12/18/00
City of San José
SENIOR DISPATCHER (1171)
CLASS PURPOSE
Under general supervision, performs work of considerable difficulty as a
working supervisor responsible for providing information, referrals, receiving
complaints from the public and the dispatching of mobile work crews to various
work sites via radio-telephone communication equipment. Performs related work as
required.
TYPICAL DUTIES AND RESULTS (Any one position may not include all the
duties listed, nor do the examples cover all the duties which may be performed.)
- Supervises, trains and schedules the work of one or more Dispatchers and
temporary duty personnel in providing information, referral, dispatch or
transfer of calls; receiving and transmitting messages and service requests to
and from mobile work crews in the field through the use of radio-telephone
communication equipment for routine and emergency maintenance services.
- Provides training to all maintenance personnel in proper radio-telephone
procedures.
- Answers complaints and questions from the public regarding streets and
traffic operations; processes calls from the public requiring immediate
response, such as traffic signals not operating, sewer line flooding, fallen
trees or other traffic hazards.
- Coordinates City-wide emergency service responses, working with the City’s
Police and Fire Departments, City Emergency Operations Center for flooding,
earthquakes and cleanups, and other emergency operations.
- Interfaces with other agencies such as Underground Services Agency (U.S.A.),
San Jose Police Department, San Jose Water Co., PG&E, asphalt plants,
Pacific Bell, County Roads Department, and the Fire Department Hazardous
Incident Team.
- Develops telephone listings, internal telephone directory, work order
rosters, project data bases and statistical reports on volume, types of service
requests, and similar operational statistics; prepares records and reports of
shift activity to comply with FCC regulations and keeps related City Attorney’s
Office and Departmental records, such as service requests received and
dispatched.
- Handles, during the work shift, the most difficult or irate callers and major
complaint requests for service.
- Informs public of methods and procedures followed by Streets and Traffic
Department.
- Trains and leads all departmental dispatching back-up personnel both
on-the-job and in the classroom.
- Dispatches communications and maintenance personnel to respond to emergencies
using standard and emergency equipment; is available for emergency call-back.
- Provides radio and telephone dispatch and clerical support for the assigned
on-call evening and weekend duty supervisor and regular evening maintenance
supervisors; maintains maintenance duty supervisor schedule and duty notebooks.
- Maintains procedures manual for Communications Center.
- Maintains call-sign list, updating several times a year.
DISTINGUISHING CHARACTERISTICS
This is the supervising level in the Dispatcher
series and incumbents function as working supervisors. The job frequently
entails excessively heavy volume of calls, stress and requires great skill in
handling difficult situations and individuals. This class series is
distinguished from that of the Public Safety Dispatcher class series in that
incumbents of the latter series process all incoming emergency and non-emergency
requests for police, fire, and medical assistance, using a computer-aided
dispatch telecommunications system, and may complete official police reports of
a non-emergency nature via telephone.
Incumbents assigned to the Mabury Yard report directly to the Principal Civil
Engineer.
QUALIFICATIONS
Minimum
Knowledges, Skills and Abilities
- Knowledge of the operation of two-way radio equipment.
- Ability to train, supervise and schedule employees.
- Ability to make decisions in determining priority of emergency calls with
little or no supervision.
- Ability to provide clear information with a well-modulated voice and to
remain calm and pleasant under stress or pressure.
- Ability to learn a series of procedures, names, responses and emergency
functions.
- Ability to prepare reports and clerical records of activities.
- Ability to establish and maintain effective relations with the public, other
public agencies and private utilities and fellow employees, especially under
stressful conditions.
Competency Knowledges, Skills and Abilities
- Knowledge of the basic materials, methods and tools used in Streets and
Traffic Department maintenance, repair and construction work.
- Knowledge of the functions of departments of City government and of City
geography and hours of operations.
- Ability to handle heavy volume telephone traffic.
- Ability to operate a variety of computer applications, such as word
processing, data bases and spreadsheets.
Training and Experience
Any combination of training and experience equivalent to successful
completion of high school and two (2) years of experience in the operation of
two-way radio-telephone equipment, equivalent to a Dispatcher with the City of
San Jose.
SR#3\1171.SPC
Est. 9/20/96 s000
Revised 12/18/00
s001