Career Opportunity

Senior Water Service Inspector - Customer Service Bureau - SFPUC (7317) - (122922)

Recruitment: RTF0122921-01123691

Published: June 28, 2022

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About:

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

Amended June 28, 2022 to extend the filing deadline to welcome additional applications. Candidates who have previously applied do not need to re-apply. 

•    Application Opening: June 15, 2022
•    Application Filing Deadline: July 14, 2022
•    Annual Salary: $121,394 - $147,550
•    Recruitment ID: PBT-7317-122922; RTF0122921

WHO ARE WE? 
San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC)
Headquartered in San Francisco, we have 2,300 employees operating across eight counties serving more than 2.7 million customers in the San Francisco Bay Area – 24 hours per day, 365 days per year.

Our Mission: To provide our customers with high quality, efficient, and reliable water, power, and wastewater services in a manner that values environmental and community interests and sustains the resources entrusted to our care.

Our Vision: We are an innovative utility leader, recognized for excellent results in service, safety, stewardship, and inclusiveness.

We are an award-winning and industry-leading utilities organization committed to our customers, community interests, and the environment. To learn more about our organization, please visit our website at https://www.sfpuc.org/.

We are proud of our infrastructure and programs, but most importantly, we value our highly qualified and dedicated workforce which ensures that this vision becomes a reality. 

To learn more about working at the SFPUC, visit our career site at https://www.sfpuc.org/about-us/careers-sfpuc 

Role description

Under general direction, the Senior Water Service Inspector interprets, enforces, and carries out existing methods, procedures, rules and regulations pertaining to customer water services, water quality concerns and applicable water conservation programs; makes regular contact with the general public and private utilities, property owners, tenants, retail customers building contractors and other representatives, for furnishing or obtaining information and explains specialized matters pertaining to water services, water distribution, delivery and water quality in a large wholesale water transmission system; prepares and maintains regular operating records pertaining to water services and operations, water system construction and maintenance, billing, and water quality. Includes supervision of subordinates, communication skills, scheduling daily assignments, importing and exporting files, monitoring performance, trouble shoot equipment and software problems, making contact and referrals to other agencies, timely completion of monthly reports, vehicle maintenance.

The essential duties of this position include but are not limited to the following:

• Supervises the activities of subordinate personnel engaged in conducting inspections of all types of consumer water services inspectors including field testing and repairs of meters and meter transmission units; supervise and investigate complaints of inadequate water supply, pressure, water quality; assigning and reviewing daily work; contact either by phone or on-site visits , customers with more complex , problematic or sensitive customer service issues performing various investigations, tests and inspections related to complaints and emergency calls of water service quantity and quality and applicable water conservation programs, leaks in the system, cross connections and back-flow, and irregularities in billing. Includes the daily scheduling and review of work assignments of the water service inspectors/water meter readers WQ Technicians, to provide quality customer service comply with regulatory requirements for drinking and waste water.    
• Participates in performing the more difficult water service tasks and handles the more important negotiations with water service customers and/or their representatives and other public agencies where a high level of decision making is required. Schedules, surveys and conducts field flow tests of water service meters to verify any overage and/or shortage registration of water flow of irregularities in billings and other customer services. Schedules CCC surveys to determine degree of hazard and required backflow protection at the water meter.
• Makes comprehensive surveys and field investigations regarding water service quantity and quality, in various types of buildings, including commercial establishments, industrial plants, and other building structures. Based upon the inspections, investigations or tests, prepares reports of the condition to recommend possible remedial action of unsatisfactory conditions, size and location of meters and type of required BPA to be installed. Includes the maintenance and updating of monthly departmental reports.
• Responsible for investigations and tests for possibilities of cross connections and back-flow when evidences of such cases are suspected. May refer this type of situation to Water Quality Division since it could be a public health issue.
• Investigates water quality complaints (including seepage) from residential and commercial consumers. Make recommendations for mitigation.
• May supervise water meter readers, WQ Technicians, Water Service Inspectors and be responsible for various programs and special projects as delegated by the Chief Water Service Inspector. The Senior Water Service Inspector would be responsible for the quantity and quality of work generated by subordinate water meter readers, WQ Technicians, and Water Service Inspectors. 

Nature of work: Some positions may involve considerable sustained effort with occasional heavy work requiring manual effort and dexterity in lifting water meter cover weighing up to 90 pounds, in inclement weather conditions with frequent exposure to various environmental elements and health hazard materials. Some positions may require working nights and/or weekends, or overtime.

How to qualify

Experience: Two (2) years of experience in various phases of utility service field investigations. (Qualifying experience should be equivalent to the duties and responsibilities of a 7316 Water Service Inspector); AND

License: Possession of a current valid Class C driver's license.

