Director of Talent Acquisition and Employment Services - San Francisco Public Works - 0932 (164286)

Specific information regarding this recruitment process is listed below.

Application Opening: Friday, April 3rd, 2026
Application Deadline: Apply immediately. Application filing will be open at least through 11:59pm (P.S.T) of Thursday, April 9th, 2026 and will close any time thereafter
Recruitment ID: PBT-0932-164286 (RTF0164283-01152240)

Appointment Type: Permanent Civil Service 

San Francisco Public Works (Public Works) has a far-reaching portfolio with a $453 million annual operating budget, an active capital portfolio that exceeds $3 billion and a workforce of 1,700-plus employees. The department operates around the clock, touching every neighborhood in San Francisco. The staff designs and manages the construction of civic buildings and streets; cleans and greens the right of way; maintains civic buildings; manages multi-million-dollar bond programs; trains people for jobs; keeps the right of way free of hazards; paves the roads; repairs bridges and public stairways; expands accessibility; and works at the forefront addressing some of San Francisco’s biggest challenges. With a mission to enhance the quality of life in San Francisco for residents, visitors and business owners, Public Works is committed to providing outstanding public service through an equity lens.

Please visit the “About Us” section of our website at https://www.sfpublicworks.org to learn more about the department’s core values, Racial Equity Initiative, leadership team, history, budget and more.

The SFPW Human Resources Division is seeking a Director of Talent Acquisition and Employment Services to oversee our Talent Acquisition (Exams)/Classification, Employment Services (HR Operations) and Payroll teams.

Under general administrative direction from the SFPW Human Resources Director, the Director of Talent Acquisition and Employment Services will develop strategies and work plans, supervise staff, research trends in relevant subject areas to inform and develop future plans, establish standard work, lead projects, and oversee cross-departmental collaboration to the success of different HR teams: Employment Services (HR Operations), Talent Acquisition (Exams)/Classification and Payroll.  You will lead an innovative team of HR professionals by providing your expertise on special projects as assigned, many of which require your thoughtful management of sensitive communication with entities such as the City-wide Department of Human Resources, the Civil Service Commission, and other City departments, commissions, and boards on human resources-related matters, as well as compliance with staffing regulations. If you're excited to apply creative and modern approaches to develop solutions and projects to serve the needs of the many communities across San Francisco, you'll be interested in joining our Public Works HR team. 

Major, Important, and Essential Duties

The Director of Talent Acquisition and Employment Services performs the following, but not exclusively, essential functions:

• Oversee three mission-critical areas in HR area: Talent Acquisition (Exams)/Classification, Employment Services (HR Operations) and Payroll
• Performance management of staff at various levels to maximize employee engagement, performance, and service delivery
• Coordinate with supervisory personnel in the assignment, reassignment, replacement, and transfer of personnel; supervise the preparation of personnel documents and maintenance of personnel records of HR staff
• Analyze complex data and prepare reports in the assessment of hiring activities, budgets, time to hire, payroll processing timeline and metrics, and other important HR operations metrics      
• Design and manage innovative HR processes that span the employee life cycle, which will include but not limited to: recruitment, selection, onboarding, payroll, separation, etc. 
• Develop and coordinate employee training programs for HR operations procedures in supervised areas: Talent Acquisition (Exams)/Classification, Employment Services (HR Operations) and Payroll
• Maintain positive working relationships with departmental managers and supervisors as well as staff members from other City departments
• Oversee continuous process improvement activities with an emphasis on collaborating with other divisions to improve hiring and payroll processing efficiency and equity
• Advise departmental managers and employees on Civil Service rules and provisions, Memoranda of Understanding, and Human Resources policies and related matters
• Build client-department relationships and confidence in human resources services; collaborate with department management to meet business needs
• Performing additional duties as assigned or required

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

• Education: Possession of a Baccalaureate Degree from an accredited college or university    AND
• Experience: Seven (7) years of professional human resources experience in a large-scale public organization (with at least 1,000 employees) in the following areas: recruitment and staffing, personnel administration, management of human resources operation functions, of which three (3) years must be in a supervisory capacity supervising professional human resources staff

Substitution

• Master’s Degree in Industrial/Organizational Psychology, Human Resources, Public Administration, Business Management or a closely related field or possession of a Juris Doctorate (J.D.) may substitute for one (1) year of the non-supervisory experience.
• Additional qualifying work experience as described above, may be substituted for up to two years of the required education on a year-for-year basis (30 semester/45 quarter units equals one year)

Note: One (1) year of full-time employment is considered equivalent to Two Thousand (2,000) hours. Any overtime hours that you work above forty (40) hours per week are not included in the calculation to determine full-time employment.

