Career Opportunity

Bilingual (English-Vietnamese) Voter Outreach Lead Coordinator and Language Access Support Elections Clerk – San Francisco Department of Elections (1403 Elections Clerk)

Recruitment: REF57771Y

Published: October 29, 2025

Accepting applications until: November 19, 2025

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

About:

Department Background

The mission of the Department of Elections (Department) is to provide equitable access to voting and election-related services and to conduct free, fair, and functional elections for the City and County of San Francisco. Department staff work year-round to ensure that every eligible San Franciscan has easy access to safe, barrier-free registration and voting options. The Department also works continuously to improve its elections programs with the goal of making them ever more efficient and responsive to the needs of San Francisco voters.

The Department strives to cultivate a workplace environment in which employees of all racial and ethnic backgrounds feel respected, valued, and supported in providing the fairest and most effective services possible to San Francisco residents. The Department is committed to maintaining an inclusive workplace and to providing the training and resources necessary for all employees to succeed in delivering equitable services to city residents.

Role description

Position Description

The Language Access Ordinance (LAO) is a city law ensuring that San Francisco residents with limited English proficiency (LEP) have meaningful access to city services and programs. A recent amendment, adopted on June 11, 2024, lowered the threshold for certifying an LEP language population from 10,000 to 6,000 individuals, making Vietnamese highly likely to qualify for official LAO designation. Once certified, the Department of Elections would be required, beginning in 2026, to provide translated materials and services in Vietnamese, including telephonic interpretation, website text, written notices, and other official communications.

To support this requirement, the Department is seeking a dedicated Bilingual English-Vietnamese Voter Outreach Lead Coordinator and Language Access Support Elections Clerk (1403 Elections Clerk).

The Bilingual English-Vietnamese Voter Outreach Lead Coordinator and Language Access Support Elections Clerk will have a strong work ethic and a high level of integrity, interacting well with community groups, outside agencies, and diverse populations, including residents experiencing homelessness, individuals involved with criminal justice, immigrants and new citizens. This person will also be able to present information in both Vietnamese and English in a clear and engaging manner to a variety of audiences and to draft professional written correspondence. The person in this position will have familiarity with San Francisco neighborhoods, and know how to use common computer programs such as the Microsoft Suite and Adobe Acrobat.

In addition to the responsibilities listed in the 1403 Elections Clerk Job Class, the person in this position will be responsible for the following tasks:

1. Translate election-related materials, including ballots, voter guides, notices, website content, and outreach materials, into Standard Modern Vietnamese.
2. Review and proofread Vietnamese content to ensure accuracy, clarity, correctness, and cultural appropriateness.
3. Assist all voters including Vietnamese-speaking voters in understanding their voting rights and the electoral process.
4. Provide in-person, telephone, and written assistance to voters including Vietnamese-speaking voters and registrants.
5. Drive to, and conduct outreach to communities including within Vietnamese-speaking communities to promote voter education and participation.
6. Make arrangements for and speak during media interviews and at community events to inform and educate voters, and increase voter participation among voters and potential registrants.
7. Ensure compliance with accessibility standards for all voters including Vietnamese-speaking voters throughout the election cycle.
8. Identify and establish relationships with new partner organizations and media serving San Francisco communities including vulnerable and hard-to-reach populations.
9. Present outreach data and metrics clearly in written reports and visual presentations and analyze this data to evaluate effectiveness.
10. Serve as a lead, develop, and conduct training sessions for seasonal outreach coordinators to ensure consistency, accuracy and completeness of election information presented to the public.
11. Provide general clerical support and assist with other duties and elections tasks as assigned.

Position Schedule, Requirements, and Work Location

This is an exempt position covered under Charter Section 18. For more information on the City and County of San Francisco benefit policies, refer to the Employee Handbook available at https://sfdhr.org/sites/default/files/documents/Forms-Documents/Employee-Handbook.pdf. Although most work is expected to be completed during normal workday hours, 8 a.m.-5 p.m., Monday through Friday, the person in this position must be available to work overtime both during the week and on weekends as necessary. Overtime hours will be paid at 1.5 the hourly rate. This position requires a valid California Driver’s License to be able to drive to various outreach events. The person in this position must be proficient in English and Vietnamese, able to move and lift up to 40 pounds of outreach supplies and equipment.

Position Salary: $34.4375 to $41.8625 hourly

$71,630 to $87,074 annually

How to qualify

Minimum Qualifications

Two (2) years (equivalent of 4000 hours) of verifiable clerical experience including preparing and maintaining a variety of records and documents, public contact and gathering information.

Substitution: Completion of a clerical training program (240 hours) or the equivalent of 15 units of coursework from an accredited college or university may substitute for up to 6 months of clerical experience.

Desired Qualifications

These qualifications highlight skills and experiences that would help a candidate excel in the role:

1. Strong command of both English and Standard Modern Vietnamese used in government documents, media, and education.
2. Able to distinguish between regional dialects and the standardized form of Vietnamese language.
3. Experience translating written materials and interpreting in real-time between English and Vietnamese.
4. Proven proofreading skills with strong attention details.
5. Previous work with diverse communities including limited-English proficient (LEP) communities.
6. Strong understanding of San Francisco’s diverse neighborhoods and community organizations.
7. Prior experience conducting outreach, public education, or voter engagement activities.
8. Familiarity with the electoral process and voting rights laws, particularly in California.
9. Excellent written and verbal communication skills across diverse audiences and platforms.
10. Ability to organize, analyze, and present outreach and voter engagement data.
11. Strong interpersonal skills and cultural sensitivity in working with diverse populations.
12. Proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) and Adobe Acrobat.
13. Ability to manage multiple tasks in a fast-paced, deadline-driven environment.
14. Demonstrated ability to work independently and collaboratively as part of a team.
15. Experience providing customer service in person, over the phone, and by email.
16. Prior experience in a public service or government environment is a plus.

Bilingual Requirement: This position requires bilingual skills in English and Vietnamese.

How to Apply

When completing your application on SmartRecruiters, you must:

• Check the boxes in the application that indicate you speak, read, and write Vietnamese.
• Include a resume and a brief cover letter in English and its translation to Vietnamese detailing how you meet the requirements of the job.

To be considered for this position, application and documents must be received by 5 p.m., Wednesday, November 19, 2025.

If you have any questions regarding this recruitment or the application process, please contact the Elections Hiring Team at elections.careers@sfgov.org.

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

Carol Isen - Human Resources Director

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.