Emergency Services Dispatcher II

** PLEASE READ THIS ENTIRE BULLETIN **

It includes information regarding special requirements for this recruitment and steps you must take prior to submitting your application.

THIS IS A NEW OPEN CONTINUOUS EXAMINATION.  The eligible list resulting from this examination will cancel any existing list and may last approximately one year, but can be extended.

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

Special Requirement: Typing Certificate.  A typing certificate with a typing speed of 40 net words per minute from a temporary agency, employment agency, or community college, printed on letterhead with the address and phone number of the agency or college must be uploaded to your on-line application under the resume tab by 5:00 p.m. on the last day for filing.  The typing certificate must be dated within six (6) months of the last day of filing. 

***Failure to upload your typing certificate will result in disqualification*** 

NO EXCEPTIONS  

To obtain a typing certificate, you may wish to contact the East Bay Works - Career Centers.  Click on the following link, go to the "find us" tab to locate a center near you.  www.eastbayworks.com/

The Alameda County Sheriff's Office

The Alameda County Sheriff's Office is a full-service law enforcement agency accredited through the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA) and the American Correctional Association (ACA). Additionally, the agency's health care provider, Prison Health Services, has dual accreditation through the National Commission on Correctional Health Care (NCCHC) and the California Medical Association (CMA).  Together these form what is referred to as the "Triple Crown" of accreditation (ACA, NCCHC/CMA and CALEA) awarded by the National Sheriff's Association.  Additionally, the Sheriff's Office Crime Lab is nationally accredited by the American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors/Laboratory Accreditation Board (ASCLD/LAB).  The Sheriff's Office Explosive Ordinance Disposal Unit has also been awarded national accreditation through the Bomb Squad Commanders Advisory Board.

The Sheriff's Office has a current adjusted net budget of approximately $249 million and has over 1800 authorized positions, including an excess of 1000 sworn personnel. The agency's Chief Executive Officer is Sheriff Gregory J. Ahern, who is assisted in the operation of the agency by Undersheriff Richard T. Lucia, Assistant Sheriffs Brett Keteles and Casey Nice.

The Sheriff of Alameda County is responsible for a vast array of tasks and duties, including the following:

• Providing security to the Consolidated Superior Courts
• Operating the Coroner's Bureau 
• Operating a full service criminalistics laboratory 
• Performing Civil Process
•  Operating a County Jail (Santa Rita) 
• Operating the County Office of Emergency Services
• Providing patrol and investigative services to the unincorporated areas of Alameda County
• Pursuant to contractual agreements, providing patrol and investigative services to the City of Dublin, Peralta Community College District, Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum complex, Oakland International Airport, Highland County Hospital, Social Services, and to the Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District. 
• Conducting a basic academy pursuant to Police Officer Standards and Training (P.O.S.T.) requirements.
• Providing Fish and Game enforcement 
• Project Director of the Narcotics Task Force 
• Serving as the Executive Director of the Sexual Assault Felony Enforcement (SAFE) Task Force
• Operating a Marine Patrol Unit in the San Francisco Bay waters.

 For additional information, you may visit the Sheriff's Office website at:  http://www.alamedacountysheriff.org/

THE POSITION

Under general supervision, Emergency Services Dispatcher II's receive, process, and transmit routine and emergency calls for service using communication equipment consisting of radio-telephone, teletype, switchboard, computer input devices or computer aided dispatch systems; incumbents perform simple record keeping/general clerical work; and do related work as required.

Within a framework of established procedures, Emergency Services Dispatchers II are assigned full range of dispatching duties involving the use of a variety of communication and office equipment with only occasional instruction or assistance. Assigned duties require the exercise of judgment or choice among possible actions. Incumbents of this class are required to work various shifts.

This class differs from the next higher class of Emergency Services Dispatch Supervisor by the latter class having supervisory responsibility. This class differs from the next lower class, Emergency Services Dispatcher I, by the latter class being an entry level classification.

The Emergency Services Dispatcher II position is located in San Leandro and requires availability to work varying shifts.

To participate in the examination process, candidates must meet one of the qualifying patterns:

Either Pattern I

The equivalent of one year of experience in the class of Emergency Services Dispatcher I in the Alameda County classified service. (Non-classified includes District Attorney’s Office, Hospital Authority, and the Consolidated Courts.)

