Dispatcher

Superior, WI
Douglas County Sheriff

Salary: $22.70 – $24.49 Hourly

Position Summary:

Dispatchers receive emergency and routine calls, and dispatch police, fire, and other public safety and service personnel and equipment in a coordinated manner, using a computer-assisted information and telecommunications system.
Entry-level employees in this class receive classroom and on-the-job training and learn to operate a variety of telecommunications and other equipment. Employees learn to receive and transfer calls, monitor traffic and units, transmit and receive information necessary to dispatch public safety and public service personnel and equipment and provide emergency instructions within established guidelines and specified protocols after becoming certified.

The Communication Dispatcher operates a variety of telecommunications and other equipment to receive and transfer calls, monitor traffic of field units, and transmit and receive information necessary to dispatch public safety and public service personnel and equipment. Within departmental guidelines and established protocols, incumbents provide medical emergency instructions after becoming certified. The work involves handling emergency situations with considerable independent judgment, where an error may have extreme consequences, and where the incumbent must possess the ability to function accurately and efficiently under stress. Incumbents must learn and use operating procedures, telecommunications equipment, and protocols and become thoroughly familiar with street locations, jurisdictional boundaries, and the City of Superior and Douglas County geography. Incumbents will be provided training and must be certified as emergency medical dispatchers within the first year of employment. Incumbents work a shift schedule involving night, weekend, and holiday work in a 24-hour, seven-day-a-week operation.

Essential Functions:

  • Operate a variety of telecommunications equipment, including transceivers, radio consoles, telephones, teletype, and computer systems.
  • Answer emergency and non-emergency calls, ask appropriate questions to assess and prioritize calls for assistance.
  • Read and interpret maps to pinpoint emergency areas, give precise directions to public safety personnel.
  • Dispatch and coordinate responses of public safety agencies.
  • Provide pre-arrival instructions for emergency medical calls.
  • Use critical thinking skills to interpret, analyze, and anticipate a situation to resolve problems and provide information.
  • Maintain detailed records and data pertaining to dispatch activities.
  • Participate in training and perform other duties as directed by supervisor.

Requirements:

  • High School Diploma or GED certification required.
  • One year of full-time experience dispatching two or more types of public safety agencies (e.g., police and fire) OR eighteen months of full-time experience dispatching one type of public safety agency (e.g., police or fire) preferred, but not required.