Career Opportunity

Operations Manager, Emergency Communications - Dept. of Emergency Management (0931)

Recruitment: RTF0134630-01139618

Published: June 22, 2023

Apply using SmartRecruiters, the City and County of San Francisco's application portal.

About:

This is a Position-Based Test conducted in accordance with CSC Rule 111A.

• Application Opening: June 22, 2023
• Application Deadline: Interested applicants are encouraged to apply as soon as possible as this announcement may close at any time after 5:00 PM on July 6, 2023
• Compensation: $141,492 - $180,622 annually
• Recruitment ID: RTF0134630-01139618

The current position is located at the San Francisco Department of Emergency Management in the Department Emergency Communications (DEC) Division. The San Francisco Department of Emergency Management (DEM) manages disaster preparation, mitigation, and response; 9-1-1 dispatch, and homeland security grant distribution for the City and County of San Francisco. DEM was created in 2006 by local legislation that reorganized the Emergency Communications Department and the Office of Emergency Services into a single agency. For more information on the Department of Emergency Management, please visit: http://www.sfdem.org/.

Role description

The Operations Manager (0931) will manage the daily operations of the 9-1-1 Operations, providing direction to the three Watch Coordinators (8240) that oversee each of the three different shifts. Each of the three shifts has seven Public Safety Communications Supervisors (8239) and approximately fifty Public Safety Communications Dispatchers (8238). The Operations Manager will be responsible for the performance of these shifts and their personnel, including adherence to all policies and procedures, directing the response to events to ensure appropriate operational performance, and making disciplinary investigations and recommendations for the three levels of subordinate positions. The Operations Manager directly supervises and evaluates the Watch Coordinators, and is indirectly responsible for the supervision and evaluation of the subsequent subordinate position levels. The Operations Manager will assume oversight over the Training Unit, with the Training Coordinator as a fourth direct report. The Training Unit is responsible for the training of all new hires, the on-going training of existing staff, and instruction on all new policies and procedures. The Operations Manager works with other managers such as the Project Coordinators and Continuous Quality Improvement Manager, under the direction of the Assistant Deputy Director (0931), to evaluate procedures, analyze problems, assess levels of training, develop policies and review new systems, but holds primary responsibility for the direct implementation of any changes to daily operations. The Operations Manager helps set division policies, and develop and manage the division budget, particularly related to 9-1-1 operations. Individual duties may be moved between the Operations Manager (0931) and the Assistant Deputy Director (0931) to balance workload as projects and initiatives develop. The Operations Manager fills in for the Deputy Director when necessary, and coordinates with the Deputy Director and Assistant Deputy Director, provides 24/7, 365-day leadership direction to the SF 9-1-1 Center for major emergencies.

Key responsibilities:

• Manages subordinate staff responsible for police, fire and emergency medical response.
• Develops short-term plans and goals and assists in long-term strategic plans and goals.
• Issues decisions about operational issues that arise in the 9-1-1 center.
• Assists development of the departmental budget.
• Monitors and significant administrative oversight of division’s budget.
• Ensures proper and consistent discipline through the Skelly process.
• Manages performance planning and appraisal program for Operations.
• Identifies operational areas for improvement and directs policies, initiatives or trainings to address.
• Directs, instructs and coaches subordinate coordinators and supervisory staff to be able to work as a team to address high-stakes emergencies, as well as handles more day-to-day management/supervisory matters.
• Performs other related duties as assigned.

How to qualify

All candidates must verify that they meet all elements below—education, and length, type, and level of experience including supervision of professionals and certification.

1. Eight (8) years of experience performing public safety dispatch in a large Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP); AND
2. Three (3) years of experience equivalent to class 8240 Public Safety Coordinator, supervising the work of first line supervisor in a PSAP having at least 40 dispatchers; AND
3. Possess P.O.S.T. Basic Dispatch and Supervisor Certificates, EMD Certification and ICS 100, 200, 300, 400, 700, 800 (required at the time of appointment).

