Night Dispatcher

Overnight Dispatcher — US Night Shift

Employment TypeFull-time, Independent Contractor

Work ModelRemote (Exclusively sourcing from South Africa or Latin America)

Work Hours: US Eastern Standard Time (EST) alignment (Shift runs 7:00 PM to 7:00 AM US Pacific Time / 10:00 PM to 10:00 AM US Eastern Time, 4 nights on / 3 nights off on a 365-day rotation)

Role Overview

When a commercial walk-in freezer fails at 2:00 AM in a pharmacy in Arizona, one person picks up the phone. Overnight, that person is you.

We are seeking a high-agency, autonomous Overnight Dispatcher to single-handedly manage our high-stakes after-hours operations desk. Serving national retail, grocery, and pharmacy accounts across the United States, our business handles critical emergency and preventative facility maintenance where store openings depend on rapid response times.

You will act as the entire operational engine between 7:00 PM and 7:00 AM Pacific Time. Operating without direct supervision, you will take incoming calls, triage emergencies against SLA tiers, dispatch technicians, secure authorizations, keep client portals updated in real time, and deliver a seamless written handoff to the US day team. This position relies heavily on AI tools (Claude and ChatGPT) to accelerate ticket reviews, synthesize long service histories, check technician notes, and draft client communications at high velocity.

Key Responsibilities

1. Emergency Intake, Triage & Dispatch

- Inbound Triage: Receive and evaluate emergency calls from store managers, facility teams, and national portals—categorizing issues by severity (P1 Emergency, P2 Urgent, P3 Next Business Day) against specific client SLA tiers.

- Technician Allocation: Dispatch technicians from the on-call roster based on trade expertise, availability, and drive-time logic.

- Escalation Management: When no technician accepts a P1 emergency within 20 minutes, systematically execute protocol escalations to the on-call Operations Manager.

2. Portal Administration & Authorization Governance

- Not-To-Exceed (NTE) Authorizations: Secure required client authorizations and NTE dollar approvals prior to dispatching billable after-hours trade work.

- Real-Time Systems Logging: Maintain real-time data entry across internal CMMS platforms (BuildOps, Econz) and external national client portals (ServiceChannel, Corrigo, FM Pilot, or equivalent). If it isn't in the system, it didn't happen and cannot be billed.

3. Morning Schedule Release & Team Handoffs

- Operational Handoff: Deliver a clear, comprehensive written operational summary covering all open tickets, active technician statuses, and pending items by 7:15 AM Pacific Time.

- Schedule Release: Prepare and release the next-morning schedule so the incoming US day shift opens dispatched rather than triaging open queues.

Required Skills & Qualifications

- Dispatch Experience: 3+ years of dispatch, emergency, or operations-desk experience, including at least 1 year on an after-hours or 24/7 emergency desk. Experience supporting US-based clients, geography, and time zones is mandatory.

- Daily Working AI Fluency: Demonstrated daily mastery of Claude, ChatGPT, or equivalent AI assistants to draft communications, pull service histories, write handoffs, and audit ticket notes. (Note: AI prompting speed, context accuracy, and data security compliance will be tested live during the interview process).

- Decisive Operational Judgment: The confidence to make critical operational decisions independently (e.g., deciding whether to wake a technician at 3:00 AM) without escalation or hand-holding.

- Technical Stack Familiarity: Hands-on experience with BuildOps, ServiceChannel, Econz, or proven ability to master new dispatch, CMMS, and portal platforms rapidly.

- Communication Mastery: Outstanding, fluent, and easily understood spoken and written English, paired with a calm, authoritative phone presence when handling stressed store managers.

- Contractual Eligibility: Legally eligible to contract with a US company from your country of residence (South Africa or Latin America).

Preferred (Nice-to-Have) Qualifications

- Facilities maintenance or trades background (HVAC, commercial refrigeration, plumbing, electrical).

- Experience supporting national US retail, grocery, or pharmacy accounts.

- Conversational Spanish skills (useful for communicating with a portion of the technician roster).

Hardware, Workspace & Connectivity Requirements (Mandatory Setup)

- Private & Quiet Space: A dedicated, fully isolated home office workspace with zero background noise during client calls.

- High-Speed Network: Fixed-line fiber or high-speed broadband connection (minimum 50 Mbps download / 10 Mbps upload) plus a reliable mobile data backup.

- Power Redundancy: Continuous battery backup system (inverter/UPS) capable of powering your full computer setup, monitors, and fiber router seamlessly through extended power outages (e.g., loadshedding in South Africa).

Success Metrics (KPIs)

- SLA Compliance & Response Time: Achieving 100% adherence to client SLA response times and P1 escalation protocols.

- Data & NTE Accuracy: Zero client billing errors, wrong site addresses, or unauthorized NTE overages resulting from missed details.

- Seamless Handoff Execution: Delivering thorough, error-free morning handoffs and schedule releases to the US day team by 7:15 AM Pacific Time every shift.