Career Opportunity

Chief Payroll And Personnel Clerk - Controllers Office (1226)

Recruitment: RTF0152262-01066208

Published: November 22, 2024

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

About:

The Controller serves as the chief accounting officer and auditor for the City and County of San Francisco. The Controller's Office is responsible for governance and conduct of key aspects of the City's financial operations, including operating the City's financial systems and procedures, maintaining the City's internal control environment, processing payroll for City employees, managing the City's bonds and debt portfolio, and processing and monitoring the City's budget. The department produces regular reports and audits on the City's financial and economic condition and the operations and performance of City government.

Specific information regarding this recruitment process are listed below:  

• Application Opening: 11/22/2024
• Application Deadline: 12/06/2024 
• Compensation:  $101,868 -$123,786

Role description

1. Plans, assigns and directs the work of subordinate payroll clerks and other clerical staff.  This includes training, evaluating, providing daily direction and verifying accuracy of work; also, counsels employees to resolve disciplinary problems; provides complete performance evaluations.
2. Verifies and supervises the input and validation of payroll data from City and County of San Francisco (City) departments into People & Pay to maintain accurate and up-to-date record keeping for garnishments, union dues, direct deposit and tax forms.
3. Analyzes and interprets reports and queries in order to respond to all City employees’ payroll issues and discrepancies. 
4. Generates, reviews, and maintains a variety of automated reports for tax withholding, garnishments, direct deposit, CalPERS and deferred compensation.
5. Responsible for timely submittal of ACH and EFT transmittals for Federal and state tax deposits, bi-weekly CalPERS and CASDU payments and reporting, and distribution for other payroll vendors.
6. Supervises and directs responses to all City employees and departmental complaints/inquiries via phone, in person, MS Teams and email to resolve payroll/personnel transaction issues.
7. Trains, supervises, and directs staff regarding the preparation of forms and correspondence regarding direct deposit, tax forms, garnishments, or deceased employees.
8. Works as a team with management to compile and analyze data for performance measures, training needs at department level and budget preparation.
9. Reviews SDI, assault pay, and workers compensation supplementation worksheets and other problem description forms when they relate to taxes and CalPERS. Works with Adjustment Unit when there are retro payments for a large population of City employees for direction on garnishments and pay cards.
10. Reviews and processes multiple garnishments in compliance with the allocation rules of state and federal law into People & Pay; provides timely notification to the employee of intent to garnish.
11. Supervises preparation of annual Form W-2, Wage and Tax Statements.  Reconciles annual payroll to 941 and DE9s quarterly returns, reviews and analyzes taxable/non-taxable earnings and supervises annual W-4 exemption status process.
12. Attends and facilitates meetings and training of new practices, rules, regulations and laws that impact the City’s payroll policy and procedures, making recommendations that affect such policies.

How to qualify

Experience:
Five (5) years of progressively responsible clerical and office experience in the preparation and maintenance of detailed and complex payroll and personnel records and reports, including at least two (2) years of responsible supervisory experience.

Substitution:
Completion of thirty (30) semester / forty-five (45) quarter units of coursework, with a minimum of twelve (12) semester/eighteen (18) quarter units of coursework in business administration, accounting, mathematics, human resources, or a closely related field may substitute for one (1) year of the required non-supervisory experience.

Possession of a Certified Payroll Professional (CPP) Certificate issued by the American Payroll Association may substitute for one (1) year of the required non-supervisory 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

Selection Procedures:

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

Examination Plan: Total weight for Supplemental and Oral components: 100%                                    
Candidates must achieve passing scores on all selection procedures in order to be ranked on the eligible list.

Supplemental Examination (Weight 60%)

All applicants who meet minimum qualifications must complete the Supplemental Questionnaire. Information provided by qualified candidates on the supplemental questionnaire will be used to evaluate qualified candidates and measure knowledge, skills and/ or abilities in job-related areas for job class 1226. 

Oral Examination: (Weight 40%)

Candidates who attain a minimum passing score on the Supplemental examination will be invited to participate in an oral/performance examination designed to measure knowledge, skills and/or abilities in job-related areas which may include: Knowledge of methods and procedures necessary to manage and operate a large and complex computerized payroll and personnel system refers to knowledge of payroll processes of a complex nature pertaining to salary computations, deductions and distributions. Ability to plan, prioritize and administer the activities of assigned staff refers to the ability to plan, coordinate, train, monitor, and supervise the activities related to the management of a large and complex computerized payroll and personnel system. Knowledge of FLSA, applicable laws, ordinances, policies, rules and regulations refers to knowledge of rules governing the preparation and timely and accurate processing of payroll and personnel records and reports. Ability to interpret and apply methods and procedures, laws and regulations related to payroll refers to the ability to read, analyze, coordinate, control and enforce existing personnel and payroll methods, procedures, laws and regulations.  

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.

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

Upon approval of the Human Resource Director (see Civil Service Rule 111A.26.5), the eligible list/score report resulting from this announcement may be used by other departments that also use this classification or a similar classification. To find other Departments which use this classification, please see here.

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.

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

Exam Analyst Information: If you have any questions regarding this recruitment or application process, please contact the HR analyst, Timothy Liong at Timothy.J.Liong@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.

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.

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.