Positions & Ranks

Positions and Ranks help define your agency's organizational structure. While they may seem similar, they serve different purposes:

Feature	Positions	Ranks
Purpose	Define job roles and responsibilities	Define seniority or hierarchy levels
Per Member	Multiple (a member can hold several positions)	Single (one rank per member)
Examples	Team Leader, Medical Officer, K9 Handler	Member, Senior Member, Captain
Organization	Grouped by category	Ordered by seniority level

When to Use Each

• Use Positions for functional roles: "What does this person do?"
• Use Ranks for hierarchy levels: "Where does this person fall in the chain of command?"

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Accessing Positions & Ranks

1. Navigate to Agency Settings in the left menu
2. Select the Positions or Ranks tab

Required Permissions: Administrator or Agency Settings Editor

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Positions

Positions define the functional roles within your organization. A team member can hold multiple positions simultaneously (e.g., "Team Leader" and "Medical Officer").

Position Categories

Positions are organized into categories for easier management:

Category	Typical Positions
Leadership	Chief, Deputy Chief, Commander
Operations	Team Leader, Squad Leader, Field Coordinator
Training	Training Officer, Instructor, Evaluator
Administrative	Secretary, Treasurer, Membership Coordinator
Logistics	Equipment Manager, Quartermaster, Fleet Manager
Safety	Safety Officer, Risk Manager
Communications	Communications Officer, Public Information Officer
Medical	Medical Officer, EMS Coordinator, First Aid Lead
Other	Any position that doesn't fit above categories

Creating a Position

1. Go to Agency Settings → Positions tab
2. Click Add Position (upper right)
3. Fill in the form:

Field	Required	Description
Position Name	Yes	The title members will see (e.g., "Team Leader")
Category	Yes	Select from the dropdown to group related positions
Description	No	Explain the role's responsibilities
Active	Yes	Toggle on to make available for assignment

4. Click Save

The new position appears in the list, grouped under its category.

Position Examples by Agency Type

Search & Rescue Team

Position	Category	Description
Search Team Leader	Leadership	Leads ground search operations
Medical Officer	Medical	Provides medical oversight and care
K9 Handler	Operations	Works with search dogs
Communications Officer	Communications	Manages radio communications
Training Coordinator	Training	Schedules and tracks training

Fire Department

Position	Category	Description
Fire Chief	Leadership	Department head
Captain	Leadership	Shift or station commander
Lieutenant	Leadership	Assistant shift supervisor
Engineer	Operations	Apparatus operator
Firefighter	Operations	Line firefighter
Safety Officer	Safety	Scene safety oversight

EMS Agency

Position	Category	Description
Medical Director	Leadership	Medical oversight authority
Shift Supervisor	Leadership	Manages daily operations
Paramedic	Operations	Advanced life support provider
EMT	Operations	Basic life support provider
Quality Assurance	Administrative	Reviews call reports

Editing Positions

1. Find the position in the list
2. Click the edit icon (pencil)
3. Modify the fields
4. Click Save

note

Changes to position names are reflected everywhere that position is displayed, including member profiles.

Deleting Positions

1. Click the delete icon (trash can) next to the position
2. Confirm the deletion

caution

You cannot delete system-default positions (marked as "System"). You can deactivate them instead by setting Active to off.

Deactivating vs. Deleting

Action	Effect
Deactivate	Hides from assignment dropdowns but preserves data. Members who had this position keep it.
Delete	Permanently removes the position. Members lose this position assignment.

Recommendation: Deactivate positions you no longer use instead of deleting them.

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Ranks

Ranks define the hierarchy or seniority levels within your organization. Each team member can have only one rank at a time.

How Rank Order Works

Ranks use a Sort Order number to determine their position in lists:

• Lower numbers appear first (higher seniority)
• Higher numbers appear last (lower seniority)

Example:

Rank	Sort Order
Chief	1
Deputy Chief	2
Captain	3
Lieutenant	4
Senior Member	5
Member	6
Probationary	7

Creating a Rank

1. Go to Agency Settings → Ranks tab
2. Click Add Rank (upper right)
3. Fill in the form:

Field	Required	Description
Rank Name	Yes	The title members will see (e.g., "Captain")
Description	No	Explain what this rank means
Sort Order	Yes	Number for ordering (lower = higher seniority)
Active	Yes	Toggle on to make available for assignment

4. Click Save

Auto-Increment

New ranks automatically get a Sort Order of max + 1, placing them at the bottom. Adjust the number to position them correctly in the hierarchy.