Special Condition: This position must be able to lift equipment weighing up to fifty (50) pounds.

The above minimum qualifications reflect special conditions associated with the position(s) to be filled. They may differ from the standard minimum qualifications associated with this class code.

One year of full-time employment is equivalent to 2000 hours. (2000 hours of qualifying work experience is based on a 40-hour work week.) Any overtime hours that you work above forty (40) hours per week are not included in the calculation to determine full-time employment.

Applicants must meet the minimum qualification requirement by the final filing date unless otherwise noted.

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

• Possession of a Water Conservation Practitioner Grade I Certification from American Water Works Association (AWWA)
• Possession of a Qualified Water Efficient Landscaper Certification
• Possession of an Irrigation Association Auditor Certification.
• Supervisory Experience
• Customer Service Experience

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. 

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 (Weight: Qualifying): Candidates will be required to complete a Minimum Qualification Supplemental Questionnaire (MQSQ) as part of the employment application at a later time. 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 Examination (Weight: 100%): Candidates who meet minimum qualifications will be invited via a separate link to complete the Supplemental Questionnaire Examination. The purpose of the Supplemental Questionnaire Examination is to evaluate the experience, knowledge, skills and abilities that candidates possess in job-related areas, which have been identified as critical for this position and include, but are not limited to: 

• Knowledge of Water Service: knowledge of water service, water meter operations, water distribution systems and related local, state, and federal codes and standards.
• Knowledge of Water Distribution Systems: knowledge of water distribution system and consumer services; water meters and domestic and commercial plumbing systems and fixtures.
• Ability to perform field investigations in inspecting for and remedying possible plumbing leaks, including inspecting, maintaining, and replacing service, water meters, meter transmission units, and reporting hazardous conditions.
• Computational Ability: Ability to make accurate arithmetic calculations such as: measuring landscape square footage and calculating water consumption, projected consumption, and savings.
• Computer and Software Programs: Ability to use software programs to collect data, write reports or other documents.
• Judgement and Critical Thinking: Ability to exercise good judgment, ability to follow through on projects and achieve results; demonstrates resilience to setbacks and flexibility to reprioritize and to quickly adapt to changing situations.
• Ability to communicate amicably and clearly with costumers, property owners, tenants, property managers and others, frequently under strained and unfriendly conditions.
• Ability to sustain physical effort involving lifting vault covers that can weigh up to 90 pounds and maintaining /replacing water meters and meter transmission units which involves manual dexterity, repetitive motions and some heavy lifting; considerable walking, bending and stooping on repetitive operations involving manual dexterity.
• The ability to follow standard operating procedures and comply with the Health and Safety Guidelines while performing duties.
• Interpersonal Skills: including the ability to maintain open dialogue with those contacted in the line of work; establish and maintain cooperative working relationships and communications with internal and external parties.
• Oral Communication Skills: including the ability to communicate effectively and efficiently with various agencies, fellow employees, and the public via telephone, in person and oral reports/presentations.
• Written Communication Skills: including the ability to communicate effectively and efficiently in writing with various agencies, fellow employees, and the public via memos, emails, reports, and presentations.
• Supervisory Ability:  the ability to coordinate, plan, assign and review the activities of water service inspectors and meter readers, including the ability to motivate and instruct subordinates, and to evaluate performance of subordinates.
• Project Management and Planning/Scheduling Ability: the ability to manage special projects/programs to schedule and coordinate the work assignments of water service inspectors and water meter readers daily. Includes the ability to establish priorities in the performance of various investigations, tests and inspections related to water service quality and quantity.

A passing score must be achieved on the Supplemental Questionnaire Examination in order to continue in the selection process and be placed on the eligible list.

Candidates will be placed on the eligible list in rank order according to their final score. Candidate scores on this examination may also be applied to other announcements involving other job titles, when directed by the Human Resources Director.

The department may administer additional position-specific selection procedures to make final hiring decisions.    

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 of 12 months, and may be extended with the approval of the Human Resources Director. 

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-2021-22.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
• 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.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. 

Exam Analyst Information: If you have any questions regarding this recruitment or application process, please contact the exam analyst, Stefanie Lim, at SMLim@sfwater.org or 415-916-6632.

CONDITION OF EMPLOYMENT:  All City and County of San Francisco employees are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 as a condition of employment. Someone is fully vaccinated when 14 days have passed since they received the final dose of a two-shot vaccine or a dose of a one-shot vaccine. Any new hire must present proof of full vaccination status to be appointed. Any new hire who will be routinely assigned or occasionally enter High-Risk Settings, must provide proof of having received a COVID-19 booster vaccine by March 1, 2022, or once eligible.

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.