Human Resource Services
Alameda Skyline

Fire Department Division Chief (Promotional)

Recruitment #18-8130-01

Introduction

THIS IS A NEW PROMOTIONAL ASSEMBLED EXAMINATION.  The eligible list resulting from this examination will cancel any existing list and may last approximately one year but can be extended. Qualified applicants must be current county employees and have completed the equivalent of six months of continuous service following a regular appointment in the Alameda County Fire Department by Wednesday, February 6, 2019.  A regular appointment does not include provisional, TAP (Temporary Assignment Pool), or STEP-UP appointments.

Applications must be in the possession of the Human Resource Services Department by 5:00 p.m. on the Last Day for Filing. 

Applications will only be accepted on-line.

DESCRIPTION

THE DEPARTMENT

THE ALAMEDA COUNTY FIRE DEPARTMENT (ACFD) provides all-risk emergency services to the unincorporated areas of Alameda County (excluding Fairview), the cities of San Leandro, Dublin, Newark, Union City and Emeryville, the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. With 29 fire stations and 35 companies serving a population of 394,000, the ACFD serves densely populated urban areas, waterways, industrialized centers, extensive urban interface, agricultural and wildland regions. Over 400 personnel and 100 Reserve Firefighters provide a wide variety of services to an ever expanding, dynamic and diverse community of roughly 508 square miles. These services include:

  • Advanced Life Support
  • Fire Suppression
  • Hazardous Materials Response
  • Urban Search & Rescue
  • Water Rescue
  • Community Outreach & Education
  • Disaster Preparedness
  • Fire Prevention and Code Compliance
  • Regional Dispatch Center

The Alameda County Fire Department (ACFD) was formed on July 1, 1993 as a dependent special district with the Alameda County Board of Supervisors as its governing body. This consolidation brought together into a single jurisdiction the Castro Valley Fire Department, Eden Consolidated Fire Protection District and County Fire Patrol.

Subsequently, the following communities have contracted with the ACFD:

  • July 1, 1995 City of San Leandro
  • July 1, 1997 City of Dublin
  • August 1, 2002 Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
  • October 1, 2007 Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
  • May 1, 2010 City of Newark
  • July 1, 2010 City of Union City
  • July 1, 2012 City of Emeryville

On January 20, 2008, the ACFD became responsible for the administration and operation of the Alameda County Regional Emergency Communications Center (ACRECC). The dispatch center provides dispatch and regional communication center services for the ACFD, the Alameda County Emergency Medical Services Agency, Camp Parks Combat Support Training Center, and the cities of Alameda, Fremont, Livermore and Pleasanton. ACRECC is also the Dispatch/System Status Management Center for Paramedics Plus ambulance service.

THE POSITION

Under administrative direction, directs, manages, supervises, and coordinates the activities and operations of an assigned Division (program and/or shift within the Operations Branch) within the Alameda County Fire Department (ACFD) including but not limited to Training, Fire Prevention, Emergency Medical Services, Special Operations, Support Services or related programs and services; may be assigned as a chief officer to serve as the primary point of contact for contract agencies to ensure contract compliance and to maintain community relations; responds to emergency incidents as required by departmental policy and assumes command when appropriate; and performs other duties as assigned.

Please CLICK HERE for the full job description.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

Education:

Graduation from an accredited college with an Associate’s of Arts Degree or the completion of 60 semester units or 90 quarter units.

And Either I

Experience: Current appointment as a Battalion Chief (Staff Battalion Chief qualifies) in the Alameda County Fire Department;

Or II

Minimum of five years of experience as a Captain in the Alameda County Fire Department with CSFM chief officer certification or a Bachelor’s degree, from an accredited college or university, in Public Administration, Business Administration or a closely related field.

License:

Must be in possession of at least a valid California Class C driver’s license.

Special Requirement:

Incumbent is subject to emergency re-call when off duty and serves as Duty Chief as assigned.

KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS

The most suitably qualified candidates will possess the following competencies:

Knowledge of:

• Current principles, practices, methods, techniques and equipment used in a state-of-the-art, metropolitan fire department in fire suppression, fire prevention, and administration
• Training practices and techniques
• Laws, ordinances, and regulations which govern a fire department and California fire district
• Principles, practices, procedures and equipment used in fighting fires and saving lives and property
• Operation and maintenance of fire and rescue apparatus and equipment coupled with the ability to supervise its effective application and use
• Principles of hydraulics and chemistry as applied to fire fighting
• Arson investigation
• Management principles and practices, including leadership, work planning, employee supervision and resource allocation
• Principles, practices, and techniques of administrative, budgetary, and project management

Ability to:

• Communicate effectively both orally and in writing
• Provide effective leadership
• Demonstrate teamwork
• Establish and maintain cooperative working relationships with department/agencies and the community
• Perform analysis and problem solving
• Demonstrate flexibility
• Exercise sound judgment and make decisions
• Manage time in an effective manner

EXAMINATION COMPONENTS

The examination will consist of the following steps:

  1. A review of the candidates’ application to verify possession of minimum requirements. Those candidates who possess the minimum requirements for the class will move on to the next step in the examination process.
  2. An oral interview which will be weighted as 100% of the candidates’ final examination score. The oral interview may contain situational exercises.

Candidates must attain a qualifying rating on each portion of this recruitment.

WE RESERVE THE RIGHT TO MAKE CHANGES TO THE ANNOUNCED EXAMINATION STEPS.

Alameda County utilizes a Civil Service Selection System founded on merit.  Such a system is competitive and based on broad recruitment efforts and equal opportunity for qualified applicants to test in an examination process designed to determine the qualifications, fitness and ability of competitors to perform duties of the vacant position.  Many of our recruitments are targeted and specific to the needs of a current vacant position, in which case, the eligible list may be exclusively used for that current vacant position.  Other recruitments may be more broadly used for both current and future vacancies, or for other alternate jobs with comparable scopes of work.

To learn more about our recruitment and selection process, please visit the “What You Need to Know” section of our website, www.acgov.org/hrs.

Selection Plan

Applicants will be informed via email with reasonable notice in advance of any examination process which will require their attendance.  The following dates are tentative and subject to change based on the needs of the Agency:

Deadline for Filing:

5:00 p.m., Wednesday, February 6, 2019

Review of Minimum Qualifications:

by Monday, February 11, 2019

Oral Interviews*:

Week of March 4, 2019

*If designated as a combined oral examination/hiring interview, in addition to establishing an eligibility list, the oral interviews may serve as the final selection interview for vacancies in this classification.

 

Alameda County and the Human Resource Services Department will make reasonable efforts in the examination and/or selection process to accommodate qualified individuals with disabilities and/or medical conditions in accordance/compliance with the State Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), Federal Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Alameda County’s Reasonable Accommodation Policy and applicable statutes.  To request an accommodation due to a disability/medical condition during this or other phases of the examination/selection process, please contact the assigned Human Resources Representative listed on the job announcement before the last date of filing.   Alameda County requires applicants to provide supporting documentation to substantiate a request for reasonable accommodation. In order to qualify for a reasonable accommodation, applicants must have a disability/medical condition pursuant to the ADA, FEHA and applicable statutes.

For more information regarding our Reasonable Accommodation procedures, please visit our website, www.acgov.org/hrs.

BENEFITS

*** For benefit information, please contact Fire Administration at 925-833-3473.

Conclusion

All notices related to County recruitments for which you have applied will be sent/delivered via email. Please add @acgov.org and alamedacountyHR@acgov.org as accepted addresses to any email blocking or spam filtering program you may use. If you do not do this, your email blocking or spam filtering program may block receipt of the notices regarding your application for recruitments. You are also strongly advised to regularly log into your County of Alameda online application account to check for notices that may have been sent to you. All email notices that will be sent to you will also be kept in your personal online application account. You will be able to view all of your notices in your online application account by clicking on the 'My applications' button on the Current Job Openings page.

Please take the steps recommended above to ensure you do not miss any notices about a recruitment for which you have applied. The County of Alameda is not responsible for notices that are not read, received or accessed by any applicant for a County recruitment.

NOTE: All notices are generated through an automated email notification system. Replies to the email box alamedacountyHR@acgov.org are routed to an unmonitored mailbox. If you have questions please go to our website at www.acgov.org/hrs. You may also contact the Human Resources Analyst listed on the bulletin for the recruitment for which you have applied.

Leticia Diaz, Human Resources Analyst
Human Resource Services Division, County of Alameda
510-272-6469; Email: Leticia.Diaz@acgov.org
www.acgov.org/hrs

Alameda County is an Equal Opportunity Employer