Emergency Communications Officer

Recruitment For The Winter 2027 Basic Dispatch Academy

The City of Richmond Department of Emergency Communications is currently seeking qualified and dedicated candidates to fill several entry-level and experienced 9-1-1 Emergency Communications Officer positions to be a critical and integral part of accomplishing the public safety mission for the City of Richmond! Emergency Communications Officers work in a fast-paced, high call volume 9-1-1 operations center. The department is seeking candidates who have the ability to multi-task, maintain an efficient and calm demeanor in handling stressful situations, and follow city, state, and federal policies. The 9-1-1 center is open 365 days a year, 24 hours a day. Available work schedules include twelve-hour day or overnight shifts, which includes weekends and holidays. As part of a Uniformed Operations, employees may be required to wear appropriate uniforms. The Emergency Communications Officer position is part of the City of Richmond's broadband program that provides career progression through acquiring experience and specific skill sets!

This is an essential position, which requires the selected candidate to report to work for emergency and on-call duty in response to inclement weather/natural disasters. This position requires working overtime, including weekends, nights, and holidays as necessary.

Duties Include But Are Not Limited To

• Receiving and prioritizing all incoming calls and texts to the 911 Operations Center (9-1-1 calls, emergency, and non-emergency calls received from citizens and allied agencies requesting service or information) while entering information into computer-aided dispatch system;
• Dispatching and coordinating public safety responses ranging from routine to critical; monitoring multiple radio frequencies; relaying emergency and non-emergency information to public safety personnel in the field;
• Performing data entry, word processing, and related duties as assigned.

Qualifications, Special Certifications and Licenses

Minimum Training and Experience:

• High School Diploma or GED
• A minimum of one year of communications or dispatch experience or two years of related experience
• An equivalent combination of training and experience (as approved by the department) may be used to meet the minimum qualifications of the classification

Preferred Qualifications:

• At least one year of experience in fast-paced customer service environment
• Strong verbal and written communication and listening skills
• At least one (1) year experience in a 9-1-1 environment
• Two-way radio and or communications experience

Licensing, Certifications, and/or Other Special Requirements:

• Incumbents must pass an initial skills assessment, and as assigned, are required to be VCIN/NCIC certified. Incumbents must pass a critical skills examination and a suitability assessment.
• Incumbents must pass an extensive background investigation to include local, state, and federal criminal history checks, medical screening, psychological evaluation, and polygraph examination.
• The emergency center is open and staffed 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. As assigned, incumbents must be available to work:
• Day, evening or midnight shifts
• Up to a 12-hour regular shift
• Weekday and weekends
• Holidays
• Mandatory overtime
• Incumbents are considered essential personnel and must be available to report to work during inclement weather, disasters, and emergencies.
• As part of a Uniformed Operation, employees must wear the appropriate uniforms.

Special Requirements:

• Employees are required to successfully complete all state-mandated certification programs, including but not limited to, the NCIC/VCIN certification, Department of Criminal Justice Service Telecommunications certification within Department established time frames.

Criminal Background:

• An applicant cannot have been convicted of any offenses that will deny the applicant from being able to possess the Virginia Criminal Information Network, National Crime Information Center certification per the Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS) Security Policy CJISD-ITS-DOC- 08140-5.8.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

Knowledge (some combination of the following):

• Basic dispatch codes, standard abbreviations and industry terminology commonly used by emergency medical services, fire department, and law enforcement agencies
• Safety and security
• Data entry
• Department policies and procedures related to emergency communications, disasters, special responses, etc.
• Electronic databases and related software applications such as CentraCom, Open Fox, RMS, Live Mum, Virginia Criminal Information Network, National Crime Information Center, etc.
• Equipment types for fire and police radios
• Jurisdictional boundaries as well as thoroughfares, landmarks, public buildings, and waterways throughout Virginia
• Map reading
• Relevant rules, regulations, and procedures, including safety procedures such as CPR and First Aid
• Station locations for fire radio communications
• Various systems such as Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) system, Intrado 9-1-1- telephone system, telecommunication systems, etc.

Skills (some combination of the following):

• Answering calls within ten (10) seconds
• Dispatching and coordinating public safety responses including routine and critical
• Dispatching calls within allotted timeframe for different priorities
• Using multiple pieces of equipment at once such as answering a phone and viewing six computer screens
• Conducting quality assurance for calls
• Communicating to various internal and external departments
• Creating monthly reports
• Developing and creating training programs
• Ensuring compliance with protocols and service standards
• Providing employee feedback and training recommendations
• Reading, writing and/or translating Spanish, if focus area
• Relaying and retaining information
• Typing 85 words per minute (wpm)
• Oral and written communication

Abilities (some combination of the following):

• Show empathy and compassion
• React quickly yet maintain a calm approach during stressful situations
• Follow standard procedures and established practices
• Multi-task

Americans with Disabilities Act Requirements

Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable qualified individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of the job. Prospective and current employees are invited to discuss accommodations.

Environmental Hazards: Working conditions may include exposure to travel to other locations within the City of Richmond as well as outside of the City of Richmond; exposure to hazardous physical conditions such as mechanical parts, electrical currents, vibrations, etc.; atmospheric conditions such as fumes, odors, dusts, gases, and poor ventilation; inadequate lighting; intense noise; and environmental hazards such as disruptive people, imminent danger, and a threatening environment.

Physical Requirements and Working Environment: Due to the nature of work assignments, incumbents must be able to perform detailed work on multiple, concurrent tasks, with frequent interruptions and under time constraint. The essential duties of this classification may require the ability to regularly finger, talk, hear, see, and perform repetitive motions; and frequently grasp. The working conditions may not include environmental hazards. In terms of the physical strength to perform the essential duties, this classification is considered to be sedentary, exerting up to 10 pounds of force occasionally, and a negligible amount of force frequently or constantly to move objects.

Equal Employment Opportunity Statement

The City of Richmond provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws.

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