Dispatcher

City of Northampton; Northampton (MA); On-site; USD 62,000 - 72,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health care

Dental

Vision

Retirement

Deferred compensation

Flexible spending accounts

Life insurance

Long-term disability

Holidays

Vacation

Sick leave

Job summary

City of Northampton is seeking a full-time Dispatcher to manage emergency and non-emergency calls, dispatch responders and maintain communications in the centralized Center.

The role requires a high school diploma and 1–2 years in word processing and customer service. Expect a 4-on/2-off rotating schedule, including weekends and holidays, with comprehensive benefits and ongoing training.

Qualifications

• High school diploma or equivalent required.
• One to two years of word processing and customer service experience preferred.

Responsibilities

• Answer emergency and non-emergency calls via radio and phone, prioritizing based on urgency and time.
• Dispatch police, fire and EMS units and coordinate response with necessary personnel and mutual aid.
• Provide emergency instructions to callers and relay information to responding units.
• Monitor alarm systems, document status, and coordinate maintenance when needed.
• Maintain communications logs and pull relevant data from internal systems for reports.
• Operate office equipment and page personnel as required.
• Attend mandated training and maintain required certifications.

Skills

Emergency dispatch

Radio communications

Multitasking

Customer service

Stress management

Information gathering

Education

High school diploma

1-2 years word processing & customer service experience

Tools

Internal computer systems

Job description

Dispatcher

Three (3) Full-time Vacancy - 40 Hours per week

Grade F; Hourly Rate Range: $26.27 - $34.45

Anticipated Hiring Hourly Rate Range: $26.27 - $29.71

Work Schedule: 4 days on/2 days off schedule, which means you will be working a rotating schedule that will also include weekends and holidays.

The shift that you work is based on seniority and operational need. We hold shift bids biannually.

Definition

Position is responsible for answering calls, reporting emergency and non-emergency incidents, dispatching personnel to respond, performing clerical, administrative, and technical work, and assisting in the administration of the standard operating procedures of the Communications Center in providing around the clock police, fire, and emergency medical services.

Essential Functions

• Answers emergency and non-emergency radio and telephone transmissions in the Communications Center; ascertains nature of calls, gathers all necessary information to transmit or relay, and prioritizes calls based upon their nature and time factors.
• Dispatches and manages the deployment of police, fire and emergency medical personnel and response vehicles for emergency and non-emergency incidents; broadcasts nature, location and time of incident; contacts all required personnel; ensures the presence of additional personnel by contacting those designated for call-back; contacts and coordinates Mutual Aid response, relays information and supplemental information as needed.
• Provides emergency medical instructions to callers by phone; provides pertinent information to responding units by phone and/or radio; coordinates first responder, ambulance and Advanced Life Support responses.
• Monitors alarm systems; keeps accurate information; dispatches units when necessary; notifies personnel when alarms are out of service; assists in testing and maintaining alarms as needed; interprets signals and determines if contact needs to be made to responsible parties and/or subscribers.
• Maintains radio and telephone communications log; documents the location, safety, and status of personnel and equipment; researches call or person’s history in internal computer system, determines relevancy and relays significant history to field personnel; maintains ongoing contact with the responding personnel and keeps them informed of all pertinent information; keeps track of significant information, e.g., broken traffic signals, closed streets, etc., and keeps emergency personnel informed.
• Utilizes radios to monitor and communicate with field personnel; operates office equipment and pages personnel as required.
• Interfaces with Fire Districts, Mutual Aid assignments and Massachusetts State Mobilization Plan.
• Enters and retrieves variety of data and extracts required data from computer and other information systems; maintains reports and records as required or requested.
• Inputs data into forms and reports both manually and digitally; compiles and tabulates data; completes reports to extent possible.
• Broadcasts pertinent weather bulletins, civil defense bulletins, announcements, criminal activity bulletins and any other information as directed by the supervisors and/or police and fire personnel.
• Attends State and City mandated job-related training; acquires and maintains mandatory certifications required for the position by the State 911 Board and/or requested by supervisors, e.g., Enhanced 911, First Responder/CPR, Emergency Medical Dispatch, etc. Attends at least 16 hours of yearly continuing education.
• Trains, assists in training and mentors new dispatchers.
• Assists in keeping site information up to date in the internal database.
• Provides Quality Assurance and peer review when volunteered, trained and assigned by the supervisor
• Performs similar or related work as required.

