Communications Officer

City of Florence Employment Opportunity

Communications Officer

$20.25—29.42/hr. (Depends on Qualifications)

The City of Florence is accepting applications for a Communications Officer to join our Police Department! This position is a regular, full-time, non-exempt position. This position is represented by Florence Police Employees Association. This posting may be used to fill multiple vacancies within the next 6 months.

The City of Florence Police Department is dedicated to providing professional law enforcement services and preserving the quality of life for its citizens and community.  The City invites you to apply and join a highly respected police department and serve the citizens of our beautiful City.  Florence is an ideal destination for a lifelong career leading into retirement. 

GENERAL STATEMENT OF RESPONSIBILITIES

Perform technical communications work in the department of Public Safety, including receiving calls from the public, dispatching appropriate public safety services, performing work in the care and custody of prisoners, operating equipment, and performing a variety of record keeping and clerical functions, in addition to related work as required.

ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS

Below are several classifications of essential functions that this position is responsible for performing. Please see the attached job description for illustrative examples of the types of duties performed under the classification. This is not intended to represent a complete list of all assigned duties.

Call Taking - Receive and gather information during emergency and non-emergency calls from the public.

Dispatching - Prioritize calls for service and dispatch appropriate personnel based on information received.

Care and Custody of Prisoners - Monitor jail and provide assistance when required.

General Duties - An employee in this class performs general communication officer work.

COMPENSATION

Please see the attached Union Payscale for FY18. Note that the City does not pay PERS contributions, but instead increases the salary of Police Officer employees by 5.5% to offset the required 6% PERS contribution.

In addition to base pay, officers are eligible to receive additional compensation for professional certification and education levels.

BENEFITS

The City of Florence offers eligible Officers the following benefits programs:

Paid time off: Sick, Vacation, and Holiday;
Medical, Dental, and Vision insurance for Officers and dependents;
Health Savings Account;
Life insurance and long term disability; and
Deferred compensation plans.

MANDATORY MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

Education

• Must have a High School diploma or General Education Degree (GED).

Experience

• Four years of previous work experience in an office environment;
• One year work experience in a fast-paced and high pressure public contact environment, which includes clerical computer and multi-line phone experience; or
• Any satisfactory combination of experience and training that demonstrates and ability to perform the above described essential functions.

Licenses/certificates

Possession of or ability to obtain, within three months of appointment, the following:

• Basic Telecommunicators Certification from the Oregon Department of Public Safety standards and Training;
• CPR and First Aid; and
• LEDS.

DESIRABLE ADDITIONAL QUALIFICATIONS

• Bi-lingual ability in Spanish and English.
• Any higher level educational degree.
• Knowledge of / experience with modern law enforcement principals, procedures, techniques, and equipment.
• Knowledge of / experience with multi-line telephone systems, radio dispatching, and multi-tasking-divided attention skills.

SELECTION PROCESS

Application materials are used to select the most qualified candidates. Those selected for further consideration are invited to participate in National Dispatcher Selection Test. Candidates must pass the test with an average score of at least 75% and cannot fail any section (below 50%). Candidates that pass the test and that are the most qualified will be selected for oral interviews. The top candidates from oral interviews will be given interviews with the Chief of Police, with the top candidate from that interview being given a conditional offer.

Prior to hiring the successful candidate must pass all phases of the examination process, including:

Criminal background investigation;
Physical testing; and
Drug/Medical fitness screening.

HOW TO APPLY

Please see the detailed job description and City employment application below. A completed City application form is the only required document for consideration. Resumes and cover letters are encouraged, but optional. Applications can be mailed or hand delivered to Human Resources, City of Florence, 250 HWY 101, Florence, OR 97439; or emailed to recruitment@ci.florence.or.us.

Position is open until filled with first review on February 22nd at 4:00 pm. We will create a list that will be eligible for the next 6 months. Completed Applications must be received by that date and time. Applications must be signed either physically or electronically to be considered. Human Resources will not contact you about unsigned or incomplete applications.

If you previously applied in the last 12 months and you went through a background process with us, but were not selected, please know that you are not eligible to reapply for the next 12 months.

ABOUT THE CITY 

Our City staff and our community have embraced the City in Motion mantra. Check out our City of Florence: A City in Motion video on our website at www.ci.florence.or.us/citymanager/city-motion-video. The City Council and Management Team have outlined what it means to be a City in Motion and the exciting projects we have in store for our community. We are looking for someone who can join our City in Motion, embrace our mission and goals, and contribute to our vision of becoming Oregon’s Premier Coastal Community!