Training and Exercise Specialist

Position Summary

The Training and Exercise Specialist develops and delivers training and exercises that ensure a DHS national cyber operations center workforce remains qualified and mission-ready for 24/7 operations, surge support, and crisis response. This role manages training programs, conducts hands-on instruction and exercises, tracks qualifications and certifications, and supports readiness, modernization, and operational effectiveness across the organization.

Key Responsibilities

Training Program Development

• Conduct training needs assessments for operations center roles.
• Develop qualification standards, curricula, training materials, job aids, and onboarding programs.
• Ensure training products comply with Section 508 accessibility requirements.
• Assess current operations, systems, workflows, readiness gaps, and dependencies to identify training needs.
• Translate approved operational concepts, governance structures, reporting processes, escalation procedures, and mission requirements into measurable learning objectives and qualification criteria.

Training Delivery

• Deliver instructor-led, hands-on, virtual, and on-the-job training.
• Provide instruction on procedures, playbooks, cybersecurity tools, analytics platforms, and AI-assisted workflows.
• Conduct train-the-trainer sessions to enable shift leaders to sustain workforce readiness.
• Train personnel on information validation, escalation procedures, data integrity practices, and operation of new capabilities.
• Coordinate training schedules for geographically distributed teams and 24/7 operations.
• Track corrective actions, validate completion, and incorporate lessons learned into training materials.

Exercise Design and Execution

• Design, conduct, and evaluate tabletop and functional exercises using HSEEP methodology.
• Develop realistic cyber and critical infrastructure scenarios involving federal, state, local, tribal, territorial, and private-sector partners.
• Produce after-action reports and improvement plans and track corrective actions to closure.
• Exercise continuity operations, surge response, governance changes, and incident-response processes.
• Integrate threat, vulnerability, dependency, and consequence assessment methodologies into exercises and evaluation criteria.

Readiness and Certification Management

• Maintain training, qualification, and certification records.
• Provide readiness data and identify qualification gaps or certification expirations.
• Assess learner proficiency against established standards.
• Collect feedback and evaluate training effectiveness in partnership with performance analysts.
• Support readiness reporting with validated training and exercise metrics.

Knowledge and Procedure Management

• Support refinement of procedures, playbooks, and escalation processes through training and exercises.
• Maintain repositories for curricula, scenarios, evaluation guides, qualification records, lessons learned, and after-action reports.
• Ensure training content remains aligned with approved procedures, system changes, and operational requirements.

Quality, Compliance, and Accessibility

• Apply quality-control standards to training and exercise products.
• Verify technical accuracy, accessibility, review processes, and required approvals.
• Ensure compliance with agency security, governance, and information-handling requirements.

Surge Training and Rapid Enablement

• Deliver just-in-time training and updated job aids during incidents, emergencies, or major operational changes.
• Prepare surge and continuity personnel through cross-training, drills, and readiness assessments.
• Support activation and recovery activities under continuity and staffing plans.

Documentation and Knowledge Transfer

• Develop final training and exercise deliverables, including curricula, user guides, job aids, exercise packages, after-action reports, and effectiveness assessments.
• Provide knowledge transfer and maintenance guidance to government personnel.
• For large-scale initiatives, support development of training demonstrations, videos, and communication materials in coordination with project teams.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Education, Instructional Design, Emergency Management, Cybersecurity, or a related field.
• 8+ years of experience developing and delivering training programs.
• 3+ years of experience designing or conducting exercises.
• Experience with instructional design methodologies (such as ADDIE).
• Experience designing and conducting HSEEP-based exercises.
• Experience training technical or operational audiences.
• Experience with learning management systems and training record management.
• Active Top Secret (TS) clearance.
• Eligibility for TS/SCI access.
• Ability to work onsite at DHS Headquarters and other National Capital Region locations.

Preferred Qualifications

• FEMA Master Exercise Practitioner (MEPP) certification or HSEEP training.
• Experience supporting a security operations center, watch floor, or emergency operations center.
• Experience conducting cyber exercises involving critical infrastructure partners.
• CPTD, CTT+, or similar training certifications.
• Experience developing Section 508-compliant training materials.
• Experience supporting DHS, CISA, FEMA, or DoD programs.
• Experience evaluating training effectiveness using the Kirkpatrick model.
• Familiarity with CISA cybersecurity training resources and current HSEEP doctrine.
• Ability to support after-hours, weekend, holiday, on-call, and continuity operations.
• Current DHS Entry on Duty (EOD) suitability determination.
• Experience handling Traffic Light Protocol (TLP) and Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI).