Assistant County Counsel - Recurring Defined Term - Promotional

Position Information

THIS RECRUITMENT IS PROMOTIONAL ONLY. YOU MUST PRESENTLY BE A FULL- OR PART-TIME REGULAR OR PROBATIONARY COUNTY OF SONOMA, COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION, SONOMA COUNTY FAIRGROUNDS, OR SONOMA COUNTY WATER AGENCY EMPLOYEE IN ORDER TO APPLY FOR THIS POSITION.

The Office of County Counsel has requested a department promotional certification to fill the Assistant County Counsel - Recurring Defined Term position. Only qualified and/or probationary County Counsel employees on the employment list will be eligible for referral to the department for consideration for this position.

The Assistant County Counsel, under general direction of the County Counsel, will oversee many internal office functions such as:

• Assisting with planning, organization, and oversight of department-wide services.
• Assigning and directing the work of subordinate personnel, including the Chief Deputy County Counsels.
• Carrying a workload that involves complex and sensitive transactions, legal cases, and issues.
• Running all staff and management meetings.
• Partnering with the Administrative Services Officer on all new recruitments, subject to final approval of new hires by the County Counsel.
• Supporting the County Counsel on Board of Supervisors and County Administrator's Office legal matters.
• Acting for the County Counsel during periods of absence as assigned.

In this executive-level administrative management role, you will often be required to be available during nights and weekends to respond to emails, texts, and phone calls. A physical presence in the office at least four days a week is necessary to successfully perform the duties required of this position.

The ideal candidate will possess many of the following:

• Six or more years of legal experience with an emphasis on handling complex litigation and transactional issues relating to the several specialty practice areas performed by a County Counsel's office, including the experience at the level of Deputy County Counsel IV or above.
• Course work, training, or supervisory and administrative experience with a working understanding of budgeting in a public agency law office is highly desirable.
• The ability to establish and maintain effective relationships with office staff members, departmental representatives, county officials, members of advisory and policy-making bodies, legislative representatives, the courts, and the public.
• The ability to understand and accept differences in human behavior, and cultural and ethnic backgrounds.
• Good listening and problem-solving skills
• The ability to be a strong leader (of internal office matters) and follower (taking direction from the County Counsel).
• The ability to fill in at any time for the County Counsel on all matters including advising the Board of Supervisors at public meetings.

The position is designated as recurring defined term as defined within Rule 1 of the Sonoma County Civil Service Rules. Individuals are initially hired through a competitive examination process in accordance with Civil Service Rules, with the Assistant County Counsel's term of employment coinciding with the County Counsel's term of office by whom they were hired. A term, for the purpose of this position, is the period of time for which the appointing County Counsel was appointed by the Board of Supervisors. If a County Counsel is reappointed, they may at their sole discretion reappoint the incumbent for a subsequent term without the need for a competitive examination. If the incumbent County Counsel fails, for whatever reason, to complete the term for which they were appointed, the Assistant County Counsel shall retain their position until such time as the full term (the statutorily prescribed four years) of the departing incumbent County Counsel's term is completed. Once the full term of the departing incumbent County Counsel's term is completed as noted in the preceding sentence, the subsequently appointed County Counsel may reappoint the incumbent Assistant County Counsel to a term coterminous with that of the remaining portion of their term, without the need for a competitive examination, or appoint another person to the Assistant County Counsel position through a competitive process, to a term coterminous with that of the remaining portion of their term of office. An Assistant County Counsel, not reappointed, shall have the right to be returned to their previous class in the classified service, pursuant to Civil Service Rule 8.10.

APPLICATION SUBMISSIONS REQUIRE THE SUPPLEMENTAL QUESTIONNAIRE BE COMPLETED.

Minimum Qualifications

Experience: Legal experience, which directly relates to the knowledge and abilities listed. Normally, six years of legal experience with emphasis on handling of complex litigation and transactional issues relating to the several specialty practice areas performed by a County Counsel's office, including the experience at the level of Deputy County Counsel IV or above. Course work, training, or supervisory and administrative experience in a public agency law office is highly desirable.

License: Current active membership in the State Bar of California. Possession of a valid driver’s license at the appropriate level including special endorsements, as required by the State of California, may be required depending upon assignment to perform the essential job functions of the position.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

Thorough knowledge of and proficiency in: interpretation and application of the law as it relates to a general law county government; principles and application of civil law; research methods and judicial procedures; statutory and constitutional laws of the State of California; trial and hearing procedures, and of rules of evidence.

Considerable knowledge of: modern public human resources and finance administration and effective supervisory techniques.

Ability to: analyze and present legal considerations related to the policies, programs and operations of the county; manage a government law office, and to administer the office budget; effectively orient, train, supervise and evaluate subordinate legal and office support staff; effectively and concisely communicate an understanding of complex legal aspects of government to lay County officers and employees; establish and maintain effective relationships with other office staff members, departmental representatives, county officials, members of advisory and policy-making bodies, legislative representatives, the courts, and the public; understand and accept differences in human behavior, and cultural and ethnic backgrounds.

