Career Opportunity

Principal Investigator, Tax Collector - Office of the Treasurer & Tax Collector (4337) (147369)

Recruitment: RTF0147368-01073892

Published: July 16, 2024

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

About:

Specific information regarding this recruitment process is listed below:
• Application Opening: Tuesday, July 16, 2024
• Application Deadline: Tuesday, August 6, 2024, 11:59PM (PST)
• Compensation Range: $115,180 - $140,010
• Recruitment ID: PBT-4337-147369

This is a Position-Based Test conducted in accordance with CSC Rule 111A.

Our Mission
The Office of the Treasurer & Tax Collector serves as the banker, tax collector, collection agent, and investment officer for the City and County of San Francisco. As the entity responsible for safeguarding the City’s money, the Office uses this expertise and authority to assist San Francisco residents through award-winning programs and initiatives that help low-income families build economic security and mobility.

Our Vision
We are committed to providing excellent services for taxpayers, customers, and our community. By promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion, we are a stronger, smarter, and more informed government agency.

Role description

The Compliance section supports the accurate reporting of San Francisco’s city business taxes so taxpayers and citizens can have confidence that all taxpayers are meeting their obligations. San Francisco voters have approved multiple taxes that put the City at the forefront of innovative and progressive local tax policy; including gross receipts, commercial rents, overpaid executive, parking, transient occupancy, traffic congestion mitigation, sugar-sweetened beverage, and cannabis taxes. The section has four units, Account Services, Data Analysis, Investigations, and Audit. Account Services processes setup, periodic returns, refunds, and payment exceptions. Investigations discovers unregistered and non-filing businesses, and performs field investigations. Audit reviews tax returns to identify errors and educate taxpayers about their obligations. Data Analysis supports the work of other units by using analytical techniques to improve efficiency, targeting, and large dataset review.

The 4337 Principal Investigator, Tax Collector will supervise an investigation unit that performs both in-house and field surveillance of non-compliant businesses in San Francisco. This role requires depth of knowledge on all city taxes such as gross receipts-based taxes, commercial rents tax, parking tax, transient occupancy tax, telephone users tax, access line tax, utility users tax, and other various city taxes and fees.

There are over 100,000 businesses operating in San Francisco. The Principal Investigator, Tax Collector takes the lead and works with the investigations unit to uncover potentially unregistered businesses, missed filings, start date discrepancies on business applications, and any non-compliant business locations’ tax and fee liabilities due to the City and County of San Francisco.

Under current policy, this position supports a hybrid remote work schedule. The incumbent will be required to work a minimum of three (3) days per week in the office.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:
The essential duties of the position include but are not limited to:

• Supervises direct and indirect reports; distributes and reviews work for quality control; monitors and evaluates performance, including field and in-house investigation activities.
• Provides coaching and direction to ensure performance expectations are met and procedures and policies are followed; provides training and instruction to new and existing investigators including, but not limited to, unit procedures, enforcement tools and legal referral measures, systems and proprietary software functionality, field safety, and local, state, federal tax laws and regulations.
• Supervises field investigation activities including surveying for unregistered businesses and/or locations, start date discrepancies, missed filings or underreporting, parking garages and lots and hotels; issuance of notice of violations and/or administrative citations; reviews and maintains a database of field investigation records and reports provided by investigators and when needed, prepares reports on status of specific accounts or campaigns; re-evaluates businesses for proper classification, account updates, or exemption/non-applicability.
• Manages a comprehensive tracking system to monitor field investigation survey results; coordinates and strategizes field investigation operations; compiles and provides statistical data and reports for the purpose of analysis and increase revenue generation and enforcement production; maintains the application integrity and reliability of the database by enforcing accurate data updates and maintenance.
• Reviews, assigns, and monitors referrals received regarding registration enforcement of businesses that may be in violation of local and county tax ordinances and regulations, specifically for start date discrepancies and subsequent missed filings and possible underreporting of applicable taxes and/or fees.
• Reports status of field assignments and special projects to the Compliance Director or designee, and informs other related sections as directed or needed.
• Interprets complex ordinances, state codes, and federal laws to explain obligations to colleagues, the general public, representatives of businesses, and taxpayers.
• Represents the City and County as a witness to establish parking and other Third-Party liability violations.
• May conduct field and in-house investigations of more complex and difficult accounts, which may entail specialized and technical expertise.

