Career Opportunity

PRETREATMENT PROGRAM MANAGER (0933), Collection System Division, Wastewater Enterprise-SFPUC

Recruitment: RTF0163676-01116702

Published: March 04, 2026

Accepting applications until: March 27, 2026

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

About:

Application Opening: March 4, 2026

Application Filing Deadline: March 27, 2026

Recruitment ID: PBT-0933-163749/ RTF0163676-01116702

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.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

Wastewater Enterprise:
SFPUC’s Wastewater Enterprise (WWE) operates and maintains San Francisco's combined sewer system to protect public health and the environment. These services extend across eight urban watersheds, more than 1,000 miles of pipe, 24 miles of transport and storage facilities and benefit every resident and visitor of San Francisco.

WWE operates three all-weather wastewater treatment plants, one wet-weather facility, 32 pump stations, eight transport/storage facilities, and 34 combined sewer discharge structures to treat an estimated 34.6 billion gallons of wastewater in a typical year.

In addition to treating wastewater, WWE also produces biosolids, a nutrient-rich soil-like product used as a synthetic fertilizer-replacement and soil amendment across the Bay Area.
 

Role description

Reporting to the Collection System Division Manager, the Pretreatment Program Manager functions as the division’s senior manager responsible for the coordination and implementation of program planning and enforcement of the Federal Pretreatment Regulations, 40 CFR 403 regulations, and the City and County of San Francisco’s (City’s) Sewer Use Ordinance, and applicable State regulations regarding waste discharges to the sewerage system.  This position is responsible for the following programs, each a distinct and diverse functional area:

• National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Pretreatment Program – regulates wastewater discharges from non-domestic waste sources for the city.
• Pollution Prevention/Stormwater Program – City program for identifying pollutants of concern and developing outreach to residences and businesses for pollutant source reduction, as well as the regulation of stormwater impacting the City’s storm sewer system.
• Field Monitoring Program – conducts field-related sampling for the city and sampling for regulatory compliance.
• Laboratory/ Technical Section Program – oversees and guides the laboratory aspects related to regulatory compliance, providing guidance related to pretreatment regulations, interpretation of data, and overall laboratory regulatory compliance.

The Pretreatment Program Manager defines organizational structure, and staffing requirements, and interfaces with all managerial levels of city/county government and outside agencies and serves as a representative of the division or department in meetings. 

This position plays a key and high-level role in meeting regulatory requirements under the federal Clean Water Act where the State Water Resources Control Board and regional agencies oversee and is mandated in the City’s National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit.

Essential Functions:

1. Direct and administer inspection, monitoring, and enforcement activities for commercial and industrial facilities to ensure compliance with federal, state, and local pretreatment, stormwater, and waste discharge regulations.

2. Plan, implement, and oversee the Federal General Pretreatment Program and related regulatory programs, including field monitoring, pollution prevention, and stormwater sub-programs.

3. Overall program management through the development and maintenance of standard operating procedures, quality assurance systems, and performance metrics to ensure regulatory compliance and effective staff performance.

4. Direct the preparation and submission of required regulatory reports to oversight agencies and coordinate responses to audit findings and compliance reviews conducted by state and regional authorities.

5. Determine staffing, budgetary, and resource requirements necessary to meet program objectives and support the implementation of new or expanded program elements.

6. Supervise and evaluate mid-level staff and/or line managers; provide leadership, guidance, and performance management to ensure program goals are met.

7. Coordinate and integrate program activities across departmental sections and divisions; contribute to the development and implementation of departmental goals, policies, priorities, and strategic initiatives.

8. Plan, develop, and direct complex, multi-section projects or programs; oversee research and analysis of highly technical issues; evaluate alternative approaches and recommend effective courses of action.

9. Establish and maintain effective working relationships with senior leadership, high-level state and federal regulatory officials, industry representatives, consultants, and contractors to develop, evaluate, and implement compliance goals, policies, and procedures.

10. Analyze operational constraints and functional program issues; develop, evaluate, implement, and document policies and procedures to improve workforce effectiveness and overall program performance.

11. Oversee complex pretreatment programs that support the effective operation of the wastewater collection and treatment system; manage public services in which errors may significantly affect treatment performance, regulatory compliance, and public health and safety.

12. Performs other duties as assigned.

How to qualify

How To Qualify:

Education: Possession of a Bachelor’s degree from a recognized college or university; AND

Experience: Five (5) years of professional experience in wastewater program management including environmental regulation, wastewater monitoring, and regulatory inspection and enforcement; which must include three (3) years of experience supervising professional staff in the areas listed; AND

• Possession of a valid California driver’s license at time of appointment. 

Education Substitution - Additional qualifying experience as described above may be substituted for the education requirement on a year for year basis for up to two (2) years (One year of work experience is equal to 30 semester or 45 quarter units).

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 Bachelor’s degree (or higher) in natural science, environmental studies, engineering or closely related field from an accredited college or university.                         
• Experience in technical report writing for regulatory compliance.
• Possession of an Environmental Compliance Inspector Grade III Certificate (or higher).
• Possession of other certificates related to job function, such as, CWEA certificates in other disciplines, HAZWOPER certified. 
• Experience in working with State or Federal regulatory agencies; specifically, those agencies associated with accreditations and evaluations of programs.   

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:

Management Test Battery (MTB) Examination (Weight: 100%): Candidates who meet minimum qualifications will be invited via a separate link to complete the Management Test Battery. The purpose of the Management Test Battery is to measure a candidate’s ability to effectively handle a variety of management-level situations, which have been identified as critical for this position and include, but are not limited to the following competency areas: 

• Problem Solving
• Leadership
• Decision-Making 
• Interpersonal Skill
• Human Resources Management 
• Communication
• Team Building 
• Conflict Management 
• Process Improvement                                                                                                           

A passing score must be achieved on the Management Test Battery (MTB) 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. 

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 https://careers.sf.gov/.

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. 

Exam Analyst Information: If you have any questions regarding this recruitment or application process, please contact the exam analyst, Najeebah Mpagazi-Spearman, at NMpagaziSpearman@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.