Director- Department of Emergency and Customer Communications

About the Department

The Department of Emergency Communications and Customer Communications (DECC) serves as the City's central communications hub, operating 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. The Department includes the City's Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP), which provides emergency and non-emergency dispatch services for Police, Fire, and Emergency Medical Services (EMS), as well as Alex311, the City's centralized customer service center.

The Opportunity

The Director serves as the executive leader of the Department of Emergency Communications and Customer Communications (DECC) and is responsible for planning, organizing, directing, and evaluating all departmental operations. Reporting to a Deputy City Manager, the Director provides strategic leadership for the City's emergency communications operations and, pending the revised class specification, customer communications services.

The Director oversees departmental administration, policy development, technology modernization, capital and operating budgets, workforce development, emergency communications systems, legislative initiatives, and long-range planning to ensure efficient, effective, and responsive service delivery. Working collaboratively with City leadership, public safety agencies, regional partners, and other departments, the Director advances operational excellence, innovation, and organizational performance while ensuring exceptional service to the Alexandria community.

The Ideal Candidate

The City seeks a collaborative and visionary executive with demonstrated success leading complex public safety communications or similarly complex service organizations.

• Comprehensive knowledge of emergency communications systems, Computer-Aided Dispatch (CAD), radio communications, telecommunications infrastructure, and interoperability.
• Demonstrated executive leadership experience overseeing complex operations, personnel, budgets, and strategic initiatives.
• Experience developing long-range plans, implementing organizational improvements, and leading technology modernization efforts.
• Proven ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with City leadership, public safety partners, employees, and community stakeholders.
• Exceptional communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to communicate effectively both verbally and in writing.
• A commitment to innovation, accountability, workforce development, and continuous improvement.
• Experience overseeing customer communications or centralized constituent services is highly desirable as the Department expands its responsibilities to include Alex311.

Requirements

Minimum: Four-year college degree in a Public Safety-related field, Public or Business Administration, or a related field; and seven years' experience in public safety administration, preferably in public safety communications management; or any equivalent combination of experience and training that provides the required knowledge, skills and abilities.

Preferred: Master's degree in Public or Business Administration, or related field. Certification by the Association of Public-safety Communications (APCO) and the National Emergency Number Association (NEMA) is desirable.