Executive Director

The Opportunity – Salt Lake Valley Emergency Communications Center (SLVECC)Salt Lake VECC has all of the offerings that management professionals seek.

Professionally, it is a politically stable organization, economically sound,

with a talented and cohesive staff supporting the police, fire and emergency

medical responders in the growing Salt Lake Valley communities. The

successful candidate has the potential to play a significant role in crafting

the Salt Lake VECC’s public safety response in the coming years.

SLVECC is a Primary Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) that serves

around one million residents in Salt Lake County and covers 631.17 square

miles. SLVECC provides 911, police, fire, medical, emergency management,

animal control and on-call public works dispatching services for 21 Cities and

Townships. Salt Lake VECC administrative offices are located at 5360 South

Ridge Village Drive, West Valley City, Utah.

Employer InformationSalt Lake Valley Emergency Communications Center (SLVECC) is a mission

based, value driven organization that was formed as a joint enterprise

organization by six Salt Lake area cities and Salt Lake County as a

government agency on June 13, 1988 pursuant to provisions of the Utah

Interlocal Cooperation Act. SLVECC was created to provide consolidated

emergency communication services to municipal police and fire

departments within the Salt Lake Valley.

SLVECC is a Primary Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) that serves

around one million residents in Salt Lake County and covers 631.17 square

miles. SLVECC provides 911, police, fire, medical, emergency management,

animal control and on-call public works dispatching services for 21 Cities and

Townships.

The Executive Director serves under the broad direction of the SLVECC

Board of Trustees (which includes City Managers, Fire and Police Chiefs, and

Elected Officials of represented agencies). The Executive Director’s direct

reports include the Deputy Director, Operations Director, Human Resources

Manager, and Technical Services Director.

SLVECC has 185 full time and part time employees and is a stand-alone

agency, which is responsible for all administrative, human resources and

technical services for the center. SLVECC has an annual budget of $18.7

million dollars.

The PositionThe Executive Director is an appointed position that is political in nature,

and it requires great skill in relationship building, governmental budget

background, and experience in policy development. This position is also

heavily involved with legislative issues relating to public safety, and is

responsible to carry out legislative directives and decisions in a timely

manner.

The Executive Director works closely with the elected leadership on

regular basis, and is responsible for setting and carrying out the vision,

mission and objectives for 911 emergency dispatch services. The position

provides leadership and works with managers to develop and retain highly

competent, service-oriented staff through selection, compensation, training

and day-to-day management practices that support the mission, objectives

and service expectations of the organization.

The Executive Director will plan and direct large, comprehensive emergency

communications operations, projects, and personnel; analyze and make

sound recommendations on complex management issues; understand,

interpret, explain and apply relevant city, state and federal laws; present

information, proposals and recommendations clearly and persuasively in

public settings. Skill in negotiations, maintaining effective relationships with

elected officials, all levels of city executives, officials of other governmental

agencies, community and business organizations, the media, employees

and the public are essential. The position requires excellent communication,

both verbally and in writing, exercise sound expert, exercise tact and

diplomacy in dealing with sensitive, complex and confidential issues

and situations, and manage a diverse staff of technical and professional

personnel.

Opportunities and ChallengesThe next Executive Director will be presented with a number of known

challenges and opportunities in which to excel including:

• Without question, the biggest challenge facing SLVECC is that it is the

largest multi-jurisdictional public safety center in Utah that provides

dispatching services for multiple agencies. There is an expectation that

policy that is created for the organization meets the needs to all jurisdictions

and disciplines, which can be very challenging.

• Like many cities in our nation, residents, staff, and board members are

increasingly connected in an instant-on world. Communication travels

instantly, and the Executive Director and staff must be able to provide

information, answer questions, and in some cases, act just as quickly.

VECC’s excellent history of communication performance has created high

expectations from its board members, and it is challenging to continually

meet them.

• Also, within the issue of conservative fiscal policies, SLVECC must work

diligently to recruit and retain its high-performing workforce, while facing the

challenge of a low unemployment rate of 2.8%1. While extremely satisfying

for public safety service oriented employees, many of the jobs are mentally

and emotionally taxing, which can lead to burnout; requiring the Executive

Director to be motivationally oriented. The average turnover rate is 22%.