Experience substitution: Possession of a baccalaureate degree from an accredited college or university, with major college coursework in Organizational Development, Organizational Management, Human Resources, Administration (such as Accounting/Finance), Criminal Justice, or a closely related field may substitute on a year-for-year basis for up to two (2) years of experience in #2 above.

Desirable Qualifications
The stated desirable qualifications may be used to identify job finalists at the end of the selection process when candidates are referred to hiring.

• Working experience in police, fire and EMS dispatching
• Knowledge about implementing alternative to law enforcement initiatives

Applicants must meet the minimum qualification requirement by the final filing date unless otherwise noted.

One year full-time employment is equivalent to 2,000 hours (2,000 hours of qualifying work experience is based on a 40 hour work week). Any overtime hours that you work above 40 hours per week are not included in the calculation to determine full-time employment.

VERIFICATION: Verification of Education and Experience:
Applicants may be required to submit verification of qualifying education and experience at any point during the recruitment and selection process. If education verification is required, information on how to verify education requirements, including verifying foreign education credits or degree equivalency, can be found at https://sfdhr.org/how-verify-education-requirements

Note: Falsifying one’s education, training, or work experience or attempted deception on the application may result in disqualification for this and future job opportunities with the City and County of San Francisco.

All work experience, education, training and other information substantiating how you meet the minimum qualifications must be included on your application by the filing deadline. Information submitted after the filing deadline will not be considered in determining whether you meet the minimum qualifications.

What else should I know?

After application submission, candidates deemed qualified must complete all subsequent steps to advance in this selection process, which includes the following:

Minimum Qualification Supplemental Questionnaire (MQSQ): 
Candidates will be required to complete a MQSQ as part of the employment application. This MQSQ is designed to obtain specific information regarding an applicant's experience in relation to the Minimum Qualifications (MQ) for this position. The MQSQ will be used to evaluate if the applicant possesses the required minimum qualifications.”

Management Test Battery (Weight: 40%):
Candidates who meet the minimum qualifications will be invited to participate in a computer-based examination designed to measure competencies in job-related areas which may include but not be limited to: Problem Solving; Leadership; Decision Making; Interpersonal skill; Human Resources Management; Team Building; Communication; Conflict Management and Process Improvement. For more information about this Management Test (and a suggested reading list) please click here. Please note: this examination is only held in San Francisco. This is a standardized examination and, therefore, test questions and answers are not available for public inspection or review.

Supplemental Questionnaire Evaluation (Weight: 60%)
Candidates who meet the minimum qualifications will be sent a Supplemental Questionnaire. The Supplemental Questionnaire is designed to measure the knowledge, skills and abilities required for this position.  All candidates’ responses to the Supplemental Questionnaire are subject to verification. All relevant experience, education and/or training must be included in the responses in order to be reviewed in the rating process.

A passing score on the Management Test Battery, and Supplemental Questionnaire must be achieved in order to be placed/ranked on the Eligible List. Candidates will be placed on the eligible list in rank order according to their final score.

Note: Only those applicants meeting the minimum qualifications will be notified of the exact date, time and place to report for the examinations. Applicants who meet the minimum qualifications are not guaranteed to advance through all of the steps in the selection process.

What else should I know?

Eligible List/Score Report: A confidential eligible list of applicant names that have passed the civil service examination process will be created, and used for certification purposes only. An examination score report will be established, so applicants can view the ranks, final scores and number of eligible candidates. Applicant information, including names of applicants on the eligible list, shall not be made public unless required by law. However, an eligible list shall be made available for public inspection, upon request, once the eligible list is exhausted or expired and referrals resolved. Candidate scores on this examination may also be applied to other announcements involving other job titles, when directed by the Human Resources Director or the Civil Service Commission.

