Are you seeking a challenging, rewarding, and gratifying career that's more than just a job? The County of San Mateo would like to invite you to begin a career where you will make a real difference and add significant value to public safety.
San Mateo County Public Safety Communications is accepting applications for the position of 911 Communications Dispatcher I.
In the life of a 911 Dispatcher, no day is ever routine - one call may be a minor traffic accident, while the next is a frantic voice screaming for help. Using state-of-the-art equipment and extensive training, you will provide emergency dispatch services for the people of San Mateo County. You can be the difference in someone’s life.
San Mateo County’s Regional Operations Center, located in Redwood City, is home to Public Safety Communications (PSC). The Center boasts state-of-the-art equipment and communication systems, including a brand-new Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) system. The facility provides all the tools for dispatchers to be successful both personally and professionally. The floor-to-ceiling windows in the Center allow plenty of natural light and employees can enjoy the use of an onsite gym, Quiet Room, and large, fully equipped employee kitchen.
PSC’s leadership philosophy centers around a commitment to customer service, dispatcher wellbeing, and overall excellence. PSC is committed to providing on-going training and strives for a team environment with open lines of communication. We stress career development and provide a variety of opportunities for employees including Training Officers, Training Instructors, Tactical Dispatch, Fire Incident Dispatch, QA/QC, and opportunities to lead various projects.
The County of San Mateo offers competitive salary and benefits. The benefits package includes a choice of medical plans, dental coverage, vision coverage, life insurance, flexible spending accounts, and a pension plan. Click here to learn more!
Examples of Duties
Employees in this classification are trained in, and perform the following duties:
- Receive business or emergency calls for law enforcement, fire, medical, and other public service agencies.
- Screen information to determine nature of call, perform call classification, determine priority and jurisdiction, and document activity.
- Screen and prioritize telephone workload.
- Remain cognizant of workloads and specific systems status.
- Provide support and assistance in a team concept during day-to-day operations, and critical or large-scale incidents.
- Assist in the coordination of mutual aid incidents.
- Develop and foster a positive working rapport with direct and in-direct customers, the public, and co-workers.
- Testify in court regarding legal proceeding related to dispatch call(s) received.
- Prepare and submit various reports such as incident reports.
- Develop and maintain working knowledge of highways, streets, buildings, and major points of interest in the County and adjacent areas.
- Remain current on procedures for manual dispatch operations and Communications Center evacuation.
- Provide off hours services as required.
- Perform related duties as assigned.
Qualifications
Education and Experience: Any combination of education and experience that would likely provide the knowledge, skills, and abilities is qualifying.
- A typical way to qualify is a minimum of one year of experience receiving and processing calls while performing multiple tasks simultaneously.
Knowledge of:
- English language, spelling, grammar, and punctuation.
- Customer service and interpersonal communications principles.
- Computer operation and use in office and Communications Center environments.
- Basic principles in communicating by means of face-to-face contact, telephone, and/or data terminals.
- Various resources within the County to provide referrals to the public and public safety agencies.
Skill/Ability to:
- Speak, read, and write English clearly.
- Communicate clearly and concisely, in English, both orally and in writing.
- Comprehend, interpret, relay, and document information via telephone, computer software/ data terminals, or other related technology.
- Screen and interpret general data and filter relevant information.
- Learn and operate Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) Systems and other related technology.
- Read and interpret various mapping devices and relay pertinent information.
- Work under pressure, exercising good judgment and common sense while making sound decisions in emergency situations.
- Perform multiple tasks simultaneously.
- Listen, understand, and relay information via telephone and in person.
- Remain calm and controlled under stressful periods while projecting a professional demeanor.
- Establish and maintain positive and courteous working relationships with customers, the community, and co-workers.
- Work with the Communications Center team while maintaining assigned job responsibilities and duties.
- Anticipate and adapt to fluctuating workloads in the Communications Center.
- Communicate and receive constructive feedback and opinions to affect change.
- Access and refer to information using available resources.
- Read, interpret, understand, and follow written and oral instructions and/or information.
- Remain seated for long periods of time.
- Read and interpret text/data on electronic screens, computer printouts, and a variety of maps.
- Remain focused and be able to hear in a noisy environment while communicating via telephone or face to face.