• The SLVECC receives almost 1 million incoming calls per year where 85% are

law enforcement related calls and 15% are fire and emergency medical calls

for service. This type of call volume creates a busy work environment and

can be challenging to keep up with.

• CAD implementation.

• The position is collaborative in nature, and creates an opportunity to meet

and work with a variety of professionals to continue to run a successful

operation center.

The Ideal CandidateIn addition to being ethical, well qualified, and experienced with municipal

government, the next Executive Director of SLVECC must possess certain

traits that will be essential for success:

• As a progressive organization, there is continued, strong interest in using

technology in the centers operations data collection. It is critical that

the selected candidate is skilled in data analysis, as it provides critical

information to the board for decision-making and process improvement.

Providing the board statistical data that affects fiscal forecasting on a real-

time basis is a good example of this utilization.

• Considering that the Executive Director has multiple agencies to report to,

the ideal candidate must be collaborative, yet decisive, and must be a strong

leader of people. Leadership of SLVECC personnel involves a high-level of

coaching and mentoring, without micromanagement, and the Executive

Director must be able to adapt to the different styles of the staff.

• SLVECC is a diverse organization to manage. The ideal candidate will

be a self-starter, with high energy, and a strong desire to work in a fun,

nimble, and rewarding workplace. It is vital for the ideal candidate to have

experience working in a large government center or the private equivalent in

order to be successful.

• Executive Director is the budget manager for SLVECC. The FY 2020 budget

is $17,893,468 with primary revenue sources of $7.6 million State assessed 911

fees, and $7.8 million from member assessments. Therefore, knowledge and

experience with financial accounting, statistics and quantitative analysis is

highly desired. While SLVECC has a talented financial staff, a strong financial

background remains highly desired.

• Candidates should have a thorough knowledge of GASB and GAAP

principles, the Uniform Municipal Fiscal Procedures Act, and must

be bondable. Familiarity with Utah laws and regulations governing

1July 2019 https://www.deptofnumbers.com/unemployment/utah/

municipalities is preferred.

• SLVECC is a busy organization to manage in. The ideal candidate for

this position is well-versed, have a well-developed political acumen and is

capable of working with lobbyists to ensure the fiscal security at a state level.

Education and ExperienceMinimum qualifications for the position of Executive Director include:

Education: A bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited college or

university with major course work in public or business administration or

other related field.

Experience: A minimum of four years supervisory experience is required.

Preferred: A master’s degree from a regionally accredited college or

university with major course work in public administration, emergency

management, business management or related field.

Past experience in upper-level management position for an emergency

communications center or who have held a management position in a

public safety agency and who have dispatch experience and familiarization

with medical, fire, and law enforcement dispatch operations and technology

including but not limited to call taking, CAD, and RMS systems is desirable.

CompensationThe salary for this exempt, executive, position is $120,000 to $140,000.00

annually, depending upon qualifications. The starting salary will be based

upon the relevant knowledge and experience of the candidate selected.

SLVECC offers a comprehensive benefit package that includes paid vacation,

sick, and holiday leave, and a monthly vehicle allowance. Insurance offerings

include health, dental, vision, long term disability (LTD) and life.

The Recruitment ProcessAll interested candidates that believe he/she meets the minimum

requirements should apply. The job will be open until filled, with the

first applicant screening scheduled mid-October. Apply by submitting a

compelling cover letter and comprehensive resume to tcook@sjc.utah.gov

Top candidates will be invited for a comprehensive interview process.

Additionally, a supplemental questionnaire may be required with responses

to specific questions and submittal of sample work products.

Target Dates

Application Period: September 27 – Open Until Filled

First Applicants Review: October 16, 2019

Conditional Job Offer: November 20, 2019

Hire Date: December 4, 2019

For further information or questions on the recruitment process, please

contact Ms. Teresa Cook at (801) 254-3742 ext. 1852. Confidential inquiries are

welcomed.