Utility Specialist (5602) - Power Enterprise - SFPUC (161811)

City and County of San Francisco•San Francisco, CA

13h

About The Position

This is a Position-Based Test conducted in accordance with CSC Rule 111A. Application Opening: March 2, 2026 Application Filing Deadline: March 16, 2026 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.gov 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.gov/about-us/careers-sfpuc The eligible list from this recruitment will be used to fill positions in the Asset Management and Maintenance Planning teams within the SFPUC Power Enterprise. Asset Management Location: 525 Golden Gate Avenue, San Francisco Under direction of the Power Enterprise's Asset Manager, this Utility Specialist will be focused on providing detailed and technically orientated project management support for Power Enterprise’s electrical distribution and streetlight system contracts. Maintenance Planning Location: 10 Lombard Street, San Francisco Under the general direction of the Maintenance Manager, this Utility Specialist will be responsible for coordinating projects for the Utility Field Services department. These projects will oversee various systems, including Streetlights, Power distribution, Metering, and Natural gas. Additionally, this role will involve preparing reports, cost estimates, and contract documents. The Utility Specialist will also review federal, regional, and local legislation relevant to Power operation. As necessary, they will provide technical support and utility expertise to the SFPUC Power Enterprise in collaboration with other SFPUC Enterprises and City Departments.

Requirements

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

Nice To Haves

PMP - Project Management Professional certification
Experience with electrical utility/construction industry specifically in operations and understands electrical distribution concepts.
Asset management or maintenance planning experience
Experience with budgets and financial operations

Responsibilities

Create processes needed to coordinate work between Asset Management, Distribution Engineering, Redevelopment group, Utility Field Services within Power Enterprise.
Create processes needed to coordinate work between Asset Management group and other City departments.
Identify and resolve gaps between Asset Management group, Engineering, and Field Services.
Coordinate with SFPUC’s various contract and finance groups.
Communicate and obtain SFPUC executive leadership and Commission contract approvals as needed.
Work with Field Operations and Engineering groups to identify and assess all of the SFPUC’s owned or controlled assets.
Coordinate with Maintenance Planning on condition assessments, rehab and replacement schedules, and asset lifecycle summaries within Power’s CMMS (computerized maintenance management system).
Coordinate with Asset Management group’s GIS mapping and Streetlight databases.
Ensure contractors are in compliance with design drawings, specifications, scope of work and all other contract provisions to approve work products from contractors and consulting engineers in coordination with SFPUC staff.
Provide good customer service by meeting with customers, coordinate/review engineering details, discussing priorities and contract schedules.
Manage project budgets, schedules, procurement, change management, engineering designs, submittals, requests for information (RFls), inspections, commissioning, start up, and close out to ensure the project contract goals are achieved.
Develop schedule for all projects, track progress, organize and schedule coordination meetings.
Coordinate all stages of the contracting process through the various City departments, legal review, permitting, finance, purchasing, and all approvals.
Perform other job related duties as required.
Conducts technical and economic feasibility evaluations of capital projects; incorporates results of analyses into cost/benefit assessments.
Develop and implement policies and procedures.
Train analysts, technicians, and other personnel on policies, procedures and compliance issues.
Writes a variety of documents, including reports, general correspondence, program descriptions, operating procedures, and policy recommendations
Identify and resolve gaps in existing workflows and processes
Develop and track the project schedules to ensure the project goals are achieved
Maintain detailed and well-organized project administrative records and files
Prepare written reports and technical memoranda to document analyses, recommendations, and project status updates
Prepare reports for the Commission and the executive team, coordinate contract document review and finalization
Monitor project progress, identify risks, and implement mitigation strategies to ensure timely completion.
Forecast future financial needs for capital and operational projects.