Career Opportunity

Communications Dispatcher I – Citywide – 1704 (C00269)

Recruitment: REF43369K

Published: August 09, 2024

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

About:

This job advertisement has been amended to extend the application submission deadline to Friday, August 16, 2024.

THIS IS A CITYWIDE EXAM

Specific information regarding this recruitment process are listed below:

Application Opening: Monday, July 29, 2024
Application Deadline: Sunday, August 16, 2024 11:59 PM
Compensation Range:       $68,978.00 - $83,824.00  Click here for: Salary
Recruitment ID: Communications Dispatcher I - Citywide - 1704 (C00269)

San Francisco is a vibrant and dynamic city, on the forefront of economic growth & innovation, urban development, arts & entertainment, as well as social issues & change. This rich tapestry of culture and ideas is sustained by our city's commitment to heighten the quality of life for the diverse population of San Franciscans and residents of the greater Bay Area. Our employees play an important role not only in making our city what it is today, but also in shaping the future of San Francisco.

Role description

Job Description 1704 Communications Dispatcher I

Under supervision, the Communications Dispatcher I performs a variety of specialized duties in connection with communications dispatch functions.

Example of Essential Duties:
1. Operates a variety of communications equipment and information transmitting devices such as, multi-line telephones, two-way radio and pager systems utilized to receive information, request reports and emergency calls from a number of mobile radio field units and telephones, or to transmit messages to field units and/or to route calls to proper bureau or detail for action.
2. Verifies and evaluates messages received to determine if information is accurate and may follow up to ensure proper receipt and understanding to determine type of action necessary and appropriate staff and/or agency to be notified.
3. Dispatches mobile units and equipment to specific work locations, including locations where traffic control, citing and towing services are needed; makes phone requests for ambulance, tow-truck or other emergency services; makes inquiries of other agencies as requested by field units; reads maps and gives directions on how to get to location of emergency.
4. Records essential information and facts from messages transmitted or received by radio and telephone by entering and retrieving data from computer, time stamping and logging messages for permanent record keeping, maintaining continuous records of the status of units assigned, and maintaining a regular log of all messages transmitted and received by radio and telephone.
5. Assists communications dispatchers to coordinate communications emergency procedures by working with staff from various City departments (e.g., Police, MUNI, Fire, Sheriff & PUC,) and communications dispatchers from 911 and DPW, during accidents, emergencies and natural or other disasters.
6. Transmits alarm information to supervisor on duty when the department needs assistance; notifies the Police department daily of streets scheduled for no-parking zones; prepares records and performs other clerical duties related to these procedures. May monitor surveillance equipment and intrusion alarms from on-site buildings.
7. Performs other duties as assigned.
 

How to qualify

EXPERIENCE:

1. One year of verifiable experience operating a two-way radio communications base station, receiving, recording and transmitting messages from one source to another;

OR

2. Combined total of one year of verifiable experience operating a multi-line telephone, and a two-way radio communications base system. Six months of this experience must have been operating a two-way radio base station.

Note on Qualifying Experience: Experience with hand-held two-way radios is not qualifying. Applicants must have operated a two-way radio base-station in order to be considered qualified to participate in this recruitment process.

Applicants must fully meet the minimum qualifications by the final filing deadline unless otherwise stated.

Note: Some positions may require that incumbents successfully complete on-the-job training in California Law Enforcement Telecommunications System (CLETS) operations, policies and procedures within six (6) months of appointment (hire date). Employees must also pass a proficiency exam every two (2) years throughout employment, in order to maintain eligibility for access to CLETS.

One year of full-time employment is equivalent to 2000 hours. (2000 hours of qualifying work experience is based on a 40-hour work week.) Any overtime hours that you work above forty (40) hours per week are not included in the calculation to determine full-time employment.

Verification:  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.

Resumes will not be accepted in lieu of a completed City and County of San Francisco application. Applications completed improperly may be cause for ineligibility, disqualification or may lead to lower scores.
 

What else should I know?

SELECTION PROCEDURES

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

I.    Minimum Qualification Supplemental Questionnaire (Weight:
Qualifying): Candidates who meet the minimum qualifications will be emailed the Minimum Qualification Supplemental Questionnaire at a later date. This Minimum Qualification Supplemental Questionnaire is designed to obtain specific information regarding an applicant's experience in relation to the Minimum Qualifications for this position. It is essential that applicants provide complete information in identifying their education, experience and training. The Minimum Qualification Supplemental Questionnaire will be used to evaluate if the applicant possesses the required minimum qualifications.

II.    Written Exam (Weight: 100%): Candidates who meet the Minimum Qualifications will be invited to participate in a multiple-choice examination designed to measure their relative knowledge, skills and abilities in job-related areas. The multiple-choice exam will be administered on a computer. Qualified candidates will be notified of their exam appointment notification through the email that they used to apply for the position. The multiple-choice examination component may include but not be limited to: Map reading, Evaluating information and decision making, Interpersonal relations, Organizing, Filing and maintaining records.

Banked Scores: The multiple-choice exam is a standardized examination and, therefore, test questions and test answers are not available for public inspection or review. The score you achieve on this exam will be valid and "banked" for three years, starting from the date of the examination. This means that, during this three-year time-period, you will not be required to take this exam again should you apply and be found eligible for a future recruitment that uses the Communication Dispatcher exam. Currently the positions that use this exam are 1704 and 1705. Please note, candidate scores on this examination may also be applied to other announcements involving other job titles, when directed by the Human Resources Director.

If the test for a future announcement is held within one year of the date of this examination, your score will be automatically applied to that announcement. However, after one year, you have the option to either (a) apply your test score to the other announcement or (b) re-take the test. Re-testing is permitted no sooner than one year from the date of the examination and only in association with your eligibility for another announcement for which this test is used. Please note that, should you re-test, your new score would become your official score since it is the most recent.

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. The eligible list/score report resulting from this civil service examination process is subject to change after adoption (e.g., as a result of appeals), as directed by the Human Resources Director or the Civil Service Commission.

The duration of the eligible list resulting from this examination process will be of 12 months, and may be extended with the approval of the Human Resources Director.

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. The correction of clerical errors in an announcement may be posted 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 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.

Note: 

1. Please ensure the information on your application is accurate. It may not be possible to change after you’ve applied.
2. Your first and last name should match your legal ID for verification purposes. A preferred first name may be included in parentheses. Here is an example: First Name: first name (preferred name)
3. Your email address should be consistent across all jobs applied to on our website.
4. Use a personal and not a shared email address. Doing so may prevent your application from submitting properly.

We communicate by email: 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).

Note:  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 exam analyst, Hana Mendoza at hana.mendoza@sfgov.org. 

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.