Career Opportunity

DIRECTOR OF STRATEGY, PLANNING, AND INNOVATION, SFPUC - External Affairs (0933) (141711)

Recruitment: RTF0141710-01110708

Published: March 29, 2024

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About:

• Application Opening: 03/28/2024
• Application Filing Deadline: 4/4/2024
• Salary: $171,678 - $219,154
• Recruitment ID: RTF0141710-01110708

APPOINTMENT TYPE: Temporary/Permanent Exempt: This position is excluded by the Charter from the competitive Civil Service examination process and shall serve at the discretion of the Appointing Officer. The duration of the appointment shall not exceed 36 months.

WHO ARE WE?
San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC)
Headquartered in San Francisco, we have 2,300 employees operating across eight counties serving more than 2.7 million customers in the San Francisco Bay Area – 24 hours per day, 365 days per year.

Our Mission: To provide our customers with high quality, efficient, and reliable water, power, and wastewater services in a manner that values environmental and community interests and sustains the resources entrusted to our care.

Our Vision: We are an innovative utility leader, recognized for excellent results in service, safety, stewardship, and inclusiveness.

We are an award-winning and industry-leading utilities organization committed to our customers, community interests, and the environment. To learn more about our organization, please visit our website at https://www.sfpuc.org/.

We are proud of our infrastructure and programs, but most importantly, we value our highly qualified and dedicated workforce which ensures that this vision becomes a reality.

To learn more about working at the SFPUC, visit our career site at https://www.sfpuc.org/about-us/careers-sfpuc

About External Affairs Bureau’s Strategy, Planning, and Innovation Division 

The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission’s (SFPUC) External Affairs Bureau  is comprised of the following divisions: Communications; Community Benefits; Policy and Government Affairs;  and Strategy, Planning, and Innovation. The Strategy, Planning and Innovation (SPI) Division is responsible for leading strategic planning, implementation, and coordination for critical SFPUC and External Affairs   projects, programs, and initiatives. The SPI Division is proactive in issue spotting and bringing strategic analysis and solutions to the attention of leadership

Role description

Project Name: Strategic Leadership Initiative                             

Under the direction of the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission’s (SFPUC)  Assistant General Manager for External Affairs (AGM), the Director of Strategy, Planning, and Innovation (SPI) is a member of External Affairs’ leadership team, directing cross-agency and/or cross-sector, time-sensitive, and high priority initiatives, as identified by the AGM. The Director is responsible for providing support to the AGM through the execution of a broad and complex set of assignments.

The Director of Strategy, Planning, and Innovation:

• Manages a number of high-priority, critical functions for the SFPUC including public records, Citizens’ Advisory Committee, budget and addback management, contract development, operations optimization, and systems and process improvements. 
• Supervises and manages a growing, diverse and interdisciplinary team.
• Assists the AGM and the agency’s senior leaders by driving a high-performing culture and team, providing exceptional service, and delivering operational excellence.
• Establishes and maintains a broad and deep network across the agency, collaborating with all levels of staff on day-to-day activities, special projects, and long-term initiatives related to advancing key agency outcomes.
• Leads internal collaboration with senior leaders of the SFPUC’s water, wastewater, and power enterprises, as well as strategic, cross-sector partnerships to advance agency priorities. 
• Provides strategic vision across External Affairs’ divisions, working with the AGM and senior leaders, related to intersecting areas of work across the bureau.
• Supports the AGM in the strategic coordination and presentation of the agency’s activities and initiatives for the Commission, local policymakers, community stakeholders, and others.

Essential Functions:

• Advise the strategy, coordination, alignment, and efficacy for key SFPUC and External Affairs initiatives. Plans, monitors, evaluates, and supervises high-priority strategic initiatives, as assigned by the AGM, and advises and consults with stakeholders across the agency.
• Build and maintain strong partnerships and coordinate with external stakeholders regarding SFPUC and External Affairs initiatives.
• Lead and support the capacity-building and effective coordination of internal and external stakeholders to produce effective, strategic, aligned outcomes in service of community.
• Lead and support the External Affairs Bureau in strategic thinking regarding purpose, goals, vision, work planning, evaluation, opportunities, and gaps.
• Manage and supervise a high-impact cross-functional team focused on effective operations, systems, and accountability/transparency to the public, specifically: budget and finances; public records; the Citizens’ Advisory Committee; and operations and optimization, a new area of work.
• Effectuate External Affairs’ new Strategic Leadership Initiative, to support several new multi-year capacity-building projects and increase staff efficacy and strategic leadership development to ensure successful implementation of programs and initiatives.
• Lead the development of an External Affairs organizational culture grounded in strategic planning, data analysis, collective purpose, and interdependent mutual accountability.
• Support the cultivation of professional development opportunities for External Affairs staff in alignment with organizational culture.
• Identify opportunities for operational and administrative efficiencies across External Affairs’ divisions and processes to measure effectiveness.
• Support a culture of continuous improvement in service of and accountable to our customers and communities.
• Establish and maintain effective working relationships with key cross-functional teams, consultants, and stakeholders.
• Lead the EA budget process, including both EA’s budget development and management, as well as approval of the proposed budget by the SFPUC Commission and Board of Supervisors.
• Lead and support the SFPUC's compliance with public records requests and the SFPUC’s Citizens’ Advisory Committee, including managing staff carrying out these functions.

