CA-TF5 US&R Communications Specialist

Description

This Urban Search and Rescue Task Force 5 (US&R TF-5) Communications Specialist recruitment is an Orange County Fire Authority (OCFA) internal recruitment. ONLY applications from current, qualified career OCFA Fire Captains, Fire Apparatus Engineers, and non-probationary Firefighters will be accepted.

The Communications Specialist, under the direction of the Logistics Manager, is responsible for supporting the practical communication functions of the US&R Task Force. Communications Specialists are asked to inventory and maintain the US&R radio cache, develop written plans, support base and field radio operations, utilize satellite phones, mobile satellite systems, computer networking and participate in related training, disaster operations, monthly cache maintenance and quarterly training.

Selected individuals will begin the training process immediately after selection, with required attendance at the FEMA Communication Specialist course, exact date TBD.

Essential Functions

The position requires participation in rigorous physical and mentally challenging base camp and field operations, encompassing multiple disciplines of the communications functions in extremely varied and potentially hazardous working conditions. Communications Specialist requires the ability to provide both verbal and written interaction with all Sections of the US&R Task Force, including: Local, State and Federal Officials.

The position also requires working in disaster zones, in adverse weather conditions, hazardous atmospheres and flight in military or civilian aircraft (fixed and rotary). As a Member of the US&R Task Force you will be asked to represent the Local, State and Federal Government, under extremely diverse conditions.

Minimum Qualifications

• Participation in the OCFA "WEFIT" program
• Rank of Fire Captain, Fire Apparatus Engineer, or non-probationary Firefighter with the OCFA
• Standard or higher rating on last employee performance evaluation
• Have a basic knowledge of US&R and GPS operations
• Demonstrate the ability to follow orders and possess personnel management skills
• Must be able to communicate effectively both orally and in writing
• Have the ability to be flexible, resolve conflicts, and solve problems
• Possess basic working knowledge of Microsoft Word and Excel
• Be willing to work and live in poor conditions for extended periods of time
• Follow the Federal "Code of Conduct" for US&R Task Forces
  
  

Position Requirements (post selection):

• Must maintain a basic knowledge of the use of specialized Task Force equipment and support resources related to your position
• Meet and maintain qualifications for Communications Specialist per the FEMA Position descriptions
• Completion of the FEMA Communication Specialist Course
• Completion of FEMA classes IS100, IS200, IS700 & IS800 and FEMA Orientation class
• Completion of GPS operational, WMD Enhanced Ops classes (online)
• Participate in Air operations – Helicopter and fixed wing during deployments or training
• Attend quarterly training
• Maintain/respond by timely communication with Task Force and Section administration through email and phone
• Complete annual FEMA Ethics training
  
  

SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION

How To Apply For This Position

To apply, go to www.ocfa.org. Interested personnel are to submit the following:

• Online application - application must show current OCFA experience
• Memo of interest
• Resumé (two-pages maximum) outlining your education, experience and any other background information relating to this position
• Inclusion of related certificates or training or related professional qualifications is encouraged
  
  

All materials must be uploaded with your electronic application and submitted no later than October 13, 2025 at 11:59 PM.

IMPORTANT DATES

• Recruitment Closes - Monday, October 13, 2025 at 11:59 PM.
• Panel Interviews - Week of November 3, 2025
  
  

All dates are subject to change based on organizational need. Should a change occur, Human Resources will notify all affected candidates via email.

QUESTIONS

All questions regarding this position should be directed to Fire Apparatus Engineer Ryan Sampson at ryansampson@ocfa.org.

TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES WITH NEOGOV

Please contact the assigned recruiter, Ivonne Spagon, Human Resources Analyst II at IvonneSpagon@ocfa.org or (714) 573-6810.

Americans With Disabilities Act (ada) Accommodation

In accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, anyone who needs an ADA accommodation for the purposes of employment testing should contact Ivonne Spagon, Human Resources Analyst II at IvonneSpagon@ocfa.org within 72 hours of the need for an accommodation.

WITHDRAWING FROM RECRUITMENT PROCESS

Whenever an applicant chooses to withdraw from a recruitment process, he/she is required to submit an email notification to Ivonne Spagon at IvonneSpagon@ocfa.org requesting a withdrawal from the process. The email to the recruiter must include the applicant's current phone number.

NOTE

The provisions of this publication do not constitute an express or implied contract. Any provision in this publication may be modified or revoked without notice.

EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER

The Orange County Fire Authority is an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer.