Selection Procedure & Some Helpful Tips When Applying

• Your application information and your responses to the supplemental questions are evaluated and taken into consideration throughout the entire selection process.
• You should list all employers and positions held within the last ten years in the work history section of your application. Be as thorough as possible when responding to the supplemental questions.
• You may include history beyond ten years if related to the position for which you are applying. If you held multiple positions with one employer, list out each position separately.
• Failure to follow these instructions may impact your competitiveness in this process or may result in disqualification.

Please visit Getting a Job with the County of Sonoma to review more detailed information about the hiring process, including the application process, examination steps, and department selection process.

APPLICATION SUBMISSIONS REQUIRE THE SUPPLEMENTAL QUESTIONNAIRE BE COMPLETED.

Responses to supplemental questions may be scored using position-specific criteria. Please provide specific and detailed responses of a reasonable length to allow for a thorough assessment of your qualifications. Responses that state, "See Resume" or "See Application" may be considered insufficient and therefore may not be scored.

The selection procedure will consist of the following examination:

An Application & Supplemental Questionnaire Appraisal Examination(weight 100%) will be conducted to evaluate each applicant's application and supplemental questionnaire for satisfaction of minimum qualifications (pass/not pass); and for educational coursework, training, experience, knowledge, and abilities which relate to this position. Each applicant will be evaluated based on the following criteria:

• Relevance of work history, related experience, and achieved level of education and/or training as described in the application and responses to the supplemental questions.

Candidates demonstrating possession of the minimum qualifications will be placed on an employment list in order of most qualified to least qualified based on the achieved score received in the Application & Supplemental Questionnaire Appraisal Examination. Scores may be adjusted based on such factors as the number of candidates, anticipated vacancies, past practice, and natural breaks in the scores achieved by this group of candidates.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

A background investigation may be required prior to employment. Candidates referred to departments for a selection interview are typically required to sign authorization and release forms enabling such an investigation. Failure to sign prescribed forms will result in the candidate not being considered further for that vacancy. Reference information will not be made available to applicants.

Additional requirements, such as successful completion of a physical exam, drug screen, etc., may apply, depending on the duties and responsibilities of the position. If you receive a conditional job offer for the position, the requirements upon which the offer is contingent will be outlined in the conditional job letter. You may also review the Job Classification Screening Schedule to determine the requirements for this position.

HOW TO APPLY

Applications are accepted online at www.yourpath2sonomacounty.org . Paper applications may be submitted by person, fax (707-565-3770), email, or through the mail. All applications and appropriate supplemental information as outlined in the job bulletin must be RECEIVED by the time and date specified on the first page of this job announcement. Applications received after the recruitment closes will not be accepted.

The County of Sonoma values diversity and is dedicated to creating a workplace environment that provides individuals with a sense of belonging. We are committed to having a diverse workforce that is representative of the communities we serve. The County is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer where all aspects of employment are based on merit, competence, performance, and business need.

HR Analyst: DP
HR Technician: EV

IMPORTANT NOTE: Benefits described herein do not apply to Extra Help positions.

COUNTY OF SONOMA BENEFITS: MANAGEMENT*

These are some of the excellent benefits the County offers:

Paid Time Off :Competitive vacation accrual and sick leave accruals; additional management leave annually; 12 paid holidays, and an additional 8 floating holiday hours per year; and may be eligible for up to 8 weeks (320 hours) of Paid Parental Leave after 12 months of County employment.

Health Plan :Choose from nine health plans (three HMOs, three deductible HMOs, and three HSA-qualifying plans) with a generousCounty contribution to the premium (the contribution amount varies by bargaining unit). For more information, please see the appropriate MOU.

Retirement :Fully integrated with Social Security.For more information regarding eligibility, retirement contributions, and reciprocity with prior public service, please visit https://scretire.org/active-/-deferred/when-you-are-hired .

IRS 457 Plan :Pre-tax employee contribution up to the IRS annual maximum.

Retiree Medical :County contribution to a Health Reimbursement Arrangement to help fund post-retirement employee health insurance/benefits.

Student Loan Debt Relief :County employees may be eligible for Public Service Loan Forgiveness through the U.S. Department of Education.

Plus excellent dental, vision, disability, life insurance, professional development, and more.

For answers to specific questions regarding the employment process and more details about benefits or retirement, please contact Human Resources at (707) 565-2331.Additional details about benefit and compensation packages can be found in the MOUs located at https://sonomacounty.ca.gov/administrative-support-and-fiscal-services/human-resources/divisions-and-units/employee-relations/labor-agreements-and-salary-resolution . For specific information about health and welfare benefits including plan options, coverage, and premium amounts go to https://sonomacounty.ca.gov/administrative-support-and-fiscal-services/human-resources or, contact the Human Resources' Risk Management-Benefits Office at benefits@sonoma-county.org or (707) 565-2900.

*IMPORTANT NOTES: Benefits described herein do not represent a contract and may be changed without notice.

Closing Date/Time: 12/16/2024 11:59 PM Pacific

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• County of Sonoma

• 707-565-8059

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