Telecommunicator Trainee

County of Blair • Altoona, PA

1d • Onsite

About The Position

Essential duties of a telecommunicator include receiving calls, monitoring radio frequencies, and monitoring intrusion and fire alarms in a fast, courteous, accurate, and efficient manner; ascertaining nature and location of service required; taking action(s) needed to ensure service is provided; documenting response activities; operating console equipped with multiple computer terminals, mapping and camera systems, radio channels, telephone lines, and keyboard, etc.; providing callers with medical and/or other emergency instructions prior to arrival of emergency units; calming callers as needed to extract pertinent information; remaining alert during up to 12-hour shift with consistent steadiness, courtesy, or patience and regardless of workload; completing training as directed; staffing and operating field equipment; maintaining confidentiality; and performing other duties as required.

Requirements

• High school diploma or GED
• Fluency in English
• Data entry skills that allow for accurate, efficient recording of communications recorded in real-time or later
• Demonstrated abilities to work, organize, and operate with a high level of productivity when under pressure
• Demonstrated abilities to effectively handle multiple differing tasks simultaneously
• Superior accuracy in all duties
• Learns and demonstrates capacity for work and essential duties of job via successful completion of 12-week training program provided through the employer that consists of: Three months of full-time classroom training (Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.)
• Three months maximum of hands-on training across multiple shifts in a 24-hour operation
• Forty hours of accredited training in telecommunications, APCO Institute or equivalent, and accompanying certification
• Training in emergency medical dispatching or emergency police dispatch with accompanying certification
• Working knowledge of or ability to learn policies and procedures of an emergency communications center
• Knowledge of or ability to learn geography, topography, and environmental characteristics of Blair County
• Knowledge of or ability to learn use of municipal/county/state road maps
• Must pass post-offer, pre-employment drug screen and criminal background checks
• Incumbents cannot use medical marijuana because of federal funding provided to the role

Responsibilities

• Receiving calls, monitoring radio frequencies, and monitoring intrusion and fire alarms in a fast, courteous, accurate, and efficient manner
• Ascertaining nature and location of service required
• Taking action(s) needed to ensure service is provided
• Documenting response activities
• Operating console equipped with multiple computer terminals, mapping and camera systems, radio channels, telephone lines, and keyboard, etc.
• Providing callers with medical and/or other emergency instructions prior to arrival of emergency units
• Calming callers as needed to extract pertinent information
• Remaining alert during up to 12-hour shift with consistent steadiness, courtesy, or patience and regardless of workload
• Completing training as directed
• Staffing and operating field equipment
• Maintaining confidentiality
• Performing other duties as required

Benefits

• Enrollment in the pension plan upon hire, which includes a required 5% pre-tax withholding
• 90% employer-paid PPO healthcare with vision and three-tier prescription components (after training graduation)
• Public employer's equivalent of 401(k) (after training graduation)
• Short-term disability (after training graduation)
• Term life insurance (after training graduation)
• A menu of voluntary benefits that includes dental and Aflac (after training graduation)
• 14 annual paid holidays (after training graduation)
• Other time-off provisions (after training graduation)

What This Job Offers

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