Emergency Dispatcher - McMurdo Station, Antarctica

About the role

Amentum is hiring a seasonal contract Dispatcher for the Fire Department at McMurdo Station, Antarctica, reporting to the Fire Chief. The dispatcher responds to emergency and non-emergency calls for fire and emergency medical services and on-call department services, identifies and dispatches the appropriate units while complying with USAP policies and procedures. The position works a varied schedule to provide 24/7 coverage of the communications center.

Key responsibilities

• Maintain a safe and clean workplace, follow ASC safety guidelines and take part in weekly safety meetings.
• Monitor, answer, interpret and prioritize calls received via the 911 system, administrative phones, radios or other means, and dispatch emergency responders and create service requests for technicians.
• Monitor the automatic fire alarm system and equipment indicating facility emergencies, delegate to the right trades and create emergency work orders.
• Notify emergency service personnel (fire fighters, SAR, fire technicians, medical staff, spill response) when appropriate.
• Operate HF/VHF/Satellite telephone and radio equipment, assist communications technicians with troubleshooting, and help with aircraft communications and movement reports.
• Track vehicle movements, field parties and recreation groups in line with USAP safe travel and field camp check-in policies, initiate EOC and SAR procedures as required, and coordinate international communications.
• Enter communication data using Firehouse Software, Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook, keep logs accurate and timely, and hand over information thoroughly at shift change.
• Provide communications staffing for the Emergency Operations Center during emergencies and drills, and support field personnel.
• Work a varied schedule including day and night shifts and station holidays, and assist the Dispatch Communications Supervisor and the Lead Dispatcher with special projects.

Required profile

• High school diploma or GED.
• 2 years of emergency services dispatch experience (fire, EMS and/or law enforcement).
• Incident Command System (ICS) 100 and 200 certifications required for offer consideration (training offered through FEMA).
• Valid emergency dispatcher certification from APCO, NENA or a state agency, and/or a DoD Telecommunicator I/II certification.
• Willingness and ability to deploy to Antarctica for extended periods, with successful medical, dental, drug screening, employer background check and federal background check.
• US citizenship required for facility credentials at this location; valid US driver's license.
• Ability to lift and move equipment, climb in and out of equipment, crawl and work outdoors in extreme cold; boots required.

Required skills

• Computer skills: Word, Excel, PowerPoint and e-mail applications.
• Good judgment, independent prioritization of requests by urgency, and ability to work unsupervised at varying call volumes.