How to qualify

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:

Education: Possession of a baccalaureate degree from an accredited college or university; AND

License and Certification: Possession of a valid Driver's License and ability to meet insurability standards; AND

Experience: Two (2) years of verified professional work experience as the manager, supervisor, or senior investigator of a governmental field collection and investigation unit involved in the collection and investigation of delinquent obligations. This experience must include supervising lower-level field collection/investigation staff and/or directing, developing and implementing programs and policies relevant to the collection/investigation of delinquent obligations; OR

Five (5) years of verified professional work experience as an investigator of a governmental field collection/investigation unit involved in the collection and investigation of delinquent obligations.

Education Substitution: Additional experience as described above may be substituted for the required education on a year-for-year basis (up to a maximum of 2 years). Thirty (30) semester units or forty-five (45) quarter units equal one year of work experience.

Note: One year full-time employment is equivalent to 2,000 hours (2,000 hours of qualifying work experience is based on a 40 hour work week). Any overtime hours that you work above 40 hours per week are not included in the calculation to determine full-time employment.

Desirable Qualifications:
The stated desirable qualifications may be considered at the end of the selection process when candidates are referred for hiring:

• Ability to write correspondence, memorandums, and detailed reports and complete legal documents supporting laws, regulations, and policies in a clear, concise well-organized, and effective manner, using proper grammar, punctuation and syntax.
• Ability to speak and explain complex ideas effectively, clearly and concisely. This includes presenting facts orally and making group presentations.
• Comprehensive knowledge of the laws, rules and regulations governing the collection of delinquent accounts, standard legal procedures used in collection matters, enforcement of judgment, property transactions, probate and tax law.
• Knowledge of modern methods, policies and practices used in collection investigations, escrow, bankruptcy, small claims, bounced-check procedures, and post-judgment creditor remedies.
• Proficiency in computer software programs such as Microsoft Access, Excel, and Word.

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 SmartRecruiters application by the filing deadline. Information must be entered into the SmartRecruiters applicant tracking system under the headings for Experience and Education. Leaving these sections blank and attaching a resume in lieu of completing the Experience and Education sections will cause your application to be rejected.

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:
After application submission, candidates deemed qualified must complete all subsequent steps to advance in this selection process, which includes the following:

Minimum Qualification Supplemental Questionnaire (MQSQ):
Candidates will be required to complete a MQSQ as part of the employment application. This MQSQ is designed to obtain specific information regarding an applicant's experience in relation to the Minimum Qualifications (MQ) for this position. The MQSQ will be used to evaluate if the applicant possesses the required minimum qualifications.

Supplemental Questionnaire Evaluation (Weight: 100%):
Applicants who meet the minimum qualifications will be sent a Supplemental Questionnaire via electronic mail after the closing of this filing period.                                                    

