Communications Officer (Certified)

h2About the Department/h2pp style="margin: 1.0em 0.0px;color: inherit;font-style: normal;text-indent: 0.0px;text-align: center;"span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" style="display: block;text-align: center;"iframe allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/hPkR-X9CEsQ?wmode=opaquerel=0" style="width: 640.0px;height: 360.0px;" width="640"/iframe/span/pp style="margin: 1.0em 0.0px;color: inherit;font-style: normal;text-indent: 0.0px;text-align: center;"Advertisement Closing Date - March 31, 2026brbrstrong***Applications will be reviewed every 10 days.***/strong/pp style="margin: 1.0em 0.0px;color: inherit;font-style: normal;text-indent: 0.0px;text-align: center;"strong***Supporting Documents are required at the time of application submission.***/strong/pbrbrustrongWORK SCHEDULE/strong/ubr6am - 6pm or 6pm - 6ambrWork four days/Off three days.brbrp style="margin:0in;margin-left:.5in;text-align:justify;" id="isPasted"This position is responsible for answering emergency and non-emergency calls and for dispatching appropriate personnel.nbsp;/p/ph2Position Duties/h2pdiv style="margin:0in;" id="isPasted"ul style="margin-bottom: 3pt; margin-left: 0.25in;"li style="margin:0in;"Receives and screens incoming calls from the public and other user agencies; categorizes and prioritizes calls, including 911 calls./li/ul/divp style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:.5in;"br/pdiv style="margin:0in;"ul style="margin-bottom: 3pt; margin-left: 0.25in;"li style="margin:0in;"Determines and dispatches the appropriate emergency personnel to incident locations; provides emergency medical instructions to callers prior to the arrival of responders as needed./li/ul/divp style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:.5in;"br/pdiv style="margin:0in;"ul style="margin-bottom: 3pt; margin-left: 0.25in;"li style="margin:0in;"Receives and processes non-emergency calls; forwards to appropriate department; receives and processes after-hours complaints from the public./li/ul/divp style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:.5in;"br/pdiv style="margin:0in;"ul style="margin-bottom: 3pt; margin-left: 0.25in;"li style="margin:0in;"Inquires, retrieves, and monitors data from ACJIC/NCIC database; ensures compliance with rules and regulations; retrieves information related to outstanding warrants, criminal histories, driver histories, vehicle histories, etc.; disseminates information related to criminal histories, driver histories, terrorist threats, felon registration, sex offender registration, lost or stolen items, missing persons, etc./li/ul/divp style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:.5in;"br/pdiv style="margin:0in;"ul style="margin-bottom: 3pt; margin-left: 0.25in;"li style="margin:0in;"Maintains contact with emergency personnel in the field; provides information to responding units regarding location, directions, changes to circumstances, etc.; responds to information requests from responding units./li/ul/divp style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:.5in;"br/pdiv style="margin:0in;"ul style="margin-bottom: 3pt; margin-left: 0.25in;"li style="margin:0in;"Provides pre-arrival instructions to callers in compliance with Emergency Medical Dispatch guidelines./li/ul/divp style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:.5in;"br/pdiv style="margin:0in;"ul style="margin-bottom: 3pt; margin-left: 0.25in;"li style="margin:0in;"Coordinates assistance from other agencies and/or departments as requested, including contacting other agencies for response to specific situations./li/ul/divp style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:.5in;"br/pdiv style="margin:0in;"ul style="margin-bottom: 3pt; margin-left: 0.25in;"li style="margin:0in;"Operates telecommunications equipment, including radios, telephones, CAD, mapping systems, telecommunications devices, weather monitoring equipment, etc./li/ul/divp style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:.5in;"br/pdiv style="margin:0in;"ul style="margin-bottom: 3pt; margin-left: 0.25in;"li style="margin:0in;"Monitors and utilizes non-emergency radios as needed./li/ul/divp style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:.5in;"br/pdiv style="margin:0in;"ul style="margin-bottom: 3pt; margin-left: 0.25in;"li style="margin:0in;"Monitors security cameras./li/ul/divp style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:0in;"br/pdiv style="margin:0in;"ul style="margin-bottom: 3pt; margin-left: 0.25in;"li style="margin:0in;"Performs related duties./li/ul/divp style="margin:0in;text-align:justify;"br/pp style="margin:0in;text-align:justify;text-indent:9.0pt;"span style="color:inherit;"KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND ABILITIES REQUIRED BY THE POSITION/span/pp style="margin:0in;text-align:justify;"br/pul style="margin-left: 0.25in; margin-bottom: 3pt;"liKnowledge of emergency communications