Emergency Communications Dispatcher

About the role

Located in Richland, WA, the Southeast Communications Center (SECOMM) is the 911 center for Benton and Franklin Counties in Eastern Washington. Additionally, we provide dispatch service to all law enforcement, fire/EMS, and emergency response agencies within both counties along with Walla Walla Fire District #5 in Walla Walla County. SECOMM averages about 28,000 calls per month, including both emergency and non-emergency calls. Richland is located at the confluence of the Columbia and Yakima Rivers in southeastern Washington in the heart of the Pacific Northwest. Richland and its sister cities of Kennewick, Pasco, and West Richland make up the Tri-Cities MSA with a population of 312,000. Richland is the third largest city in the region with a population of approximately 62,500 residents. The city and its citizens are proud of the community's excellent quality of life, which includes educational opportunities, outstanding health care providers and facilities, cultural and recreational amenities. Top reasons you want to work at SECOMM: You have a sense of service to your community. You want to help by working closely with first responders. You want to support your local law enforcement, firefighters, and EMS professionals by helping them arrive on-scene and safely deploy emergency response. Stable full-time employment with a defined benefit retirement plan. We aren't going anywhere! Career growth and advancement potential. Your values align with ours; Teamwork, Integrity and Excellence. SECOMM offers an attractive compensation and benefits package that includes: Generous paid time-off starting with 152.04 hours of vacation accrued per year; 96 hours of sick leave accrued per year. Holidays - 10 recognized holidays per year Pay: $29.36 per hour on day one of training, with union negotiated increases every six months for the first year, annually thereafter through Step 7. Benefit plans - Medical, dental, vision and time loss plans through the United Employee Benefits Trust (UEBT). Employer paid life insurance and long-term disability. Employee Assistance Program for public safety professionals WA State Public Safety Employees Retirement System (PSERS), Deferred Compensation contribution, matched by employer (shown below): Pension Plan - Vested in PSERS after 5 years of employment Deferred Compensation - After completion of probation, employees will receive up to a 3% contribution match to their choice of a 401(1) or 457 plans, including a ROTH plan option. GENERAL INFORMATION: As part of the public safety team, the successful candidate will contribute to the safety and welfare of fellow emergency responders and the citizens of both Benton and Franklin counties. Please consider the information below when determining if this is a career for you. 911 Dispatchers support law enforcement and go through a similar background process. Our recruitment process typically takes about 90 days from the date of application to hire date. The first six months of training require significant internal resources. Vacations and time off are not guaranteed during this time. Employees are expected to be available and willing to work 12-hour rotating which includes day shift, night shift, and mandatory weekends and holidays. During training, an effort will be made to expose the trainee to both day and night shifts. Watch video message from retired Kennewick Police Chief Ken Hohenberg about the exciting and rewarding career of being an Emergency Communications Dispatcher here . To hear from current 911 Dispatchers, watch this 911 Dispatcher testimonial prepared by Washington State here. Dispatching is often compared to being an Air Traffic Controller - very stressful. Part of our training is to learn to cope with that stress and take care of ourselves. Some types of calls we deal with (and are trained to handle) include: Routine calls of crimes not occurring at the time of the call. Calls of crimes occurring during the time of the call. Calls from people who are intoxicated, hysterical, irrational, confused, demanding, or screaming at you, people threatening suicide, having a minor or serious medical issue, victims of violent crimes, or reporting a lost child or a lost a