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EMERGENCY CALL HANDLER – FIREFIGHTER (CONTROL)

Appointment Type: Permanent (there may also be opportunities on fixed term contracts)

Salary: £22,981 - £30,632 per annum (linked to training and development) Please note pay award pending.

Hours: Full Time - 42 hours per week (shift work)

Location: Potterne Support Offices, Wiltshire. There may be a requirement to work from other locations on occasion.

We are looking for Emergency Call Handlers, officially known as Firefighters (Control), based in our Service Control Centre in Potterne. Service Control Centre is crewed 24 hours per day, 365 days of the year, achieved by four watches on a rotating shift pattern averaging 42 hours per week. This is covered by staff working two consecutive days (08:00 – 18:00), followed by two consecutive nights (18:00 – 08:00) and four days off. Therefore, applicants must be able to work on days, nights, weekends and bank holidays.

Successful applicants will receive full and comprehensive training and be enrolled on an apprenticeship scheme (which is achieved through workplace experience). There is a requirement to gain key functional skills in Maths and English as part of the apprenticeship if this is not already evidenced through qualifications.

This is an exciting opportunity to become part of the Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service that is committed and passionate about changing and saving lives. As well as being one of the largest combined Fire and Rescue Services in the country we are also one of the top performing. In February 2022, inspectors from His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) looked closely at our Service and graded us as ‘Good’, ‘Outstanding’, and ‘Good’ across the three inspection pillars of Effectiveness, Efficiency and People.

Our Service offers a wide range of employee benefits and strives to ensure that our employees feel valued and rewarded. For example, we offer a Local Government Pension Scheme and a generous annual leave allowance. Other benefits include national and local discounts, a variety of family friendly schemes and health & well-being services.

The successful candidate will:

• Take emergency calls from the public
• Liaise with partner agencies, including police, ambulance and local authorities
• Provide guidance and support to the caller, which in some cases may be distressing
• Mobilise resources as required
• Work as part of a team to provide support to operational colleagues at incidents

You must:

• Have 4 GCSE passes - Grade A*-C / 9-4, preferably including English and Mathematics / equivalent Level 2 qualification / or higher-level relevant qualification or have at least six months of relevant experience of working in an emergency service/military environment. (if you do not have GCSE Maths and/or English at GCSE at minimum of Grade C/Level 4/Functional Skills Level 2, there is a requirement to achieve functional skills in Maths and English as part of the apprenticeship)
• Be a minimum of 17 and a half years of age at point of application; however, if successful, you will need to be 18 years old at the point of appointment
• Have the right to work in the UK
• Not have any unspent criminal convictions
• Be competent in the use of Microsoft Office and other software packages
• Be able to establish a rapport with callers

You are:

• Able to provide a commitment to the shift working pattern
• Able to demonstrate excellent communication skills and a positive attitude to internal and external customer care
• Able to commit to the training requirements of an Apprenticeship/development programme, requiring a high degree of self-motivation
• Resilient when dealing with distressed callers in emergency life or death situations
• Able to manipulate datasets and databases
• Able to display professionalism in line with working as part of a uniformed, disciplined service

Other Information:

• The role involves evening, weekend and bank holiday working
• A Basic Disclosure & Barring Service Check (DBS) clearance will be undertaken on the successful individual prior to offer of employment
• Any offer of employment will be subject to full pre-employment checks which include identity checks, right to work in the UK, medical and receipt of satisfactory references
• Pension allowances (Lifetime or Annual): Please note that it is your personal responsibility to check whether by applying/accepting this position it would result in any allowance implications. A breach in the Annual or Lifetime Allowance threshold could result in a Tax charge

If you think you would work well in this role and help make our community safer then we encourage you to apply for this exciting opportunity.

This recruitment process is ongoing and will remain open to applications. However, the initial closing date for the first tranche of applications to be considered in this process is midnight on Sunday 5 March 2023. If you apply after this initial first tranche closing date, your application will be reviewed, and your details will be added to our applicant waiting list. We will then contact you regarding selection processes as and when relevant vacancies arise within the Service.

The selection process will include the following stages:

• Stage 1: Application form and eligibility checks
• Stage 2: Online psychometric testing between 8 March 2023 and 12:00 noon on 13 March 2023 https://www.dwfire.org.uk/working-for-us/control-recruitment/online-psychometric-assessments/
• Stage 3: Practical job-related tests carried out at Service Control Centre, Potterne, on 29, 30, 31 March 2023 (candidates are only required to attend one day) https://www.dwfire.org.uk/working-for-us/control-recruitment/practical-testing-assessments/
• Stage 4: Interview at Service Control Centre, Potterne, on 19 or 20 April 2023 (21 April 2023 only if needed)

Candidates will need to be successful at each stage to progress to the next stage in the process. We will be unable to progress your application if you cannot attend or complete all stages of the process.

For more detailed information please read the Firefighter (Control) Recruitment Information on our website: https://www.dwfire.org.uk/working-for-us/control-recruitment/ If you have any queries, please check our FAQs https://www.dwfire.org.uk/working-for-us/control-recruitment/recruitment-faqs/ If you have any additional questions not covered by our website, you can contact us using the following email address [email protected].

You should ensure you include satisfactory information in your application to support all the areas stated as being measured at the Application Stage. This will ensure you have the best opportunity of progressing to the next stage of the selection process.

We are committed to the Disability Confident Scheme and guarantee an interview to applicants with a disclosed disability if they meet the minimum criteria for the post to which they are applying. Please tell us in confidence if this applies to you, or if there are any reasonable adjustments that would help you apply for this post.

We also recognise the importance of diversity of thought throughout our teams and are fully committed to embracing the talents of people with autism, dyslexia, ADHD and other forms of neurodiversity. If there are any reasonable adjustments that would help you apply for the role. Please ensure you disclose this confidentially in your application form. If you have any queries regarding this, please email [email protected]

For further guidance on how to complete your application, please refer to the Job Application Guidance Notes.

Please complete every box. If necessary, mark as N/A, or Not Applicable, so we are sure that you have no information to provide. Your application may not be submitted through the system if every box has not been clearly marked with a response.

All applicants will be e-mailed throughout the process; therefore, please check your emails regularly. Your email may be found in your Junk mail, so please ensure you check this section of your mailbox as well.

Internal staff applying for vacancies should complete their application in their own time.

If you are experiencing difficulties completing your application or have a need to complete your application in an alternative format due to a disability, please contact HR Resourcing on 01722 691444 within plenty of time of the closing date of the position you are applying for.

Values & Behaviours Framework

Our recruitment, assessment and progression processes are based on our Code of Ethics that has been developed specifically for Fire and Rescue Service. When recruiting, we identify the most important behaviours for the role, and these are used as part of the short-listing and selection process.

For a comprehensive list of our Code of Ethics Behaviours Framework, please refer to www.dwfire.org.uk/values-and-behaviours