at City of Pittsburg in Pittsburg, Kansas, United States
Job Description
POSITION SUMMARY
The Communications Technician is responsible for providing dispatching services to emergency services providers
and public service entities during their tour of duty. Objectives include receiving and processing emergency and
non-emergency requests for service and relaying these requests to the appropriate resources and service
providers. This position requires a rotation of various shifts and work days, including day, evening and midnight
shifts, weekends and holidays.
DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
• Answer all calls for service, both emergency and non-emergency received from the public, law
enforcement agencies, city departments and other sources.
• Determine the nature and priority of the call for service and dispatch appropriate service providers to
properly address the incident or request for service.
• Monitor and maintain communications with callers, field units and other responders to provide updated
information concerning incidents to identify additional assets that may be required to assist in resolving
an incident and direct those resources to incident scenes as necessary.
• Provide direction and assistance to callers during emergency situations through the use of established
communications practices, procedures and protocols until the arrival of personnel who can take control of
the incident.
• Provide information concerning general safety and personal security to the general public during
situations such as crimes in progress, dangerous weather conditions, natural or man-made hazards and
other similar situations.
• Provide local and regional information such as weather and road conditions to the public and other
emergency services personnel.
• Maintains records and information concerning crime reports, dispatch information, calls for service,
business information, contact persons and other official documents related to public safety
communications in a timely and efficient manner.
• Performs all work duties and activities in accordance with City policies and procedures; works in a safe
manner, follows City Safety policies and practices and adheres to responsibilities concerning safety
prevention, reporting and monitoring.
DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES continued
• Successfully employ the strategy of active listening in order to effectively and efficiently handle calls for
service and other interpersonal activities.
• Efficiently, effectively, and properly utilize the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) system and the
Kansas Criminal Justice Information System (KCJIS) network to accomplish job tasks
• Operation of a two-way radio system to produce effective communications in accordance with Federal
(FCC), State and Departmental rules and regulations
POSITION COMPETENCIES
• Ability to remain calm and focused in times of high stress to ensure proper resolution to emergency
situations.
• Ability to write and type legibly using proper sentence structure, grammar, punctuation, and spelling in
the English language.
• Understand and follow moderately complex oral instructions in the English language.
• Communicate orally, in the English language using a telephone and radio.
• Operates a computer-aided dispatching console consisting of a computer-based telephone system and
radio console.
• Must have acceptable working knowledge of computer operations, stressing accuracy and speed.
• Must be able to independently make and carry out effective and timely decisions; competently perform
under stress when confronted with emergency and critical situations; perform a variety of tasks,
transitioning quickly from one to another while maintaining proficiency and composure.
• Knowledge of: City streets and areas surrounding the City including the geographical layout of patrol beats
or districts; Emergency services dispatching procedures; Computer-aided dispatching (CAD) systems;
Operation of multi-line telephone and 911 telephone systems; Computer systems and job-related
software operating systems
• Ability to: Work effectively with co-workers, the public, and others by sharing ideas in a constructive and
positive manner, often in stressful situations; Multi-task continuously; Obtain essential information from
persons under stress; Speak clearly and distinctly; Listen and comprehend the radio and phone
simultaneously; Act quickly and calmly in emergencies; Complete work thoroughly, accurately, and timely
• Must be able to appropriately handle and maintain information of a confidential or sensitive nature
• Must perform a wide variety of duties and responsibilities with speed and accuracy during times of stress
and time-sensitive deadlines
