Chief City Clerk

As a Division Manager, the Chief City Clerk oversees the City Clerk Division. The position reports to the Management Services Director and works closely with members of the Executive Team and City Attorney. The Chief City Clerk is responsible for budgeting, planning, personnel, customer service, records management, and overall operations of the City Clerk’s Office. The ideal candidate is a true professional, both knowledgeable and experienced as a municipal clerk; a leader and communicator, who can train and mentor staff; and an innovator, who can establish processes and best practices for the Office. Responsibilities include timely responses to public records requests, support for City Council agenda preparation and meetings, and elections.  The ability to communicate effectively and foster effective working relationships with City Council, City Departments, other agencies, and the public. Competencies required include strategic thinking, collaboration, effective communication, project management, and knowledge of Public Meeting and Election laws. Work is performed with considerable independent judgment within established policies and procedures.

The ideal candidate for the Chief City Clerk position in South Pasadena will be a seasoned professional with a strategic mindset and a strong commitment to public service. This individual will possess comprehensive knowledge of the Brown Act, Public Records Act, election laws, records management, and City Council support procedures. They will be an effective leader with a proven track record of managing complex projects and fostering collaboration within diverse teams.

Strong interpersonal and communication skills are essential, enabling the candidate to build productive relationships with City Council members, city staff, external agencies, and the public. The ideal candidate will demonstrate exceptional organizational skills, the ability to meet critical deadlines, and proficiency in leveraging technology to enhance efficiency in operations and service delivery.

As a forward-thinking and innovative leader, the candidate will excel at implementing best practices, mentoring staff, and ensuring compliance with all legal requirements while driving continuous improvement in the City Clerk’s Office. Dedication to transparency, accountability, and fostering an inclusive work environment is key. Experience in supervising personnel and managing municipal processes at a management level is highly desirable.

The duties listed below are examples of the work typically performed by employees in this class. An employee may not be assigned all duties listed and may be assigned duties that are not listed below: 

• Oversees the daily operations of the City Clerk's Office, including assuming responsibilities for City Council meetings, official documents, claims, Municipal Code updates, personnel training and supervision, City Council support and electronic communications;
• Performs all of the duties required of the City Clerk's Office as stipulated in California Government Code Sections 40801-40814 (with the exception of City-wide accounting, assessor, and financial duties). Performs duties required of the City Clerk's Office by the South Pasadena Municipal Code Section 2.11 (powers and duties of the office of the City Clerk);
• Prepares annual budgets and monitors expenditures;
• Serves as the manager of employees, interns, and others assigned to the City Clerk's office; 
• Sets short and long-range goals. Proposes programs and technologies to enhance effectiveness and improve efficiencies;
• Serves as the Filing Officer for Fair Political Practices Commission filings;
• Oversees General Municipal Elections in conjunction with the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk, and conducts Special Elections as required;
• Oversees records management and coordinates City-wide records-management projects, including records retention and storage, and the development of processes and procedures;
• Oversees codification of the Municipal Code in hardbound and Internet versions;
• Oversees development and/or review of numerous public communications, internal and external directories, and web-related documents;
• Ensures provision of such audiovisual operations as broadcasting/web-streaming, in-house presentations, cable channel transmission and content, and teleconferencing;
• Oversees provision of City Council support, including scheduling, correspondence, special events, ceremonial appearances, filings, certificates, presentations, and travel;
• Ensures that Public Records Act requests are fulfilled in accordance with legal requirements;
• Oversees the conduct of research for City staff, elected officials, and other agencies;
• Oversees the processing of claims against the City and serves as a liaison with claims-related legal representatives;
• Collaborates with the City Attorney on lawsuits and other legal matters;
• Serves as the Recording Secretary for City Council meetings, and ensures that minutes are prepared in a timely manner and timely submitted for City Council approval;
• Oversees the coordination of commissions, committees, and boards.
• Oversees document imaging system and software and other internal resource databases and ensures their integrity;
• Performs record certifications, oaths, and related duties
• Delegates duties, responsibilities and tasks to subordinates, as appropriate.

FLSA Status
Exempt
Any combination of education and/or experience that has provided the knowledge, skills and abilities necessary for acceptable job performance, such as: five years of progressively responsible experience performing varied and complex administrative support duties, three years of which must have been in a City Clerk's department or related organization that staffs a city council or city commission. Experience must also include at least two years in a lead/supervisory capacity. A degree in public or business administration or related field, or completion of substantial credit towards a Certified Municipal Clerk (CMC) designation by the International Institute of Municipal Clerks (IIMC), or Master Municipal Clerk (MMC) is desirable.


KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND ABILITIES:
Knowledge of:
Knowledge of the following legal requirements and customary practices integral to the City Clerk office: Brown Act, agenda packet preparation, Public Records Act requests, records management, elections, claims, City Council relations, community relations, disaster preparedness, and other related areas.

Ability to: 
Ability to manage personnel and operations of the City Clerk's Office, to include publishing City Council agenda packets, serving as the FPPC filing officer, overseeing audiovisual and web-streaming operations, overseeing the response to public records and internal research requests, communicating with the media, and overseeing office and city-wide records management issues.
 
Ability to read, write and understand English-language documents.  Ability to communicate effectively with customers, department personnel, elected officials, management, and the general public verbally and in writing.  Proficient in Microsoft Office and Laserfiche or other document imaging programs. Ability to compose documents independently, utilizing existing research or information gathered through surveys or other means.  Ability to review and edit documents at an advanced level.
 
 Ability to coordinate General Municipal Elections with the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk, or to manage stand-alone elections.Working Conditions
The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of the job.
 
Environment is generally clean with some limited exposure to such conditions such as dust, fumes, odors, or noise. Computer terminal, copier/scanner, and other office machines are used on a daily basis. Some work is involved in a records storage vault and at an offsite storage facility. There are occasions to travel to other sites outside of the City for meetings and events.

Physical Demands:
Ability to exert light to moderate physical effort, and exert sufficient force to lift, carry, push, pull, or otherwise move objects up to 25 pounds. Ability to remain in a sitting/standing position for extended periods of time. Ability to hear and speak to the general public and City staff on the telephone and in person. Hand and eye coordination are needed to operate office equipment. Strength, dexterity, coordination and vision to use keyboard and video/computer display terminal. Driving to offsite locations is sometimes required.

This position is primarily an office job. However, there is some standing, bending, walking, stooping, squatting and using a ladder for files. Driving to offsite locations is sometimes required.
 EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER

Salary : $102,366 - $137,171