Deputy Chief of Training and Operations
2 days ago
Colorado Springs
Job Description JOB SUMMARY: OPERATIONS The Deputy Chief of Operations is responsible for all operational aspects of the district, including supervising the three shift leaders/officers. In the absence of the Fire Chief. The Deputy Chief of Operations shall assume responsible control of the district, perform the duties, and exercise the powers incidental to the Fire Chief’s office. Plans, organizes, directs, and evaluates the Stratmoor Hills Fire District, protects lives, and property from fire and hazardous incident damage, and provides emergency medical service in the Stratmoor Hills Fire District. Ensure that the district incorporates up-to-date fire prevention, fire suppression, hazardous incident mitigation, and emergency medical technologies into its procedures, equipment, and methods. The Deputy Chief of Operations will work closely with the Fire Chief to address the organization's needs. JOB SUMMARY: TRAINING The Deputy Chief of Training is responsible for all training and educational aspects of the district. These duties will include building an annual training schedule for career and volunteer members, identifying instructors and classes to host at SHFD, and identifying conferences to send district leaders and firefighters to for additional education. As Chief Instructor of the Fire Academy, the Deputy Chief will create class schedules, arrange for instructors, and act as an instructor for the academy. The Deputy Chief will attend all JPR practice days and state testing dates. The Deputy Chief will ensure the quality of education and training by utilizing regular class surveys, quizzes, and tests. The Deputy Chief will approve or deny all training requests submitted by the members, both career and volunteer. The regulation, review, and changes to the Master Firefighter Program will be the responsibility of the command staff and training cadre but will be chaired by the Deputy Chief of Training. The Service Bar and Award Program will be the responsibility of the Deputy Chief of Training or their designee. The Junior Firefighter Program Lead Advisor will report directly to the Deputy Chief. ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES · Sets a positive example concerning personal fitness and wellness. Develops, initiates, and supports initiatives that support a healthy workforce and the philosophy that everyone goes home at the end of the shift and retires absent of disability. · Works alongside organization leaders (both career and volunteer), including representatives from the IAFF and the Stratmoor Hills Volunteer Firefighters Incorporated, to continue building and nurturing a compassionate, functional, and positive culture. Ensures accountability, competence, discipline, engagement, recognition, professional development, and succession planning and management. · Provide exceptional leadership to direct subordinates by building a culture of accountability, candor, inclusion, and transparency in the Operation Division. Provides career consultation and development to ensure individuals under their command reach their personal and professional potential. Acts as a bridge to various internal factions – i.e., line, staff, shifts, volunteers, Fire Corps, and auto aid partners- emphasizing camaraderie and teamwork. Eliminates obstacles that prevent moving forward together, as an organization, in solidarity. Emphasizes that safety must always be prioritized over relationships and the desire for acceptance. Encourages a culture where constructive criticism is the norm, and the drive for self-improvement overrides individual ego, personal agendas, and preservation of perceived reputation. Reinforces that credibility is built on honesty, competence, and transparency. Do not tolerate posturing, marginalizing individuals or groups, or self-protection. · Assists in developing, reviewing, and implementing agency policy, plans, procedures, and budgets, ensuring that the department functions within budget appropriations. · Allocates, directs, motivates, and evaluates departmental personnel to help: (1) achieve their individual goals; (2) collectively achieve the department's mission; and (3) lead to employees' growth and accountability for their actions. · Develops and analyzes the department's organizational structure and organizes all major functions into effective and measurable work units within this structure; ensures that personnel are deployed in shifts or working units that efficiently meet the district's needs for service. • Establishes and maintains cooperative relationships with neighboring and regional fire districts and departments to ensure coordinated efforts to address common suppression, prevention, enforcement, and emergency medical services., • Directs and conducts ongoing research into new fire service technologies and trends and recommends implementing programs and equipment to help the department achieve its objectives more efficiently., • Directs and oversees the development and administration of community-based programs and initiatives through civic, school, business, and other organizational groups., • Responsible for the daily oversight of line and staff personnel, including recommending promotions/demotions, salary adjustments, disciplinary actions, scheduling and assigning work, allocating resources, and evaluating performance. Interviews, selects, and recommends members for administrative position vacancies., • Serve as the district's representative to committees and organizations concerned with improvements in fire services, public education, community issues, and departmental public relations., • Presents departmental concerns, issues, and recommendations on significant topics requiring policy direction to the Fire Chief, Deputy Fire Chief, and the Board of Directors., • Identifies federal, state, and private research and development grants; determines the scope of work for which funds are needed and prepares proposals to obtain