Bilingual Communications Specialist Examination

City of Cleveland • 6001 - Public Safety Admin, OH

5d • Onsite

About The Position

This application is for a Civil Service Examination for the opportunity to be placed on an Eligible List for a future opening as a Bilingual Communications Specialist. The role involves answering emergency and non-emergency telephone calls, analyzing situations, making sound decisions, and providing assistance to citizens. The position requires operating emergency 9-1-1 telephone equipment and associated software, generating incidents in a computer-aided dispatch (CAD) system, and contacting other public safety entities and city departments as needed. Employees must be able to work various schedules, including days, nights, weekends, holidays, and overtime, in a 24/7 operational environment. The role also requires maintaining familiarity with city geography and available agencies, and potentially acting as an interpreter for individuals with Limited English Proficiency.

Requirements

• High School diploma or GED required.
• Must be able to type at least 30 words per minute.
• Must be able to pass a detailed criminal background check, drug test and physical.
• Must pass any certification testing required to perform the duties of the position and maintain said certifications as required.
• Must be organized, able to multi-task, remain calm under a great deal of stress and pressure, possess the ability to assess a situation quickly and use good judgment.
• Must have excellent verbal and written communication and people skills to relay vital information quickly and effectively.
• Valid State of Ohio driver's license or State ID.

Nice To Haves

• Ability to translate information into English from a Spanish or Chinese (Mandarin/Cantonese) audio recording.

Responsibilities

• Answer emergency and non-emergency telephone calls from citizens, elicit pertinent information, analyze situations to determine problem and make sound decisions as to the appropriate level of response.
• Display compassion and empathy toward callers at all times; utilizing different techniques to calm the caller when needed.
• Be familiar with the procedures for handling various call types.
• As needed, assists other employees by acting as an interpreter on calls received from individuals with Limited English Proficiency (LEP).
• Maintain familiarity with the streets and geography of the city and the various agencies available to help those in need.
• Generate incidents using the computer aided dispatch (CAD) system, following proper procedures and assigning each incident an appropriate prioritization level.
• Contact other public safety entities, city departments and external agencies as needed.
• Operate the emergency 9-1-1 telephone equipment and the associated software used by the department of public safety.
• Be familiar with applicable state and municipal ordinances.
• Handle any other duties as directed by proper authority
• Answer incoming calls placed to 9-1-1 or non-emergency telephone lines.
• Determine nature of problem and when appropriate, connect caller to another agency for handling.
• Generate a computer aided dispatch (CAD) incident for public safety response by entering pertinent information relative to the incident into the computerized dispatch system.
• Follow procedures, assign each incident the appropriate coding and prioritization.
• When a response is not needed, make referrals as needed to the caller.
• Make computer inquiries into the CAD system or other database utilized by the department, as needed.

Benefits

• Residency Credit (10 points added to passing score if primary residence in Cleveland for at least one year)
• CMSD Preference Credit (5 points added to passing score if graduate of Cleveland Metropolitan School District)
• Veterans' Preference (5 or 10 points added to raw score based on service and disability)

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Entry Level
• Education Level: High school or GED