Recruiting & Employment
Join the City of Cincinnati's Emergency Communications Center in a 911 or 311 role and help serve and protect the Queen City as a vital link to City services.
Approximately every six months, the Emergency Communications Center (ECC) posts a job opportunity to accept applicants for 911 and 311 call-taking. The application and testing process that follows is used to generate a hiring eligibility list for the position. ECC typically hires a training class of call-takers, from these lists, three to four times per year.
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The City of Cincinnati posts all positions open for application; check now to see what positions are available. For 911 and 311 call-takers, we collect applications approximately twice per year to create an eligibility list. To be notified when the position opens, complete a Job Interest Card and subscribe to the '911 Telecommunications' job category.
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Joining the 911 Team
Emergency 911 Operators are the public's first contact when they need police, fire, or medical assistance in Cincinnati. These full-time staff members answer emergency and non-emergency calls, interview callers to obtain needed information, and provide life-saving instruction. We typically hire two to three new-hire classes of people per year from the eligibility list.
- Job Information: Learn more about the job and the training involved to become an E911 Operator.
- Hiring Process: Learn more about the hiring process including all the steps and timeline to expect.
- Job Description: Read the E911 Operator job class specification (the official job description) to learn about the requirements and salary of this position.
Joining the 311 Team
Customer Relations Representative (ECC) is a position that is responsible for responding to and processing non-emergency requests for city services, problem resolution, and/or general information. These staff members handle non-emergency telephone requests to assist Emergency 911 Operators and Police Operator & Dispatcher staff, perform data entry, and assist the city's police officers by telephone.
- Job Information: Learn more about the job and training involved to become a Customer Relations representative for 311.
- Hiring Process: Learn more about the hiring process for this position.
- Job Description: Read the CRR (ECC) job class specification (the official job description) to learn about the requirements and salary of this position.
Joining the Alternative Response Program
The City's Alternative Response Program is managed by the Emergency Communications Center, and includes:
- Alternative Response to Crisis (ARC) teams
- 311 Community Responder teams
Periodically, we post openings for staff members in the following job classifications:
- Alternative Response Community Service Officer
- Alternative Response Behavioral Health Specialist
- Alternative Response Supervisor
Use the links above to subscribe for notification when these jobs are posted or fill out the city's Job Interest Card to subscribe to multiple categories.
911 Advancement Opportunities
Once you are a part of our organization, the following positions are just some of the potential promotional opportunities:
- Senior Emergency 911 Operator staff members, in addition to the performing Emergency 911 Operator job duties, assist with performing quality assurance reviews that help to continuously improve the ECC's call-taking performance. See the job class specification for details about this position.
- Police Operator and Dispatcher staff members act as radio dispatchers for the Cincinnati Police Department in addition to the performance of Emergency 911 Operator duties. In their role as dispatcher, these staff members are the lifeline between the ECC and the city's police officers, parking enforcement officers, and other responders. See the job class specification for details about this position.
- Fire Alarm Operator and Dispatcher staff members act as radio dispatchers for the Cincinnati Fire Department. In their role as dispatcher, these staff members are the lifeline between the ECC and the city's firefighters and paramedics.
- Emergency Services Dispatch Supervisors work around the clock providing operational oversight and supervision in the ECC, directing the work of and supporting our call-taking, dispatching and teletype staff. See the ESDS job class specification for details about this position.
About the ECC
The Cincinnati Emergency Communications Center is the 911 and 311 center for Cincinnati, Ohio.
When you call 911 in the United States, your call is answered by a local Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP), also known as an Emergency Communications Center (ECC). In the City of Cincinnati, that PSAP is the city's ECC, which answers all emergency calls for police, fire and emergency medical services. The ECC also acts as the 311 center, taking non-emergency calls for City services. In addition to the call-taking function, the Cincinnati ECC serves as the dispatch center for the Cincinnati Police Department, Cincinnati Fire Department, Cincinnati Parking Enforcement, and Alternative Response Programs. In a typical year, around one million telephone calls pass in and out of the ECC, including around 350,000 received on 911 lines. Those calls result in approximately 300,000 police incidents, 16,000 fire incidents, and 60,000 emergency medical incidents each year.
It takes over 175 people to operate the ECC, including police and fire dispatchers, 911 call-takers, 311 customer service representatives, and dedicated support staff. If you're looking for a career that is both challenging and rewarding, visit our Recruiting and Employment page. Visit the About ECC page to learn more, or the ECC History page for a deeper look at how the ECC has evolved since it was founded in 1931.
Message from ECC Director Bill Vedra
The dedicated team of professionals in the Cincinnati Emergency Communications Center proudly serve the people who live, work and visit Cincinnati. Day after day, call after call, 24 hours per day, 365 days per year, the ECC staff stand ready to assist those in need and support first responders. The work of 911 emergency telecommunicators and 311 customer service representatives often goes unseen, but their impact is felt every day by thousands of people.
Each day we are focused on helping, and also on improving. We have our sights set on being the best metropolitan 911 and 311 center in America, and plan to continuously evolve as we fulfill our high-level mission: Protecting the Queen City.