Communications Specialist

Salary Range: $19.27 – $21.67/hr., depending upon qualifications, plus benefits.

Do you have a passion for helping others? Are you interested in being part of a team where you get to play a role in serving and protecting the campus community? SDSU’s University Police Department is offering a rewarding career opportunity as a Communications Specialist. We are looking to fill two Communication Specialist positions.

SDState is the state’s largest, most comprehensive university with over $94 million annual research expenditures, more than 200 academic programs and an enrollment of approximately 12,000 students. The university is part of a dynamic community for families, students, young professionals, and retirees, which offers an abundance of attractions and activities. The University Police Department (UPD) provides year round 24/7 law enforcement service for South Dakota State University.

Police officers are state trained and certified with full law enforcement authority. The department is responsible for protecting the campus community, ensuring a safe environment for continued education and research, providing enhanced security for the campus infrastructure and large scale public events, investigating crimes, providing uniformed patrol, deterring and detecting criminal activity and other policing services as needed.

This position is located in Brookings.

Must be authorized to work in the U.S. Sponsorship is not available for this position.

Operate a multi-talk group communications system; field calls and dispatch law enforcement and emergency personnel; monitor patrolling activity and request additional support when needed; monitor computerized systems for buildings and facility alarms; monitor multiple video and security systems; provide customer service to the public; research, interpret, compile, and disseminate information from various law enforcement databases to provide data to personnel in the field.

SDState offers a wide range of excellent benefits including medical, dental, and flexible benefits, retirement plans, compensation packages, paid holidays, and vacation leave. We offer a generous retirement plan that includes 6% matching, 10 hours of annual leave each month, 9.34 hours of sick leave each month, and eleven paid holidays. Employees also have access to internal and state-sponsored training as well as reduced tuition for state-supported courses at all State of South Dakota academic institutions.

Relocation benefits are available per university’s guidelines.

Knowledge of:

• Communications systems.
• Dispatch operating procedures.
• Basic law enforcement and emergency response procedures.
• Stress and conflict management techniques.
• Computer applications and systems.
• Geography, buildings, roadways on campus, and in the city and county of Brookings.

Skill & Ability to:

• Prioritize radio and telephone calls while remaining calm during emergencies.
• Respond appropriately concerning the urgency of the situation.
• Operate a communications system, multi-line telephone system and computer terminal simultaneously.
• Read maps, multiple computer terminal and printouts quickly and accurately.
• Accurately record both alpha and alpha-numeric figures; locate and use reference sources.
• Follow oral and written instructions.
• Speak using good clarity, tone, volume, syntax, grammar and inflections/modulations.
• Organize, condense and transmit large amounts of information into brief, concise summaries.
• Maintain logs, manuals and reference materials in accordance with agency or institution policy and within Federal Communications Commission regulations.
• Listen to and exercise patience with callers.
• Manage calls regarding threats of emergencies (i.e., suicide)…