The Supplemental Questionnaire is designed to measure the knowledge, skills and/or abilities in job-related areas required for the position which may include, but not be limited to: Skill as a manager, supervisor, or senior investigator of a governmental field collection and/or investigation unit, managing or supervising lower-level staff involved in the collection and/or investigation of delinquent obligations; Skill directing, developing, and implementing programs and policies relevant to the collection and/or investigation of delinquent obligations; Ability to coach, train, and develop team members in projects and initiatives at a level commensurate with strategic objectives; Ability to lead organizational efforts to support the unit’s annual goals, identifying the most effective means of meeting objectives; Ability to plan, assign, and supervise the work of subordinate personnel; Ability to utilize computer applications including spreadsheets, statistical software, word processing, and internet search in order to access and mine data to analyze and develop work papers and reports; Ability to speak and explain complex ideas effectively, clearly and concisely. This includes presenting facts orally and conducting group presentations; Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with departmental staff, representatives of other agencies, and the public, demonstrating professionalism, objectivity, and credibility; Ability to write correspondence, memorandums, and detailed reports based on observations and research, and complete legal documents supporting laws, regulations, and policies in a clear, concise, well-organized, and effective manner, using proper grammar, punctuation, and syntax; Ability to exercise good judgment, evaluating financial information and documentation, and asking pertinent questions to elicit necessary information to confirm the need for further investigation and to make decisions; Comprehensive knowledge of the laws, rules and regulations governing the collection and/or enforcement of delinquent accounts and standard legal procedures used in collection and/or enforcement matters. Knowledge of management and administrative techniques applicable to collections and/or enforcement related to local, state, and federal regulations; Knowledge of local tax laws, regulations and ordinances such as the California Revenue and Taxation Code, San Francisco Business Tax and Regulations, and Administrative Codes; knowledge of modern methods, approaches, policies and business practices used in collection,  investigations, escrow, bankruptcy, small claims, and/or post-judgment creditor remedies; Ability to interpret and enforce applicable laws, ordinances, rules and regulations.

Applicants will be given a deadline to return the Supplemental Questionnaire. Those who do not respond by the established deadline will not be eligible to continue in the examination process and will not be added to eligibility list resulting from this process. All applicants’ responses to the Supplemental Questionnaire are subject to verification.

The Supplemental Questionnaire will be rated and scored by our Subject Matter Experts. A passing score on the Supplemental Questionnaire must be achieved in order to be placed/ranked on the Eligible List. Candidates will be placed on the eligible list in rank order according to their final score.

Note: Applicants who meet the minimum qualifications are not guaranteed to advance through all of the steps in the selection process.

What else should I know?

Eligible List/Score Report:
A confidential eligible list of applicant names that have passed the civil service examination process will be created, and used for certification purposes only. An examination score report will be established, so applicants can view the ranks, final scores and number of eligible candidates. Applicant information, including names of applicants on the eligible list, shall not be made public unless required by law. However, an eligible list shall be made available for public inspection, upon request, once the eligible list is exhausted or expired and referrals resolved. The eligible list/score report resulting from this civil service examination process is subject to change after adoption (e.g., as a result of appeals), as directed by the Human Resources Director or the Civil Service Commission.

The duration of the eligible list resulting from this examination process will be six (6) months, and may be extended with the approval of the Human Resources Director.

Certification Rule:
The certification rule for the eligible list resulting from this examination will be Rule of Ten.

To find Departments which use this classification, please see https://sfdhr.org/sites/default/files/documents/Forms-Documents/Position-Counts-by-Job-Codes-and-Department-FY-2023-24.pdf.

Terms of Announcement and Appeal Rights:
Applicants must be guided solely by the provisions of this announcement, including requirements, time periods and other particulars, except when superseded by federal, state or local laws, rules or regulations. Clerical errors may be corrected by the posting the correction on the Department of Human Resources website at https://careers.smartrecruiters.com/CityAndCountyOfSanFrancisco1/.

The terms of this announcement may be appealed under Civil Service Rule 111A.35.1. The standard for the review of such appeals is 'abuse of discretion' or 'no rational basis' for establishing the position description, the minimum qualifications and/or the certification rule. Appeals must include a written statement of the item(s) being contested and the specific reason(s) why the cited item(s) constitute(s) abuse of discretion by the Human Resources Director. Appeals must be submitted directly to the Executive Officer of the Civil Service Commission within five business days of the announcement issuance date.

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
• Seniority Credit in Promotional Exams
• 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 “I’m Interested" 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.

Exam Analyst Information: If you have any questions regarding this recruitment or application process, please contact the exam analyst, Josephine Jackson at josephine.serra@sfgov.org.

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.