Fire Telecommunicator I #2210-304000-01

The City of Charlotte is the largest municipality in North Carolina and the 17th largest city in the United States, with a total population of more than 872,498 citizens. A major commerce center, Charlotte hosts several of the nation’s largest banks and technology companies.

Also known as the Queen City, Charlotte is home to the Carolina Panthers, the Charlotte Hornets and the NASCAR Hall of Fame. We work hard to ensure that the community will be a winning city for everyone – a truly remarkable place to live, work, learn and play. Join us in helping to keep our City thriving, ensuring upward mobility and advancement in the workplace.

This is moderately complex work in receiving and transmitting telephone and radio emergency class for fire and emergency medical incidents and coordinating response with other City/County emergency service and/or non–emergency organizations.

A Telecommunicator receives incoming routine and emergency calls, dispatches, and maintains contact with all operational units. Work involves detailed record keeping, data entry, and acute listening skills. Responsibilities include frequent public contact requiring tact, firmness, and decisiveness, the ability to obtain important information from callers who are under extreme stress, and the skill to choose the appropriate course of action. Work is performed in conjunction with departmental policy as well as state, federal, and FCC regulations.

Process emergency and non-emergency calls from the public, dispatch appropriate Charlotte Fire Department apparatus, and monitor and respond to emergency and non-emergency radio traffic. Work involves monitoring multiple calls with different agencies, apparatus, and personnel.

Candidates MUST be able to work a flexible, rotating schedule including night shift, weekends, and holidays. The current Communications schedule is a rotation between the day shift (6:45 am to 3:00 pm) and the evening shift (2:45 pm to 11:00 pm) or a consistent night shift (10:45 pm to 7:00 am). Schedules may be modified, and overtime work is required.

All newly hired Fire Telecommunicators will go through a training program of approximately 20 weeks. This includes 6 weeks at the Fire Training Academy and approximately 14 weeks of on the job training in the Emergency Communications Center (ECC). Telecommunicator recruits must meet all standards established by the department, including but not limited to:

·       Successful completion of all academic portions of recruit training

·       Certification as an APCO Public Safety Telecommunicator

·       Certification as an APCO Fire Service Telecommunicator

·       Adherence to all standards, rules, guidelines, and requirements as established by department  

General Orders and by Training Staff expectations

Additionally, Fire Telecommunicators must have the:

1. Knowledge of the operations of an electronic radio and telecommunications system and related Federal Communications Commission regulations.

2. Ability to assess people and situations, to apply sound judgment, to remain calm under stressful conditions and to elicit sufficient and essential information for dispatching and assisting field personnel in a timely and efficient manner.

3. Ability to work simultaneously on different calls with different agencies and staff.

4. Ability to speak clearly and distinctly.

5. Ability to maintain accurate and complete work activity records and files.

6. Knowledge of the Charlotte area road system and geography.

7. Ability to work in a team setting

8. Ability to obtain and maintain minimum training standards and certifications. This includes an initial training period and continuing education.

§  Previous Fire, EMS, Police, Dispatch, Military experience or equivalent

§  Associate’s degree

Eligibility Requirements:

·       A valid driver's license in their current state of residence as a condition of employment.  All applicants must have valid driver's license listing current residence to be considered for the Fire Telecommunicator position. 

·       At least 18 years of age by the date of the written assessment.

·       High school diploma/GED by the date of the written assessment.

·       Must meet NENA Hearing Standards for Public Safety Telecommunicators (NENA-STA-007.3-00).

Automatic Disqualifiers Include, but are not Limited to:

·       Reason(s) other than Honorable discharge from military

·       Admission and/or conviction of felony offense

·       Admission and/or conviction of misdemeanor involving moral turpitude

·       Illegal drug use within twelve months before or after the date of the telecommunicator exam

·       Pattern of illegal drug use including distribution

·       Pattern of theft

·       Six or more points for moving violations on driving record during past three years. Court decisions such as Prayer for Judgment Continued (PJC) will be counted as convictions. Three-year period calculated from date of conviction for each violation.

·       DUI / DWI conviction within the last five years

Applicants failing to meet testing qualifications may not retest during that same job posting. However, they are welcome to reapply after 6 months’ time has passed. Applicant who do not pass the panel interview may reapply after 12 months’ time has passed.  Applicants who are considered to be a “no call, no show” for any portion of the hiring process will be disqualified for a period of 2 years.  This includes all testing, observations, and the interview. Applicants are not guaranteed to be selected again to begin the hiring process during future vacancies.

ADA and Other Requirements:

Positions in this class typically require grasping, talking, hearing, seeing, and repetitive motions.

Physical Requirements:

• Essential and marginal functions may require maintaining physical conditions necessary for sitting, and standing for extended periods of time.
• Light to moderate lifting and carrying; some crouching, stooping, squatting, crawling, reaching, pushing, and pulling when performing tasks. 
• Adequate vision, hearing, and speech required.

Sensory Requirements:

Concentrated and attentive use of one or more senses (visual, audio, and other sensory modalities) for proofreading, data entry, and tabulating data.

• Ability to operate in an environment with frequent interruptions from people and/or noises, which in return could result in some level of stress, fatigue, or strain.
• Comprehensive written information in work-related documents.
• Ability to hear, understand, and distinguish speech.

Working Conditions:

Work is performed in an indoor environment with moderate exposure to atmospheric conditions, moderate exposure to environmental conditions and frequent exposure to computer screens, files, and phone.

Starting Salary is $24.07/hour ($50,075.54/annual)

Hiring Bonus:  Employees hired will receive a $2,000 bonus after training is successfully completed and a second $2000 bonus when their one (1) year probation period ends.  The bonus does not apply to existing  City of Charlotte Dispatchers.

The City’s Background Check Policy requires background checks to be conducted on final internal or external candidate(s) applying for any position with the City of Charlotte. The type of information that will be collected as part of a background check includes, but is not limited to: reference checks, social security verification, education verification, criminal conviction record check, and, if applicable, a credit history check, sex offender registry and motor vehicle records check.

Background checks must be in compliance with all federal and state statutes, such as the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). The checks must be consistent with the guidelines set forth by these laws requiring organizations to obtain a candidate’s written authorization before obtaining a criminal background report, motor vehicle records check or credit report; and to properly store and dispose of information derived from such reports.

Final candidates must pass a pre-employment drug-screening test and physical examination. During the selection process, candidates may be asked to take a skills test, and/or participate in other assessments.

The City of Charlotte is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

Apply online.

Federal law requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities. Please tell us if you require a reasonable accommodation to apply for a job.

You are welcome to visit the City of Charlotte Human Resources Department lobby where we have workstations available. Our office is located at 700 East 4th Street, Suite 200, Charlotte, NC 28202. Our hours are Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. (EST), excluding official City holidays.

Anyone seeking an accommodation to apply for a job may call (704) 336-2285 for assistance or you may email questions to CityHrJobPostingsNotify@ci.charlotte.nc.us.

The City of Charlotte provides a comprehensive benefits package to all employees.

Click here to learn more about the City of Charlotte’s benefits.

The City of Charlotte is a drug and alcohol-free workplace.