Student Veterans of America Jobs

The Town of West Hartford Announces an Open Competitive Examination for the Position of

ASSISTANT FIRE CHIEF

APPLICATIONS WILL ONLY BE ACCEPTED ELECTRONICALLY

Application Deadline: Salary Range: March 29, 2024 at 4:30 p.m. $112,190 - $139,100

JOB PURPOSE: {#job-purpose align="left"}

The ideal Assistant Fire Chief candidate is a visionary, strategic, and empathetic leader who is an effective communicator and will assist the Fire Chief in leading, managing, and directing the Fire Department. Under the direction of the Fire Chief, the successful candidate will have a proven track record of planning, organizing, leading and managing. This includes direct experience involved in commanding and coordinating emergency medical services activities, fire emergency activities, fire prevention and education, apparatus maintenance, and fire inspection and investigation activities. This position is second in command of the Fire Department, generally assigned to oversee one or more of the divisions within the West Hartford Fire Department, with all the authority and responsibility of the Fire Chief in the Chief's absence. Work requires considerable independent judgment, which is restricted only by department regulations and review by the Fire Chief.

ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS: {#essential-job-functions align="left"}

• Assist the Fire Chief in leading, managing, and directing the West Hartford Fire Department.
• Responds to emergencies and performs required functions under the West Hartford Incident Command System.
• Ensures departmental compliance with Federal and State OSHA requirements, as well as applicable other standards and regulations.
• Assists in preparation of annual budget and manages assigned budget(s).
• Appraises conditions of work in the department and takes necessary steps to improve fire department operations.
• Supervises personnel management including hiring, staffing, orientation, and performance management. May act as Chief's designated representative in adjusting employee complaints and grievances and ensures appropriate disciplinary action is administered as necessary.
• Ensures that personnel understand the objectives and participate in the development and execution of effective community relations to maintain citizen good will.
• Delegates assignments and supervises duties and activities of subordinates, generally Deputy Chiefs.
• Assists and/or supervises the development and maintenance of departmental standard operating guidelines/procedures.
• Works closely with the Human Resources Department as subject matter expert in developing entry level and promotional selection procedures.
• Assists the Fire Chief with labor relations issues including union contract negotiations and employment issues.
• May oversee the administration, management, and coordination of emergency medical services operations and fire/rescue services or fire marshal operations and related activities.
• Develops, implements, and manages department training for the assigned division.
• Develops, organizes, and executes departmental fire inspection programs related to the assigned division.
• Ensures the proper maintenance of emergency equipment, apparatus, and facilities.
• Evaluates, coordinates, and monitors quality improvement issues.
• May act as an Incident Commander, Safety Officer or other related senior positions within the Incident Command System at an emergency incident.
• Assists the Fire Chief with special projects, reports, and additional duties as assigned.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND ABILITIES: {#knowledge-skills-and-abilities align="left"}

• Extensive knowledge of fire service management, operations and administration principles and practices.
• Extensive knowledge and ability to keep informed on modern firefighting equipment, fire suppression, rescue, and emergency medical services operations or fire rotection systems, technology and fire prevention methods.
• Extensive knowledge of effective training techniques, materials and methods.
• Knowledge of applicable Federal and State OSHA requirements.
• If/when assigned to the Operations Division, additional extensive knowledge of operations, services, and activities of a fire service-based emergency medical services program.
• If/when assigned to a Fire Marshal position, additional extensive knowledge of Connecticut State Fire Safety Code, Town ordinances and regulations with respect to fire safety and fire prevention.
• Skill in problem solving, negotiating, quality decision making, priority setting, and conflict management.
• Skill in managing labor and management relationships.
• Skill in coaching and developing subordinates. Ability and willingness to deal with challenging labor situations fairly, firmly, and in a timely manner.
• Ability to function at large-scale operations of personnel and equipment under emergency conditions involving possible loss of life and extensive property damage.
• Ability to make decisions and function under stress and/or in complicated situations.
• Ability to establish and maintain good public relations by understanding customer expectations, establishing rapport, and providing the highest quality services.
• Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with superiors, peers, subordinates and citizens.
• Ability to express oneself clearly and concisely, in writing and orally, which includes public speaking and presenting.
• Ability to plan, assign, supervise and review the work of many diverse subordinates and subordinate units.
• Ability to perform related work assigned.

WORK ENVIRONMENT: {#work-environment align="left"}

Employees in this class are considered to issue and administer orders rather than to execute them directly while also taking orders from the Fire Chief or Town Manager. However, employees may be required to participate in the manual labor of firefighting under certain conditions. Since they are executive officers rather than company officers, they may participate in more fire calls than lower ranking personnel. Employees in this class are required to be on-call as directed by the Fire Chief.

The above description is intended as an illustration of the various types of work that may be performed and are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of the job. It is intended as a guide for personnel actions and must not be taken as a complete itemization of all facets of any job. The omission of specific statements of duties does not exclude them from the position if the work is similar, related or a logical assignment to the position.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS: