Career Opportunity

Commission Secretary 1452 San Francisco Arts Commission

Recruitment: RTF0137224-01071613

Published: August 24, 2023

Accepting applications until: September 21, 2023

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

About:

Applications will be accepted until 11:59 p.m. on September 20, 2023. The portal will close at 12:00 a.m. on September 21, 2023, and applications will no longer be accepted.

The San Francisco Arts Commission (SFAC) is the City agency that champions the arts as essential to daily life by investing in a vibrant arts community, enlivening the urban environment and shaping innovative cultural policy. Learn more about our work at: http://www.sfartscommission.org/ 

The SFAC has adopted the following Racial Equity Statement: 
The San Francisco Arts Commission is committed to creating a city where all artists and cultural workers have the freedom, resources and platform to share their stories, art and culture and where race does not predetermine one’s success in life. We also acknowledge that we occupy traditional and unceded Ohlone land. Fueled by these beliefs, we commit to addressing the systemic inequities within our agency, the City and County of San Francisco and the broader arts and culture sector. This work requires that we focus on race as we confront inequities of the past, reveal inequities of the present and develop effective strategies to move all of us towards an equitable future. 

Role description

The San Francisco Arts Commission is hiring a Commission Secretary who will represent the agency as the primary point of contact for Commission related matters and support the fifteen members of the Commission appointed by the Mayor for the City and County of San Francisco. The Commission Secretary will report directly to the Chief of Staff and will be responsible for managing the administrative activities of the Commission as well as providing general agency support as needed. The individual will provide strong project management, administrative and technical expertise, and exceptional organizational and communication skills.   

The Commission Secretary will perform a wide variety of sensitive secretarial and administrative work involving a high degree of responsibility for public contact with commissioners, governmental officials, members of the public, and other employees. The Commission Secretary is expected to exercise sound judgment and discretion, work independently, and demonstrate initiative to complete required tasks. The ideal candidate will be a self-motivated professional who can demonstrate tact in politically sensitive situations, has excellent public speaking skills, is detail-oriented, possesses high ethical standards of integrity, and has experience working collaboratively in a diverse and dynamic environment.  

Commission Support: 

• Serve as Secretary to the Arts Commission. Schedule and coordinate all meeting logistics for the full Arts Commission and Executive Committee meetings, including meeting room reservations, preparation, posting and dissemination of Commission agendas and meeting links, public notices, meeting slides, scripts, meeting minutes, resolutions, information and other important documents; ensure hybrid meeting technology is operational and that meetings are recorded.
   
• Attend all subcommittee meetings (monthly Visual Arts Committee, monthly Civic Design Committee, bi-monthly Community Investments Committee, Advisory Committee/Street Artists as scheduled), provide technical support and set up and breakdown for each meeting.  
   
• Partner with SFAC staff to ensure timely and appropriate posting of subcommittee meeting agendas, minutes and documents and provide support as needed. 

• Create and maintain an annual Commission meeting calendar and all calendar invites, confirm quorum for all Commission and subcommittee meetings.  

• Maintain the Commission information on the websites (sf.gov and sfartscommission.org) to ensure it reflects the most relevant and current information, post updated information on commissioners, Commission meetings, full and subcommittee meeting notices, agendas, supporting documents, meeting minutes and recordings. Verify subcommittee meeting information and the Commission calendar is accurate.  

• Coordinate with other internal staff and external offices to ensure that all Commission meeting documents are accurate and presented in a way that meets the Commission’s expectations.  

• Read, write and edit documents in a clear, concise and effective manner using accurate grammar, punctuation and vocabulary; public speaking will be a main duty of this role.  

• Serve as the Parliamentarian for the Commission with familiarity for formal meeting procedures and parliamentary rules for all Commission and subcommittee meetings. 

• Ensure public access to Commission meetings, arranging disability accommodations requests, translation and interpretation services as required. 

• Act as agency lead for all Commission related matters, host internal Quarterly Commission Meeting, disseminate new information regarding technology, policy and legal requirements and train staff on technology systems (WebEx) to facilitate hybrid meetings. 

• Provide some administrative support to Commission members and ensures commissioners are informed in a timely fashion of relevant information and activities. 

