Career Opportunity

Deputy City Attorney - Public Utilities Team - City Attorney's Office (8177)

Recruitment: RTF0135726-01097727

Published: May 25, 2023

Apply using SmartRecruiters, the City and County of San Francisco's application portal Learn More

About:

• Application Opening: May 25, 2023
• Application Deadline: Continuous, earliest close 5:00 p.m. Monday, June 5, 2023
• Recruitment ID: RTF0135726-01097727

About the Office: The San Francisco City Attorney’s Office (Office) is an innovative, nationally-recognized municipal law office working to protect and advance the rights and interests of the City and County of San Francisco and its residents. With over 300 talented, dedicated, and diverse employees, the Office provides exceptional legal services to the City’s Mayor, Board of Supervisors, officials, and departments. Our work empowers the City’s public servants with effective, responsive, and creative legal solutions and representation so they can deliver critical public services and our affirmative advocacy enhances the lives and wellbeing of San Francisco’s residents and visitors.

The Office recognizes that diversity in the backgrounds, identities, ideas, and lived experiences of our employees enriches our workplace and enhances our work. We aspire to recruit, employ, retain, and promote talented individuals representing the full spectrum of our community, and welcome all candidates, including candidates of any race, religion, national origin, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, and age, and candidates with disabilities. We have a clear vision: to be the place where a diverse mix of people want to come and stay, grow professionally, and find purpose and engagement, and where all employees feel welcomed and respected for their full authentic selves, and valued for their work and contributions to the Office and the City. To learn more about the Office’s efforts to provide an inclusive workplace where employees feel they belong and can meaningfully contribute, please click here.

The Office offers a hybrid remote work schedule for eligible employees, with three days onsite and up to two days remote.

To learn more about the City Attorney’s Office please visit: https://www.sfcityattorney.org/

Role description

About the Public Utilities Team

The Public Utilities Team provides counsel to the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC). The Team is a collaborative and dynamic group of six attorneys and a legal secretary, led by the Utilities General Counsel.

The SFPUC is an enterprise department of the City and County of San Francisco (City) responsible for managing the City’s water, wastewater (sewer), and power systems and assets. SFPUC has an annual operating budget of over $1.5 billion, a capital program of over $8 billion, and a work force of over 2,300 employees.

Attorneys on the Team provide advice and counsel on a myriad of matters related to municipal water, wastewater, and power utility services. Their work includes drafting contracts, regulations, and legislation, and representing the City and SFPUC before local, state, and federal legislative and administrative bodies. Based on their expertise and experience, attorneys on the Team may advise on: state and federal environmental regulatory matters, with special focus on the Clean Water Act, the Safe Drinking Water Act, and the California Water and Health and Safety Codes; capital improvement project planning and implementation, including environmental impact review under state and federal law; new development infrastructure planning and implementation; the preparation of non-potable water plans and regulations; development of flood control and floodplain management initiatives and regulations; and the development, adoption, and collection of municipal utility rates, fees, and charges.

Deputy City Attorney Position and Responsibilities

The current position seeks an attorney with expertise and experience in public finance to advise the SFPUC on its $7B debt portfolio of bonds and commercial paper; bond transactions, including securitization, and manage outside bond and disclosure counsel; utility rates, revenues, and expenditures under California Propositions 218 and 26; financing acquisition of utility assets including but not limited to power transmission and distribution assets; and long-term purchases and development of renewable energy resources.

Additionally, the attorney will provide day-to-day advice to the SFPUC, primarily to its Finance and Business Services Division (including the budget, accounting, financial planning and analysis, and risk management teams) on matters that may include but not be limited to:

• the application, approval, and expenditure of federal and state grant funds;
• the procurement, negotiation, and management of debt-related agreements, such as credit facility agreements, feasibility consulting services, municipal, investment and rebate advisory services, along with other professional service agreements; and
• matters in connection with financial, tax, and other compliance audits of the SFPUC

Appointment Type

Permanent exempt (PEX) position; individuals who are appointed to Exempt Positions are appointed at the pleasure of their appointing officer and are considered to be "at-will."

How to qualify

Minimum Qualifications

• Licensed to practice law in California,

Desired Qualifications

• 5 years or more of relevant public finance experience.
• Experience serving as bond, disclosure, underwriter’s or issuer’s counsel in connection with municipal bond transactions; some experience with utility, airport, port, or other exempt facility revenue bonds is preferred.
• Experience with variable rate bonds, commercial paper notes, interest rate swap agreements, and negotiation of credit and liquidity facilities preferred.
• Ability to assume responsibility quickly and to work independently and efficiently.
• Excellent oral and written communication.
• Ability to manage and appropriately balance an active and varied workload, and adjust to occasional workload increases.
• Ability to work directly with the client in a collaborative environment while maintaining appropriate professional objectivity.
• Ability to exercise good judgment, multi-task, and meet deadlines.
• Strong interpersonal skills and a positive attitude.
• Commitment to valuing diversity and contributing to an inclusive working and learning environment.
• Desire and ability to work successfully as part of a team.

Verification: 

Applicants may be required to submit verification of qualifying education and experience at any point during the recruitment and selection process. If education verification is required, information on how to verify education requirements, including 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.

Selection Procedures: 

The selection process will include evaluation of applications in relation to minimum requirements. Applicants meeting the minimum qualifications are not guaranteed advancement to the interview. Depending on the number of applicants, the Department may establish and implement additional screening mechanisms to comparatively evaluate the qualifications of candidates. If this becomes necessary, only those applicants whose qualifications most closely meet the needs of the Department will be invited to participate in the oral/performance interview.

To apply for this position, please submit your resume and cover letter. Applicants who advance in the selection process must submit at least two references and at least one writing sample.

What else should I know?

Salary and Benefits

The Deputy City Attorney position has a 16-step salary scale ranging from $138,710 - $242,996. Employees will receive a 2.5% salary adjustment effective July 1, 2023 and a 2.25% salary adjustment effective January 6, 2024. The successful applicant is appointed to a salary step based on years of experience as a lawyer. The City offers robust health, retirement, and other benefits. For more information please visit: https://sfdhr.org/benefits-overview. Attorneys are represented by the Municipal Attorneys Association. Information about compensation and benefits is available by entering Classification Code 8177 at https://careers.sf.gov/classifications/.

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
• Veterans Preference
• 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.sf.gov/ 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 kept up-to-date. 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.

Human Resources Analyst Information: If you have any questions regarding this recruitment or application process, please send your inquires to Asa Nojd, HR Analyst, at asa.nojd@sfcityatty.org.

CONDITION OF EMPLOYMENT:  All City and County of San Francisco employees are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 as a condition of employment. Someone is fully vaccinated when 14 days have passed since they received the final dose of a two-shot vaccine or a dose of a one-shot vaccine. Any new hire must present proof of full vaccination status to be appointed. Any new hire who will be routinely assigned or occasionally enter High-Risk Settings, must provide proof of having received a COVID-19 booster vaccine by March 1, 2022, or once eligible.

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.