Public Safety Information Specialist - County of Riverside
Perris, CA 92570
About the Job
The Riverside County Fire Department has an opportunity for a Public Safety Information Specialist inPerris. The incumbent will be receiving non-emergency requests for information from the public and other agencies, providing information regarding the activities of the Fire Department to allied agencies, the media, and the press/public, responding to emergency incidents/events, and performing other related duties as required. Bilingual in Spanish and public fire safety education is highly desired.
The incumbent will be required to work extended shifts, nights, weekends, holidays, be available to work overtime as needed, and be in a rotational on-call status . This position will require travel throughout Riverside County and a County vehicle will be provided.
Meet the Team!
The Riverside County Fire Department is one of California's largest integrated, cooperative, regional fire protection organizations. The Department, a unique partnership between State of California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) and the County of Riverside, serves 19 partner agencies and 1 community service district. The Department has five core values: Leadership, Competence, Integrity, Safety, and Customer Service.
EXAMPLES OF ESSENTIAL DUTIES
• Establish and maintain regular contacts with the press, community groups, and government officials to meet the organization's public information, awareness, and education needs.
• Develop and determine effectiveness of distribution and outreach media plans; make recommendations for modifications as required.
• Write articles and press releases on organization's activities, services, programs, and functions; prepare pamphlets and brochures.
• Coordinate release distribution to the media; organize and arrange public information campaigns and press conferences.
• Receive routine requests from the media and the public for information regarding emergency incidents.
• Determine jurisdiction of major incidents, notifying other agencies as required and forwarding requests/inquiries to other agencies when appropriate.
• Make inquiries to local, State, and Federal national computer systems to obtain information requested by personnel, the public, media, or other agencies.
• Read and interpret maps to research emergency incidents; may be deployed to an emergency in the field with communications equipment and may set up and operate such equipment.
• Assist in the on-the-job training of new employees learning the techniques and procedures of media communications.
• Train and participate in public safety community education events.
• Operate a variety of communications equipment including radio systems, various telephone and computer systems in accordance with Federal Communications Commission regulations, department policy, and standard operating procedures.
• Assist Senior Public Information Specialists with work to ensure completeness, accuracy, and conformance to appropriate standards.
• Maintain a record of the location of emergency incidents maintain and edit manuals relating to the Command Center, Communications Center, and departmental policies and procedures.
• Respond to emergency incidents in various locations across Riverside County.
• Carry out on-camera and off-camera interviews. These could be held in various locations and may require travel.
• Operate media production equipment.
MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS
OPTION I
Education: Graduation from an accredited college or university with a Bachelor's degree in journalism, communications, English, public relations, public or business administration, or a closely related field. (Additional qualifying experience may be substituted for the education on the basis of one year of full-time experience equaling 30 semester or 45 quarter units of education.)
Experience: Two years of full-time experience in public communications or community relations which included the dissemination of information to internal and/or external audiences through various communication mediums.
OPTION II
Two years of experience as a Fire Communications Dispatcher II (previous job title Public Safety Communications Officer II) with the County of Riverside.
Knowledge of: The functions, operations, rules, and regulations of the Fire Department; modern office practices and procedures including filing, record-keeping and operating standard office equipment; proper English language usage and grammar.
Ability to: Learn the codes, techniques, and procedures involved in fire emergency response, operating radio, telephone, playback machines CAD systems, and teleprocessing equipment; accomplish tasks in a controlled and competent manner while working in a stressful environment; follow oral and written directions quickly and accurately; establish and maintain effective working relationships with other employees, law enforcement and fire personnel, and the public; complete assigned clerical tasks with accuracy and speed; coordinate the work of clerical staff; train new and assigned personnel in the techniques, procedures, and operations of public communication and specialized clerical functions; analyze emergency situations quickly and adopt effective courses of action without immediate supervision; prepare accurate records and reports; discern the codes, techniques, and procedures used in dispatching and operating telephones and CAD equipment; understand Riverside County geography, including the location of principle cities, highways, streets, and buildings; apply applicable regulations of the Federal Communications Commission.
SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION
Veterans' Preference
The County has a Veteran's Preference Policy. Upload a copy of your (or your spouse's) Member-4 Form DD-214 indicating dates of service, and a copy of your spouse's letter of disability (if applicable) with your application. For privacy reasons, it is recommended that you remove your social security information from the document(s). A Human Resources Representative will review the materials and determine if you qualify for veterans' preference. See the policy here .
Reasonable Accommodations
The County of Riverside is committed to providing reasonable accommodation to applicants as required by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA). Qualified individuals with disabilities who need a reasonable accommodation during the application or selection process should contact the recruiter for the position noted above. For additional information and/or to obtain the appropriate form for requesting a reasonable accommodation, please visit the Disability Access Office web page located at: http://dao.rc-hr.com/ .
