The City of San Mateo’s Public Works Department is looking for a highly qualified, experienced Administrative Assistant.
The Department
The Public Works Department is comprised of Regulatory Compliance, Engineering, Field Maintenance, Facilities/Fleet, Wastewater Treatment, and Asset Management Divisions. Each division is led by one of two Deputy Directors, who report to the Director of Public Works. The department is responsible for the City’s major capital projects and infrastructure including streets, streetlights, traffic signals, publicly owned facilities, sewer and storm conveyance systems, wastewater treatment plant, pump stations, a major lagoon, dams, and levees, as well as solid waste and environmental programs. The City of San Mateo wastewater treatment facility and collection system are undergoing major renovation projects over the next five years valued over $100 million dollars through the Clean Water Program. The Department is responsible for regulatory compliance related to Stormwater, Pretreatment, Green Infrastructure, and other environmental programs, as well as public outreach to raise awareness to the public and other stakeholders about these issues.
The Public Works Department is committed to high performance standards, utilizing best practices related to performance management and team-oriented approaches. Our mission is to enhance the community and its environment by providing sustainable stewardship and innovative approaches to Public Works services.
Collaboration, Innovation, Respect, Creativity, Transparency and Informed Risk-Taking are attributes within the City’s mission, values and organizational principles that we are seeking in the candidates.
Look to some of the reasons why the City of San Mateo is a great place to work: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_GTIzeSpc_g
The Position
The Administrative Assistant performs a wide variety of complex and difficult clerical and secretarial duties for a major division, office, City Boards, Commissions, or Council. This role receives general supervision from professional or management personnel, or a higher-level clerical position. May exercise direct or functional and technical supervision over lower-level clerical positions.
Some duties may include:
- Type and proofread a wide variety of reports, letters, memos and statistical charts, typing from rough draft or transcribing machine recordings; transcribe dictation.
- Independently compose correspondence related to responsibilities assigned.
- Apply applicable policies and procedures in determining completeness of applications, records and reports; provide information and forms to the public; collect and process appropriate information.
- Respond to complaints and requests for information on regulations, procedures, systems and precedents relating to responsibilities assigned; issue, receive, type and process various applications, permits and other forms.
- Research, compile, assemble and analyze data for special projects and a variety of statistical, financial and narrative reports.
- Compile budget requests.
- May serve as Administrative Assistant to a Board or Commission as a part of the overall clerical support function within the office to which assigned; attend meetings of a Board, Commissions or the Council; record, transcribe, type and distribute minutes of meetings.
- Maintain inventory records; process purchase requisitions; maintain purchase records; resolve errors in orders received and invoices.
- Order office supplies; submit expense claims.
- Receive, sort and distribute incoming and outgoing correspondence.
- Perform general clerical work including filing, scheduling appointments, and processing personnel, payroll and purchasing information.
- May maintain petty cash fund; accept payment of fees; maintain and process cash records.
- May perform Notary Public duties.
For a complete list of duties, reference our job specifications at https://www.cityofsanmateo.org/DocumentCenter/Index/86
Knowledge and Abilities
Skills:
- Basic principles of supervision and training.
- Business letter writing and basic report preparation.
- English usage, spelling, grammar and punctuation.
- Modern office methods, procedures, practices and computer equipment.
- Principles and procedures of record keeping.
- General statistical procedures.
Abilities:
- Perform responsible and difficult secretarial work involving the use of independent judgment.
- Type at a speed necessary for successful job performance.
- Transcribe dictation at a speed necessary for successful job performance.
- Learn department policies, procedures, organization and operating details.
- Understand the organization and operation of City government and of outside agencies as necessary to assume assigned responsibilities.
- Learn, understand, interpret and apply a body of technical information beyond normal department policies and procedures.
- Plan and assign work and train other clerical employees.
- Independently prepare correspondence and memorandums.
- Operate a variety of office equipment including a word processor and/or computer terminal.
- Communicate clearly and concisely, both orally and in writing.
- Understand and carry out oral and written directions.
- Establish and maintain cooperative working relationships with those contacted in the course of work.
Minimum Qualifications
Any combination of experience and training that would likely provide the required knowledge and abilities is qualifying. A typical way to obtain knowledge and abilities would be:
- One year of general clerical experience comparable to that of a journey level clerical class in the City of San Mateo.
- Equivalent to the completion of the twelfth grade supplemented by specialized clerical training.
Bonus Points (highly desirable)
- Local or county government experience.
- Committee and/or commission support experience.
- Public records request experience.
- Workday or similar system experience.
- Some positions in this class may require a Notary Public Commission.
What We Offer
- Salary: $6,511.86 - $7,764.25 /month
- Comprehensive benefits package including generous paid leave and health benefits
- CalPERS retirement (2% @ 55 for classic members; 2% @ 62 for new members); Classic employees contribute 8.34% to CalPERS and New members contribute 7.5% to CalPERS with participation in the Social Security Program
- Retirement Health Savings Account: City contribution of 1.0% of base salary
- Deferred Compensation: City will contribute 0.5% of base salary and match up to 0.5% of base salary
- Free Fitness classes through City of San Mateo Parks and Recreation, Employee Assistance Program and Credit Union Membership
- Bilingual Differential: $195 monthly (if applicable)
- This classification is represented by the San Mateo Employees’ General Unit. For more information, please refer to the San Mateo General Unit Summary document.
ADA Special Requirement
Essential duties require the following physical abilities and work environment:
- Ability to work in a standard office environment.
Apply
Submit an online application, résumé, and supplemental questionnaire at https://www.calopps.org/city-of-san-mateo or to the Human Resources Department, City of San Mateo, 330 W. 20th Avenue, San Mateo, CA 94403, (650) 522-7260.
Application Deadline
Recruitment will close on Friday, May 22, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. or upon receipt of the first 100 applications, résumé, and supplemental questionnaires, or whichever occurs first.
Interview Process
All applications, résumés, and supplemental questionnaires received will be reviewed for minimum qualifications. A fully completed application is required; a resume does not replace the information required on the employment application, including work history. Applications with "see resume" as a substitution for the work experience description, those with unclear past employment information, or those with insufficient information to evaluate possession of minimum qualifications will not be considered; missing information cannot be assumed. A limited number of the most highly qualified applicants will be invited to participate in the examination process, which may consist of an oral panel interview, written exercise, or in the form of a practical demonstration of skill and ability, or any combination of these. A virtual oral panel interview is tentatively scheduled for Tuesday, June 16, 2026.
An employment list will be established for those who pass the examination process. Current and future vacancies may be filled from this list. The list will remain in effect for at least six months with the possibility of an extension for an additional six months. Once placed on an eligible list, and at the time a vacancy occurs, eligible candidates may be contacted by the hiring department and scheduled for additional department interviews.
Date posted: May 4, 2026