Please note: This summary reflects the benefits for shift employees assigned to a 56-hour average duty week. For benefits information related to staff assignments (40-hour workweek), please refer to the OCPFA Memorandum of Understanding (MOU).

Orange County Professional Firefighters Association (OCPFA) Local 3631: This classification is represented by the OCPFA Local 3631. Please visit http://www.ocfirefighters.org for more information.

Base Salary Adjustments

• Effective the pay period which includes January 1, 2026 (PP02) - Salary range for each classification will be adjusted by 2.75%. Employees will receive their increase once they are eligible for a merit increase per OCPFA Local 3631 - Base Salary side letter.
  
  

Merit Salary Increases

Employees are eligible for an initial merit salary increase (1 to 4 steps) on the first day of the pay period following completion of fifty-two (52) weeks of service, and thereafter annually based on their work performance and until they reach the top of their 12-step salary range.

Health Benefits

Pursuant to a Health Plan Agreement, the Authority contributes to the OCPFA medical benefit trust fund for health insurance and other related benefits. Brown Insurance Services (BIS) is the administrator for these benefits. The current contribution to the medical benefit trust fund will continue through 6/30/2026 in the amount of $2,199.49/month for "actively employed" enrollee members of the unit.

Retirement

All regular OCFA employees are members of the Orange County Employees Retirement System (OCERS) - a defined benefit retirement program. Employees are enrolled in one of the following retirement formulas based on date of hire.

Legacy Safety Members: Employees hired on or after January 1, 2013 who establish reciprocity with OCERS are enrolled in the 3% at age 55 retirement formula (Plan R). The compensation limit for Legacy members for 2025 is $350,000.

New Safety Members: Employees hired on or after January 1, 2013 without reciprocity are enrolled in the 2.7% at age 57 retirement formula (Plan V). The compensation limit for PEPRA members for 2025 is $186,096 (non-Social Security Participants).

For more information about OCERS retirement, please visit OCERS, or view the Retirement Plan HERE.

Deferred Compensation

Employees may voluntarily participate in the Authority’s deferred compensation plan. This plan is provided by Nationwide Retirement Services and allows for pre- and post-tax deferrals. This plan is 100% employee funded.

Retiree Medical Savings Plan

Employees participate in an employer sponsored retirement Healthcare Reimbursement Arrangement (HRA) with a contribution of 3.0% of base salary. Firefighter Trainees and Handcrew Firefighters do not participate in this benefit.

OCPFA Supplemental Retiree Medical Plan

Employees contribute 1.0% of their base salary towards the Orange County Professional Firefighters Association (OCPFA) Supplemental Retiree Medical Plan Trust Fund.

Social Security

Orange County Fire Authority employees are not covered under the provisions of Federal Social Security (OASDI); therefore, they are not required to contribute 6.2% of salary towards Social Security.

Medicare

Employees contribute 1.45% to Medicare. Employees whose wages exceed $200,000 in a calendar year shall contribute an additional 0.9%.

Educational Incentive Pay

Employees with college-level semester units or a bachelor’s degree are eligible for educational incentive pay as follows:

• 60 college-level semester units - 2.5% of base salary per month; or
• 90 college-level semester units - 5% of base salary per month; or
• Baccalaureate Degree - 7.5% of base salary per month
  
  

The maximum educational incentive pay an employee shall receive is 7.5% of base salary. To receive educational incentive pay, the employee must submit a written request to receive the educational incentive pay and submit satisfactory proof of qualification (for example, grade cards, transcripts, and/or other verification from an accredited, college-level educational institution). Employees must provide official transcripts for verification.

Hand Crew Firefighters are not eligible for educational incentive Pay.

Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) Pay

Employees (other than Firefighter Trainees) who maintain an active State of California EMT certification will receive, in addition to their regular salary, seven (9%) percent of each employee’s base salary per month, prorated on an hourly basis for regular hours paid.

Other Specialty Pays

Employees who move into special assignments at OCFA, or who possess specialized skills, may be eligible for other specialty pays. Please refer to the OCPFA MOU and Side Letter Agreements for further details.

Tuition Reimbursement

Tuition reimbursement is $2,000 per fiscal year to cover certain expenses associated with academic pursuits.

Holidays

Employees in the Firefighters Unit observe 13 holidays within the calendar year:

• New Year's Day
• Martin Luther King Jr.'s Birthday
• Lincoln's Birthday
• President's Day
• Memorial Day
• Independence Day
• Labor Day
• Indigenous Peoples' Day/Columbus Day
• Veteran's Day
• Thanksgiving Day
• Day after Thanksgiving
• Christmas Eve
• Christmas Day
  
  

Shift employees receive 11.2 hours holiday pay of which 0.7 hours is designated to a Union Time Bank for Union release time.

