Exempt to Permanent – Utility Specialist (5602) Citywide (162740)

Under direction the 5602 Utility Specialist independently conducts complex studies and analyses; develops analytical models and systems; independently conducts contract negotiations; works with other program controls staff in developing cost schedule and technical tracking systems for new projects collecting data on the cost schedule and technical progress on those projects; develops and implements seasonal and long-term operating financial and capital plans; develops and implements operational goals and procedures; manages and administers wholesale and retail contracts projects and programs; conducts infrastructure planning for new service territories; provides training of analysts and technical personnel; serves as a technical expert.

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

1. Monitors operations to ensure compliance with policy directives laws regulations and contractual constraints.

2. Develops analytical and predictive models; conducts technical and economic feasibility evaluations of proposed capital projects; incorporates results of analyses into cost/benefit assessments; conducts a wide variety of analytical studies related to assessment of operational effectiveness financial and market risk price sensitivity and other complex studies as assigned.

3. Develops and implements seasonal monthly and multi-year operating financial and capital plans. Develops and maintains Critical Path Method (CPM) schedules; reviews and analyzes Precedence Diagram Method (PDM) schedules for variances and trends; maintains and makes recommendation for improvements to the cost control system to track spending relative to project budgets and schedules; and maintains a cost estimate database by providing project cost estimates and reviewing actual construction costs relative to engineers estimates.

4. Directly negotiates large seasonal and yearly contracts rates and service terms; provides negotiation support on division-wide multi-year contracts; establishes rate policies and negotiating parameters for short-term purchase and sale transactions and agreements.

5. Identifies operational constraints and develops evaluates or recommends policies and procedures to improve operations mitigate risks increase revenues and decrease costs.

6. Develops training programs to implement policies and programs; trains analysts technicians and other personnel on policies procedures and compliance issues.

7. Writes a variety of documents including reports; work plans; general correspondence; operating financial and marketing plans; program descriptions; operating procedures and policy recommendations; meeting minutes; documentation of forecast methodologies and model assumptions; legal and regulatory interpretations and issues; reports that explain schedule and cost variances and trends provide cost-effective recommendations to mitigate adverse variances and to support negotiation of change order costs with contractors; and other types of written documents as needed to support the diverse work activities as-signed to this class.

8. Develops implements and maintains database systems for hydrologic water supply power operations marketing energy consumption and other data.

9. Supervises Utility Analysts and other technical personnel and provides technical sup-port and expertise for assigned specialty area.

10. Supervises the preparation of section operating and capital budgets including revenue and expense forecasts and analyses and reporting of variances.

Qualifications :

1. Must be a Current Category 16 17 or 18 Exempt Employee in Class 5602 who has worked at least 2080 hours in Class 5602 with no break in service; AND

2. Possession of a baccalaureate degree from an accredited college or university preferably with major coursework in Law Engineering Environmental Studies Natural Resources Computer Science Business Administration Mathematics Statistics Economics or other field related to the utility business; AND

3. Four years of verifiable journey-level work experience in one or more of the following areas: planning scheduling cost estimating and resource projecting for mid to large scale projects; water supply/infrastructure management and planning; power operations planning and scheduling; analysis interpretation and application of utility contracts and regulations in either water power (electric and/or natural gas) telecommunications or a wastewater/clean water program; utility market and environmental analysis and planning; power supply and transmission rates and contracts; generation transmission or distribution planning and design; or long-term utility systems planning.

License: Specified positions may require possession of a valid California Class C drivers license.

Substitution: Additional qualifying experience may be substituted for the degree requirement on a year-for-year basis.

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

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 ones 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: Candidates deemed qualified must complete all subsequent steps to advance in this selection process which includes the following:

Preliminary Questionnaire Training and Experience Assessment (100% Weight) - During the application process applicants will be prompted to complete a Preliminary Questionnaire as part of the online employment process. Please answer the Preliminary Questionnaire carefully and thoroughly.  It will serve as the Training and Experience Assessment for this recruitment and will be used to determine your eligibility for this recruitment as well as your score and rank on the eligible list. Qualified applicants will be ranked on the eligible list based on the length of their exempt (in Category 16 17 and/or 18) City service in the 5602 Utility Specialist class along with any additional qualifying points (e.g. promotive status) as outlined in Civil Service Commission (CSC) rules. All work history will be verified using official City records which will serve as the final authority in determining qualifying service.

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

Additional Information :

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. 

Certification Rule: The certification rule for this recruitment is 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.  Note: The correction of clerical errors in an announcement may be posted on the Department of Human Resources website at  terms of this announcement may be appealed under Civil Service Rule 110.4.  Such appeals must be submitted in writing to the Department of Human Resources 1 S Van Ness Avenue 4th Floor San Francisco CA 94103-5413 by close of business on the 5th business day following the issuance date of this examination announcement.  Information concerning other Civil Service Commission Rules involving announcements applications and examination policies including applicant appeal rights can be found on the Civil Service Commission website at  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

All job applications for the City and County of San Francisco must be submitted through our online portal. Please visit  begin your application process.  

Computers are available for the public (9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Monday through Friday) to file online applications in the lobby of the Dept. of Human Resources at 1 South Van Ness Avenue 4th Floor and at the City Career Center at City Hall 1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place Room 110. 

Ensure your application information is accurate as changes may not be possible after submission. Your first and last name must match your legal ID for verification and preferred names can be included in parentheses. Use your personal email address not a shared or work email to avoid unfixable issues. 

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 (@ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and @). 

Applicants will receive a confirmation email from  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  or .

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.

Remote Work :

No

Employment Type :

Full-time