Career Opportunity

Executive Secretary III- Ethics Commission (1454)

Recruitment: REF43592C

Published: August 21, 2024

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

About:

Permanent Exempt Category 8: 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".  Not more than one confidential secretary and executive assistant in each department and agency.

Application Opening: August 5, 2024

Application Deadline: Continuous, earliest close August 26, 2024

Compensation Range: $102,180-$124,176

Recruitment ID: RTF0149855-01152356

About the Commission: The San Francisco Ethics Commission was created by the City’s voters with the passage of Proposition K in November 1993. Our mission is to practice and promote the highest standards of integrity in government. We achieve that by shaping and promoting compliance with the laws and by delivering impactful programs that promote fair, transparent, and accountable governmental decision making for the benefit of all San Franciscans. The Ethics Commission is responsible for the independent and impartial administration and enforcement of laws related to campaign finance, public financing of candidates, governmental ethics, conflicts of interest, and registration and reporting by lobbyists, campaign consultants, permit consultants, and major developers.

The successful candidate should expect to perform their duties in a hybrid work environment with at least three days onsite per week per current City policy. Additionally, any City employee may be called in for Disaster Service Work duty or to work onsite with 24-hours’ notice.

Role description

ABOUT THE ROLE

Reporting to the Deputy Director, the Executive Secretary will perform a wide variety of sensitive secretarial and administrative work involving a high degree of responsibility for professional contact with commissioners, governmental officials, members of the public, and other employees. The position will provide strong project management, administrative and technical expertise, and exceptional organizational and communication skills.  

The Executive Secretary must be willing to forego involvement in all local political activity while a member of the Commission staff and publicly file an annual Statement of Economic Interests (Form 700). All positions at the Ethics Commission are required to comply with the department’s Statement of Incompatible Activities.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES

Essential duties of this position include, but are not limited to the following:  

• Handle administrative duties for the Ethics Commission’s front office as the first point of contact for visitors. Timely respond to inquiries received via email, phone, and in person in a customer-friendly manner using established communication protocols. Operate a customer support ticketing system to track incoming inquiries. Route requests to other staff members as appropriate.
• Review, date stamp, scan, and organize documents received from visitors and in mail for the Commission’s programs.
• Schedule and coordinate all meeting logistics for the Commission’s regular public meetings and Interested Persons meetings. This includes reserving meeting rooms, assisting with agenda preparations, creating meeting invitations, publishing agenda and supporting documents online, posting agenda materials at designated locations in City offices, disseminating meeting materials to stakeholders, preparing meeting script, and setting up meeting rooms. Coordinate with IT teams to ensure that hybrid meeting technology is operational, meetings are televised, and meetings are recorded per City requirements. Ensure compliance with applicable open government laws and departmental policies.
• Serve as the meeting clerk for Commission meetings, which includes reading meeting script during public meetings, monitoring time allotments for public comment, and tracking meeting decisions.
• Prepare meeting summaries and minutes and post them on the department’s website in accordance with approval procedures and applicable policies. Archive online and physical copies of the Commission’s meeting materials and related documents.  
• Create and maintain the Commission’s annual meeting calendar in coordination with department leadership, Commission members, City Hall admin staff, and SFGovTV staff. Confirm quorum for all Commission meetings. Handle necessary logistics for rescheduling or cancelling Commission meetings.
• Assist with onboarding/offboarding Commission members and track their training and filing requirements. Provide training and resources to Commissioners regarding City processes and systems. Maintain Commissioners’ records and track term expirations.
• Provide training to staff members regarding Commission meeting procedures, technology systems used to facilitate hybrid meetings, and other departmental processes.
• Maintain content on the Commission’s website and other City resources, including 311 databases, to reflect current information. Update web pages as necessary using the department’s content management system, in compliance with the City’s language access and digital inclusion standards.
• Serve as a liaison to other City departments to address inquiries regarding the Commission.
• Organize and maintain front office, shared workspaces, and department’s storage facilities. Act as the point of contact for the building management, including handling communications, creating maintenance tickets, managing work orders, and coordinating emergency procedures.
• Assist with setting up video conferencing technology in conference rooms for onsite meetings.
• Develop and implement a standardized process to order and track office supplies.
• Perform a variety of research and data gathering functions and assist with preparing various reports, including annual reports.
• Maintain office files and coordinate with vendor to transfer documents to/from offsite storage location.
• Formalize and document standardized procedures for Commission meeting processes and other administrative functions to ensure effectiveness and continuity of operations.
• Support other admin tasks including payroll, staff onboarding, HR support, cash handling procedures, procurement, scheduling, and maintaining calendars. Assist staff with registering for conferences, making travel arrangements, and submitting reimbursements.
• Maintain and retrieve documents, records, and correspondence in accordance with established procedures for data retention. Assist with compiling, redacting, and organizing documents for records requests.
• Assist with the development and implementation of new policies and procedures related to the Commission’s operations.
• Open, sort and distribute the incoming mail; perform mail merges; stuff and seal envelopes; make daily pickup and delivery from/to City Hall mail room to ensure timely mailing and receipt of mail.
• Establish and maintain effective working relationships with staff, senior management, other departments, vendors, and the public to achieve organizational goals.
• Maintain confidentiality of sensitive information obtained through the course of completing assignments while working comfortably in an open government environment.
• Perform related duties and responsibilities as assigned.

How to qualify

Minimum Qualifications:

1. Three (3) 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. Five (5) 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/record 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.

Desirable Qualifications:

• A bachelor’s degree in public or business administration, English, public policy or a related field of study.
• Experience with providing front-line support to customers or the public, in person, by phone and/or by email.
• Experience in facilitating public or board meetings.
• Advanced skills in Microsoft Office tools.
• Demonstrable oral and written communication skills.
• Experience or knowledge in the areas of governmental ethics, conflict of interest, regulatory operations, or public sector organizations.

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.

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

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 next stage of the selection process. 

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
• 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
• A cover letter that details your interest in this position and the work of the Ethics Commission and describes your relevant skills and experience. Please also address any prior experience or exposure to governmental accountability and oversight work.
• Current resume

Applications that do not contain the requested information will not be considered.

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 Nikki Chew, Sr. HR Consultant at nikki.chew@sfgov.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.