Or Pattern II 

The equivalent of one year of full-time radio dispatching experience with a public safety agency.

1. Hearing must be normal in each ear.
2. Ability to type 40 words per minute. (As indicated, a valid typing certificate must be attached to your application)
3. A thorough background investigation will be made of all prospective candidates including a psychological exam.

NOTE: The Civil Service Commission may modify the above Minimum Qualifications in the announcement of an examination.

NOTE: The level and scope of the following knowledge and abilities are related to duties listed under the “Examples of Duties” section of this specification.

Knowledge of:

• Standard clerical procedures.
• Geographical area of Alameda County.
• Regulations and statutes applicable to communications.

Ability to:

• Operate a two-way radio, teletype equipment, data communication terminal and computer aided dispatch unit.
• Dispatch public safety equipment in a quick and effective manner.
• Speak clearly and concisely in a well-modulated voice.
• React with sound judgment under stress and emergency situations while doing several tasks simultaneously.
• Respond to the public with tact.
• Direct emergency vehicles using area maps.
• Write in a clear, concise and legible manner.

The examination will consist of the following steps:

1. A review of applications to verify possession of minimum requirements
2. Candidates who meet the minimum qualifications will be invited to take a performance examination, CritiCall Test, which a software that tests job-related knowledge, skills, abilities and competencies critical for public safety dispatchers. The following are some of the areas CritiCall will assess (please note, the following is just an example of areas CritiCall tests for and is not necessarily the components candidates will be tested on): reasoning, stress tolerance, decision making & judgment, multitasking, prioritization, map reading, memory recall, comprehension, probability, data entry and decision-making. For more information regarding the CritiCall test, applicants may visit their website at: http://criticall911.com/. The performance examination will be qualifying only.
3. Candidates who pass the CritiCall performance examination will be invited to take the Oral examination.
4. Candidates that pass the oral examination will be placed on a list of candidates that are eligible to be referred to a background investigation, the final step in the examination process. **

CANDIDATES MUST ATTAIN A QUALIFYING RATING ON EACH PORTION OF THIS EXAMINATION.

We reserve the right to make changes to the announced examination components.

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. 

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:  

TENTATIVE SELECTION PLAN: 

*WE RESERVE THE RIGHT TO MAKE CHANGES TO THE ANNOUNCED RECRUITMENT & SELECTION PLAN*

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 statues.  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.

Alameda County offers a comprehensive and competitive benefits package that affords wide-ranging health care options to meet the different needs of a diverse workforce and their families. We also sponsor many different employee discount, fitness and health screening programs focused on overall well being.  These benefits include but are not limited to*:

For your Health & Welfare Benefits

• Medical – HMO & PPO Insurance
• Dental – PPO & DHMO Insurance  
• Vision
• Basic Life Insurance 
• Supplemental Life Insurance (with optional dependent coverage) 
• County Allowance
• Health Flexible Spending Account
• Dependent Care Flexible Spending Account
• Accident, Critical Illness & Hospital Indemnity
• Long Term Care Insurance
• Employee Assistance Program

For your Financial Future

• Short-term Disability Insurance
• Long-Term Disability Insurance
• Retirement Plan – (Defined Benefit Pension Plan)
• Deferred Compensation Plan

For your Work/Life Balance

• 11 paid holidays
• Vacation and sick leave accrual
• Vacation purchase program
• Management Paid Leave**
• Group Auto/Home
• Commuter Benefits Program
• Guaranteed Ride Home
• Employee Wellness Program (e.g. At Work Fitness, Incentive Based Programs, Gym Membership Discounts)
• Employee Discount Program (e.g. theme parks, cell phone, etc.)
• Child Care Resources
• 1^st United Services Credit Union 

*Eligibility is determined by Alameda County and offerings may vary by collective bargaining agreement.  This provides a brief summary of the benefits offered and can be subject to change.

** Non-exempt management employees are entitled to up to three days of management paid leave. Exempt management employees are entitled to up to seven days of management paid leave.

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 insure 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 job announcement for the recruitment for which you have applied.

Nicole Lewis-Bolton, Human Resources Analyst II

Human Resource Services, County of Alameda

(510) 272-6468 • nicole.lewis-bolton@acgov.org