New Job Wildfire Dispatcher In Alberta

Job Information

Job Requisition ID: 42683

Ministry: Forestry, Parks and Tourism

Location: Peace River/Edson/Lac La Biche

Full or Part-Time: Wage

Hours of Work: 40 hours per week

Regular/Temporary: Temporary Wages

Scope: Wages

Closing Date: May 14, 2023

Classification: Subsidiary 01B 4000 Administrative Support 3

About Us

The Government of Alberta is committed to a diverse and inclusive public service that reflects the population we serve to best meet the needs of Albertans. Consider joining a team where diversity, inclusion and innovation are valued and supported. For more information on diversity and inclusion, visit:

The Ministry of Forestry, Parks and Tourism invests in growing Alberta’s environmentally responsible wood products and forestry sector; protecting Alberta’s forests from wildfire; preserving our provincial parks for the recreation and enjoyment of Albertans; supporting Alberta’s vibrant tourism industry, and managing public lands and balancing sustainable rangelands and grazing leases for Alberta producers. For more information on the Ministry of Forestry, Parks and Tourism, visit:

The Wildfire Management Branch inspires public confidence in wildfire and forest management, sustaining operations and preventative practices, and leading collaboration that enables safe and resilient communities. For more information about the Wildfire Management Branch, visit:

Role

The Wildfire Dispatcher role resides within all ten of our Forest Area Offices in Alberta. (High Level, Peace River, Fort McMurray, Slave Lake, Grande Prairie, Lac La Biche, Whitecourt, Edson, Rocky Mountain House, Calgary). The Wildfire Dispatcher takes appropriate actions to move, place, or direct wildfire resources with direction from a Duty Officer. Working with a variety of communication equipment, the Wildfire Dispatcher provides the communication links between the Area Duty Room, aircraft, lookouts and crews working in the field.

Holding a calm and focused demeanor, the Wildfire Dispatcher manages multiple tasks effectively, ensuring accurate and timely data entry into multiple Wildfire specific programs, prioritizing radio calls, and verbal communication skills to effectively navigate work teams of all sizes. Wildfire Dispatchers will see changes in pace throughout the day, and at times the job will involve multiple demands, interruptions, and time-specific requests. Attention to detail is paramount, as are professionalism, discretion, and confidentiality

Dispatchers fill a vital and technical role that involves:

• Receiving and responding to 310-Fire calls or smoke detections transmitted on the radio.
• Monitoring all aircraft and fire activities to ensure related regulations, policy and procedural guidelines are followed, maintain an aircraft position log, manifests, daily flight log and daily flight reports.
• Multitasking, problem solving, organizing, and managing workplace priorities in changing conditions
• Utilizing and trouble-shooting radios, computer equipment, and other applications.
• Must be proficient in Microsoft Office Suite including Outlook, Teams, Word, Excel, any others are an asset.
• Utilizing maps, including GPS coordinates, as well as legal land descriptions is also an asset.
• Processing aircraft requests for all agencies within the department.
• Initiating emergency response procedures to overdue or missing aircraft, overdue staff or other emergency situations as required.
• Maintaining check-ins with staff in accordance with safety protocols, immediately reporting any irregularities as they occur.
• Function in the Incident Command System as assigned in the office and on wildfires.

Successful applicants will receive training in the Alberta Wildfire Dispatcher Orientation Course, training in recording and conveying radio transmissions to and from aircraft, crews and lookout observers in the field or on wildfires, and training in wildfire-specific computer programs utilized in the day-today work.

Qualifications

The minimum requirements for this role are a high school diploma and one (1) year of related experience are required.

Additional Requirements:

• A valid, unrestricted Alberta Class 5 Driver’s License
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite Word, Outlook and Excel and demonstrated organizational, computer and communication skills are required
• Able to work evenings, weekends and extended hours

Assets:

• Previous forestry experience or experience with the Forestry Division
• Knowledge of the Incident Command System
• Knowledge of the 24-hour clock and phonetic alphabet

Equivalencies may be considered.

APS Competencies

Competencies are behaviors that are essential to reach our goals in serving Albertans. We encourage you to have an in depth understanding of the competencies that are required for this opportunity and to be prepared to demonstrate them during the recruitment process.

This link will assist you with understanding competencies:

About Your Competencies

• Creative Problem Solving: Develops solutions to complex problems conscious of the development, conservation, and use of resources;
• Drive for Results: Strives to exceed objectives and maximize resources to achieve results aligned with the goals of the department, considerate to both internal and external stakeholders;
• Develop Networks: Maintains close relations with all stakeholders, actively incorporates the needs of the broader group, and ensures overall client satisfaction;
• Build Collaborative Environments: Takes a collaborative approach with your work to foster open communication and leverage team skills;
• Agility: identifies alternative approaches in uncertain, complex situations, supporting others in determining and assessing strategy;
• Systems Thinking: Considers the changing environment, recognizing the work impacting a vast network of stakeholders;
• Develop Self and Others: Aims to learn from experiences, shift, and keep current with our skills and knowledge to remain competitive.

Salary

$21.62 to $26.42 per hour
(Up to 40 hours per work week)

Notes

Conditions of Employment:
Proof of required documents can be submitted after the application, but must be provided before, and in order to receive, an offer.

• Valid Standard First Aid Certificate with CPR
• Valid Defensive Driving Certificate
• Current Driver’s Abstract
  • A Driver’s Abstract, showing a record of seven (7) demerits or less, dated within 30 days and presented to management prior to commencement.
• A certificate of Proficiency in Radio (Aeronautical) from Industry Canada is a requirement prior to working in the position
  • Note: this certification can/will be obtained in the Alberta Wildfire Dispatcher Orientation Course.
  
  

About Your Work
This requisition is for recruiting seasonal wage positions in the Peace River, Edson, and Lac La Biche Forest Areas. The weekly hours for these positions may be up to 40 hours per week, and candidates must be available to work evenings and weekends. This position requires shift work and may involve night shifts.

The typical shift schedule (determined by the Forest Area) is either 10 days on, 4 days off or 7 days on, 3 days off - 7 days on, 4 days off.

Application Information
Resumes should include terms of employment identified in months and years, highlighting applicable duties and achievements within each role. Three (3) work-related references are required for those selected for an interview.

What We Offer

• Wage employees receive 11.2% in addition to regular wage earnings in lieu of paid holidays and vacation leave:
  • 5.2 % of regular wage earnings instead of paid holidays
  • 6 % of regular wage earnings instead of annual vacation pay
• Evening and Weekend-Shift Differential per the Collective Agreement

How To Apply

If you are not currently an employee with the Government of Alberta, the first step in applying for a job is creating your candidate profile within our online application system,

Existing employees should access the Career tile in 1GX to submit their application in order to be recognized as an internal applicant.

Once you have created your candidate profile, visit the Alberta Public Service job site to apply for jobs at

Applicants are advised to provide information that clearly and concisely demonstrates how their qualifications meet the advertised requirements, including education, experience and relevant examples of required competencies.

Resources for applicants:

It is recommended that applicants who have obtained educational credentials from outside of Canada and have not had them previously assessed, obtain an evaluation of their credentials from the International Qualifications Assessment Service (IQAS)

Closing Statement

This competition may be used to fill future vacancies, across the Government of Alberta, at the same or lower classification level.

We thank all applicants for their interest. All applications will be reviewed to determine which candidates' qualifications most closely match the advertised requirements. Only individuals selected for interviews will be contacted.

If you require any further information on this job posting, please contact Carris Leece at (780) 427-6807 or e-mail: WF.WildfireEmployment@gov.ab.ca.

If this competition is closed as per the closing date noted above, please continue to check