Score Report Duration: The duration of the score report resulting from this examination process will be 6 (six) months, and may be extended with the approval of the Human Resources Director.

To find Departments which use this classification, please see https://sfdhr.org/sites/default/files/documents/Forms-Documents/Position-Counts-by-Job-Codes-and-Department-FY-2022-23.pdf.

Terms of Announcement and Appeal Rights:
Applicants must be guided solely by the provisions of this announcement, including requirements, time periods and other particulars, except when superseded by federal, state or local laws, rules or regulations. Clerical errors may be corrected by the posting the correction on the Department of Human Resources website at https://careers.smartrecruiters.com/CityAndCountyOfSanFrancisco1/.

The terms of this announcement may be appealed under Civil Service Rule 111A.35.1. The standard for the review of such appeals is ‘abuse of discretion’ or ‘no rational basis’ for establishing the position description, the minimum qualifications and/or the certification rule. Appeals must include a written statement of the item(s) being contested and the specific reason(s) why the cited item(s) constitute(s) abuse of discretion by the Human Resources Director. Appeals must be submitted directly to the Executive Officer of the Civil Service Commission within five business days of the announcement issuance date. The terms of this announcement may be appealed under Civil Service Rule 110.4. Such appeals must be submitted in writing to the Department of Human Resources, 1 S Van Ness Avenue, 4th Floor, San Francisco, CA 94103-5413 by close of business on the 5th business day following the issuance date of this examination announcement. Information concerning other Civil Service Commission Rules involving announcements, applications and examination policies, including applicant appeal rights, can be found on the Civil Service Commission website at http://sfgov.org/civilservice/rules.

Additional Information Regarding Employment with the City and County of San Francisco:

• Information About the Hiring Process
• Conviction History
• Employee Benefits Overview  
• Equal Employment Opportunity 
• Disaster Service Worker
• ADA Accommodation
• Veterans Preference
• Right to Work
• Copies of Application Documents
• Diversity Statement

HOW TO APPLY
Applications for City and County of San Francisco jobs are only accepted through an online process. Visit https://careers.smartrecruiters.com/CityAndCountyOfSanFrancisco1/ and begin the application process.

• Select the “I’m Interested” button and follow instructions on the screen

Applicants may be contacted by email about this recruitment and, therefore, it is their responsibility to ensure that their registered email address is accurate and kept up-to-date. Also, applicants must ensure that email from CCSF is not blocked on their computer by a spam filter. To prevent blocking, applicants should set up their email to accept CCSF mail from the following addresses (@sfgov.org, @sfdpw.org, @sfport.com, @flysfo.com, @sfwater.org, @sfdph.org, @asianart.org, @sfmta.com, @sfpl.org, @dcyf.org, @first5sf.org, @famsf.org, @ccsf.edu, @smartalerts.info, and @smartrecruiters.com).

Applicants will receive a confirmation email that their online application has been received in response to every announcement for which they file. Applicants should retain this confirmation email for their records. Failure to receive this email means that the online application was not submitted or received.

Exam Analyst Information: If you have any questions regarding this recruitment or application process, please contact the Recruiter Patty Wong at patty.wong@sfgov.org.

CONDITION OF EMPLOYMENT:  All City and County of San Francisco employees are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 as a condition of employment. Someone is fully vaccinated when 14 days have passed since they received the final dose of a two-shot vaccine or a dose of a one-shot vaccine. Any new hire must present proof of full vaccination status to be appointed. Any new hire who will be routinely assigned or occasionally enter High-Risk Settings, must provide proof of having received a COVID-19 booster vaccine by March 1, 2022, or once eligible.

The City and County of San Francisco encourages women, minorities and persons with disabilities to apply. Applicants will be considered regardless of their sex, race, age, religion, color, national origin, ancestry, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition (associated with cancer, a history of cancer, or genetic characteristics), HIV/AIDS status, genetic information, marital status, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, military and veteran status, or other protected category under the law.