Rank Examples by Agency Type

Search & Rescue Team

Rank	Sort Order	Description
Team Leader	1	Overall team authority
Assistant Team Leader	2	Second in command
Senior Member	3	Experienced searcher
Field Member	4	Trained field responder
Support Member	5	Base operations support
Trainee	6	In training program

Fire Department

Rank	Sort Order	Description
Chief	1	Department head
Deputy Chief	2	Assistant department head
Battalion Chief	3	Multi-station supervisor
Captain	4	Station/shift commander
Lieutenant	5	Company officer
Firefighter	6	Line firefighter
Probationary	7	New hire in training

Volunteer Organization

Rank	Sort Order	Description
Director	1	Board director
Coordinator	2	Program coordinator
Senior Volunteer	3	2+ years experience
Volunteer	4	Active volunteer
New Member	5	Recently joined

Editing Ranks

1. Find the rank in the list
2. Click the edit icon (pencil)
3. Modify the fields
4. Click Save

Deleting Ranks

1. Click the delete icon (trash can) next to the rank
2. Confirm the deletion

Cannot Delete Ranks In Use

If any team members have this rank assigned, the delete button will be disabled. You must first:

1. Reassign those members to a different rank, OR
2. Deactivate the rank instead of deleting it

The rank will show a usage count (e.g., "3 members") to help you identify this.

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Assigning Positions & Ranks to Members

Positions and Ranks are assigned when editing a team member's profile.

How to Assign

1. Go to Team Roster
2. Click on a team member to edit
3. Navigate to the Member Info tab
4. Find the Rank and Positions fields:

Field	Selection Type	Notes
Rank	Single dropdown	Select one rank or "None"
Positions	Multi-select with checkboxes	Check all that apply

5. Click Save

What Members See

• Rank and positions appear on the member's profile
• Other team members can see these in the roster view
• Positions display as chips/tags when multiple are assigned

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Import & Export

Positions

Positions support CSV import and export:

Export:

1. Click Export in the Positions tab
2. Downloads all positions as a CSV file

Import:

1. Prepare a CSV with columns: Name, Category, Description
2. Click Import in the Positions tab
3. Upload your file
4. Review and confirm

Ranks

Ranks do not currently have a dedicated import/export feature in the UI.

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Best Practices

Naming Conventions

Do	Don't
"Team Leader"	"TL" or "team leader"
"Communications Officer"	"Comms"
"Probationary Member"	"Probie"

Keep names:

• Professional and clear
• Consistent capitalization
• Spelled out (avoid abbreviations)

Organizing Positions

1. Start with categories — Think about the functional areas of your organization
2. Be specific — "K9 Handler" is better than "Handler"
3. Avoid overlap — If two positions do the same thing, use one
4. Use descriptions — Help members understand what each position entails

Setting Up Ranks

1. Keep it simple — Most organizations need 4-7 ranks
2. Leave gaps in sort order — Use 10, 20, 30 instead of 1, 2, 3 for easier reordering later
3. Match your bylaws — Rank names should align with your organization's official structure
4. Consider progression — Ranks often represent career/volunteer progression

When to Use Positions vs. Ranks

Scenario	Use
John is the training coordinator	Position
John is a senior member	Rank
Maria leads the dive team	Position
Maria outranks other team members	Rank
New member joining the team	Rank (Probationary/Trainee)
That member is also a paramedic	Position (Medical/Paramedic)

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Troubleshooting

"Position not showing in dropdown"

Check that:

1. The position is set to Active
2. You have saved the position after creating it
3. You have refreshed the page if recently added

"Cannot delete rank"

The rank is currently assigned to one or more members. Either:

1. Reassign those members to different ranks first
2. Deactivate the rank instead (set Active to off)

"Sort order not working correctly"

Ranks are sorted by their Sort Order number in ascending order (lowest first). To reorder:

1. Edit each rank
2. Adjust the Sort Order numbers
3. Save each change

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Next Steps

After setting up Positions and Ranks:

1. Add Team Members — Assign positions and ranks during member creation

   • See Team Management

2. Configure Specialties — Link certifications to specialty roles

   • See Agency Specialties

3. Set Permissions — Create permission groups based on positions

   • See Groups & Permissions