Assistant County Chief Financial Officer (Open and Promotional)

Full Job Description

Additional Information

Application and Examination

This is an Open and Promotional recruitment. Anyone may apply.

Current County of San Mateo and County of San Mateo Superior Court of California employees with at least six months (1040 hours) of continuous service in classified regular, probationary, extra-help or limited term positions prior to the final filing date will receive five points added to their final passing score on this examination.

The examination process will consist of an Application Screening (weight: pass/fail) and a Panel Interview (weight: 100%), which may include the evaluation of a brief writing exercise given immediately preceding the interview.

Applicants must successfully pass the Application Screening to move forward to the interview. Candidates must successfully pass the interview to be placed on the eligible (hiring) list.

Depending on the number of applications, a screening committee may select those applicants whose education and/or experience appear to best meet the needs of the position.

For that reason, not all applicants with the minimum qualifications are guaranteed to advance through selection process.

All examinations will be given in San Mateo County, California and applicants must participate at their own expense.

IMPORTANT: Applications for this position will only be accepted online. If you are currently on the County's website, you may click “Apply.” If you are not on the County's website, please apply at https://jobs.smcgov.org/.

Online applications must be received by the Human Resources Department before midnight on the final filing date.

To be considered for this exceptional opportunity, the following materials must be submitted:

• County of San Mateo Application Employment Form
• Cover Letter expressing your interest in the position and providing responses to the following supplemental subject areas:

Supplemental Subject Areas

Subject Area One: Government finance has become increasingly complex and challenging. For this position, we are looking for someone with visionary ideas for fiscal transformation who can develop creative solutions to current challenges, such as increasing community needs, rising costs, and limited revenues, while aligning with Board and County priorities.

Provide at least two examples of creative, “outside-the-box” fiscal solutions you have presented and implemented at your current or a recent employer. One or both of your examples should relate to a current County of San Mateo priority or event.

In your response describe the issues you were trying to solve, how you implemented your ideas, and the result of the implementations. Please include the agencies where you implemented these ideas, your job titles, and your primary responsibilities.

Subject Area Two: Considering the description of the idea candidate and the core competencies listed in the job announcement, which three characteristics do you believe best align with your background and prepare you for this position? For each of the three qualifications selected:

a. Briefly describe one specific example of how you applied it in practice.

b. Explain your specific role and the results achieved.

c. Reference the position or job in which the experience was gained.

Tentative Recruitment Schedule

• Recruitment Opens: March 13, 2026
• Final Filing Date: April 6, 2026, at 11:59 PM PST
• Application Screening: April 8 – 20, 2026
• Panel/Departmental Interviews: April 29 and/or 30, 2026

About the County
San Mateo County is centrally located between San Francisco, San Jose, and the East Bay. With over 750,000 residents, San Mateo is one of the largest and most diverse counties in California and serves a multitude of culturally, ethnically, and linguistically diverse communities.

The County of San Mateo, as an employer, is committed to advancing equity to ensure that all employees are welcomed in a safe and inclusive environment. The County seeks to hire, support, and retain employees who reflect our diverse community. We encourage applicants with diverse backgrounds and lived experiences to apply. Eighty percent of employees surveyed stated that they would recommend the County as a great place to work.