principles and practices.brbr/liliKnowledge of ACJIC/NCIC policies and procedures./li/ulp style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:.5in;"br/pdiv style="margin:0in;"ul style="margin-bottom: 3pt; margin-left: 0.25in;"li style="margin:0in;"Knowledge of emergency dispatch procedures./li/ul/divp style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:.5in;"br/pdiv style="margin:0in;"ul style="margin-bottom: 3pt; margin-left: 0.25in;"li style="margin:0in;"Knowledge of radio and telecommunications equipment./li/ul/divp style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:.5in;"br/pdiv style="margin:0in;"ul style="margin-bottom: 3pt; margin-left: 0.25in;"li style="margin:0in;"Knowledge of CAD system functions and maintenance./li/ul/divp style="margin:0in;text-align:justify;"br/pdiv style="margin:0in;"ul style="margin-bottom: 3pt; margin-left: 0.25in;"li style="margin:0in;"Skill in the use of computers and job-related software programs./li/ul/divp style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:0in;"br/pdiv style="margin:0in;"ul style="margin-bottom: 3pt; margin-left: 0.25in;"li style="margin:0in;"Skill in making decisions in high pressure and emergency situations./li/ul/divp style="margin:0in;text-align:justify;"br/pdiv style="margin:0in;"ul style="margin-bottom: 3pt; margin-left: 0.25in;"li style="margin:0in;"Skill in public relations./li/ul/divp style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:.5in;"br/pdiv style="margin:0in;"ul style="margin-bottom: 3pt; margin-left: 0.25in;"li style="margin:0in;"Skill in interpersonal relations./li/ul/divp style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:.5in;"br/pdiv style="margin:0in;"ul style="margin-bottom: 3pt; margin-left: 0.25in;"li style="margin:0in;"Skill in oral and written communication./li/ul/divp style="margin:0in;text-align:justify;"br/pp style="margin:0in;text-align:justify;text-indent:9.0pt;"span style="color:inherit;"SUPERVISORY CONTROLS/span/pp style="margin:0in;text-align:justify;text-indent:9.0pt;"br/pp style="margin:0in;margin-left:.5in;text-align:justify;"The Communications Supervisor assigns work in terms of general instructions. The supervisor spot-checks completed work for compliance with procedures, accuracy, and the nature and propriety of the results./pp style="margin:0in;text-align:justify;"br/pp style="margin:0in;text-align:justify;text-indent:9.0pt;"span style="color:inherit;"GUIDELINES/span/pp style="margin:0in;text-align:justify;"br/pp style="margin:0in;margin-left:.5in;text-align:justify;"Guidelines include ACJIC/NCIC guidelines, state and federal regulations, HIPPA regulations, general orders, APCO policies training guidelines, medical controls, and city and department policies and procedures. These guidelines are generally clear and specific but may require some interpretation in application./pp style="margin:0in;text-align:justify;"br/pp style="margin:0in;text-align:justify;text-indent:9.0pt;"span style="color:inherit;"COMPLEXITY/SCOPE OF WORK/span/pp style="margin:0in;text-align:justify;"br/pdiv style="margin:0in;"ul style="margin-bottom: 3pt; margin-left: 0.25in;"li style="margin:0in;"The work consists of related emergency communications duties. The necessity of responding to unforeseen and emergency situations contributes to the complexity of the work./li/ul/divp style="margin:0in;margin-left:.75in;text-align:justify;"br/pdiv style="margin:0in;"ul style="margin-bottom: 3pt; margin-left: 0.25in;"li style="margin:0in;"The purpose of this position is to participate in the receiving of emergency and non-emergency calls and in dispatching emergency service personnel as appropriate. Successful performance contributes to the efficient and effective response to emergency and life-threatening situations./li/ul/divp style="margin:0in;text-align:justify;"br/pp style="margin:0in;text-align:justify;text-indent:9.0pt;"span style="color:inherit;"CONTACTS/span/pp style="margin:0in;text-align:justify;"br/pdiv style="margin:0in;"ul style="margin-bottom: 3pt; margin-left: 0.25in;"li style="margin:0in;"Contacts are typically with department personnel, other city personnel, representatives of other emergency services agencies, hospital and other medical personnel, representatives of a variety of external agencies, and the public./li/ul/divp style="margin:0in;margin-left:.75in;text-align:justify;"br/pdiv style="margin:0in;"ul style="margin-bottom: 3pt; margin-left: 0.25in;"li style="margin:0in;"Contacts are typically to give or exchange information, resolve problems, provide services, and motivate persons./li/ul/divp style="margin:0in;text-align:justify;"br/pp style="margin:0in;text-align:justify;text-indent:9.0pt;"span style="color:inherit;"PHYSICAL DEMANDS/ WORK ENVIRONMENT/span/pp style="margin:0in;text-align:justify;"br/pdiv style="margin:0in;"ul style="margin-bottom: 3pt; margin-left: 0.25in;"li style="margin:0in;"The work is typically performed while sitting at a desk or table./li/ul/divp