SUMMARY
The Sheriff's Office is also currently accepting applications for the position of Communications Officer. Our center is the primary dispatching point for all of the first responders (Law Enforcement, Fire, and EMS) in Louisa County. Department. Recruits receive paid training to become a DCJS state-certified dispatcher and will hold certifications in basic dispatch, emergency medical dispatch, CPR/First Aid, and VCIN/NCIC. In addition to these required certifications, our dispatchers have also successfully achieved a wide array of training and certifications in the following:
- Crisis Intervention Training
- General Instructor
- Crisis Negotiations
- Communications Center Supervisor
- Fundamentals of Supervision and Management
- Leadership
- Customer Service
- Law Enforcement Communications
- Spanish for Law Enforcement
- National Incident Management Systems ICS classes
- Fire Services Communications
- Active Shooter Incidents for Public Safety
- Quality Assurance Officer
- Fundamentals of Tactical Dispatch
- Disaster Operations
- Gas Pipeline Emergency Response and Damage Prevention
- Communications Training Officer
Our progressive, award-winning dispatch team proudly serves 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
If you are interested in scheduling a "Criticall Test", contact Holly Bowen, Director of Emergency Communications at [email protected]. You can also call for additional questions at 540-967-3494.
Our best candidates are observant, diligent, reliable, and excel at human relations. If you feel like you possess these traits and you aspire to help others, fill out an application today. A few minutes today could start you on a path to a rewarding career tomorrow!
Download our LCSO App to apply:
Apple App Store Google Play App Store
FULL JOB DESCRIPTION
Position: Emergency Communications Officer
Division: Emergency Communications
Revision Date : 2 January 2026
Starting Salary : $52,000 Starting Salary – No Experience Needed!
Application Close Date : Until Filled
General Description: This is a technical position. The position performs complex tasks in the operation of the 911 system in the County of Louisa. Reports to the Emergency Communications Supervisor.
Essential Functions:
- Answers and prioritizes enhanced 9-1-1 emergency and non-emergency calls for service, determining the location and nature of the incident and caller information, and enters information into the computer-aided dispatch system.
- Prioritizes other activities as they relate to emergency and non-emergency call taking.
- Processes emergency and non-emergency calls for service in a computer-aided dispatch system.
- Forwards or transfers calls to the appropriate agency or person.
- Provides emergency medical, fire, and safety instructions and advice to callers, including but not limited to CPR, obstructed airway, and childbirth instructions.
- Assists the public with information requests.
- Prioritizes, dispatches, and monitors appropriate law enforcement, fire, and/or EMS units by utilizing a computerized 9-1-1 telephone system, a computer-aided dispatch system, a computerized radio console, a computerized mapping system, and a computerized dispatch assignment system.
- Tracks unit and event activities in the computer-aided dispatch system.
- Monitors and communicates emergency and event-related data.
- Makes outgoing telephone calls as necessary.
- Monitors the diversion status of hospitals and notifies field units of changes in diversion status.
- Monitors alarms and security systems, responding as appropriate.
- Coordinates communications between multiple units, agencies, and jurisdictions responding to fire, EMS, and/or law enforcement incidents.
- Simultaneously monitors and transmits on multiple radio channels, maintaining contact with and monitoring the status of field units.
- Operates, maintains, and validates data in Virginia Criminal Information Network (VCIN)/National Criminal Information Center (NCIC)/National Law Enforcement Telecommunications Systems (NLETS) databases.
- Researches and inputs computerized data and information.
- Operates equipment and systems within the Emergency Communications Center, such as fax machine, copier, paper shredder, voice playback recorder, 911 email, and Instaphone.
- Completes logs, forms, and other documentation as related to Emergency Communications Operations.
- Monitors up to fifteen computer systems on up to eight computer monitors simultaneously.
- Performs related work as assigned.
Working Conditions:
- Hazards
- Customers – Contact with customers in difficult situations
- Conditions – Noisy work environment
Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:
- Ability to read, hear, and speak the English language with proper usage, diction, grammar, spelling, and punctuation.
- Ability to prioritize and perform multiple tasks simultaneously in a fast-paced, high-stress, emergency work environment.
- Ability to hear multiple conversations simultaneously, distinguishing between voices and sources to obtain relevant information quickly and accurately.
- Ability to type on keyboards, operate computer mice and foot controls simultaneously while conversing on the radio and/or telephone.
- Ability to read and interpret complex maps and provide directions.
- Ability to quickly read, interpret, and retain information.
- Knowledge of or the ability to develop knowledge of Louisa County geography, including jurisdictional boundaries, towns, highways, roads, bodies of water, and landmarks.
- Ability to analyze, react quickly, and make sound, rational, public safety-related decisions with little or no supervision.
- Ability to maintain emotional self-control, work under pressure, and manage high job-related stress levels.
- Ability to learn emergency dispatching methods.
- Ability to operate multiple communications and computer equipment.
- Ability to learn law enforcement, fire, and EMS equipment and resource capabilities to develop response strategies for various types of emergencies.
- Ability to learn to assess conditions of patients with medical emergencies and provide emergency medical pre-arrival instructions to callers following specific emergency medical dispatch protocols.
- Ability to develop listening and interrogation techniques to control direction and length of telephone calls.
- Ability to read and disseminate court orders and warrant information.
- Knowledge of modern office practices.
- Proficiency with alphabetic, chronological, and numeric filing systems.
- Ability to maintain strict confidentiality as related to public safety and criminal and medical histories.
- Ability to work in a tobacco-free environment, in close quarters, with infrequent breaks and long, strenuous hours.
Education, Experience, and Training:
- High School Diploma or equivalent required.
- At least 18 years of age.
- Possession of, or ability to obtain, within eighteen (18) months of hire, and the ability to maintain, the following training and/or certifications:
- Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS) Basic Dispatch – certification
- CPR – certification
- Emergency Medical Dispatch – certification
- VCIN/NCIC – certification
- National Incident Management Systems levels 100, 200, 700, 800 – certification
Starting Salary:
Special Considerations:
- Complete criminal background investigation, including fingerprinting.
- US Citizen
- Essential Staff Designation
- Pre-employment physical examination, including a drug test.
- Work beyond normal work schedule, to include rotating shift-work, nights, weekends, holidays, training, scheduled and special meetings, and emergency call-outs.
This job description is intended to indicate the basic nature of the position and examples of typical duties that may be assigned. It does not imply that all positions within this class will perform all the duties listed, nor does it attempt to list all possible duties that may be assigned.
This job description does not constitute an employment agreement between the employer and employee and is subject to change by the employer as the needs of the employer and requirements of the job change.
Applications are available here , on our app, and at the:
Louisa County Sheriff's Office,
Louisa County Office Building
1 Woolfolk Ave, Suite 101
Louisa, VA 23093
Competitive salary + benefits. EOE
To apply for the position, you must use the Sheriff's Office Application for Employment links to the right, DO NOT USE THE DOWNLOAD APPLICATION UNDER THE TOOLS HEADER.
Applications for the Louisa County Sheriff's Office can also be downloaded in either MS Word or PDF format below:
Communications Position Description (MSWORD)
Communications Position Description (PDF)
