Deputy Fire Chief

The City of Newberry: Who are We?

• A top-rated, rapidly growing community with a small-town feel
• Located in the spectacular region of freshwater springs and rivers
• A short drive from the theme park capital of the world (Orlando) and the world-class, sandy beaches of the Gulf and Atlantic oceans.
• Just down the road from the University of Florida (Go Gators!) in an area known for its diverse culture, historical sites, scenic beauty, and cultural events.
• In a State with no income tax, low sales tax, and beautiful seasonal weather

Why you'll love it here:

• More Valued: Open door policies allow you to have a voice to suggest new and better ways of doing what we do and actively participate in the innovation to evolve and grow our organization!
• More Flexible: We value our vacation time as much as our work! You'll be met with flexible and generous leave and work from home options in an environment where we hold ourselves accountable to get the work done on our own time.
• More Impactful: The work we do every day benefits the lives of our 8,000 residents. Your work makes a difference.
• More Secure: Saving for your future? The City offers retirement options through the Florida Retirement System (FRS) as well as 457b and Roth IRA options.

The City of Newberry is recruiting for the exciting opportunity as Deputy Fire Chief. This position works under the direction of the Fire Chief and requires a passion for public service coupled with a high degree of enthusiasm, self-reliance, and job proficiency.

The Deputy Fire Chief is a key member of the City of Newberry Fire Department Command Staff. This position functions as second-in-command of the fire department and acts on behalf of the Fire Chief in the Chief’s absence or at the Chief’s direction. Assist in the overall leadership, management, administration, and operation of the Fire Department. The Deputy Chief is responsible for developing and administering departmental programs and processes in alignment with the vision, mission, and values set forth by the City and Fire Chief. The Deputy Chief performs highly accountable and technical work to facilitate departmental operations; including short and long-term planning; budget administration; personnel management; emergency services delivery; community risk reduction; and community engagement activities.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

• Embraces the City’s core values of Trust, Respect, Integrity, Accountability, Leadership, and Superior Service.
• Successfully leads and manages personnel while maintaining a positive attitude and work environment; champions a culture of excellence that encourages and embraces new ideas, develops department personnel, and welcomes diverse perspectives.
• Performs analyses by utilizing organizational performance measures and data reporting tools to identify trends, opportunities, or other information to enhance service delivery.
• Perform fire safety inspections and fire systems plans reviews.
• Act in accordance with the City of Newberry Employee Handbook, the Newberry Fire Department Policies and Procedures and the current version of the IAFF Local 3852 (Newberry Branch) Collective Bargaining Agreement.
• Respond to all-hazards incidents as needed and perform within the Incident Command System (ICS) structure as appropriate and necessary.
• Perform other duties as assigned.
• Complete documentation and data entry into the department’s RMS software programs related to all assigned functions including employee recognition; training; inspections; attendance; evaluation and review; and corrective action.
• Perform basic office work functions, such as copying, scanning, typing, filing, writing memos and sorting.
• Research, review and recommend equipment and programs that will improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the delivery of services. Prepare purchase orders and/or budget requests as necessary.
• Facilitate shift meetings with command staff, company officers, and line personnel regarding department activities.
• Conduct employee performance evaluations and recommend discipline and commendations when warranted.
• Support and uphold Continuous Improvement Processes (CIP) for all department programs to maintain a high level of service to the community.
• Assist with the development of short and long-term planning strategies.

Education and Experience:

• Associate degree or bachelor’s degree in fire science, public administration, or closely related field is preferred.
• Minimum of 5 years supervisory/managerial experience in fire prevention/suppression and emergency medical services, or any equivalent combination of related education, training, and experience which provides the required knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform the essential job functions.
• Five (5) years of experience in the rank of Company Officer or above in the Fire Service.
• Florida Firefighter II Standards as authorized by F.S.S. 633.
• Florida Driver Operator.
• Florida Fire Instructor II.
• Florida Fire Inspector I.
• Florida Fire Officer II.
• Florida EMT.
• EVOC.
• Florida Driver License class D with E endorsement.
• NIMS 100, 200, 300, 400, 700, and 800.
• CPR.
• Credentialed Chief Fire Officer (Center for Public Safety Excellence) - Preferred.
• Executive Fire Officer (National Fire Academy) - Preferred.
• Paramedic License is preferred.
• An equivalent combination of education, training, and experience may be substituted at the City’s discretion.

Knowledge, Skills, & Abilities:

Knowledge of:

• The principles, practices, methods, and equipment employed in modern firefighting.
• Fire hazards and fire prevention techniques.
• The geographical layout of the City of Newberry, street names and numbers as well as hydrant locations.
• Emergency medical service techniques.
• The rules and regulations of the department and City ordinances pertaining to fire prevention.

Ability to:

• Direct and coordinate a multidisciplinary staff in firefighting, fire prevention, and fire service activities.
• Perform a broad range of supervisory responsibilities over others.
• Maintain discipline and respect of employees.
• Communicate orally with customers, clients, or the public in face-to-face one-on-one settings, in group settings, or using a telephone.
• Comprehend and make inferences from written material.
• Observe, monitor, or compare data to determine compliance with prescribed operating standards.
• Establish relationships and work cooperatively with City officials, employees, and the public.
• Lead and command effectively in emergency situations.
• Produce written documents with clearly organized thoughts using proper sentence construction, punctuation, and grammar.
• Review and check the work products of others for conformance to established standards.

Environmental and physical demands:

The work environment characteristics described below are representative of those an employee may encounter while performing the essential functions of this job.

• While performing the duties of this position, the employee is frequently required to: stand, walk, balance, sit, kneel, crouch, stoop, climb, bend, crawl; use hands to finger, handle, feel or operate objects, tools, or controls; reach with hands and arms; climb stairs and ladders; and be able to traverse unstable surfaces. The position requires mobility in residential, commercial, and industrial facilities as well as outdoor environments.
• Duties involve moving materials weighing up to 100 pounds on a regular basis, such as boxes, office equipment, specialized medical equipment, etc., and occasionally weighing over 100 pounds.
• Manual dexterity and coordination are required for approximately 90% of the work period while operating equipment such as computer keyboard, telephone, and motorized vehicles.
• At times the employee will be required to operate in conditions where noise levels are elevated and hearing protection may be required. The noise level in the work environment is typical of most office environments.
• In the course of duties, the employee may encounter hazardous materials, blood-borne pathogens, and/or other hazardous environments.
• Part of the work period may be spent in other environments which may expose the employee to inclement weather, hazardous materials and other extreme and/or dangerous environments where personal protective equipment may be required.
• Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, peripheral vision, depth perception and the ability to adjust focus with or without corrective measures.
• May be required to report to work during City/State or Federal declared emergencies.

The City of Newberry is an Equal Opportunity Employer. The Americans with Disabilities Act requires the city to provide reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities. Prospective and current employees are encouraged to discuss potential accommodations with management.

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform all the essential job functions. Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the primary job functions described herein. The job functions described are not to be construed as a complete statement of all duties performed. Employees may be assigned additional duties by management as deemed necessary. Duties not contained herein may be considered essential to performing this job successfully, just as though they were included in this job description.

The City of Newberry has the right to revise this job description at any time. This description does not represent in any way a contract of employment.