style="margin:0in;text-align:justify;"br/pdiv style="margin:0in;"ul style="margin-bottom: 3pt; margin-left: 0.25in;"li style="margin:0in;"The work is typically performed in a Communications Center./li/ul/divp style="margin:0in;text-align:justify;"br/pp style="margin:0in;text-align:justify;text-indent:9.0pt;"span style="color:inherit;"SUPERVISORY AND MANAGEMENT RESPONSIBILITY/span/pp style="margin:0in;text-align:justify;"br/pp style="margin:0in;margin-left:.5in;text-align:justify;"None./p/ph2Minimum Qualifications/h2pdiv style="margin:0in;" id="isPasted"ul style="margin-bottom: 3pt; margin-left: 0.25in;"li style="margin:0in;"Graduation from a standard senior high school or GED equivalent, as recognized by the United States Department of Education (USDE) or Council on Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA); strongand/strong/li/ul/divp style="margin:0in;margin-left:.75in;text-align:justify;"br/pdiv style="margin:0in;"ul style="margin-bottom: 3pt; margin-left: 0.25in;"li style="margin:0in;"Must be at least 19 years of age; strongand/strong/li/ul/divp style="margin:0in;text-align:justify;"br/pdiv style="margin:0in;"ul style="margin-bottom: 3pt; margin-left: 0.25in;"li style="margin:0in;"Two (2) years work experience as a Police, Fire, EMS and E911 dispatcher; strongor/strong/li/ul/divp style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:.5in;"br/pdiv style="margin:0in;"ul style="margin-bottom: 3pt; margin-left: 0.25in;"li style="margin:0in;"One (1) year current continuous experience as a Public Safety Calltaker with the City of Dothan in the Communications Officer progression; strongand/strong/li/ul/divp style="margin:0in;text-align:justify;"br/pdiv style="margin:0in;"ul style="margin-bottom: 3pt; margin-left: 0.25in;"li style="margin:0in;"Possession of emcurrent/em certification in Association of Public Safety Communications Officials (APCO) Public Safety Telecommunicator I (PST1) course (40 hours initial course) or other state and/or agency equivalent certification; strongand/strong/li/ul/divp style="margin:0in;margin-left:.75in;text-align:justify;"br/pdiv style="margin:0in;"ul style="margin-bottom: 3pt; margin-left: 0.25in;"li style="margin:0in;"Possession of emcurrent/em certification in American Heart Association Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) Course or American Red Cross equivalent; strongand/strong/li/ul/divp style="margin:0in;margin-left:.75in;text-align:justify;"br/pdiv style="margin:0in;"ul style="margin-bottom: 3pt; margin-left: 0.25in;"li style="margin:0in;"Possession of emcurrent/em certification in National Crime Information Center (NCIC) and Alabama Law Enforcement Agency (ALEA) Criminal Justice Information Center (ACJIC) certification or other state equivalent certification in the use of the Criminal Justice Information Center and the FBI National Crime Information Center systems./li/ul/divp style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:.5in;"br/pdiv style="margin:0in;"ul style="margin-bottom: 3pt; margin-left: 0.25in;"li style="margin:0in;"Possession of emcurrent/em certification in Association of Public Safety Communications Officials (APCO) Emergency Medical Dispatch (EMD) Course (32 hours initial course, 12 hours annual recertification) empreferred./em/li/ul/divp style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:.5in;"br/pdiv style="margin:0in;"ul style="margin-bottom: 3pt; margin-left: 0.25in;"li style="margin:0in;"Possession of emcurrent/em certification in Association of Public Safety Communications Officials (APCO) Communications Training Officer (CTO) Course (32 hours initial course, 12 hours annual recertification) empreferred/em./li/ul/divp style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:.5in;"br/pdiv style="margin:0in;"ul style="margin-bottom: 3pt; margin-left: 0.25in;"li style="margin:0in;"Completion of Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) training in Southern Software Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) empreferred/em./li/ul/divp style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:.5in;"br/pdiv style="margin:0in;"ul style="margin-bottom: 3pt; margin-left: 0.25in;"li style="margin:0in;"Completion of Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) training in Southern Software Records Management System (RMS) empreferred/em./li/ul/divp style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:.5in;"br/pdiv style="margin:0in;"ul style="margin-bottom: 3pt; margin-left: 0.25in;"li style="margin:0in;"Completion of Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) training in Southern Software Mapping Data System (MDS) empreferred/em./li/ul/divp style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:.5in;"br/pdiv style="margin:0in;"ul style="margin-bottom: 3pt; margin-left: 0.25in;"li style="margin:0in;"Completion of Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) training in Motorola Emergency Communications System ECS-1000, Solacom 