisition Number: EXERC001698