Career Opportunity

Safety Officer – Construction Management Bureau - SFPUC (5177) (158251)

Recruitment: RTF0158250-01080226

Published: August 07, 2025

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

About:

• Application Opening: Thursday, August 7, 2025
• Application Filing Deadline: Wednesday, August 13, 2025, at 11:59 PM (PDT)
• Recruitment ID: PBT-5177-158251 / RTF0158250-01080226

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

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.gov.

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.gov/about-us/careers-sfpuc.

Role description

About the Construction Management Bureau
The Construction Management Bureau (CMB) is a part of the SFPUC’s Infrastructure Division and is dedicated to delivering the construction phase services of the agency’s Capital Improvement Programs. CMB strives to deliver excellent construction support and construction management solutions to SFPUC Enterprises and SFPUC Infrastructure Capital Improvement Program (CIP) projects by implementing consistent construction standards with superior safety performance, and defining roles, responsibilities, policies and procedures. The Bureau is comprised of engineers, inspectors, safety professionals, construction professionals and construction contract administration experts and administrative professionals. 

About the Position
Under the direction of the Manager of SFPUC Infrastructure’s Construction Management Bureau (CMB), the 5177 Safety Officer plans, manages, assigns, and directs a comprehensive health and safety program for the CMB, which includes elements of construction site, occupational, operational and/or industrial safety and loss control. This position will be responsible for evaluating and reviewing the suitability of contractor submitted Health and Safety Plans (HASPs); evaluating Occupational Safety programs; analyzing injuries and costs to target injury prevention programs; monitoring compliance with Cal/OSHA and other agency regulations; advising management on cost containment and injury prevention strategies; developing and revising safety procedures and training; evaluating and selecting personal protective equipment; developing or monitoring reports for Cal/OSHA, CMB management and other regulatory agencies; and providing safety training, technical information and advice to managers, supervisors and employees.

The essential duties of the position includes, but not limited to:

1. Participates in the investigation of accidents along with operating and management personnel to determine causes of accidents; recommends appropriate corrective action; prepares reports of investigations for management, legislative bodies, and industrial safety agencies.
2. Monitors, evaluates, and ensures the work of construction contractors in compliance with approved Health and Safety Plans (HASPs).
3. Evaluates the effectiveness of occupational safety programs and recommends modifications to comply with legal requirements. Develops, maintains, and revises safety policies and procedures.
4. Analyzes injuries and advises management on cost containment and injury prevention strategies; minimizes Workers’ Compensation costs and reduce liability.
5. Reports safety and traffic hazards, and debris to contractors for corrective actions.
6. Monitors the excavation, loading and off-haul of hazardous materials from construction sites and ensure compliance with local, state, and federal laws pertaining to hazmat.
7. Develops and conducts safety training programs, provides technical information and advice to managers, supervisors and employees.
8. Collects and analyzes occupational safety and health data to identify trends, develops and recommends corrective actions. Prepares reports for Cal/OSHA, CMB management and other regulatory agencies.
9. Supervises, evaluates, and trains subordinate staff.
10. Drives to various work locations to conduct site inspections, evaluations, and investigations; conduct trainings and participate in meetings.

The 5177 Safety Officer is required to perform other related duties as assigned.

Note: This position may require traveling to all SFPUC facilities to perform duties.

How to qualify

Minimum Qualifications:

1. Possession of Masters Degree in Safety, Occupational Safety and Health, Safety Management or equivalent degree in a closely related field from an accredited college or university; AND

2. Four (4) years of professional industrial or occupational safety experience, which must include work safety assessments, engineering design review, accident investigation, safety program development and safety management; AND

3. Certification as a Certified Safety Professional (CSP) by the American Board of Certified Safety Professionals; AND

4. Possession of current valid California Driver License; AND

5. Ability to wear personal protective equipment, such as respirator and the ability to climb ladders, bend, squat and crawl in tight spaces to safely access work sites. Note: A medical examination and the probationary period will be used to evaluate this qualification.

Substitutions:

A. Combination of a baccalaureate degree in one of disciplines specified in MQ #1 and six years of experience as described in MQ #2 may substitute for qualifications #1 and #2.

B. Combination of baccalaureate or graduate degree in Engineering, Physical or Natural Sciences from an accredited college or university and seven years of experience as described in MQ #2 may substitute for qualifications #1 and #2.

C. Combination of any baccalaureate or graduate degree from an accredited college or university and eight years of experience as described in MQ #2 may substitute for qualifications #1 and #2.

D. Registration as a Professional Engineer in Safety by the State of California Board of Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors may be substituted for the certification MQ #3.

E. A graduate degree as described in MQ #1 and six years of experience as described in MQ #2, without a CSP, is qualifying.

Note: 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.) 

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

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

• Two years of supervisory experience managing a team of safety professionals.
• Registered as a Professional Engineer in Safety by the State of California Board of Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors.
• Experience managing occupational health and safety programs related to water, power, wastewater, or other infrastructure facilities.
• Experience as a safety professional in construction industry.

Verification of Experience and/or Education:
Every application is reviewed to ensure that you meet the minimum qualifications as listed in the job ad. Please review our articles on Employment Application and Minimum Qualifications and Verification of Experience and/or Education for considerations taken when reviewing applications. 

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 How to 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. 

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

1. Minimum Qualification Supplemental Questionnaire (MQSQ) (Weight: Qualifying):
Candidates will be required to complete a 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.

2. Supplemental Questionnaire Examination (Weight:100%):  Applicants who meet the minimum qualifications will be sent a Supplemental Questionnaire Examination via electronic mail after the closing of the application filing period. The Supplemental Questionnaire Examination is designed to measure the knowledge, skills and/or abilities in job-related areas required for the position which may include, but are not limited to:

• Knowledge of the theory, principles and practices of occupational safety and health and Cal/OSHA regulations and requirements.
• Knowledge of California occupational injury and workers’ compensation reporting and recordkeeping requirements.
• Ability to plan, revise and carry out a comprehensive program in occupational and industrial safety including personnel training, inspection, and correction of unsafe conditions.
• Ability to deal effectively with employees, supervisors, and managers in carrying out safety programs and procedures.
• Ability to communicate effectively, both orally and in writing including preparing clear and concise reports.
• Ability to conduct investigation and analyze information to determine the root cause of accidents.
• Ability to develop, maintain, and document manuals, and policies and procedures.
• Skill to analyze data to identify trends and make recommendations.

Applicants will be given a deadline to return the Supplemental Questionnaire Examination. Those who do not respond by the established deadline will not be eligible to continue in the examination process and will not be added to eligibility list resulting from this process. All applicants’ responses to the Supplemental Questionnaire Examination are subject to verification.

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/score report.

Candidates will be placed on the eligible list/score report 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 the final hiring decision.

NOTE:  Applicants who meet the minimum qualifications are not guaranteed to advance through all of the steps in the selection process.

What else should I know?

Medical Examination
Prior to appointment, candidates must successfully pass a medical examination to determine their ability to perform the essential functions of the job and/or the ability to meet the physical minimum requirements.

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

To find Departments which use this classification, please see Position-Counts-by-Job-Codes-and-Department-FY-2023-24.pdf.

Certification: The certification rule for the eligible list resulting from this examination will be Rule of the List.

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 here.

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 in Promotional Exams
• 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 

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.

If you have any questions regarding this recruitment or application process, please contact the analyst, Vivian Yeung at VYeung@sfwater.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.