Desirable Qualification: The stated desirable qualification may be used to identify candidates advancing to the interview process and/or to identify job finalist(s) at the end of the selection process for hiring. 

• Advanced knowledge of HR Functions, such as HR operations, exams, payroll, and recruitment
• Experience of administering programs that include formulating strategies, creating cross-departmental collaboration; building teams; and creating strong supervisory frameworks.
• Experience in process improvement work and change management.
• Experience and familiarity with multiple and complex public sector MOU (Memorandum of Understanding) contracts
• Commitment to, and experienced with, growing a diverse, equitable, inclusive, and accessible workforce and work environment

Verification of Education and Experience

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.

Applicants may be required to submit verification of qualifying education and experience at any point during the recruitment and selection process. More information can be found at: https://sfdhr.org/information-about-hiring-process#verification

Failure to provide the required verification may result in rejection of the application and/or removal from eligibility for referral and appointment in this class.

Resumes will not be accepted in lieu of a completed City and County of San Francisco application.

Note:  Any misrepresentation or falsification of 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. Application completed improperly may be cause for ineligibility, disqualification or may lead to lower scores.

SELECTION PROCEDURES/EXAMINATION REQUIREMENTS

This is a Position-Based Test conducted in accordance with CSC Rule 111A.   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) (Weight 50%)

Candidates will be invited to participate in a computer-based examination designed to measure competencies in job-related areas which may include but are not limited to: Problem-Solving; Leadership; Decision Making; Interpersonal skills; Human Resources Management; Team Building; Process Improvement; Communication and Conflict Management. For more information about this Management Test (and a suggested reading list), please visit: MANAGEMENT TEST BATTERY.

Please note: This examination is only held in San Francisco.  A passing score must be achieved on the Management Test Battery in order to continue in the selection process.

This is a standardized examination and, therefore, test questions and answers are not available for public inspection or review.

Scores attained on the Management Test Battery will be valid and 'banked' for three years, starting from the date of the examination. This means that, during this three-year time period, you will not be required to take the Management Test Battery. The Management Test Battery may be used for many other classes; therefore, your test score may be applied to one or more of these classes if you choose to apply to future recruitments. If the selection process for the future announcement is held within one year of the date of this examination and it includes the Management Test Battery, your score will be automatically applied to that announcement. However, after one year, you have the option to either (a) apply your test score to the other announcement or (b) re-take the Management Test Battery. Re-testing is permitted no sooner than one year from the date of the examination and only in association with your eligibility for another announcement for which the Management Test Battery is used. Please note that, should you re-test, your re-test score would become your official score since it is the most recent.

Supplemental Questionnaire Exam (Weight: 50%)

Candidates who pass the MTB will be sent a Supplemental Questionnaire that must be completed by the set date. Candidates will be evaluated on their relevant knowledge, skills, and ability levels in job-related areas. This may involve knowledge/ability of principles, concepts, procedures and/or practices related to job classification, job specifications, minimum qualifications, job analysis, recruitment, exam administration, merit-based selection, etc. 

A passing score must be achieved from both the Management Test Battery (MTB) and Supplemental Questionnaire to be placed/ranked on the Eligible List.

Minimum Qualification Supplemental Questionnaire (MQSQ)
Candidates may be required to complete an MQSQ as part of the employment application. 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.

Note: The Department of Public Works reserves the right to modify the selection process and examination to conform to administrative or operational necessity. The information in this announcement is subject to change and will be accompanied by a notice of amendment in this announcement.  

Eligible List/Score Report
Once you pass the exam, you will be placed on an eligible list and given a score and a rank. The duration of the eligible list will be six (6) months and may be extended with the approval of the Human Resources Director.

Certification
The certification rule for the eligible list resulting from this exam will be the “Rule of the List”.

Post-Eligible List
Candidates will be invited to interview based on test scores and experience that most closely matches the responsibilities of the position determined from a review of the application materials.

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 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.

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 the instructions on the screen.

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 for this recruitment by email at [email protected].

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

Statement on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion: At the City and County of San Francisco, we share a commitment to a diverse, inclusive and equitable community. Each member of our organization is responsible and accountable for what they say and do to make San Francisco an inclusive and equitable place to live and work by employing fair and just practices to and for all.

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.