Emergency 911 Operator

City of Cincinnati•Ohio 45202, OH

9d•Onsite

About The Position

This position reports to the Emergency Communications Center located at 2000 Radcliff Drive, Cincinnati, Ohio 45204. This employee provides telephone and text assistance to individuals who are calling or texting for Police, Emergency Medical Services, Fire, and/or other City Services, and provides emergency medical, police, and fire pre-arrival instructions over the phone. Answers telephone requests for general information, and referrals. Employee works in a call center operation (the Emergency Communications Center) alongside staff who are responsible for dispatching first responders in Cincinnati. The center is a 24/7 operation, and the employee may be required to work a day or night shift schedule. Employees process a high volume of calls and texts, rapidly obtaining pertinent information for each situation and relaying the information from the calls to the correct dispatcher or agency by entering it into the Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) system accurately. Must be able to multi-task and handle high stress situations. Must complete applicable training and certifications. Performs related duties as required.

Requirements

One year of full-time responsible employment involving public contact including a high degree of customer service, telephone, and computer keyboarding duties.
Possess a High School Diploma or GED by the time of appointment.
Ability to work 12-hour shifts including rotating, permanent relief, or swing shifts, holidays.
Must be able to work 12-hour shifts, and occasionally up to 16-hours, including rotating and swing shifts, weekends, and holidays.
Must be able to obtain and maintain the certifications necessary to access local, state and federal criminal justice databases.
Must be able to obtain and maintain the certifications necessary to perform call-taking functions at the Emergency Communications Center.
Knowledge of basic business English, including spelling, grammar, punctuation, and sentence structure.
Knowledge of basic problem-solving techniques.
Knowledge of methods needed to gather relevant information from callers by asking appropriate questions.
Knowledge of City of Cincinnati services and functions in order to refer complaints to the appropriate department or agency.
Knowledge of functions of non-city agencies in order to refer complaints, problems, and emergencies to other agencies and companies.
Knowledge of Microsoft Windows Operating System.
Skill to operate a computer keyboard with speed and accuracy to key in information in report format.
Skill to operate appropriate computer equipment; properly use all related hardware and software.
Skill to operate digital mapping systems.
Skill to effectively utilize hearing impaired equipment.
Ability to provide courteous, effective, efficient, and professional service.
Ability to hear well enough and listen carefully enough to distinguish between pertinent and extraneous information in an emergency situation.
Ability to use a headset to place and answer telephone calls.
Ability to distinguish between emergency and non-emergency calls and effectively prioritize calls for service.
Ability to recall important information obtained from callers about emergencies.
Ability to condense large amounts of information into readable, sensibly typed remarks in a timely manner and have the ability to recall numerous acronyms and codes essential to appropriate call processing.
Ability to communicate clearly and concisely, both orally and in writing.
Ability to type information with speed and accuracy.
Ability to type and talk simultaneously and spell correctly.
Ability to use critical thinking skills to make quick decisions.
Ability to learn the City’s general geographic areas and utilize reference materials such as maps and street locators. This includes familiarity with jurisdictional boundaries, as well as landmarks, public buildings, and waterways within the jurisdiction.
Ability to communicate effectively with members of the Police and Fire Departments and with the general public.
Ability to stay calm and exercise good judgment in stressful situations which may extend for a considerable amount of time.
Ability to remain calm when dealing with frightened, hysterical, and angry callers.
Ability to deal with sensitive information in a discreet and professional manner and maintain confidentiality of information obtained in the course of employment.
Ability to work effectively in a disciplined environment with close supervision and carry out lawful orders according to policies.
Ability to work in a team environment and work well with others.
Ability to maintain a positive attitude and conduct oneself in a professional manner at all times.
Ability to read and follow written directives including Standard Operating Procedures, Special Orders, and training materials.
Ability to observe and comply with the laws of the city, county, state and country.
Ability to provide constructive process and procedure improvement suggestions.
Ability to meet the minimum training standards and successfully complete the training program.
Ability to testify at court hearings, when required.
Manual dexterity, vision acuity sufficient to operate a computer console, and hearing acuity sufficient to hear and clearly understand callers in an area where background noise is present.

Nice To Haves

Currently certified with the Emergency Telecommunicator Certification (ETC) from the International Academies of Emergency Dispatch may use the ETC certification as a substitute for the one year of work experience.
Applicants that do not yet possess a High School Diploma or GED must be enrolled as a Senior in a High School program at the time of application.

Responsibilities

Provides telephone and text assistance to individuals calling or texting for Police, Emergency Medical Services, Fire, and/or other City Services.
Provides emergency medical, police, and fire pre-arrival instructions over the phone.
Answers telephone requests for general information and referrals.
Processes a high volume of calls and texts, rapidly obtaining pertinent information for each situation.
Relays information from calls to the correct dispatcher or agency by entering it into the Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) system accurately.
Answers and processes a high volume of emergency and non-emergency telephone calls from Enhanced 911 Emergency system, Centrex lines, and other telephone lines.
Answers and processes Text-to-911 for Police and Fire/EMS services.
Verifies information received from ALI (Automatic Location Identification) and ANI (Automatic Number Identification) systems with caller and obtains the necessary information from the caller to describe the emergency situation.
Gathers information rapidly and accurately and enters pertinent information into CAD system using a computer keyboard and forwards information to the appropriate dispatcher (fire or police).
Determines the Police, Fire, Medical, or multi-discipline nature of the call, and immediately begins using the proper protocol system.
Responds to and assists callers with pre-arrival instructions as prescribed in public safety protocol systems, procedures and departmental protocols and procedures.
Interviews the caller to accurately assess the urgency of the incident and the proper response required by Fire and/or Police.
May perform queries on suspects, license plates, etc., for Police Officers using a computerized crime information system.
Refers callers to appropriate agencies in situations that are inappropriate for police or fire intervention or not in the City of Cincinnati.
Transfers appropriate calls to other 911 police and fire jurisdictions.
In the event of equipment failure, keeps a manual log of information on all emergency calls and fills out cards which provide necessary information for the dispatcher.
Utilizes and adheres to public safety protocol systems and software.
Maintains familiarity with the Standard Operating Procedures and appropriate manuals that provide knowledge of Communications Center operations and procedures.
Maintains familiarity with the laws of the city, county, state, and country.
Attends training classes (e.g. on the job training, seminars and/or workshops, continuing education training).
May represent the Emergency Communications Center to groups of citizens at schools, community gatherings, or other meetings.
Conveys a positive image and handles a large volume of customers in a friendly, effective, efficient, and professional manner.