Employer Engagement Manager - Office of Economic and Workforce Development (9775)

Career Opportunity

Employer Engagement Manager - Office of Economic and Workforce Development (9775)

Recruitment: RTF0161899-01147635

Published: February 09, 2026

Contact:

Samah Rahman - samah.rahman@sfgov.org

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

Department: Economic & Workforce Development
Job class: 9775-Senior Community Development Specialist II
Salary range: $137,982.00 - $167,752.00
Role type: Temporary Exempt What does this mean?
Hours: Full-time

About:

We Value Equal Employment Opportunity!

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.

About the Office of Economic and Workforce Development (OEWD)

The San Francisco Office of Economic and Workforce Development (OEWD) supports the City's ongoing economic vitality through key programs focused on downtown and neighborhood commercial corridors, workforce development, joint development projects, industry focused business recruitment and retention, small business assistance, and international business development. OEWD’s goal is to work continually to make San Francisco an even better place to live, work and do business.  OEWD is a dynamic Department in the City and County of San Francisco.

OEWD’s Workforce Development Division coordinates the San Francisco Workforce Development System, which is a network of public, private, educational, and nonprofit service providers that serve San Francisco jobseekers and employers. By preparing, training, and connecting our residents to sustainable jobs and strong careers in priority industries, OEWD seeks to ensure that every San Franciscan has an opportunity to thrive.

Role description

Appointment Type: Temporary Exempt (TEX) Appointment. This position is excluded by the Charter from the competitive civil service examination process and shall serve at the discretion of the appointing officer.

The OEWD 9775 Employer Engagement Manager, is a member of the Employer Services Unit (ESU), will report to the Director of Employer Services and be responsible for facilitating and coordinating the Division’s partnerships with employers and business associations while increasing the Workforce Division’s coordination across divisions within OEWD. The position will assist employers with meeting their workforce development needs while providing opportunities to local job seekers.

Under general direction, the Employer Engagement Manager will develop employer engagement strategies that support the development of new employer relations and the maintenance of existing employer partner relationships. The position will require both in-office and local San Francisco neighborhood travel to interact with employers throughout the City to support their hiring needs with a pipeline of local workforce talent.

Additionally, the position supports state and federally funded programing including Rapid Response and Layoff Aversion programs. Rapid Response delivers job search assistance, job training support, and resources to employees impacted by recent layoffs. Layoff Aversion provides supports to businesses to avoid layoffs and retain their employees. Activities to support the respective programming include researching businesses that may need Layoff Aversion support, informing employers and jobseekers about the resources available to them before and after layoff notice issuance, and coordinating and hosting Rapid Response and Layoff Aversion orientations.

This Manager position is essential to supervise and structure work among existing staff, to develop and expand employer relationships, and increase coordination within the Division as well as with the OEWD Economic Development Division.

Job Responsibilities

The Employer Engagement Manager will supervise staff of at least two Employer Engagement Specialists and lead a team that complements the Employer Services Unit’s First Source Hiring Program staff by working with employers who may not have First Source Hiring obligations to the City and County but who may be hiring or have other workforce needs and/or employment objectives that OEWD can assist with. Specific functions include (but are not limited to) the following:

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Lead the Division’s efforts to outreach and engage employers not subject to the First Source Hiring Program to partner with OEWD and the workforce system.

Create work plans for direct employer recruitment and referral to workforce development and employment services, as well as to job seeker candidates including participants enrolled in WorkforceLinkSF, graduates referred from Sector Coordinator partners, and individuals identified by OEWD’s Community Engagement Team.

Develop and implement coordinated work plan for direct employer recruitment. Work plan to include, but not be limited to, meeting with employers at their places of business on a regular and ongoing basis to support their hiring needs, presenting employer services to business associations, merchant associations, Community Benefit and Central Business Districts, and attending approved networking events.

Establish and achieve team goals for employer enrollment, job postings, referrals, and hires recorded in WorkforceLinkSF.

Supervise a team of at least two Employer Engagement Specialists to support the Employer Engagement Team’s goal to build a network of employer partners that are linked to the workforce development system through WorkforceLinkSF, plan and host events and job fairs with support from additional OEWD staff, coordinate activities with OEWD’s Business Development and Community Economic Development teams.

