ECS (Emergency Communications Specialist)

• Vacation Pay
• Sick Pay
• Benefits Health Insurance, Dental Insurance, Visions Insurance, Flexible Spending Account, Health Savings Account
• Pension
• 12 paid Holidays
• Uniforms provided
• Eligible for Membership to MD State Employees Credit Union

Purpose of Position:

The purpose of this job is to provide emergency call response services for county residents and visitors to the county. The ECS also executes dispatch services for Dorchester County Emergency Medical, Fire, and Law Enforcement personnel, including the Cambridge and Hurlock police departments. The ECS will staff rotating shifts in the County’s Public Safety Answering Point to provide 24/7/365 availability of service throughout the year.

Essential Job Functions:

• Receives and manages phone calls from the public in neighboring jurisdictions. Each phone call is documented in appropriate systems of record. Assesses the issue, gathers pertinent information for responders, and delivers relevant guidance prior to field responder arrival, including phone CPR instructions if needed.
• Dispatches emergency and public safety personnel based on the needs of the reported incident. Using information gathered during the phone call and throughout the incident, directs appropriate emergency, medical, fire, and law enforcement responders to incidents.
• Manages resources based on priority of need, and transfers resources between incidents and areas to ensure best coverage.
• Serves as the initial incident command, assessing the situation and providing relevant guidance to the caller, until a field responder arrives on the scene to establish command. Manages and documents radio communication throughout the incident to relay guidance to responders, ensure timely resource assignment, monitor safety of on scene personnel, and document incident circumstances.
• Queries, enters, modifies, and clears information in local, state, and national computerized databases such as the National Crime Information Center and the Department of Motor Vehicles pertaining to arrest warrants, driver record history, stolen property, and other similar data and transmits relevant information to field units.
• Manages critical records related to the service they provide. This includes searching and entering law enforcement records to support officers in the field (vehicle information), maintaining logs to document interactions and outside resources (language services), and referencing material to define response plans (station assignment order).
• Monitors and responds to a variety of technical systems and alarms.
• Participates in training, and assessment to obtain and maintain professional certifications related to the role. Training includes recertification from the International Academies of Emergency Dispatch for Medical, Fire, and Police disciplines, as well as FEMA, CAD, phone, radios, and use of Maryland and federal law enforcement systems.
• Performs other duties as assigned.

Education/Experience/Certifications (minimum qualifications):

• High school diploma or GED
• Valid driver’s license.
• ETC, EMD, EPD, EFD, METERS, CPR
• Successful completion of Dorchester County ECS training program or minimum 2 years as an employed certified ECS

Physical requirements and working environment:

• Must be physically able to operate a variety of equipment including a computer, copier, telephone, and communications equipment. Must be able to use body extremities to work, move or carry objects or materials. This position requires walking, standing, bending, stooping, pushing, pulling, lifting, grasping, feeling, seeing, talking, hearing, and repetitive motions.
• Must be able to exert up to twenty pounds of force occasionally, and/or up to ten pounds of force frequently. Physical demand requirements are at levels of those of light work.
• Clear vision and hearing, including the ability to communicate effectively in various environments.
• Must be able to read, write, speak, and understand English.

Other:

• Required to work nights, weekends, holidays (including religious)
• May be subject to holdover and/or recall
• Required to report to work during inclement weather and during declared emergencies.
• Must work cooperatively with others.
• When position requires vehicle operation, responsible for the safety, readiness and operation of the vehicle and must abide by Dorchester’s safe driving policy.

Americans with Disabilities Act Compliance:

Dorchester County is an Equal Opportunity Employer. ADA requires Dorchester County to provide reasonable accommodations to qualified persons with disabilities. Prospective and current employees are encouraged to discuss ADA accommodations with management.

This job description is intended to convey information essential to understanding the scope of the Emergency Communications Specialist position. It is not intended to be an exhaustive list of qualifications, responsibilities, or duties associated with the role.

About Dorchester County

Dorchester County is called “The Heart of the Eastern Shore” because its mid-shore location and its geographic configuration is heart-shaped. Throughout history, renowned individuals have called Dorchester County home: Harriet Tubman, the “Moses of her people,” who risked her life time and again to help dozens of enslaved people find freedom through the Underground Railroad in the mid-1800s; Annie Oakley, famed sharpshooter who lived here in the early 1900s; and Anna Ella Carroll, President Lincoln’s secret adviser and military strategist.