South Sound 911 - LATERAL Dispatcher & 911 Call-Taker
Last updated on December 18, 2025
PST Partner Agency since May 26, 2021
Vacancy: 1
Important Information
SOUTH SOUND 911 LATERAL APPLICATION PROCESS
This position is for individuals who have previous experience in 911 Emergency Services. If you do not have experience as a 911 call-taker or dispatcher, please apply to our entry-level position, instead.
Detailed information regarding our LATERAL process can be found here:https://southsound911.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/SS911-Lateral-911-Communications-2025.pdf
South Sound 911 is seeking experienced 911 telecommunicators to join our team! We have concurrent LATERAL processes for 911 Telecommunicator positions (911 Call-Takers) and Dispatcher positions, with ongoing proposed start dates.
If you are interested in pursuing a Lateral career with South Sound 911, please email HR@SouthSound911.org. Please include resume and letter of interest, detailing the size and call volume of current and past agency employment, along with any other relevant information. Please also complete your personal history statement (PHS) with Public Safety Testing.
Qualifications for Dispatcher Positions:
Graduation from high school or equivalent,
plus two years of experience involving considerable public contact
and multi-tasking. Equivalent
combination of education and experience is acceptable.
Candidates must have a minimum 2 years of experience within a 911 Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) and performed in the eligible public safety role within the past 3 years, from the date of application. Graduation from high school or equivalent.
Qualifications for 911 Telecommunicator Positions:
Graduation from high school or
equivalent, plus two years of experience involving considerable public contact
and multi-tasking. Equivalent
combination of education and experience is acceptable.
Candidates must have a minimum 2 years of experience within a 911 Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) and performed in the eligible public safety role within the past 3 years, from the date of application. Graduation from high school or equivalent.
Hiring Process:
Interested candidates should email HR@SouthSound911.org. Please include resume and letter of interest, detailing the size and call volume of current and past agency employment, along with any other relevant information. If selected to move forward in process, candidates will participate in additional process steps, as listed below, in sequential order:
Additional steps of Lateral Process:
- Completion of Personal History Statement through Public Safety Testing (online, no cost)
- Complete Dispatcher CritiCall Test (online, no cost)
- Panel Interview (in-person preferred, will accommodate virtual setting as needed)
- Conditional Offer
- Fingerprinting (in-person)
- Observation (in-person, can be combined with fingerprinting session)
- Background Investigation
- Psychological Assessment (virtual)
- Position Fit Assessment (online – PXT Select)
- Final Interviews with Executive Staff (in-person strongly preferred, will accommodate virtual setting as needed)
- Medical/Drug Screen (in-person, or if out of area, can arrange for local-to-candidate testing)
- Final Offer
Incentives*:
Lateral candidates meeting the specified requirements and receiving a final offer of employment after completing the hiring process will be eligible receive the following:
- $500 bonus at time of hire
- $1000 bonus at year anniversary date ($1500 total incentive paid in 2 installments within first year of employment)
If a Lateral candidate has not actively worked in a 911 public safety position within the past 3 years from the date of application, they will be not be eligible for an incentive.
*Hiring incentive will be paid on the indicated specified schedule, on the first eligible pay date after hire, and beyond as indicated by the schedule. The hiring incentive is subject to all required taxes and withholdings. Retention of full amount of hiring incentive is contingent upon continued employment with agency. If employee leaves at any point prior to their 2-year anniversary, the following repayment schedule will apply;
- If the employee leaves before their 6-month anniversary of employment, they will be required to repay the initial $500 incentive amount.
- If the employee leaves before their 2-year anniversary of employment, they will be required to repay $1000 of the total incentive amount.
Starting Salary will be dependent on number of years’ experience in a 911 Public Safety Role (call-taking or dispatching), as follows: (note; each position has 5 steps within the associated pay range)
- < 5 years’ experience – Step 2
- 5-10 years’ experience – Step 3
- 10+ years’ experience – Step 4
If you have any questions regarding this announcement, please contact Laura Lakowske @ 253-625-0813 or laura.lakowske@southsound911.org.
For more information or to view the official announcements, visit https://southsound911.org/careers/
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South Sound 911 - LATERAL Dispatcher & 911 Call-Taker Requirements
| Category | Requirement | Required at time of... | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Test | Hire | ||
| Written Examination |
No, not required You do not need to complete a test through Public Safety Testing to apply for this position. You do need to complete your personal history statement (PHS) if you are selected to move forward in the process after initial review of your application submitted to hr@southsound911.org. We encourage you to complete the PHS as early as possible. |
||
| Typing Test |
Yes, required |
||
| PST Personal History Statement | Yes, required within 7 days of passing required exam(s) | ||
| Minimum Age | 18 | ||
| Citizenship | Eligible to work in the U.S. | ||
| High School Grad/ GED | Yes | ||
| Felony Conviction(s) as an Adult | Reviewed and considered on a case by case basis | ||
| Felony Conviction(s) as a Juvenile | Reviewed and considered on a case by case basis | ||
| Ability to Read, Speak & Write the English Language | Must be able to communicate fluently in English. | ||
| Vision Requirements | Ability to see computer monitor, depth perception, color vision. | ||
| Prior Experience Requirement |
Candidates must have a minimum 2 years of experience within a 911 Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) and performed in the eligible public safety role within the past 3 years, from the date of application. Graduation from high school or equivalent. |
||
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South Sound 911 - LATERAL Dispatcher & 911 Call-Taker
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Agency Test Requirements
Written Examination: No, not required
Typing Test: Yes, required
PST Personal History Statement: Yes, required within 7 days of passing required exam(s)
Other South Sound 911 positions
911 Call-Taker & Dispatcher (LE or Fire)
Records Specialist
COVID-19 UPDATES
5/6/2020 Update:
TESTING IN WASHINGTON STATE CANCELED THROUGH MAY 31, 2020
All pre-employment tests in Washington State have been canceled until May 31, 2020 unless government restrictions are eased. With recent updates, facility closures, and government guidelines, this step is necessary and could be modified at any time. The health and safety of our customers, our staff, and their families is of the highest priority.
We will continue to evaluate developments and make changes to this policy as necessary. When we do resume testing, there will be plenty of events for everyone to test. We are in regular communication with our public safety agency partners, assessing alternatives to the traditional testing model and our testing policies. Any future updates will be posted on the PST website and our Facebook page.
4/1/2020 Update:
If you have tested with PST in the past 12 months, there may be additional positions you are now eligible to add. Several departments have temporarily changed their testing policies due to the suspension in testing that COVID-19 has caused. Please login to your PST account and navigate to the ‘New Positions’ page to see what departments you can add! We will regularly update that page in your account as departments send updates.
FUTURE TEST REGISTRATION
We know that there will be testing in the future - we just don’t know when! We want you to be prepared for when testing begins again so we have created test events on our calendar that you can register for that will place you in a queue to be first notified. These tests are not “real” test events, they are essentially a holding area. You will be able to “reschedule” out of that event to any other event date/location at no cost. Registering now will also give you time to work on your Personal History Statement (PHS) so that your data will be ready and up-to-date to send to your departments once testing resumes.
To sign up for this placeholder event, select the June 15, 2020 test date in your category (police, fire, 911 dispatch, corrections, etc.).
You may also click on the test event of interest below to sign up:
Law Enforcement & Corrections Written and Physical Ability Test
Please check back here frequently and ‘Like’ our Facebook page to stay updated.
PST staff are working remotely and are available by email at contact@publicsafetytesting.com. We anticipate a high email volume and will respond as quickly as possible.