Oversee the Division’s Rapid Response and Layoff Aversion activities as driven by economic and employment demand, including the receipt and processing of WARN Notices.

Coordinate with the First Source Hiring Program Manager and Workforce Solutions Manager to achieve the overall goals of the ESU, under the leadership of the Director of Employer Services.

Help to advance the ESU’s role within OEWD of building a more equitable and inclusive economy.

Create relationships with service providers in coordination with Workforce Programs staff.

Perform additional duties as assigned.

How to qualify

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

These minimum qualifications establish the education, training, experience, special skills and/or license(s) which are required for employment in the classification. Please note, additional qualifications (i.e., special conditions) may apply to a particular position and will be stated on the exam/job announcement.

1. Possession of a baccalaureate degree from an accredited college or university AND four (4) years administrative/professional experience in community development, housing and/or housing development, workforce development, finance, education, social work, children/youth work, or criminal justice; OR

2. Possession of a baccalaureate degree from an accredited college or university with a major in one of the following fields: public or business administration, urban planning, government, social work, education, finance or criminal justice AND three (3) years of administrative/professional experience in community development, housing and/or housing development, workforce development, finance, education, social work, children/youth work or criminal justice; OR

3. Possession of a Master's degree from an accredited college or university in public policy, planning, social work, public administration, finance, education, criminal justice, or business administration AND two (2) years of administrative/professional experience in community development, housing and/or housing development, workforce development, finance, education, social work, children/youth work, or criminal justice; OR

4. Possession of a Ph.D. or Juris Doctor degree from an accredited college or university AND two (2) years of administrative/professional experience in community development, housing and/or housing development, workforce development, finance, education, social work, children/youth work, or criminal justice.

SUBSTITUTION:

Verifiable administrative/professional experience involving community development, housing and/or housing development, workforce development, finance, education, social work, children/youth work, or criminal justice may substitute for the educational requirement in Minimum Qualification #1 on a year-for-year basis.

Applications will be screened for relevant qualifying experience and education.  Additional screening mechanisms may be implemented in order to determine candidates’ qualifications. Only those applicants who most closely meet the needs of the Department will be invited to continue on in the selection process.  Applicants meeting the minimum qualifications are not guaranteed advancement in the process.

Desirable Qualifications

Recent experience managing direct reports

Knowledge of workforce development principles and practice

Meaningful experience with San Francisco’s Workforce Development System

Experience in Economic Development

Excellent verbal, written, and presentation communication skills

Skilled at building written reports and presentations.

Deep experience utilizing Excel and other programs in MS Office Suite

Extensive knowledge of employer hiring practices and proven ability to develop productive hiring relationships with employers

Proven track record of developing practical solutions to complex problems

Experience working with programs funded by the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), particularly the Rapid Response and Layoff Aversion programs

Effective at developing, motivating, and managing a team

Skilled at navigating complex and diverse partnerships, forging relationships, and managing through influence rather than direct authority

Experience performing executive leadership work

Existing relationships with San Francisco employers and employer associations, particularly with respect to hiring personnel and individuals with decision-making authority

Experience or knowledge of First Source Hiring Program

Demonstrable experience with the Salesforce Client Relationship Management platform

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

VERIFICATION OF EXPERIENCE AND/OR EDUCATION: 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 http://sfdhr.org/index.aspx?page=456

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. 

What else should I know?

Additional Information Regarding Employment with the City and County of San Francisco:

Filing Deadline: Monday, February 23, 2026 - 11:59 PM

HOW TO APPLY

Applications for City and County of San Francisco jobs are only accepted through an online process. Visit https://careers.smartrecruiters.com/CityAndCountyOfSanFrancisco1/ 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.

All City and County of San Francisco employees are designated Disaster Service Workers through state and local law (California Government Code Section 3100-3109). Employment with the City requires the affirmation of a loyalty oath to this effect. Employees are required to complete all Disaster Service Worker-related training as assigned, and to return to work as ordered in the event of an emergency.

If you have any questions regarding this recruitment or application process, please contact: Anabel Simonelli-Kupelian, Chief People Officer, at anabel.simonelli@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.