Click to apply

The Community
Ideally located on the Pacific Ocean south of Los Angeles, adjacent to Orange County, the City of Long Beach, California (population 490,566) is frequently described as a series of strong, diverse interwoven smaller communities within a large city. Enjoying an ideal Southern California climate, Long Beach is home to an abundance of cultural and recreational options. The Long Beach Convention Center, Aquarium of the Pacific, Queen Mary and the annual Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach, plus a wide variety of other attractions (two historic ranchos, three marinas, and five golf courses), serve to draw 5.5 million visitors a year. The City is also home to California State University, Long Beach and Long Beach City College. Cal State Long Beach is the second largest university in the state and was recently ranked the No. 3 best–value public college in the nation. Serving the K-12 student population, the Long Beach Unified School District consistently ranks among the Top 10 urban school districts in the country. Covering approximately 50 square miles, Long Beach is supported by a wide mix of industries with education, health and social services, manufacturing, retail trade, and professional services comprising the highest representation. Known for its livable and desirable neighborhoods, America's Promise Alliance named Long Beach as one of the 100 Best Communities for Young People two years in a row. While it offers all the amenities of a large metropolis, many say Long Beach has the added benefit of having maintained a strong sense of community and cohesiveness despite its growth. Long Beach is the seventh largest city in California and has been referred to as the "most diverse city" in the country by USA Today. A superb climate, quality schools, a vibrant downtown, and a wide variety of neighborhoods help make Long Beach one of the most livable communities in the country.

City Government
Long Beach is a full-service Charter City governed by nine City Council members who are elected by district. The Mayor is elected at-large. Elected officials also include the City Attorney, City Auditor, and City Prosecutor. Elected officials are subject to a two-term limit, which allows them to serve for a maximum of eight years. The City Council appoints a City Manager to oversee the administration of all City departments, excluding those under the direction of a separately elected official, Board or Commission. In addition to its traditional services, Long Beach maintains one of the world's busiest seaports, which serves as a leading gateway for international trade. The City also has its own full-service commercial airport and is one of only three cities in California with its own Health and Gas & Oil Departments. Long Beach is supported by a total FY 2019 budget of approximately $3 billion, with the General Fund budget totaling $500 million. More than 5,800 full and part-time employees support municipal operations with the majority being represented by nine unions.

Department of Financial Management
The Department of Financial Management oversees the financial and fleet services operations of the City and serves as a financial adviser to the City Manager and City Council. It is the mission of Financial Management to keep the City financially strong. The Financial Management department has approximately 240 employees, and is organized into the following bureaus: Administration, Accounting, Budgeting, Business Services, Commercial Services, Financial Controls, Fleet Services, and Treasury.

The Position
The Administrative Operations Officer (in the classification of Special Projects Officer) is an at-will management position that is part of the executive team for the Department of Financial Management and reports directly to the Director of Financial Management/Chief Financial Officer.  The Administrative Operations Officer manages a variety of ad-hoc special projects and complex inter- and intra-departmental planning and coordination efforts for the Director.

The Ideal Candidate
The ideal candidate will thrive in a fast-paced, high productivity work environment, have a very strong desire for high quality and accuracy, does what is necessary to meet deadlines, has exceptional grammatical and writing skills. The ideal candidate can adapt and adhere to multiple deadlines while maintaining effective working relationships at all levels of the organization. This candidate will be a strong manager of people, operations, projects, have the ability to quickly understand technical issues and administrative and political implications, and who will lead by example. He or she will be driven, detail oriented, highly productive, and have excellent independent motivation and follow-through.
 

• Managing significant projects: previous examples include: managing a program for review of city-wide utility bills for overcharges; coordinating space planning and reconfiguration efforts for the Department to prepare for a move to the new City Hall; managing department-wide document retention and storage efforts,
• and managing a digitizing project for the department.
• Management and oversight of all departmental administrative support (clerical) staff and activities, including training and common procedures.
• Developing, managing and/or editing of complex and high-level documents for content, political sensitivity, tone, clarity, comprehensiveness, effectiveness, and consistency. These documents include City Council agenda items, purchasing contract awards and other significant department documents that are publicly issued.
• Coordinating purchasing activities for the Director, including RFP's and Purchase Orders, such as developing RFPs for consulting engagements for various special projects.
• Back-up support to the Administrative Officer as needed, such as: conducting employee investigations and managing recruitment processes.
• Managing Public Information/Record Requests; responsible for resolving complex data management and time issues related to those requests; determining how to respond to the requests with the least impact to City operations; coordinating those activities thereafter.
• Central liaison for follow-up on difficult customer service issues, whether internal or external.
• Coordinating Department efforts regarding emergency management preparation and processes.
• Representing Department interests on various committees such as Citywide Communications, Citywide Website. Electronic Document Management, and Civic Center.
• Determining and managing the Financial Management website and its content.
• Developing presentations and draft procedural policies with technical information provided.

Experience and Education

1. Two years of progressively responsible professional experience performing duties similar in nature and complexity to those performed by this position.
2. One year of supervisory or lead responsibilities is highly desirable.
3. Bachelor's degree in business or public administration, or closely related field; or, an equivalent combination of education and related experience.
4. Governmental experience is desirable but may be offset by other valuable experience and skills.

• Excellent writing skills                          
• Direct communicator with superior interpersonal skills
• Consistently meets deadlines                          
• Extremely organized multi-tasker
• High productivity, high quality, high accuracy                
• Strategic thinker and problem-solver and exercises good judgment
• Takes charge and is self-motivated
• Handles sensitive issues with tact, discretion and integrity
• Enjoys an informal, relaxed, but high productivity environment
• Proficient in common office and technical applications such as Word, Excel and PowerPoint, etc.

1. Describe your level and scope of experience as it relates to the position of Administrative Operations Officer.
2. Describe your experience in working on a project that required coordination, research, and developing a recommendation.  Include the following in your response:
   1. Your role in the project;
   2. The topic and purpose of the project;
   3. A description of how you conducted your research and what methods you used;
   4. What important elements you considered and why they were selected;
   5. The results of your research and summary of your recommendation(s).
3. Describe your experience with writing sensitive and complex documents. How have you determined the tone of your writing; discuss a specific example. 
4. Describe an undertaking you have led that improved effectiveness and/or created new efficiencies. Include a description of the challenges you faced in implementing the efficiencies and describe how you overcame those challenges and indicate the outcome of the implementation.

This recruitment will close at 4:30 p.m. on Sunday, August 18, 2019, or until sufficient applications are received. The recruitment may be extended if sufficient qualified applications are not received. To be considered for this opportunity, applicants must submit a cover letter and resume that reflect the scope and level of their current/most recent positions and responsibilities as they relate to the duties of this position; and responses to the four supplemental questions above. Please attach these materials in PDF format to your GovernmentJobs application.

Following application screening, the best qualified applicants will be invited to interview. An appointment is contingent upon the completion of a thorough reference and background check. References will not be contacted until the end of the process upon consultation with the selected candidate.

This information is available in an alternative format by request to the Administration Bureau at (562) 570-6781. If you require an accommodation because of a disability in order to participate in any phase of the application process, please request it when submitting your application, or call (562) 570-6781. In support of the City's Language Access Policy, bilingual skills (Spanish, Khmer and/or Tagalog) are desirable for positions interacting with the public.

EQUAL OPPORTUNITY
The City of Long Each is an Equal Opportunity Employer and values diversity at all levels