9-1-1 Equipment empreferred/em./li/ul/divp style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:.5in;"br/pdiv style="margin:0in;"ul style="margin-bottom: 3pt; margin-left: 0.25in;"li style="margin:0in;"Completion of Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) training in Public Safety Radio Training/Experience in actual radio transmission environment empreferred/em./li/ul/divp style="margin:0in;text-align:justify;"br/pp style="margin:0in;text-align:justify;"*Accredited through an agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education (USDE) or the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA)./pp style="margin:0in;text-align:justify;"br/pp style="margin:0in;text-indent:9.0pt;"span style="color:inherit;"CONDITION OF EMPLOYMENT/PROMOTION/DEMOTION/TRANSFER/span/pp style="margin:0in;text-align:justify;"br/pp style="margin:0in;text-align:justify;"The City of Dothan’s Police Department will administer a polygraph examination to anyone hired/promoted demoted/transferred into the Police Department. nbsp;The examination will be a question and answer test that covers areas of your background, including but not limited to your employment application, employment history, and involvement in criminal activity, such as thefts and domestic violence, drug usage and participation in the distribution of illegal and legal prescription medications./pp style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:.5in;"br/pp style="margin:0in;text-indent:9.0pt;"span style="color:inherit;"NECESSARY SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS/span/pp style="margin:0in;text-align:justify;"br/pdiv style="margin:0in;"ul style="margin-bottom: 3pt; margin-left: 0.25in;"li style="margin:0in;"Ability to obtain certification and recertification the Association of Public Safety Communications Officials (APCO) Emergency Medical Dispatch (EMD) course per department standards and requirements and/or the Alabama Public Safety Telecommunication Program (Act 22-387, Rule 585-X-5)./li/ul/divp style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:.75in;text-align:justify;"br/pdiv style="margin:0in;"ul style="margin-bottom: 3pt; margin-left: 0.25in;"li style="margin:0in;"Ability to obtain certification as an Association of Public Safety Communications Officials (APCO) Communications Training Officer (CTO).nbsp;/li/ul/divp style="margin:0in;text-align:justify;"br/pdiv style="margin:0in;"ul style="margin-bottom: 3pt; margin-left: 0.25in;"li style="margin:0in;"Must maintain information confidentiality throughout entire employment./li/ul/divp style="margin:0in;margin-left:.5in;text-align:justify;"br/pdiv style="margin:0in;"ul style="margin-bottom: 3pt; margin-left: 0.25in;"li style="margin:0in;"An applicant must be able to continuously progress satisfactorily throughout the training program within the probationary period. nbsp;/li/ul/divp style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:.5in;"br/pdiv style="margin:0in;"ul style="margin-bottom: 3pt; margin-left: 0.25in;"li style="margin:0in;"An applicant for this position is subject to various background investigations up to and including a criminal, credit, past employment, and reference checks./li/ul/divp style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:.5in;"br/pdiv style="margin:0in;"ul style="margin-bottom: 3pt; margin-left: 0.25in;"li style="margin:0in;"Employees are required to submit to Drug and Alcohol testing in accordance with the City of Dothan police, which includes pre-employment and random tests for the duration of employment in this position. nbsp;(PBA 8/13/12)/li/ul/divp style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:.5in;"br/pdiv style="margin:0in;"ul style="margin-bottom: 3pt; margin-left: 0.25in;"li style="margin:0in;"Must meet the City of Dothan’s employment physical standards, which include drug/alcohol testing./li/ul/div/ph2Other Qualifications/h2pp style="margin-right: 0.0in;margin-left: 0.0in;text-align: left;color: windowtext;margin: 0.0in;"Qualified applicants will be evaluated based on training and experience as documented on their application. nbsp;This evaluation will comprise 100% of their final grade./pp style="margin-right: 0.0in;margin-left: 0.0in;text-align: left;color: windowtext;margin: 0.0in;"nbsp;/pp style="margin-right: 0.0in;margin-left: 0.0in;text-align: left;color: windowtext;margin: 0.0in;"Applicants with a disability who feel they need accommodation should contact the Personnel Department in writing on or before the closing date of this advertisement by emailing a href="mailto:jobs@dothan.org"jobs@dothan.org/a./pp style="margin-right: 0.0in;margin-left: 0.0in;text-align: left;color: windowtext;margin: 0.0in;"nbsp;/pp style="margin-right: 0.0in;margin-left: 0.0in;text-align: center;color: windowtext;margin: 0.0in;"An Equal Opportunity, Affirmative Action Employer/pp style="margin-right: 0.0in;margin-left: 0.0in;text-align: left;color: windowtext;margin: 0.0in;"br/pbr/p