Career Opportunity

City Services Auditor III (1686) - Citywide Examination

Recruitment: REF60295S

Published: March 24, 2026

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

About:

This is a Citywide Examination
The Controller is the chief financial officer and auditor for the City and County of San Francisco (City). The Office of the Controller’s mission is to ensure the City’s financial integrity and promote efficient, effective and accountable government. Its vision is to be a model for good government and to make the City a better place. Our team includes financial, technology, analytical and other professionals. We value the diverse backgrounds, perspectives and lived experiences of our teams and clients in everything we do. We work in a collaborative and inclusive environment, promote equal opportunity, and invest in the professional development and wellbeing of our team members. You can expect to work alongside colleagues who are committed to serving the public with integrity and want to see positive impacts from their work. We are looking for smart, motivated individuals who want to make a difference and use government to play a role in solving our City’s problems, including addressing long-standing and harmful disparities in our communities. For a career with purpose and professional growth, join us in the Controller’s Office.

City Services Auditor (CSA)
CSA was created in the Office of the Controller through an amendment to the Charter of the City that voters approved in 2003. CSA includes two divisions—the Audits Division and the City Performance Division. Charter Appendix F grants CSA broad authority to:

• Report on the level and effectiveness of San Francisco’s public services and benchmark the City to other public agencies and jurisdictions;
• Conduct financial and performance audits of city departments, contractors, and functions to assess efficiency and effectiveness of processes and services;
• Operate a whistleblower hotline and website and investigate reports of waste, fraud, and abuse of city resources; and
• Ensure financial integrity and improve the overall performance and efficiency of city government.

In November 2024, San Francisco voters approved a Charter amendment to create the role of an inspector general within the Office of the Controller. The Inspector General (IG) is granted expanded investigative powers and is integrated into CSA, including as part the Controller’s Whistleblower Program’s referral process with a broad mandate to address public corruption and enhance public integrity.

The Audits Division delivers impactful audit and investigative services that provide actionable recommendations to city leaders, which in turn promote and enhance accountability and improve the overall performance and efficiency of city government. The members of our multidisciplinary staff come from a variety of educational and professional backgrounds, in areas including government policy, economics, information science, cybersecurity, statistics, law, and finance. Our collective experience allows us to provide expert knowledge on a wide range of issues across the City. We perform our audits in accordance with the generally accepted government auditing standards (GAGAS) set by the U.S. Government Accountability Office. The Inspector General performs investigations in accordance with the Association of Inspectors General Principles and Standards for Offices of Inspector General.

The Audits Division has actively and successfully assisted the Controller in fulfilling its mission by providing best in class audit and investigative services that assist City leadership in making strategic decisions to improve government services.

In recent years, the Audits Division has:

• Passed (without deficiencies) triennial peer reviews, which are required by Generally Accepted Government Auditing Standards.
• Issued hundreds of audit recommendations, with an average citywide recommendation implementation rate of over 90 percent.
• Developed and successfully implemented mission-critical audit programs, including those related to citywide public integrity, construction and capital programs, IT and cybersecurity auditing, and various citywide key business processes.
• Successfully managed a nationally regarded Whistleblower Program that receives, investigates, and/or refers hundreds of reports per year, and resulted in decision makers taking corrective actions.
• Received national awards from the Association of Local Government Auditors recognizing the quality of the division’s audit reports and the impact the audits have had to improve city programs and services.

CSA, including the Inspector General, is funded through a commitment of two-tenths of one percent of the City’s annual budget. In fiscal year 2025-26, the San Francisco budget allocates approximately $27.5 million for CSA’s functions required by the City Charter, plus an additional $9.5 million from bond sales linked to multi-year capital programs.

Application Opening: March 23, 2026
Application Filing Deadline: April 6, 2026
Salary: $141,024 - $171,418 Annually 
 

Important Note: This eligible list may be used to fill multiple positions for the 1686 Auditor III classification. At the Controller's Office there is an immediate opening to fill for the Inspector General's Investigative Unit. 

