Communications Dispatcher Lateral

Salary: $72,468.00 – $91,284.00 Annually

Position Summary:

Under the direction of the Police Chief and supervisors, the Communications Dispatcher Lateral position performs in a training or solo capacity to dispatch Police, Fire, and emergency medical services and personnel and responds to both urgent and non-emergency complaints and calls for service in the City’s Communication Center; performs work under general instructions, but with established policies, procedures and precedents as guides; and performs related duties as required to achieve successful results in support of the City’s mission, goals, policies and objectives.

Essential Functions:

• Receiving, updating and reviewing police, fire, and emergency medical service calls and status of rescue units; prioritizing incidents and radio traffic; dispatching the appropriate police, fire, or rescue units in accordance with established operational guidelines.
• Broadcasting information over radio or phone lines and entering call information into the computer aided dispatch system chronologically; transmitting messages to the appropriate station or location directing unit(s) to respond to calls; announcing information over station paging systems and via radio frequency; maintaining direct contact with field personnel; updating responding unit status, as necessary.
• Receiving calls for service from the public and private alarm systems; determining the nature of the complaints, alarms, or codes for computer input; recording the type of incident, locations, and other details; inputting the information into the computer to be routed to the appropriate Police or Fire dispatcher.
• Working shifts and irregular hours including days, evenings, nights, overtime and including weekends and holidays; may be called back for major emergencies, disasters, and critical incidents.
• Working in an environment that requires the ability to sit for extended periods of time, read color coded displays; use a computer terminal for extended periods; hear sufficiently to accurately and completely obtain information from callers; and communicate clearly to effectively dispatch information over the radio/communication system. Frequent lifting and/or moving up to 10 pounds and occasionally lifting and/or moving up to 25 pounds may be required.
• Providing outstanding internal and external customer service, communicating effectively with the public and fellow employees, solving problems and proactively creating sustainable solutions to issues.
• Conducting duties, responsibilities, tasks and assignments with a constructive, cooperative, positive, professional attitude and demeanor.
• Supporting the City’s mission, goals, policies and objectives.
• Supporting the City’s corporate values of: Openness and honesty; integrity and ethics; accountability; outstanding customer service; teamwork; excellence; and fiscal responsibility.
• Performing other related duties as required.

Requirements:

• Possess a high school diploma or G.E.D. equivalent.
• Be a minimum age of 18 years at the time of appointment.
• Additional college credits and bilingual skills are desirable.
• Possess a minimum of two (2) years as a public safety Communications Dispatcher with computer-aided dispatch experience.
• Applicants will be required to successfully complete position-appropriate testing simulating the emergency services job.
• Have completed and passed a California Certified Dispatcher School and hold a current P.O.S.T Dispatcher Certification, or hold recognized equivalent certification of a State or Municipal Agency.