Vacation

Vacation accrual is based on hours of completed continuous service (regular hours) exclusive of overtime. For shift employees:

• After 1 year but less than 3 years: Approx 112 hours per year;
• After 3 years but less than 10 years: Approx 168 hours per year;
• After 10 years: Approx 224 hours per year.
  
  

Sick Leave

Sick leave is is based on hours of completed continuous service (regular hours) exclusive of overtime. For shift employees:

• Date of employment but less than 3 years: Approx 101 hours per year;
• After 3 years: Approx 144 hours per year.
  
  

Uniforms

The Authority provides uniforms to employees.

Flexible Spending Account (FSA)

The OCFA offers regular, limited-term, and probationary employees both a Medical and Dependent Care Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs), which allows you to contribute pre-tax dollars into an account that can be used throughout the year on qualified medical or dependent care expenses. Participants pay fewer taxes and take home more money. For 2022, the maximum employee contribution is $2,750 for eligible medical expenses. The maximum employee contribution is $5,000 for eligible dependent care expenses.

WEFIT Program

The WEFIT Program is mandatory/non-punitive. The OCFA shall provide all five (5) of the following aspects of the WEFIT Program:

• Medical
• Fitness
• Medical/Fitness/Injury Rehabilitation
• Behavioral Health
• Data Collection and Reporting
  
  

Pet Discount Program

OCFA has partnered with United Pet Care to offer a pet healthcare program. This program helps employees reduce the cost of escalating veterinary bills at an affordable rate. All pets are eligible regardless of their age or medical condition.

Benevolent Association

Employees have the option to join OCFA’s Benevolent Association which was created to “Take Care of Their Own.” Included in your $8.00 per pay period cost is $10,000 Member Death Benefit, $4,000 Dependent Death Benefit, $30,000 Annual Scholarships for Members and Dependents, Hardship Grants/Loans, Annual Picnic for Members, Holiday Ball, and Retiree Tribute. In addition, Discount Offers- Recreation/Amusement Parks, fitness 19 and 24-Hour Fitness gym membership, discount movie tickets, Angels Baseball game with tailgate party, etc. Membership also allows access to very good supplemental insurances of many types, including, Long Term Disability, Long Term Care, various AFLAC (ICU, Cancer, Accident Injury, CSFA membership, Living Trusts and more. The Family Auxiliary and KIDS Fund (provides monetary assistance only to kids of members), both operate under the Benevolent Association.

Updated 07/2025

This benefit summary is intended to provide an easy way for current and prospective employees to access fringe benefit information, including voluntary options. This summary is intended to be accurate, but it is not an official plan document, and has no legal or binding effect as an expressed or implied contract, or otherwise, and does not alter or amend any provision of the Memoranda of Understanding, Personnel and Salary Resolution, retirement contract, insurance policy contract, or any other official document of the Orange County Fire Authority, including Standard Operating Procedures and General Orders. All insurance benefits described in the summary are subject to the terms and limitations of the Orange County Fire Authority's insurance contracts with individual insurance providers. Should you have any questions pertaining to information in this summary, please contact the Human Resources Department at (714) 573-6800.

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The Orange County Fire Authority uses e-mail to notify applicants of important information relating to the status and processing of applications. We do so as part of our ongoing efforts to increase efficiency, conserve resources, and minimize delays and costs. Therefore, as an applicant, please ensure that the e-mail address you provide is current, secure, and readily accessible to you. We recommend that you do not share e-mail addresses with other individuals who may inadvertently delete important communications sent to you. Spam or other filters should be adjusted to accept e-mails from ocfa.org and governmentjobs.com. Please read each e-mail notice carefully and in a timely manner. Follow further instructions, if any. Please acknowledge that I have read, understand, and agree to the above.

• Yes
• No
  
  

02

This recruitment is open to current OCFA Fire Captains, Fire Apparatus Engineers and non-probationary Firefighters. Are you a current OCFA Fire Captain, Fire Apparatus Engineer or non-probationary Firefighter?

• Yes
• No
  
  

03

If you have completed any of the FEMA courses listed below, please check the applicable box and attach a copy of your certificate to your online application.

• FEMA IS100
• FEMA IS200
• FEMA IS700
• FEMA IS800
• FEMA Orientation Class
• I do not possess any of the above listed FEMA courses
• Required Question