Principal, Emergency Preparedness Planning & Exercise Design

SHIFT:

Day (United States of America)

Seeking Breakthrough Makers
Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) offers countless ways to change lives. Our diverse community of more than 20,000 Breakthrough Makers will inspire you to pursue passions, develop expertise, and drive innovation.
At CHOP, your experience is valued; your voice is heard; and your contributions make a difference for patients and families. Join us as we build on our promise to advance pediatric care—and your career.

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A Brief Overview
The Principal, Emergency Preparedness Planning & Exercise Design (Principal Planner) plays a critical role within the Emergency Preparedness and Business Continuity (EP/BC) programs, possessing extensive knowledge and proven experience across all phases of emergency management: planning, mitigation, response, and recovery. The Principal Planner will have enterprise-wide accountability for developing and managing a comprehensive exercise and testing program that strengthens organizational resilience. This position is responsible for designing, coordinating, and executing a portfolio of crisis response, business continuity, and recovery exercises that align with enterprise risk priorities, regulatory standards, and strategic objectives. Working under the direction of the Senior Director of Emergency Preparedness and Business Continuity, this role partners closely with the Emergency Preparedness and Business Continuity Managers, operational leaders, and key internal stakeholders to ensure readiness across the organization. The Principal Planner will drive an integrated, systems-based approach to testing response capabilities, identifying gaps, and translating lessons learned into sustainable improvements. Effort 40% Management (project management and exercise program development) 30% Strategic (planning and guidance) 30% Technical/Operations (leading and performing technical skills/duties/projects)

What you will do

• Strategic Exercise and Readiness Program Leadership
• Lead the development of a multi-year, enterprise-wide exercise program strategy that aligns with CHOP’s risk intelligence, regulatory mandates, business continuity objectives, and emergency management goals.
• Design, coordinate, and facilitate a full spectrum of exercises—including drills, tabletops, workshops, functional, and full-scale simulations—emphasizing scalable, repeatable, and data-informed models across service lines and business units.
• Develop and manage the annual enterprise exercise calendar, ensuring synchronization with audit cycles, accreditation reviews, and business continuity milestones.
• Integrate risk and impact analytics into scenario design to validate real-world readiness for high-priority threat and hazard scenarios, ensuring testing of both strategic decision-making and operational execution.
• Serve as a senior advisor and subject matter expert in the design, implementation, and continuous evolution of CHOP’s enterprise-wide emergency management framework, ensuring alignment with national standards, regulatory mandates, and emerging risk landscapes. 
• Program Evaluation, Improvement, and Knowledge Management
• Oversee all exercise documentation and deliverables, including objectives, Master Scenario Events Lists (MSELs), injects, facilitator guides, evaluation criteria, and After-Action Reports (AARs) consistent with HSEEP and CHOP internal standards.
• Lead enterprise-wide after-action and improvement planning processes, facilitating multi-disciplinary reviews to identify systemic vulnerabilities, capability gaps, and process inefficiencies.
• Establish and track corrective actions through closure, ensuring accountability and measurable performance improvement across departments.
• Translate exercise findings into actionable updates for enterprise response plans, business continuity strategies, and training programs, fostering a continuous improvement cycle.
• Enterprise Training, Coaching, and Capability Development
• Serve as an internal advisor and coach to departmental preparedness leads, business units, and executive stakeholders on exercise design, facilitation, and evaluation of best practices.
• Support the development and delivery of preparedness and continuity training programs, aligning content with observed readiness g