Telephone Operator - Relief

Telephone Operators

The Information Services Department of the County of San Mateo seeks Telephone Operators. The department is located at 222 West 39th Avenue, San Mateo, CA.

Under general supervision, Telephone Operators operate a centralized soft telephone with an online directory that connects a high volume of incoming calls to the appropriate individuals, County staff, and departments. Relief Telephone Operators will be required to work all shifts, including evening, weekend, overnight, and holiday shifts, provide off‑hours support to co‑workers, and perform other related duties as assigned. Relief will be expected to fill shifts for vacations and sick calls, including weekday evening shifts and 8‑hour shifts on Saturday and Sunday, including overnight shifts.

These positions should expect to work overnight 11 p‑7 a m shifts.

Training for these positions will consist of 2 months of training: initially, after hours training from Wednesday through Friday from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m., and Saturday through Sunday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., and additionally, 1 month of business hours training Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

• Provide factual information to the public regarding County functions and activities.
• Place authorized long‑distance calls and maintain records of assisted and long‑distance calls.
• Take emergency telephone calls and locate appropriate staff.
• Locate and notify appropriate individuals of fires, disasters, and similar emergencies.
• Monitor County intrusion and fire alarms and notify the appropriate agencies.
• Notify on‑call staff responsible for issues occurring after normal business hours involving the County Coroner, Sheriff’s Office, Probation Department, and other County departments.
• Maintain logs of specific types of calls.
• Operate standard office equipment and perform minimal typing and clerical duties.

• 1 year of office support work experience involving considerable contact with the public, primarily by extensive use of telephones.
• Experience with a soft phone call routing application and basic computer skills desired.
• Ability to multitask and have flexibility in a busy work environment.
• Ability to maintain focus and calmness with emergency calls.
• Ability to work well as a team with co‑workers.
• Availability to work evening, weekend, holiday, overnight, and other shifts.
• Ability to sit for long periods of time.
• Possession of excellent hearing and manipulative skills to operate a soft phone application.
• Fluency in Spanish and English is preferred.

NOTE: This is a relief/extra help, at‑will assignment, paid on an hourly basis. Extra‑help hours are dependent on the business needs of the department and therefore work hours may vary from week to week. Extra help employees shall not exceed 1,040 hours of work per fiscal year. Some extra help positions are eligible for benefits under the Affordable Care Act. Extra help employees are not guaranteed permanent status at the end of the assignment.

This is a relief recruitment. Anyone may apply. A supplemental application form must be submitted in addition to the standard County employment application form. Your responses to the supplemental questions will provide additional information about your qualifications for this position and will be used by the department in the evaluation process. A resume will not be accepted as a substitute for your responses.

Neatness, clarity of expression, and the ability to follow instructions will be considered in the evaluation process.

The department will screen application materials, and they will contact qualified candidates directly for a departmental interview.

This is a continuous recruitment which may close at any time. The final filing date will be posted five days in advance on this job announcement. Apply immediately. This recruitment is open on a continuous basis and selections may be made at any time within the process.

Applications for this position will only be accepted online. If you are currently on the County's website, you may click the Apply button. If you are not on the County's website, please go to (Use the "Apply for this Job" box below). to apply.

San Mateo County is…