Role description

Under general direction, assigns, directs and supervises the activities of investigators or auditors. Supervises the planning, organization and conduct of performance, compliance, information technology, and financial and/or forensic investigations, audits, program evaluations and analytical activities to study, analyze and review policies, management and operations of governmental agencies, vendors, contractors and other parties that do business with the City; and performs related research and duties as assigned. Essential duties for this position include, but are not limited to:

Performing & Leading Investigations and Audits   

• Supervises, supports, and provides leadership on all phases of investigations, audits, reviews, and assessments including planning, data gathering, conducting interviews, data analysis and testing, reconstructing records and data that may have been destroyed or falsified, evaluating internal controls, findings development, and report writing in accordance with office policies and the appropriate professional auditing standards.
• Leads, supervises, and supports the processing, investigation, and reporting of complaints from the whistleblower program.
• Leads and executes information technology (IT) audits and reviews for a variety of departments and agencies.
• Ensures the development of value-added recommendations to strengthen City practices, operations, and controls.
• Reviews staff’s written work and deliverables for completeness, technical and grammatical accuracy, clarity, organization, content, and tone, and to ensure that project objectives and professional standards are met.
• Develops and maintains an understanding of complex aspects of City departments, programs, activities, and operations.
• Orally presents audits, project results, status, and other related information at public hearings and to a variety of audiences, including meetings with and presentations to stakeholders, departmental management, City leadership, and staff.

Leadership, Team Development & Project Management

• Supervises, coaches, mentors, trains, and evaluates Auditor I/II and analytical and/or administrative support staff.
• Completes and manages staff performance plans and evaluations.
• Meets regularly with staff individually, in teams, and as a unit to monitor performance, track project budget and schedules, provide information and constructive feedback, and encourage team members to challenge themselves and actively contribute to team effort and growth.
• Builds and fosters highly creative teams that are cohesive, collaborative and able to perform at levels commensurate with the organization’s strategic objectives.
• Resolves conflict in a positive and constructive manner.
• Builds and maintains relationships with City leadership, department management and staff, and stakeholders to achieve maximum effectiveness and gain their trust and respect.
• Administers and monitors leave and reporting attendance for staff.
• Oversees multiple investigations and audits  while actively participating in other critical unit initiatives, adjusting to shifting priorities while meeting key deadlines.

Divisional Support

• Manages and coordinates with contractors, including developing, monitoring, and reviewing consultant project deliverables and contracts.
• Collaborates and maintains close contact with the Inspector General, the Director of Audits and other managers regarding project progress and problems and other concerns that could affect the organization.
• Maintains appropriate involvement in unit oversight, decision making and problem solving. Leads and assists in development of work plans, policies and procedures and organizational efforts, including identifying audit priorities and coordinating projects to ensure effective unit practices. Recommends, develops, and assists in implementing operational and organizational changes and improvements.
• Provides assistance in staff recruitment and selection. Interacts regularly with stakeholders to obtain feedback and ascertain ways to improve audit processes and results.
• Maintains professional proficiency through continuing professional education, participation in professional associations, and remaining current with industry trends, emerging risks, and innovative audit methods.
• Maintains an appropriate level of confidentiality and sensitivity.
• Performs other related duties and responsibilities as required.

How to qualify

1. Education: Possession of a baccalaureate degree from an accredited college or university preferably in business or public administration, accounting, finance, statistics, the social sciences, English, or a related field; AND

2. Experience: Four (4) years of verifiable professional auditing or related analytical experience; strong understanding of local government operations; demonstrated expertise in government auditing standards and auditing principles and practices.

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.

Substitution:
A master’s degree in business or public administration, accounting, finance, statistics, or a related field may be substituted for one (1) year of the required experience.

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

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.

Important: 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.

What else should I know?

Selection Procedures:

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

Supplemental Questionnaire Examination (Weight 100%)

The Supplemental Questionnaire is an exam and contents will be evaluated and scored. The Supplemental Questionnaire Exam 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.

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.

Upon passing the exam, candidates will be placed on the eligible list for a period of 6 months.

Certification: The certification rule for the eligible list resulting from this examination will be Rule of three (3) Scores.

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-2022-23.pdf.

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.

Recruitment Analyst Information: If you have any questions regarding this recruitment or application process, please contact Karena Phung at Karena.Phung@sfgov.org

Additional Information:

• 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

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.