Sr Dispatcher

First Student; Ottawa; On-site; CAD 50,000 - 61,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, vision benefits

Paid holidays and vacation time

Career advancement opportunities

Employee Assistance Program

PerkSpot discounts

Job summary

First Student, Inc. is hiring a Senior Dispatcher in Ottawa. The role leads daily routing, scheduling, and dispatch operations with a full-time, Monday–Friday schedule. You will assign drivers, handle route changes, and ensure accurate information and logs for safe, on-time service.

We seek a candidate with 5–7 years of relevant experience, strong communication and problem-solving skills, and knowledge of radio-dispatch equipment. A valid vehicle license is preferred.

Qualifications

• High school diploma or equivalent.
• Five to seven years of relevant experience.
• Previous dispatch, routing, terminal operations, or professional-driving experience.
• Strong communication, customer-service, computer, and problem-solving skills.
• Ability to stay calm, organized, and decisive in a fast-moving environment.
• Knowledge of radio-dispatch equipment.
• Appropriate vehicle license preferred.

Responsibilities

• Lead daily routing, scheduling, and dispatch operations.
• Assign drivers and monitors to routes and oversee route bidding when applicable.
• Respond to open routes, absences, delays, breakdowns, and last-minute changes to keep service moving.
• Provide drivers with accurate route and passenger information.
• Review route changes and maintain required documentation.
• Monitor route hours and adjust to improve productivity and reduce overtime.
• Maintain dispatch logs covering vehicle status and service disruptions.
• Ensure morning and afternoon routes are dry-run before service begins.
• Broadcast daily safety messages and reinforce safety culture.
• Collect pre-trip inspection reports and communicate repair needs to maintenance.
• Coordinate preventive maintenance and fleet concerns with Shop Manager.
• Open or close the location and manage driver call-outs.
• Support drivers, school personnel, families, and customers with timely communication.

Skills

Communication skills

Customer service

Computer skills

Problem-solving

Education

High school diploma or equivalent

Tools

Radio-dispatch equipment

Job description

Senior Dispatcher - Ottawa
Schedule: Full-time, Monday-Friday

Why join First Student as a Senior Dispatcher?

• Competitive Pay: $55,000
• Full-time, Monday-Friday schedule
• Consistent, year-round work
• Medical, dental, vision, and other benefits
• Paid holidays and vacation time
• Career advancement opportunities
• Employee Assistance Program
• Employee discounts through PerkSpot

What You'll Do

• Lead daily routing, scheduling, and dispatch operations.
• Assign drivers and monitors to routes and oversee route bidding when applicable.
• Keep service moving by responding to open routes, absences, delays, breakdowns, and last-minute changes.
• Provide drivers with accurate route and passenger information.
• Review route changes and maintain required documentation.
• Monitor route hours and make adjustments to improve productivity and reduce overtime.
• Maintain accurate dispatch logs covering vehicle status, replacements, late buses, accidents, and service disruptions.
• Ensure morning and afternoon routes are properly dry-run before service begins.
• Broadcast daily safety messages and reinforce First Student's Safety First culture.
• Collect pre-trip inspection reports and communicate repair needs to the maintenance team.
• Partner with the Shop Manager to coordinate preventive maintenance, breakdown response, and fleet concerns.
• Open or close the location and manage driver call-outs as assigned.
• Support drivers, school personnel, families, and customers with timely and professional communication.

What We’re Looking For

• High school diploma or equivalent.
• Five to seven years of relevant experience.
• Previous dispatch, routing, terminal operations, or professional-driving experience.
• Strong communication, customer-service, computer, and problem-solving skills.
• Ability to stay calm, organized, and decisive in a fast-moving environment.
• Knowledge of radio-dispatch equipment.
• Appropriate vehicle license preferred.

Take the lead in keeping Ottawa moving. Join First Student and help deliver safe, dependable transportation every day.

First for a reason:

At First Student, we are a family of 60,000+ employees who take pride in safely transporting more than 5 million students and passengers to and from their destinations each day! Our family of brands include Transco, Total Transportation, Maggies Paratransit, and GVC II. Our employees are at the forefront of safety and innovation; they create and implement the most advanced training and technology the transportation industry has to offer.