Other requirements of the position:
- Successfully complete a pre-employment medical examination and be subject to polygraph testing.
- Follow strict drug use standards and guidelines.
- Possess good moral character and psychological suitability as determined by a thorough background investigation, including fingerprinting and psychological evaluation.
- Be willing to work the day, swing, graveyard, rotating, holiday, and weekend shifts.
- Be willing to work 12 to 16 hours per day.
- Be willing to accept overtime assignments, including last minute spontaneous mandatory assignments.
Application/Examination
This is an Open and Promotional recruitment. Anyone may apply. Current County of San Mateo employees with at least six months (1040 hours) of continuous service in classified regular, probationary, Confidential or Management extra-help/limited term, or SEIU or AFSCME represented extra help/limited term positions prior to the final filing date will receive five points added to their final passing score on this examination.
IMPORTANT: Applications for this position will only be accepted online. If you are currently on the County's website, you may click the “Apply” button. If you are not on the County's website, please go to https://jobs.smcgov.org/ to apply. Online applications must be received by the Human Resources Department before midnight on the final filing date.
The examination process will consist of an application review and the administration of the computer based CritiCall Examination (weight: 100%). Applicants whose application passes the application review will be invited to take the CritiCall exam. Candidates who achieve a passing on the CritiCall exam will be placed on the Eligible, or Hiring List based on the order of their score on the exam. The top seven candidates on the Eligible List will be considered to fill one vacancy. For each additional vacancy, one additional candidate will be added to those who can be considered for the positions.
Once the recruitment closes and the applications have been reviewed, applicants will be sent a link to the CritiCall exam. Applicants will have a 14-day window in which to complete the examination. Because the exam is computer based, applicants can take the exam at their convenience during the ten-day time frame.
The CritiCall exam is a computer based Public Safety Dispatcher Pre-Employment Skills test. The wide array of tests within the CritiCall exam provides a comprehensive inventory of a candidate's skills and abilities. Achieving a passing score on the exam is a requirement for employment.
The examination simulates some of the duties and situations a 911 Communications Dispatcher might encounter on the job. No specialized knowledge or skills are required to take the exam.
The CritiCall exam tests for skills and abilities in areas such as decision-making, data entry, call summarization, multi-tasking, cross-referencing, vocalization, character comparison, memory recall, prioritization, mathematics, probability, map reading, reading comprehension, spelling, and sentence clarity.
Once the recruitment closes and all applications have been screened, applicants whose applications pass the screening will be sent a link to take the CritiCall exam. Applicants will have up to ten days to complete the exam. Complete instructions will be sent in the correspondence regarding registering for and taking the exam. The exam can be taken at the convenience of the test taker, during the ten specified days.
Candidates who receive a passing score on the CritiCall exam will be placed on the Hiring List (Eligible List) in the order of the scores from the exam. The top seven candidates from the Hiring List will be considered for one vacancy. One additional candidate will be included for each additional vacancy.
Candidates who successfully pass the CritiCall examination and the panel interview and are being offered a position will be required to complete a pre-employment, POST mandated, background investigation that includes a medical examination and polygraph testing.
To learn more about the CritiCall examination and its contents please click here: CritiCall Exam. (Download PDF reader)
Specific information about a career as a Dispatcher can be found here: Career Overview - Dispatch - The Academy.
For more information about the County of San Mateo Office of Public Safety Communications, visit our website at https://911dispatch.smcgov.org/.
TENTATIVE RECRUITMENT SCHEDULE
San Mateo County is centrally located between San Francisco, San Jose, and the East Bay. With over 750,000 residents, San Mateo is one of the largest and most diverse counties in California and serves a multitude of culturally, ethnically, and linguistically diverse communities. The County of San Mateo is committed to advancing equity to ensure that all employees are welcomed in a safe and inclusive environment. The County seeks to hire, support, and retain employees who reflect our diverse community. We encourage applicants with diverse backgrounds and lived experiences to apply. Eighty percent of employees surveyed stated that they would recommend the County as a great place to work.
The County of San Mateo is an equal opportunity employer committed to fostering diversity, equity, and inclusion at all levels.
HR Contact: Chet Overstreet (04182024) (911 Communications Dispatcher I - V050)