Supervision Received

Under general supervision. The employee is familiar with the work routine and uses initiative in carrying out recurring assignments independently. The supervisor provides additional, specific instruction for new, difficult or unusual assignments, including suggested work methods. The employee refers unusual situations to the supervisor for advice and further instructions.

Judgement

The work requires examining, analyzing and evaluating facts and circumstances surrounding individual problems, situations or transactions, and determining actions to be taken within the limits of standard or accepted practices. Guidelines include a large body of policies, practices and precedents which may be complex. Judgment is used in analyzing specific situations to determine appropriate actions. Requires understanding, interpreting and applying federal, state and local regulations.

Complexity

The work consists of the practical application of a variety of concepts, practices and specialized techniques relating to a professional or technical field. Assignments typically involve evaluation and interpretation of factors, conditions or unusual circumstances during high stress or communicating with highly emotional people; inspecting, testing or evaluating compliance with established standards or criteria; gathering, analyzing and evaluating facts or data using specialized fact‑finding techniques; or determining the methods to accomplish the work.

Nature and Purpose of Contacts

Relationships are primarily with co-workers, vendors and the public, involving frequent explanation, discussion or interpretation of practices, procedures, regulations or guidelines in order to render service, plan or coordinate work efforts, or resolve operating problems. Other regular contacts are with service recipients and employees of outside organizations. More than ordinary courtesy, tact and diplomacy is required to resolve complaints or deal with hostile, uncooperative or uninformed persons.

Confidentiality

The employee has access to sensitive and confidential information in the performance of their duties.

Education And Experience

High School degree or equivalent and from one to two years of word processing and customer service skills experience in a fast‑paced office or customer service environment, or any equivalent combination of education and experience, required.

Required Criminal Record Check

Required to submit to and successfully pass Massachusetts criminal record check.

Knowledge, Ability, And Skills

Knowledge: Knowledge of Communication Center’s jurisdictional authority relative to all agencies; knowledge of the City’s streets and neighborhoods; knowledge of surrounding communities. Knowledge of Communication Center’s policies and procedures; knowledge of applicable police and fire policies and procedures; knowledge of operation of various computer databases.

Abilities: Ability to perform multiple tasks at the same time; ability to attend to a number of details occurring simultaneously in an accurate manner; ability to prioritize; ability to work as part of a team as well as independently. Ability to think clearly and effectively and handle occasional high levels of stress. Ability to obtain and interpret information during high stress situations or when communicating with highly emotional people and then formulate/condense and relay information concisely and correctly free of emotion or opinion.

Skills: Skilled in interacting with general public in a calm and appropriate manner; skilled in eliciting needed information from an individual who may be a child, injured, in need of emergency service personnel and/or in a highly agitated frame of mind; skilled in providing clear directions over the telephone or the radio.

Work Environment

The work is performed primarily in an office environment. In the case of an emergency situation, the work may be performed outside in an external command unit.

Physical Skills

The work involves physical skills typical of an office environment, including sitting, standing, walking and stooping. May be required to lift objects such as files, boxes of papers, office supplies, and office equipment weighing up to 30 pounds.

Motor Skills

The work may require motor skills for activities such as moving objects, using office equipment, including but not limited to telephones, personal computers, handheld technology, and other office equipment.

Visual Skills

Essential position functions require the ability to review documents for general understanding and the ability to adjust focus to view small print.

Benefits

Full Benefits and privileges consistent with other Non-Represented Employees.

~ Equal Opportunity Employer ~

We offer a complete benefits package to full‑time employees including health care, dental, vision, retirement, deferred compensation plans, flexible spending accounts, life insurance, long-term disability, holidays, vacation, and sick leave. Part‑time employees who work an average of 20 hours per week over the course of a year, receive benefits on a pro‑rated basis. To learn more details, visit our benefits page.