Security Dispatcher

NC Community Colleges; Charlotte (NC); On-site; USD 42,000 - 54,000; Full time

Job summary

NC Community Colleges seeks a Security Dispatcher to monitor communications and coordinate responses between campus security, emergency responders, and college staff. The role requires quick decision-making, calm communication, and precise record-keeping to support campus safety.

The ideal candidate has a high school diploma or GED with at least three years of related public safety experience, plus CJIS/NCIC training and the ability to obtain required certifications within college timelines.

Qualifications

• High School Diploma or GED with 3 years of related public safety experience.
• Related postsecondary education may substitute for part of the experience.
• Experience with public safety radio, CAD, call-recording, alarm-monitoring, video, access-control, and related systems.
• Equivalent combination of education and experience may be considered.
• Must pass a pre-employment background check and meet security requirements.
• Must obtain and maintain DCIN/NCIC certification and CJIS training within required timeframes.
• College may require additional dispatcher competency trainings.

Responsibilities

• Receives and processes emergency and non-emergency calls, radio traffic, alarms, and service requests.
• Prioritizes incidents and documents essential information, hazards, locations, and resources.
• Dispatches College Police and security personnel and coordinates with 911 and external agencies.
• Operates radio, telephone, CAD, video, access-control, and alarm systems; maintains unit status and records.
• Maintains situational awareness and relays critical information to responders.
• Documents calls, incidents, and actions with accurate time-stamped records.
• Monitors security systems and conducts routine checks; reports issues per policy.
• Supports emergency operations and notifications as needed.
• Maintains confidentiality and adheres to information-security requirements.

Skills

Public safety dispatch

Radio/CAD systems

Communication under pressure

Education

High School Diploma or GED

Tools

Radio systems

CAD systems

Video management

Access control systems

Alarm monitoring systems

Job description

• High School Diploma or GED and three years of progressively responsible experience in public safety dispatch, law enforcement communications, campus security communications, emergency communications, security operations, alarm or security monitoring, or a closely related field.
• Related postsecondary education or training may substitute for a portion of the experience requirement as determined by the College.
• Demonstrated experience or proficiency in public safety radio, telephone, computer-aided dispatch or incident-management, call-recording, alarm-monitoring, video, access-control, and related communications systems is required.
• An equivalent combination of education and directly related experience may be considered.
• Must pass a pre-employment criminal background check and satisfy any additional screening or access requirements associated with assigned public safety systems and criminal justice information.
• Must obtain and maintain the level of DCIN/NCIC certification, system-access authorization, and CJIS security-awareness training required for assigned duties within the timeframe established by the College and the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation.
• Must obtain and maintain College-required dispatcher competencies and any role-specific certifications, access authorizations, security-awareness training, and continuing education applicable to assigned duties.
• The College may also require completion of an approved public safety telecommunicator or emergency communications training program, accessible-communications training, applicable FEMA Incident Command System courses, and College-specific qualification on assigned communications and security technologies.

General Function

The Security Dispatcher plays a vital role in supporting campus safety and security by serving as the primary communication link between campus security personnel, emergency responders, and the college community. This position is responsible for monitoring communications, receiving and responding to calls for assistance, dispatching security officers to incidents, and coordinating responses to emergency and non-emergency situations. The ideal candidate is dependable, detail-oriented, and able to remain calm under pressure while communicating effectively and prioritizing multiple tasks in a fast-paced environment. This position may require working on holidays and occasional nights and weekends to support campus safety and operational needs.

The Dispatch Center is not a Primary or Secondary Public Safety Answering Point and coordinates requests for municipal police, fire, emergency medical services, and 911 assistance through the appropriate jurisdictional agency. Work requires sound judgment, sustained attention, confidentiality, accurate documentation, clear communication, and consistent compliance with college procedures and applicable requirements governing criminal justice information, records, privacy, confidentiality, and information security.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Receives and processes emergency and non-emergency calls, radio traffic, alarms, emergency phone activations, and other service requests; obtains, prioritizes, and documents essential incident information, hazards, locations, involved persons, and resource needs.
• Applies established procedures to prioritize incidents and determine appropriate responses, including dispatching College Police, security personnel, and other authorized resources; coordinating referrals, transfers, or requests for assistance from 911, municipal police, fire, emergency medical services, and other external agencies; and notifying supervisors or command staff of significant, unusual, or high-risk events.
• Operates radio, telephone, computer-aided dispatch, incident-management, call-recording, video management, access-control, alarm-monitoring, mapping, mass-notification, and related communications systems; maintains unit status and location information; conducts required welfare checks; and promptly reports emergency activations, missed status checks, technology failures, or loss of contact with personnel.
• Maintains situational awareness of active incidents, campus conditions, competing service demands, and operational priorities; controls priority radio traffic within assigned authority; relays critical information to responders; and completes required notifications, escalations, and documentation.
• Creates and maintains complete, accurate, real-time, and time-stamped records of calls for service, incidents, unit activity, alarm activations, notifications, significant communications, transfers, actions taken, and dispositions in approved College systems.
• Monitors campus activity through authorized security technologies; conducts approved incident-related searches; preserves audio, video, communications, and access-control records; and documents evidentiary exports, transfers, and chain-of-custody activities in accordance with established procedures.
• Conducts assigned operational checks of communications and security systems; documents outages or degraded performance; initiates approved continuity, backup, or alternate-location procedures; and reports technical issues in accordance with established processes. Information Technology Services retains responsibility for technical infrastructure, maintenance, and lifecycle management.
• Supports emergency operations, critical incidents, severe weather events, major campus activities, continuity-of-operations events, and Emergency Operations Center activations by performing assigned communications, notification, documentation, relocation, and backup functions.
• Prepares, transmits, or relays authorized emergency notifications, safety messages, and operational communications through designated College systems and documents authorizations, message content, transmission times, and system status.
• Maintains dispatch, incident, recording, and operational records in accordance with applicable retention, public records, privacy, confidentiality, legal-hold, and information-security requirements.
• When assigned DCIN/NCIC access, complies with all applicable certification, security, authorized-use, dissemination, inquiry, documentation, hit-confirmation, logging, and criminal justice information requirements and promptly reports suspected misuse, policy violations, or security concerns.
• Protects confidential, restricted, personally identifiable, educational, criminal justice, law enforcement-sensitive, and security-related information; accesses and disseminates information only for authorized purposes; and refers official records requests to the designated records custodian.
• Performs authorized administrative and operational support functions, including access control, credentialing, scheduling, inventory, system data management, and property-support activities, as workload and operational priorities permit.
• Participates in required training, exercises, drills, testing, quality assurance reviews, competency assessments, continuing education, certifications, and access authorization programs and maintains qualifications required for assigned duties.
• Performs other duties as assigned consistent with the purpose, scope, classification, and operational responsibilities of the position