Work may be hard to find these days, but Escambia County has an urgent need to hire new blood.
“If you’re an adrenaline junky — if you like the fast pace, enjoy the ‘go-go-go’ — and the fulfilment of knowing you’ve made a difference at the end of the day, then yes, these are absolutely the jobs for you,” said Eric Gilmore, interim public safety director for Escambia County.
“It is important to get the jobs filled, because they are the front lines for public safety,” Gilmore explained. “They’re the people out in the field answering to 911 calls.
“We really need them to get them filled,” he continued. “So, when the public calls 911, we have the trained professional to send to them to handle their emergency.”
Types of work
The field of public safety is far from limited to merely occupations like police officers, sheriff’s deputies, state troopers or even federal agents.
Firefighters, paramedics, 911 dispatchers and a wide range of jail staff also fall under the professional category of “Public Safety.”
If you’re an animal lover, Escambia County Animal Services currently has nine job openings for future kennel technicians and animal control officers.
“Our kennel techs here do a little bit of everything,” explained Escambia County Animal Welfare Manager John Robinson. “They’re kind of a jack of all trades.”
Kennel technicians at the Escambia County Animal Shelter handle everything from admissions, to adoptions, working with veterinary staff, helping to provide care for animals, answer phones and helping people get their animal back if it has been picked up as a stray.
“So, our kennel tech positions are very focused on the safety and the wellbeing of the animals,” Robinson said. “Then we have our animal control officers. They are meeting with people out in the field, trying to resolve problems whether it’s dogs running at large or lost pets, getting them re-homed, dealing with people who might be committing crimes, animal crimes, code violations and stuff like that.”
But it’s Escambia County’s department of Corrections that has by far the highest number of available jobs.
The new Escambia County Jail is expected to open for business later this year.
“I am waiting on the next assessment from the construction crew, but we should be in the building, going through it and testing everything by late February or March and then open sometime in April hopefully,” said Rich Powell, Escambia County Corrections director. “Of course that is a moving target when you are dealing with any type of construction.”
The facility will be much larger than the current jail. Therefore, it will need to grow its staff size, and the county is currently looking for 69 new correctional officers.
The jail will also require additional medical staff and is searching for qualified nurses and and medical emergency specialists.
And or course — all this talk of potential new jobs, begs the question — who didn’t consider a career fighting fires when they were a child?
Escambia County Fire Rescue has six openings.
“Like I said, these are fast-paced jobs for someone who likes the ‘go-go-go,'” Gilmore said. “So, if you don’t like going to an office every day and going to the same place every day and being stuck behind a desk, this is for you.
Not all public safety positions require years of schooling or prior, professional experience for an applicant to apply.
Many of the available might require specialized training that the county will provide and finance. Those who are interested in such jobs are encouraged to reach out to Escambia County staff for further details.
“Also, we do have exceptional camaraderie,” Gilmore added. “You are in the public safety sector, where everybody has each other’s back. It’s a good culture, like a brotherhood — so to say.”
Escambia County public safety jobs
1. Public Safety:
- Paramedic, starting salary $17.96 per hour. Open Jobs: 10.
- Emergency Medical Technician (EMT), starting salary $13.75 per hour. Open Jobs: 7.
- Dispatcher, staring annual salary of $33,280. Open Jobs: 1.
- Emergency Medical Services Manager, staring annual salary $81,000. Open Jobs: 1.
- Paramedic Supervisor, contact Escambia County for salary information. Open Jobs: 1.
2. Fire Rescue
- Firefighter, starting salary for $10.79 per hour for 24-hour employees (fulltime) and $12.49 per hour (part-time, Relief Firefighters). Open Jobs: 6.
- Fire Chief, contact Escambia County for salary information. Open Jobs: 1.
3. Animal Services
- Kennel Technician, starting salary $11.25 per hour. Open Jobs: 5.
- Animal Control Officer, starting salary $12.49 per hour. Open Jobs: 3.
- Senior Kennel Technician, starting salary 12.49 per hour. Open jobs: 1.
4. Corrections
- Correction Officer, starting salary $16.63 per hour. Open Jobs: 69.
- Detention Assistant, starting salary $11.64 per hour. Open jobs: 25.
- Sergeant-rank Correctional Officer, minimum starting salary $19.40 per hour (will increase depending based on years of experience). Open Jobs: 3.
- Registered Nurse, starting salary $24.11 per hour. Open Jobs: 3.
- Licensed Practical Nurse, starting salary $16.63 per hour. Open Jobs: 4.
- Paramedic, starting salary $17.96 per hour. Open Jobs: 2.
- Emergency Medical Technician (EMT), starting salary $12.49 per hour. Open Jobs: 2.
(This list is not comprehensive and does not include all of Escambia County’s positions that are currently available. Escambia County has additional vaccines in other departments including Public Works, Mass Transit, IT, Engineering and at the Library.
For fuller lists of Escambia County’s job postings, visit: https://myescambia.com/our-services/human-resources/employment and https://myescambia.com/our-services/public-safety/fire-rescue/join-escambia-county-fire-rescue)
Benefits
Escambia County provides a comprehensive benefit plan for employees who work 30 or more hours a week, according to county spokeswoman Laura Coale.
The county offers health, dental, life, vision, employee assistance program, flexible spending, long-term disability, legal services, paid time off, deferred compensation, retirement and other voluntary insurance products.
“The county benefits are great,” Robinson told the News Journal. “We often get younger people who don’t always think about the benefits, but the benefits are really good if they just come onboard and hang in there. The medical by itself is probably worth it.”
A recent study showed that Escambia County’s health insurance coverage is competitive for coverage offered by employers throughout the local market.
“For instance, if an employee elects the Health Savings Account plan, the county pays the premium at 100{c25493dcd731343503a084f08c3848bd69f9f2f05db01633325a3fd40d9cc7a1} for the employee only,” Coale explained. “The board recently approved providing an increase of $600 to $1,000 a year to support paying for deductibles in the HSA plan, which is prorated depending on hiring date.
If an employee opts out of county health plans and is on a spouse’s insurance, that employee receives a $300 stipend a month,” Coale continued. “We courage anyone interested in county jobs to keep in mind the comprehensive employee benefits package that is offered.”
Colin Warren-Hicks can be reached at [email protected] or 850-435-8680.
