Public Safety Communicator

Public Safety Communicator I

Salary

$54,024.05 - $94,529.97 Annually

Location

MCCONNELL PS & TRANS OP CTR, 4890 ALLIANCE DR, FAIRFAX (EJ11), VA

Job Type

FT Hourly W BN

Job Number

26-00837

Department

Public Safety Communications

Opening Date

05/23/2026

Closing Date

12/26/2026 11:59 PM Eastern

Pay Grade

D17

Posting Type

Open to General Public

* Description

* Benefits

* Questions

Job Announcement

Do you want to make a difference in your community? Would you find it rewarding to be a crucial link in the public safety chain? If you answered yes to these questions, then you may be a good fit for Fairfax County's Department of Public Safety Communications (DPSC).

DPSC, also known as Fairfax County 9-1-1, is a nationally recognized public safety communications agency and we are searching for new team members. DPSC is the largest 9-1-1 Center in the Commonwealth of Virginia, one of the ten largest in the United States, as well as being one of the most technologically advanced 9-1-1 centers in the United States. As essential staff members of the agency, Public Safety Communicators (PSCs) are the first people that a caller interacts when reporting emergencies in Fairfax County.

Our PSCs receive extensive paid training to gain the knowledge, skills and abilities that will allow them to be independent decision makers while adhering to established policies and procedures. Through continued training, PSC I's have the opportunity to advance to the higher PSC II and PSC III skill sets.

From their training, our PSC's:

* Answer 9-1-1 emergency and other calls from the community as well as dispatching police, fire and rescue and sheriff's office resources

* Make lifesaving decisions and provide clear direction and advice, including pre-arrival medical instruction to callers reporting medical emergencies.

Fairfax County employees are eligible for a comprehensive benefits package, and participation in a Defined Benefit Retirement Plan, with retirement eligibility after 25 years of service.

All applicants must have the ability to:

* Perform work assignments at different work locations when required

* Work holidays, work every other weekend and work shifts during days, evenings, or midnights

* Accept last minute changes in their schedule

Compensation:
The non-negotiable starting salary for this position is $27.2721 per hour, except for current Fairfax County merit employees, who will retain their current salary as long as it does not exceed $33.1490.

To learn more about our Public Safety Communicator, please  or copy and paste the following link: https://(Use the "Apply for this Job" box below). into a new browser to view our recruitment video for the Public Safety Communicator.

Illustrative Duties

(The illustrative duties listed in this specification are representative of the class but are not an all-inclusive list. A complete list of position duties and unique physical requirements can be found in the position job description.)

* Serves as primary point of contact for reporting all 9-1-1 emergencies in Fairfax County;

* Represents the County and Department in a professional manner and with a high level of customer service;

* Provides information or directions to callers, police, fire & rescue/EMS, and other public safety agencies, adhering to DPSC, Police, Fire & Rescue department policies and procedures governing the dissemination of information;

* Operates a sophisticated workstation comprised of multiple computer systems including Automatic Call Distribution (ACD) 9-1-1 emergency and non-emergency telephone system, geographical mapping tools (GIS and aerial photography), Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD), and other repositories of critical information, etc. to answer, triage and process incoming emergency and non-emergency calls for service from the general public or other public safety agencies for the protection of life and property;

* During a life-threatening emergency, establishes communications with the caller, provide safety/life-saving instructions, and maintains control of the conversation until units arrive on the scene;

* Interacts with callers who may be injured, distressed, distraught and/or emotional, and also public safety field personnel on the telephone and radio to accurately communicate information and instructions in all situations;

* Gathers, classifies, and supplements pertinent information obtained from the caller and enters it into the CAD system, consistent with appropriate protocols;

* Establishes communications with hearing impaired callers through the TTY application of the telephone system;

* Facilitates language interpretation between non-English speaking callers and interpreters to provide assistance needed;

* Provides all services in a "manual mode" (i.e., non-computerized environment) when primary CAD system is not available;

* During computer down time, operates the back-up telephone system (BUTS) and TTY device, uses the street directory, telephone lists, and complaint cards, etc. to generate the appropriate public safety response;

* Performs job…