Assistant to the City Manager (U)

Assistant To The City Manager (U)

The City of San Bernardino is seeking a highly skilled, strategic, and experienced professional to join the City Manager's Office as the Assistant to the City Manager (U). This is an exciting opportunity to work directly with executive leadership on high-level projects, policy initiatives, legislative matters, and Citywide priorities that impact our organization and community! About the City: As a future member of our team, you'll be joining a city with deep roots, cultural diversity, and exciting momentum. Located in the heart of Southern California's Inland Empire, San Bernardino is the county seat and largest city in San Bernardino County, home to more than 222,000 residents. Its rich history shaped by Native American, Mexican, and Spanish influences continues to inspire the city's evolving identity.

San Bernardino offers access to major transit corridors, natural beauty, and a wide range of housing and lifestyle options. It's a place where public service careers are supported by a strong sense of community and purpose and where motivated professionals can grow, contribute, and be part of something meaningful.

About the Position: The City of San Bernardino is seeking an experienced, highly motivated, and analytical professional to join the City Manager's Office as an Assistant to the City Manager (U). The incumbent performs complex and responsible administrative, financial, statistical, and other management analyses in support of City Manager, City activities, functions, and programs. Provides sound professional recommendations for action in formulating policy, procedure, operational, and budgetary positions. This is an advanced-level administrative position serving the City Manager and Deputy City Manager. The Assistant to the City Manager performs highly responsible research, analyses, and studies on a wide range of management, administrative, financial, policy, legislative, and other organization issues. The incumbent develops recommendations and oversees consideration of legislative and grants matters before Council committees. Assignments are broad in scope and allow for a high degree of administrative discretion in their execution.

What You'll Be Doing Here

The Ideal Candidate: Is a strategic thinker, strong communicator, and solutions-oriented professional who thrives in a fast-paced executive environment. The successful candidate will possess strong analytical and project management skills and be comfortable working on complex and highly visible assignments that impact multiple City departments and the community.

The ideal candidate will:

• Have significant professional administrative experience within a public agency or municipal government environment.
• Demonstrate strong research, analytical, and problem-solving skills with the ability to translate complex information into clear recommendations.
• Exercise sound independent judgment and discretion when handling sensitive and confidential matters.
• Possess a strong understanding of municipal operations, budgeting, financial analysis, public policy, and legislative processes.
• Effectively manage multiple projects, competing priorities, and time-sensitive assignments.
• Prepare clear, concise, and persuasive reports, memoranda, policy documents, presentations, and recommendations.
• Communicate confidently and professionally with executive leadership, elected officials, department heads, community stakeholders, and outside agencies.
• Demonstrate initiative and the ability to take ownership of projects from research and analysis through implementation.
• Build collaborative working relationships across departments and organizations.
• Be adaptable and comfortable working on assignments that may change based on the City's operational and strategic priorities.

A Day in the Life Consists Of:

• Conduct complex administrative, financial, operational, legislative, and policy analyses on Citywide issues and programs.
• Research issues, evaluate alternatives, identify potential impacts, and develop recommendations for the City Manager and Deputy City Manager.
• Prepare reports, policy papers, legislative documents, presentations, correspondence, and other executive-level materials.
• Assist with establishing and implementing operational plans, initiatives, policies, procedures, and work programs for the City Manager's Office.
• Participate in developing and monitoring the City Manager's Office budget and conduct revenue, expenditure, and cost analyses.
• Coordinate with department and division leadership on budgets, programs, special projects, and operational priorities.
• Serve as a liaison on legislative and grant matters and present recommendations to City Council committees.
• Attend meetings with City leadership, appointed boards and committees, community organizations, governmental agencies, and other stakeholders.
• Represent the City Manager's Office in meetings with civic, community, industry, and governmental partners as assigned.
• Develop implementation plans and coordinate follow-up activities to ensure projects and recommendations move forward.
• Evaluate existing processes, policies, and management systems and identify opportunities for improvement.
• Manage special projects and other high-priority assignments on behalf of the City Manager and Deputy City Manager.

What You Need to Qualify

Education and Experience: Bachelor's Degree in Business or Public Administration, Political Science, or a related field; and five (5) years of progressively responsible professional administrative experience in a public agency; or an equivalent combination of education, training and experience. A Master's degree in Public Administration may be substituted for two years of the required experience. Licenses, Certifications, and Equipment: A valid State driver's license is required. Knowledge of

• Principles, practices, and methods of complex administrative, organizational, economic, legislative, policy, and procedural analysis.
• Principles and practices of public administration, including purchasing, contracting, and maintenance of public records.
• Principles, practices, and methods of municipal budget development and financial analysis.
• Financial, statistical, and comparative analysis tools, techniques, and formulae and computer software appropriate for statistical analysis and data management.
• Basic principles, tools, and techniques of project planning and management.
• Federal, state, and local laws, regulations, and court decisions applicable to assigned areas of responsibility.
• City operations and functions and associated business and financial management issues and challenges.
• Uses and operations of a computer and standard business software, including word processing, spreadsheet, and database applications.
• Principles and practices of effective management and supervision.
• City human resources policies and procedures, Personnel Rules, and labor contract provisions.
• City administrative policies and procedures applicable to processing budget, fiscal, and purchasing documents and maintenance of public records.

Skill in

• Analyzing complex administrative, operational, economic, political, and organizational problems, evaluating alternatives and reaching sound, logical, fact-based conclusions and recommendations.
• Collecting, evaluating, and interpreting myriad data, either in statistical or narrative form.
• Presenting proposals and recommendations clearly, logically, and persuasively in public meetings.
• Understanding, interpreting, explaining, and applying City, state and federal laws and regulations governing the conduct of City operations.
• Evaluating, developing, and implementing management systems, policies, and controls.
• Exercising sound independent judgment within general policy guidelines.
• Preparing clear, concise, and accurate memoranda, documents, records, and other written materials.
• Using tact, discretion, and courtesy in dealing with sensitive situations and upset or dissatisfied individuals.
• Establishing and maintaining effective relationships.
• Providing customer service.

How to Apply and What to Expect Next

All applicants are required to submit an online application through the City's official website at This recruitment will remain open until September 13, 2026, at 11:59 PM or until a sufficient number of qualified applications have been received.

Applications must be fully completed and clearly demonstrate that the minimum qualifications for the position are met. All information provided is subject to review, investigation, and verification. While resumes may be uploaded as supplemental documentation, they will not be accepted in place of a fully completed City application.

Following the initial screening, the most qualified candidates whose backgrounds best match the needs of the City will be invited to continue in the selection process. Meeting the minimum qualifications does not guarantee advancement. Candidates will remain under consideration until a final selection is made and an offer is accepted. The City of San Bernardino reserves the right to close the recruitment at any time and may determine that none of the applicants, including those who meet the minimum qualifications, are suitable for the position.

Pre-Employment Process may include, but is not limited to:

• Application Review
• Oral Exam
• Background Investigation with the California Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
• Pre-employment Medical Exam, including drug test
• Employment/Professional Reference Check