911 Public Safety Telecommunicator, Calltaker

Full Job Description

Norfolk, Virginia is America's most authentic and urban waterfront city.

Home to the world's largest naval station and the business, arts, and cultural center of Coastal Virginia, Norfolk has been rated a top place to live, work, play, and raise a family by numerous publications.

Working for the City of Norfolk is an opportunity to make a real difference in the lives of others.

With our commitment to competitive pay and a strong retirement package, you can do good for your community and do well for yourself.

Join a caring workplace that proudly celebrates uniqueness, authenticity, and a shared commitment to improving the lives of our residents.

Do you want to make a difference in your community? Would you find it rewarding to be a crucial link in the public safety chain? If you answer yes to these questions, then you may be a good fit for the City of Norfolk’s 911 center. As essential staff members of our agency, Public Safety Call Takers are the first people that a caller interacts with when reporting emergencies in Norfolk. We are seeking a full-time Public Safety Telecommunicator, Call Taker, to join our Team!

Our 911 Call Takers receive extensive paid training to gain knowledge, skills, and abilities that will allow them to be independent decision makers while adhering to established policies and procedures. From their training, our staff is able to:

• Answer non-emergency and emergency calls from the community so police, fire, or EMS services may be dispatched.

• Make decisions and provide clear directions and advice.

Norfolk employees are eligible for a comprehensive benefits package and as a member of a public safety agency this includes no-cost participation in a wellness program which provides massages, saltwater floats, sauna, gym use, and more. We value our first responders and care about their physical and emotional wellness.

Requirements

Essential functions include but are not limited to:

• Learns and responds to emergency and non-emergency requests by answering multi-line telephones, including 911 lines and computer-aided dispatch (CAD), determining the caller’s needs, verifying information given by the caller and sending information to the dispatcher.

Provides additional assistance to the general public by searching wanted information, locating and/or referring phone numbers and addresses to appropriate departments, contacting outside agencies for assistance regarding mutual aid, power failures, gas leaks or other issues.

Access federal, state, and local criminal databases for relevant information.

• Type minimum 30 words per minute. Keyboard proficiency is required to effectively train and certify in this position.

• Attend our in-house Public Safety Telecommunicator academy where you will attain the following certifications: Emergency Medical Dispatcher (EMD), Cardio-Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR), Virginia Criminal Information Network (VCIN/NCIC), Department of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS) certification.

• Train and certify on multi-line E911 and administrative phone lines and associated equipment.

• Field stressful calls while entering information into computer aided dispatch system (CAD) for Police/Fire/EMS dispatch.

• Ability to speak English clearly and effectively control a conversation with distressed callers.

• Ability to read maps, reference books, technical manuals, medical cards, and related correspondence.

• Work involves choices of actions within limits set by standard practices and procedures. Mature and professional judgment is required to apply the proper course of action.

• Maintain communication with other departments which may involve decision-making for public safety purposes.

• Ability to work with various local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies.

• Must be a United States citizen or have been a lawful resident of the United States for the past 10 consecutive years

• May perform other duties such as training employees, attend training classes, conduct tours and public outreach.

Qualifications

Work requires knowledge necessary to understand basic operational and technical processes which may be obtained with six months/one year of advanced study or training past the high school equivalency. Level of knowledge equivalent to four years of high school or equivalency. Junior college, vocational, business, and technical or correspondence schools are preferred.

No experience required

Required:

• This position requires the successful completion of a typing test that will be sent to you via email
• Attend our in-house Public Safety Telecommunicator academy where you will attain the following certifications: Emergency Medical Dispatcher (EMD), Cardio-Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR), Virginia Criminal Information Network(VCIN/NCIC) and successfully pass.

Preferred:

• Education related to Criminal Justice, Emergency Medical, or other related fields.
• Ability to easily navigate a desktop computer and effectively direct customer service in a stressful environment.
• Keyboard efficiency.

Additional Information

Must be a United States citizen or have been a lawful resident of the United States for the past 10 consecutive years.Typing 30 WPM.

Must pass the Basic Telecommunicator’s Academy, Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), Emergency Medical Dispatch, Virginia Criminal Information Network (VCIN) and National Crime Information Center (NCIC) certifications within six months of employment.

Normal visual acuity and field of vision and speaking. Hearing must follow the National Emergency Number Association (NENA) guidelines.

Working Hours: Our staff works 12-hour shifts; Day shift starts at 7 a.m. and Night shift starts at 7 p.m. Day and Night shift rotates monthly.

This position works 24 hours in the first week (Tues/Wed), 60 hours in the second week (Sat/Sun/Mon and Thurs/Fri) for a total of 84 hours in a two-week period.

Operational needs of the department will dictate assignments and shift assignments.Practice Typing Test:

If you’d like to brush up on your typing skills, here’s a practice link you can use https://thepracticetest.com/typing/tests/business-topics/

• Please Note: While completion of a typing test is a requirement for this position, the following practice test is provided solely for your preparation. It is not graded, and we do not have access to your results. This is not the official typing test used for scoring during the hiring process.