What's Next?
This recruitment is open to all applicants.
Applicants who are current County of Riverside employees and/or current employees of the Fire Department may be considered before other applicants depending on the volume of applications received.
Qualified applicants may be considered for future vacancies throughout the County.
BASED ON THE NUMBER OF APPLICATIONS RECEIVED, THIS POSTING MAY CLOSE WITHOUT NOTICE.
Applications received prior to the closing date will be considered based on the information submitted. Changes or alterations cannot be accepted. No late applications will be permitted. Include relevant work experience details on resume and/or application.
Applicants who fail to provide information demonstrating they possess the position requirements may not be considered further in the application process. A description of job duties directly copied from the job classification or job posting will not be considered.
Other Requirements
License/Certificate: Possession of a valid California Driver's License.
Physical Requirements
The Public Safety Information Specialist has exposure to a wide variety of elements including all weather conditions and smoke (fire).
Contact
If you have any questions regarding this position, please contact Andrea Evans at aevans@rivco.org or 951-955-3572.
GENERAL APPLICATION INFORMATION:
Please read and follow any special application instructions on this posting. Click the 'Apply' link located on this page to submit your application. For instructions on the application process, examinations, Veteran's preference, pre-employment accommodation or other employment questions, please refer to our web site, www.rc-hr.com . A pre-employment physical examination and background check may be required.
MEDICAL/DENTAL/VISION INSURANCE: A choice of different medical, dental and visions plan are available to elect. The County provides a Flexible Benefit Credit contribution as governed by the applicable SEIU Memorandum of Understanding to contribute towards the cost of these plans.
Note: Employees on assignment through the Temporary Assignment Program (TAP) receive different benefits. See the list here .
MISCELLANEOUS RETIREMENT: County of Riverside has three retirement Tiers through the California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS).
- Tier I (Classic Member - Formula 3% @ 60): Applicable to current and former County of Riverside local miscellaneous employees hired prior to 08/24/2012 and did not withdraw CalPERS contributions. The employee contribution is eight (8%) percent.
- Tier II (Classic Member - Formula 2% @ 60): Applicable to local miscellaneous employees 1) hired after 08/23/2012 through 12/31/2012; 2) Previously employed with another CalPERS contracting public agency or a reciprocal retirement system, with a break in service of less than six months between the separation date with the previous employer and the appointment date with the County of Riverside. The employee contribution is seven (7%) percent.
- Tier III (PEPRA New Member - Formula 2% @ 62): Applicable to CalPERS local miscellaneous new members hired on or after the implementation of the Public Employees' Pension Reform Act of 2013 (PEPRA) which took effect January 1, 2013. As of July 1, 2020, the employee contribution is 7.25% and subject to change annually.
A new member is defined as any of the following:
CalPERS refers to all members that do not fit within the definition of a new member as "classic members".
Contribution rates are subject to change based on the County of Riverside annual actuarial valuation.
Note:
This summary is for general information purposes only. Additional questions regarding retirement formulas can be sent to retirement@rivco.org or by calling the Benefits Information Line at (951) 955-4981,
Option 2.
If you have prior service credit with another CalPERS agency or within agencies, please contact CalPERS at (888) 225-7377 to determine which retirement tier would be applicable to you. CalPERS is governed by the Public Employees' Retirement Law. The Retirement Law is complex and subject to change. If there's any conflict between this summary and the law, the law will prevail over this summary.
DEFERRED COMPENSATION: Voluntary employee contribution with a choice between two 457 deferred compensation plan options.
VACATION ACCRUAL (Bi-Weekly Accrual):
0< 3 year = 80 Hours (10 Days)
4< 9 years = 120 Hours (15 Days)
10 or more years = 160 Hours (20 Days)
Maximum Vacation leave accumulation is 480 hours.
SICK LEAVE: Four (4) hours Sick Leave accrual per pay period with unlimited accrual.
HOLIDAYS: Normally 12 paid holidays per year.
BEREAVEMENT LEAVE: Allowed 5 days (3 days are County paid; 2 additional days can be taken from accrued Sick Leave balance).
BASIC LIFE INSURANCE: Equal to one times annual base salary not to exceed $50,000 of term life coverage. Premiums are paid by the County. Additional Supplemental Life plan is available for employee purchase.
DISABILITY: Short-term Disability benefit pays up to a maximum of $461.54 weekly, payable up to a maximum of 52 weeks.
POST RETIREMENT MEDICAL CONTRIBUTION: A monthly contribution is made by the County towards retiree health insurance offered through the County as governed by the applicable SEIU Memorandum of Understanding.
OTHER: There may be other benefit provisions as specified in the applicable Memorandum of Understanding. Please contact the recruiter listed on the job posting directly for more information.
