PUBLIC SAFETY DISPATCHER II

Description

ARE YOU LOOKING FOR AN EXCITING AND REWARDING CAREER OPPORTUNITY?
THE CITY OF CATHEDRAL CITY IS SEEKING WOMEN AND MEN INTERESTED IN CONTINUING A CAREER IN PUBLIC SAFETY DISPATCH
Please review our generous benefit package on the benefits tab included with this posting, and visit our City websites for more information regarding all that the City of Cathedral City has to offer!

www.joincathedralcity.org
www.cathedralcity.govwww.cathedralcitypolice.comwww.discovercathedralcity.com
THIS IS A CONTINUOUS RECRUITMENT AND MAY CLOSE AT ANY TIME WITHOUT PRIOR NOTICE
Under general supervision, receives and processes routine and emergency calls and alarms; dispatches Police, Fire and other public service entities as required; enters, retrieves, and uses data from various automated law enforcement information systems; coordinates with other emergency service providers as appropriate; may assist in the training of less experienced personnel; adheres to applicable policies, procedures, and work methods associated with assigned duties; performs other related duties as required.

DISTINGUISHING CHARACTERISTICS
This is the journey level class in this series, competent to perform all telecommunications and dispatch work within established guidelines. This class differs from the Public Safety Dispatcher I class in that incumbents are expected to perform independently, based on knowledge of the City's equipment, systems, standards and procedures

Essential functions, as defined under the Americans with Disabilities Act, may include the following duties and responsibilities, knowledge, skills and other characteristics. This list of duties and responsibilities is ILLUSTRATIVE ONLY, and is not a comprehensive listing of all functions and tasks performed by positions in this class.

TYPICAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
Positions in this classification typically perform a range of duties at a level of complexity represented by the following types of responsibilities:

• Independently receives and evaluates 911, police and fire emergency and business calls; transfers calls to appropriate parties; dispatches police and fire units to emergency or non-emergency locations; handles inquiries and complaints regarding services from the public.
• Obtain complete and accurate information from individuals in emergency situations, including those who are emotionally distraught, angry or difficult to understand; remain calm and make rapid and sound independent judgments in stressful emergency situations; communicate tactfully and effectively with the public, public safety personnel and others.
• Operates computer consoles for call input, dispatching and continuous update of suspect information and officer locations; enters call information in written or computer-based format; logs and fills out call forms.
• Maintains records of radio calls; operates multi-channel radio systems; monitors other channels while maintaining radio traffic on main channels; maintains radio contact with mobile and portable units; recognized units from other agencies and assists them with City units or supplies requested information.
• Responds to officer-initiated radio traffic and requests and disseminates suspect information from roll call boards, prior calls and bulletins; monitors closed-circuit security cameras.
• Maintains and accesses business and premise history and index files for emergency and other necessary contacts; handles in-house and radio paging, crime-stopper, animal control and other after-hours phone lines.
• Receives non-emergency calls for information and directs callers to the proper person, department or agency; during non-business hours, receives emergency and non-emergency calls for non-safety departments, such as animal control, street maintenance, public utilities and parks maintenance, building maintenance, graffiti control, crime prevention, and City Hall; provides court testimony related to calls as required.
• Assists public safety personnel in the field by relaying information; keeps command staff and field supervisors apprised of emergency situations and dispatches additional personnel and equipment as necessary.
• Performs related clerical duties such as typing, filing and indexing.
• Makes DOJ entries in a timely, accurate manner as per DOJ mandates; missing persons, stolen vehicles, PPI's repo's, firearms and all types of stolen property.
• Prepares records and reports, such as stolen vehicle reports, two truck requests, etc.
• Monitors video surveillance cameras located at the police department facility – including lobby entrance and lobby when occupied after hours.
• Establishes positive working relationships with co-workers, employees within the department, outside agencies, representatives of community organizations, state/local agencies and associations, City management, and the public; works as part of a team, yet may work independently; may represent the Police Department and the City's dispatching services on various work groups, interview panels and committees.
• Observes and complies with all City and mandated safety rules, regulations, and protocols, including properly maintaining workstation and all assigned equipment.
• Uses Clips, Coplink, and/or Global to run warrant checks, identity, weapon, and vehicle checks.
• Participates in updating public safety procedures manuals, computer aided dispatch system and service area maps.
• Assists in the on-the-job training of new employees learning the techniques and procedures of dispatching, operating radio equipment, and operating CAD equipment. Completes daily evaluations when assigned as a Training Officer. May conduct training for the public, volunteers, or employees for the department.
• Participates in call critiques, a variety of training courses, and/or certification sessions.
• Participates in the Quality Improvement process by evaluating calls and providing feedback to Dispatchers.

NOTE: The level and scope of the knowledge and skills listed below are related to job duties as defined under Distinguishing Characteristics.

