Sr Dispatcher

Senior Dispatcher – Ottawa Schedule: Full-time, Monday–Friday Are you organized, decisive, and comfortable keeping multiple moving parts on track?

As a Senior Dispatcher, you will play a key role in keeping -Ottawa's daily transportation operation running safely and on time.

You will coordinate routes, support drivers, resolve service issues, and help lead the dispatch function during busy morning and afternoon operations.

Why join First Student as a Senior Dispatcher?

Competitive Pay: $55,000 Full-time, Monday–Friday schedule Consistent, year-round work Medical, dental, vision, and other benefits Paid holidays and vacation time Career advancement opportunities Employee Assistance Program Employee discounts through PerkSpot

What You’ll Do

• Lead daily routing, scheduling, and dispatch operations.
• Assign drivers and monitors to routes and oversee route bidding when applicable.
• Keep service moving by responding to open routes, absences, delays, breakdowns, and last-minute changes.
• Provide drivers with accurate route and passenger information.
• Review route changes and maintain required documentation.
• Monitor route hours and make adjustments to improve productivity and reduce overtime.
• Maintain accurate dispatch logs covering vehicle status, replacements, late buses, accidents, and service disruptions.
• Ensure morning and afternoon routes are properly dry-run before service begins.
• Broadcast daily safety messages and reinforce First Student’s Safety First culture.
• Collect pre-trip inspection reports and communicate repair needs to the maintenance team.
• Partner with the Shop Manager to coordinate preventive maintenance, breakdown response, and fleet concerns.
• Open or close the location and manage driver call-outs as assigned.
• Support drivers, school personnel, families, and customers with timely and professional communication.

What We’re Looking For

• High school diploma or equivalent.
• Five to seven years of relevant experience.
• Previous dispatch, routing, terminal operations, or professional-driving experience.
• Strong communication, customer-service, computer, and problem‑solving skills.
• Ability to stay calm, organized, and decisive in a fast‑moving environment.
• Knowledge of radio‑dispatch equipment.
• Appropriate vehicle license preferred.

Take the lead in keeping Ottawa moving. Join First Student and help deliver safe, dependable transportation every day.

First for a reason: At First Student, we are a family of 60,000+ employees who take pride in safely transporting more than 5 million students and passengers to and from their destinations each day!

Our family of brands include Transco, Total Transportation, Maggies Paratransit, and GVC II.

Our employees are at the forefront of safety and innovation; they create and implement the most advanced training and technology the transportation industry has to offer.

MISSION

Provide unmatched care and the safest ride to school, so when students arrive, they start and end their day with an exceptional experience and are ready to achieve their full potential.

FOCUS ON SAFETY

Safety is at the heart of everything we do

CARE FOR OUR STUDENTS

Ensure our vehicles are welcoming and trusted places where students feel comfortable and secure

SURPASS CUSTOMER EXPECTATIONS

Go the extra mile to deliver an extraordinary experience for our customers and communities

FOSTER TEAMWORK

Work together, act with integrity, respect each other, champion diversity and inclusion

SET THE HIGHEST STANDARDS

Continually seek a better way to do things with innovation, sustainable practices, financial discipline, commercial excellence, and operational excellence