Communications Officer

City of South Miami; Town of Florida (NY); On-site; USD 42,000 - 54,000; Full time

Job summary

The City of South Miami seeks a Communications Officer to receive and dispatch calls for police services, coordinating with officers on shift. The role requires handling routine and emergency communications and performing essential clerical duties to support public safety operations.

The position requires English fluency with Spanish preferred, a high school diploma or GED, and the ability to work rotating shifts.

Qualifications

• High school diploma or GED required; associate degree preferred.
• 2+ years in police communications or related field.
• Fluent in English; Spanish preferred.
• Public Safety Telecommunicator certification preferred but not required.

Responsibilities

• Receive, relay, and transmit routine, non-emergency, and emergency police calls.
• Assist officers with notes and background checks as needed.
• Perform clerical tasks: phones, reports, and record keeping.
• Dispatch police units to scenes and monitor radio transmissions.
• Maintain call and dispatch records and ensure data accuracy.

Skills

Radio operation

MS Office

Decision making

Stress management

Bilingual English/Spanish

Education

High School Diploma or GED

Associates degree preferred

Tools

CJIS systems

FCIC/NCIC access

EAgent

Job description

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform the essential job functions satisfactorily. Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the primary job functions herein described. Since every duty associated with this position may not be described herein, employees may be required to perform duties not specifically spelled out in the job description, but which may be reasonably considered to be incidental in the performing of their duties just as though they were explicitly written out in this job description.

This is a broad job description. Employees in this classification with additional essential job functions, education/experience, licenses/certifications, or knowledge/skills/abilities may be placed at a higher tier within the assigned pay grade. The requirements for advancement to a higher tier will be determined by the City Manager.

General Summary

The Communications Officer position is responsible for making effective and efficient decisions based on established policies and procedures. This position is responsible for receiving and dispatching non-emergency calls to Police Officers on shift.

Supervision Received & Exercised

The Communications Officer position exercises no supervision and works under the general supervision of the SCA. This position is classified as a non-exempt, full-time position.

Duties & Responsibilities

• Receives, relays, and/or transmits routine, non-emergency, and emergency calls for police services.
• Assists officers on the scene by providing additional notes and background checks as needed.
• Performsa variety of clerical and administrative work including answering phones, monitoring security cameras and license plate reader (LPR) alerts. Processing offense/incident, arrest reports, promise to appear affidavits, civil citations, crash reports and uniform traffic (UTC) and parking citations.
• Assists with tending to the walk-in public and public services offered such as background checks, fingerprints and report copy requests
• Dispatches police units to crime scenes, emergency situations, and routine service calls.
• Maintains records of all calls, dispatches, and other pertinent information and facts.
• Monitors location and availability of patrol unitsthrough computer aided dispatch terminals and mapping /avl/ radio programs
• Notifies wreckers,and other emergency services to be dispatched to emergencies, crime scenes, and accidents when required.
• Monitors radio calls from other agencies.
• Operates CJIS local systems and FCIC/NCIC equipment and/or software to retrieve information as required.
• Handles teletype entries, deletions and modifications along with administrative messages through EAgent.
• Performsresearch and other related duties and responsibilities as assigned.

Minimum Qualifications Required

• Must be at least 18 years of age, a United States Citizen OR have a valid immigration status/visa, as required.
• Must possess a High School Diploma or GED equivalent.
• Associates degree in related area from an accredited college/university is preferred.
• Minimum of two (2) years of related experience in Police Department communications, or any equivalent combination of related education and experience.
• Fluent in English, both orally and written required; fluent in Spanish preferred.
• Public Safety Telecommunicator Certification preferred but not required.
• Must possess a valid State of Florida driver’s license with an acceptable driving record.

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities

• Knowledge in the operation of radio transmitting equipment.
• Knowledge of modern office practices and standard operating procedures.
• Knowledge of the use of Microsoft Office, Excel, Outlook, Word, PowerPoint.
• Skilled in carrying out orders with precision and speed.
• Ability to make decisions quickly and accurately.
• Ability to learn and apply public safety regulations and procedures.
• Ability to obtain Public Safety Telecommunicator Certification.
• Ability to communicate clearly and concisely both orally and in writing.
• Skilled in handling stressful situations in a calm and professional manner.
• Ability to deal with the public in a courteous and tactful manner.
• Ability to appropriately maintain confidential and sensitive information.
• Ability to carry out exceptional customer service skills.
• Ability to work rotating shifts, including nights, weekends and holidays.
• This position has physical requirements that are needed as follows. Use of sensory skills, (vision, hearing, speaking), lifting objects from five (5) to twenty-five (25) pounds may be required. Physical dexterity to sufficiently operate office equipment, including computer equipment, is required.

Disclaimer

The City of South Miami provides equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, or genetics. In addition to federal law requirements, the City of South Miami complies with applicable state and local laws governing nondiscrimination in employment in every location in which the company has facilities. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation, and training. The City of South Miami provides Veterans’ Preference in accordance with Chapter 295, Florida Statutes. Eligible veterans, servicemembers, and certain spouses and family members may receive preference in employment. Eligible applicants should indicate their eligibility during the application process.

An applicant, who, at any time during the employment application process, demonstrates dishonesty, untruthfulness, withholds information (omissions), makes false statements, or whose background investigation reveals derogatory information or moral turpitude issues, will be disqualified.