Knowledge and Application of:
English usage, spelling, grammar, and punctuation; Terminology used in police, fire and related emergency radio and telephone communications; Operation of communication equipment including telephone, radio, paging, computer and related systems; Basic recordkeeping principles and practices; Modern office equipment and software including fax machines, personal computers and devices, and windows-based applications; Operations, services, and activities of a public safety telecommunications and dispatch center; Operational characteristics of modern public safety telecommunications equipment including computer aided dispatch systems and multi-channel radio systems; Law enforcement and emergency service procedures for responding to and handling reported incidents; Techniques of questioning for both emergency and non-emergency calls; Methods and techniques of receiving, prioritizing, and dispatching emergency and non-emergency calls for service; Methods and techniques of telephone etiquette; Methods and techniques of conflict resolution; leadership and training practices and techniques; employee evaluation methods.

Ability to Perform and Successfully Apply Skill In:
Memorizing codes, names, locations and other detailed information; Assessing and prioritizing emergency situations; Attending to multiple activities and sources of input simultaneously; Obtaining information from individuals in emergency situations, including those who are emotionally distraught, angry or difficult to understand; Remaining calm and exercising rapid and sound independent judgments in stressful emergency situations; Communicating tactfully and effectively with public, public safety personnel and others; Interpreting, applying, and explaining applicable federal, state and local policies, procedures, laws, codes and regulations including police records retention and dissemination policies and procedures; Hearing and distinguishing radio voice traffic within normal levels and over background noise; Operating complex radio and telephone systems; Using a computer-aided dispatch system to coordinate emergency response for police, fire and emergency medical services; Operating keyboards, including typewriters and computer terminals at a typing speed of 35 words per minute; Following oral and written instructions; Compiling, maintaining, processing, and preparing a variety of records and reports; Reading and interpreting street maps; Learning City dispatching codes, policies, procedures and equipment; Establishing and maintaining effective working relationships with those contacted in the course of work; training and evaluating new public safety communications personnel.

Training and Experience
Any combination of training and experience that provides the above listed knowledge, skills and abilities may be qualifying. A typical way of qualifying would be:

• Equivalent to graduation from high school and one (1) year of public safety dispatch experience
• Must possess P.O.S.T. Public Safety Dispatcher Basic Certificate
• Emergency Medical Dispatcher (EMD) Certification must be completed within one year of hire
• Possession of a Communications Training Officer Certificate from P.O.S.T. or willingness to attend a 40-hour Communications Training Officer course within 6 months of appointment to the position is required
• Typing speed 35wpm

Other Requirements

• Must be able to pass a background investigation
• Must be willing to work evening, night, weekend and holiday shifts on a rotation basis
• Must be willing to be called back or held over to maintain minimum staffing levels
• Upon conditional offer of employment, selected candidate(s) will be required to pass a physical and psychological evaluation.

WORK ENVIRONMENT
The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this class. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. Employees work under typical office conditions with moderate noise levels.

Physical Demands
While performing the duties of this class, employees are regularly required to sit for long periods of time; talking and acute hearing is required when providing phone, dispatch, and personal service. The position also requires grasping, repetitive hand movement, and fine coordination in retrieving and entering data using a computer keyboard. Employees are frequently required to walk, stand, and to lift and move records and documents weighing up to 20 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision and the ability to adjust focus.

Mental Demands
While performing the duties of this class, employees are regularly required to use written and oral communication skills; read and interpret data, information and documents; analyze and solve problems; observe and interpret situations; learn and apply new information or skills; perform highly detailed work on multiple, concurrent tasks; work under intensive deadlines; and interact with management, staff, customers, the public, and others encountered in the course of work.

APPLICATION AND SELECTION PROCESS
This recruitment will remain open until sufficient, qualified applications are received and may close at any time. To be considered for this opportunity, candidates must submit an application on-line. Based upon the information presented in on the applications, a limited number of candidates who possess qualifications most pertinent to the position will be invited to participate in the selection process. The selection process may include, but is not limited to the following components: application review and evaluation, written examination or exercise, physical examination, practical exercise and interview evaluation.

All notifications will be sent by email only (regardless of the notification preference selected during the on-line application process). Notifications will be sent to the email address listed on your on-line application.

All employment offers made by the City are contingent upon establishing proof of a prospective candidates legal authorization to work in the United States and successfully passing all components of the pre-employment process which may include, but is not limited to: comprehensive background check, criminal history check (livescan fingerprint check), polygraph examination, and post-offer medical evaluation with a drug screen.

What's Next? Apply today and share this posting with anyone else who may be interested!

The City of Cathedral City is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Our goal is to be a diverse workforce that is representative of the citizens we serve. We seek to recruit, develop and retain the most talented individuals from a diverse candidate pool.