• Verify accuracy of commissioner information on the 311 database and document all changes made to that body on a quarterly basis regarding term details. 

• Prepare Mayor’s Quarterly Attendance Reports for the Arts Commission on a quarterly basis. 

• Serve as liaison with the Mayor’s office, Department of Human Resources (“DHR”), Health Service System, and Ethics Commission regarding new appointments, reappointments and resignations of commissioners; coordinate commissioner onboarding and offboarding; maintain accurate commissioner records. 

• Interact regularly with a diverse population including commissioners, the SFAC staff, the City Attorney’s Office, the public, governmental officials, public and private agencies and others that fall under the functional jurisdiction of the Commission.  

• Provide oversight and management to ensure that the Commission is informed of, operates in accordance with and completes all applicable requirements related to the City Charter, Administrative Code, Brown Act and City policies, such as the Statement of Economic Interests (Form 700) and the Statement of Incompatible Activities; monitor and track compliance of all mandated trainings (e.g., Workplace Harassment Prevention Training, Sunshine and Ethics Training, Cybersecurity, Implicit Bias) and other City requirements; 

• Serves as the Commission’s custodian of records, maintains and manages onsite and electronic Commission records. 

• Prepares and responds to requests for information from the general public, governmental officials, and other interested parties concerning Commission policies, procedures, actions, meetings and meeting access, in consultation with the Director of Communication as appropriate, including, but not limited to FOIA/Sunshine Public Records Requests; 

• Partner with Senior Racial Equity and Engagement Analyst on all racial equity requirements and trainings related to the Commission. 

​​​​​​​Agency Support / Citywide Role  

• Serve as filing officer for required disclosure statements for commissioners and employees designated under the Ethics Code    

• Participate in quarterly Commission Secretary Cohort meetings   

• Serve as a public contact point for the Commission, in cooperation with the Director of Communications, to offer information, refer callers and visitors to other SFAC staff, other City offices, other organizations or resources as appropriate  

• Coordinate and ensure agency compliance for Form 802 and Form 700  

• Coordinate distribution of SF Symphony tickets in partnership with the Deputy Director of Finance and Administration 

• Serve as backup to Office Manager for general office management support   

• Provide administrative support to Director of Cultural Affairs when Chief of Staff is out  

• Other general duties as assigned   

How to qualify

1. Two (2) years of verifiable executive secretarial experience providing personal and confidential administrative support for a manager by arranging appointments and assisting in the preparation of meetings, responding to public inquiries, reviewing incoming documents, composing confidential correspondence, conducting research and preparing statistical reports. Job duties must be comparable to 1450 Executive Secretary I; OR

2. Four (4) years of verifiable secretarial experience encompassing editing and independently composing letters and other correspondence utilizing computer software/systems; researching, compiling and organizing data for various reports; and maintaining office/records systems. Job duties must be comparable to 1446 Secretary II; AND

3. Ability to type 55 words per minute (WPM).

Substitution:

A recognized secretarial training program of two hundred forty (240) hours Or the equivalent of fifteen (15) semester units in graded secretarial college units, may substitute for up to six (6) months of the required experience. Proof of satisfactory completion must be submitted at time of filing application.

LICENSE AND CERTIFICATION

Certification: Completion from a recognized secretarial training program of two hundred forty (240) hours OR the equivalent of fifteen (15) semester units in graded secretarial college units.

Desirable Qualifications

The stated desirable qualifications may be used to identify job finalists at the end of the selection process when candidates are referred for hiring. 

1. Proficiency with computer software such as Microsoft Outlook, Word, PowerPoint, Excel and Adobe
2. Excellent interpersonal skills and oral/written communication skills with an emphasis on public speaking
4. Detail oriented 
5. Self-directed, highly organized and able to manage externally-driven timelines
6. Thrives in a fast-paced, dynamic office environment
7. Ability to exhibit diplomacy, discretion, political acumen and professionalism at all times 

What else should I know?

If you have any questions regarding this recruitment or application process, please contact Lauren Rowe at lauren.rowe@sfgov.org

Hybrid work culture
We work in a hybrid environment, and you may be expected to work in the office up to 3 days per week.

Additional information

• 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

All your information will be kept confidential according to EEO guidelines.

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.