them., • Respond to alarms and special calls; assumes command if required based on size and complexity of the incident and is subordinate to the Fire Chief., • Oversees the District health and wellness programs., • Directs hiring processes. · Works a rotating on-call shift schedule to be determined by the deputy and the fire chief. OTHER DUTIES: • Participates in the Incident Command System. Respond to major incidents and assume Command staff duties of the incident and emergency personnel as needed., • Serves as a member of the department's Command Staff., • May serve as Acting Fire Chief in the absence of the Fire Chief., • Performs other duties as assigned or required. NECESSARY KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, and ABILITIES: · Knowledge of the methods and equipment utilized in fire and EMS apparatus and equipment management to include vehicle replacement, apparatus and equipment maintenance, and repair techniques. · Knowledge of building construction and the maintenance and repair of facilities. · Knowledge of the acquisition, maintenance, and repair of communication and information systems. · Knowledge and application of Microsoft Office applications · Knowledge of personal exposure protection and prevention. · Knowledge of District-specific information related to community facilities and locations. · Knowledge of proper and safe work practices. · Skill in speaking, reading, writing, and understanding English. · Skill in developing systems of organization. · Skill to work independently in the absence of supervision. · Skill to interpret applicable local, state, and federal regulations and NFPA standards to ensure compliance. · Skill to present complex ideas with audience-oriented styles. · Skill to interpret and analyze data and produce valuable reports, studies, and recommendations. · Skill to interpret and apply detailed policies, procedures, and guidelines. · Skill to operate within the National Incident Management System. • Ability to promote an organizational value system., • Ability to develop ideas and concepts from scratch to a working program, including being creative, advocating for necessary change, and guiding people through change., • Ability to see idea potentials and have self-initiative to research their applications., • Ability to participate in team approaches to problem-solving and arrive at solutions or balances collaboratively., • Ability to anticipate necessary resources and materials., • Ability to learn, operate, and maintain firefighting and emergency medical services equipment., • Ability to learn and use various computer software applications., • Ability to effectively communicate in verbal and written forms., • Ability to follow directions and provide directions or guidance. QUALIFICATIONS: • Possess a bachelor's degree in organizational leadership, public administration, or related field. *A combination of work experience, training, and certification may be substituted at the Fire Chiefs discretion. • Possess the Chief Fire Officer (CFO) designation from the Center for Public Safety Excellence (CPSE) (preferred)., • Possess the Executive Fire Officer (EFO) designation from the National Fire Academy (NFA) (preferred)., • Have a minimum of seven years of supervisory experience., • Have a minimum of two years’ experience as a chief officer (preferred)., • Hold and maintain a valid Driver's License. (Colorado within three months) · Hold and maintain a valid EMT license with I.V. (Paramedic preferred) (Colorado within one month) · Hold and maintain a Fire Instructor II certification (Fire Instructor III within 18 months). • Hold and maintain a Fire Officer II certification (or equivalent). · Hold and maintain a NWCG "Red Card" S130/190 (Single Resource preferred). · Hold and maintain a Hazardous Materials Technician (preferred/required within 18 months). OCCUPATIONAL DEMANDS: · The physical demands and work environment described here represent those that an employee must meet to successfully perform this job's essential functions. Reasonable accommodation may enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. · Work involves walking, talking, hearing, using hands to handle, feel, or operate objects, tools, or controls and reach with hands and arms. Vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and the ability to adjust focus. · The employee may be required to push, pull, lift, and/or carry up to 50 pounds. · The noise level in the work environment is usually moderately quiet while in the office or moderately loud when in the field. · Work may periodically require the employee to climb, balance, bend, stoop, kneel, crouch, and/or crawl. · The employee may be required to work in outside weather conditions, in wet and/or humid conditions, cold to below freezing, or in high, precarious places, near moving mechanical parts, near fumes, airborne particles, and/or toxic or caustic chemicals, near risk of electrical shock and/or vibration. · This position may involve periods of high physical, mental, and emotional stress in distressing situations. RESIDENCY REQUIREMENTS: · Candidate must live in the Fire District boundaries within one-hundred eighty (180) days after successful completion of a one-year (1) probation. This description of the Deputy Chief of Operations and Training does not constitute an employment agreement between the employer and the candidate. It is subject to change by the employer as the employer's needs and requirements change. The candidate signature below constitutes the understanding of the position's requirements, essential functions, and duties. Candidates Name: ____________________________________ Candidate Signature:__________________________________ Date:_______________ Deadline to apply: Friday, November 21, 2025 Please email: for an Employment application Please submit the Employment application, resume and copy of all certificates to: Stratmoor Hills Fire Protection District Attn: Fire Chief Shawn Bittle 2160 B Street Colorado Springs, CO 80906