How to qualify

Education: Bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university. AND

Experience: 8 years of experience in strategic planning, policy, legislative affairs, or project management; of which 3 years must include experience supervising professionals.

Education Substitution: Additional experience as described above may be substituted for the required degree on a year-for-year basis (up to a maximum of two (2) years. One (1) year is equivalent to thirty (30) semester or forty-five (45) quarter units.

Applicants must meet the minimum qualification requirement by the final filing date unless otherwise noted.

Desirable Qualifications:

• Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with cross-functional teams, consultants, and stakeholders.
• Strong experience with supervision and building effective teams.
• Highly collaborative, inquisitive, creative, and analytically minded self-starter that can work independently and with a team.
• Ability to gather, analyze, and communicate relevant information efficiently and effectively.
• Ability to organize, prioritize and manage complex projects within a large organization with competing priorities.
• Knowledge of local landscape and stakeholders related to External Affairs’ functions and initiatives.
• Ability to prepare and present clear, accurate, effective, and well-organized written documents and reports on complex topics.

Verification of Education and Experience:

Applicants may be required to submit verification of qualifying education and experience at any point during the recruitment and selection process. Education verification information on verifying foreign education credits or degree equivalency, can be found at https://sfdhr.org/how-verify-education-requirements

Note: Falsifying one’s education, training, or work experience or attempted deception on the application may result in disqualification for this and future job opportunities with the City and County of San Francisco.

All work experience, education, training and other information substantiating how you meet the minimum qualifications must be included on your application by the filing deadline. Information submitted after the filing deadline will not be considered in determining whether you meet the minimum qualifications. Resumes will not be accepted in lieu of a completed City and County of San Francisco application. Applications completed improperly may be cause for ineligibility, disqualification or may lead to lower scores.

What else should I know?

Additional Information Regarding Employment with the City and County of San Francisco:

• Information About The Hiring Process
• Conviction History
• Employee Benefits Overview  
• Equal Employment Opportunity 
• Disaster Service Worker
• ADA Accommodation
• Right to Work
• Copies of Application Documents
• Diversity Statement

HOW TO APPLY

Applications for City and County of San Francisco jobs are only accepted through an online process. Visit https://careers.smartrecruiters.com/CityAndCountyOfSanFrancisco1/ and begin the application process.

• Select the “Apply Now” button and follow instructions on the screen

Applicants may be contacted by email about this recruitment and, therefore, it is their responsibility to ensure that their registered email address is accurate and updated. Also, applicants must ensure that email from CCSF is not blocked on their computer by a spam filter. To prevent blocking, applicants should set up their email to accept CCSF mail from the following addresses (@sfgov.org, @sfdpw.org, @sfport.com, @flysfo.com, @sfwater.org, @sfdph.org, @asianart.org, @sfmta.com, @sfpl.org, @dcyf.org, @first5sf.org, @famsf.org, @ccsf.edu, @smartalerts.info, and @smartrecruiters.com).

Applicants will receive a confirmation email that their online application has been received in response to every announcement for which they file. Applicants should retain this confirmation email for their records. Failure to receive this email means that the online application was not submitted or received.

Job Analyst Information: If you have any questions regarding this recruitment or application process, please contact the job analyst, Rocio Mendoza, by email at rmendoza@sfwater.org.

The City and County of San Francisco encourages women, minorities and persons with disabilities to apply. Applicants will be considered regardless of their sex, race, age, religion, color, national origin, ancestry, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition (associated with cancer, a history of cancer, or genetic characteristics), HIV/AIDS status, genetic information, marital status, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, military and veteran status, or other protected category under the law.