THE COMMUNITY
The City of Menlo Park is a thriving community with tree-lined neighborhoods, active commercial areas, spaces to enjoy the outdoors, and opportunities to engage in local activities. Located conveniently between the major metropolitan areas of San Francisco and San Jose, Menlo Park is home to just under 34,000 residents in its 19 square miles. The stunning natural surroundings of the city afford views of the San Francisco Bay to the east and the Pacific Coastal Range to the west. Menlo Park’s climate is moderate to warm, with an average of 265 sunny days a year.
Menlo Park’s residents reflect a range of backgrounds and interests, with a tendency toward being actively engaged in community life. The City’s close proximity to Stanford University and Menlo College provide a multitude of academic, cultural and athletic event opportunities. The City regularly hosts musical performances and cultural experiences at both the Burgess campus and the newly opened Belle Haven Community Campus. The Downtown, with its many eateries and unique shops, attracts locals and visitors alike. The Menlo Park Caltrain station also provides a convenient connection to the numerous arts and leisure activities in the San Francisco and San Jose areas.
Known worldwide as the “Capital of Venture Capital,” Menlo Park hosts many venture capital firms and is well situated to benefit from and help shape new technologies and markets originating from the Silicon Valley. Additionally, Menlo Park is host to numerous technology and healthcare related companies, including such major employers as Meta (formerly Facebook), SRI International, Pacific Biosciences, Exponent, Grail, CSBio, and Robinhood. For additional information, visit the City's website at: menlopark.gov.
THE ORGANIZATION
Incorporated in 1927, Menlo Park is a General Law city operating under a Council-Manager form of government. The City Council is the City’s five-member governing body whose members are elected by district for four-year overlapping terms in general municipal elections. The Mayor and Vice Mayor each serve one-year terms and are selected annually by the City Council.
The City Council appoints the City Manager and City Attorney as well as members of the Planning Commission and numerous advisory boards. The City Manager appoints all executive and management level positions. City staff report to one of six departments: City Manager’s Office, Administrative Services, Community Development, Library and Community Services, Police, and Public Works, which includes water and solid waste enterprises. Fire protection and sanitary services are provided by separate special districts.
The City is supported by 296 FTE and has over 55 funds with a total expenditure budget of $207.9 million. As evidence of the City’s sound financial stewardship and solid financial standing, Menlo Park consistently maintains an AAA bond rating, in large part due to its healthy reserves and diverse revenue base
In addition to its many attributes, Menlo Park has one of the most beautiful civic center campuses in the Bay Area. Heritage trees, a running fountain and a duck pond surround City Hall. The campus also includes a nine-acre park, recreation facilities and the Menlo Park Library. These civic amenities make the campus a noted destination for residents, local employees and visitors. Conveniently located, the campus is a short walk to the Menlo Park Caltrain Station and the downtown district with numerous restaurants and shops.
THE DEPARTMENT
The Community Development Department is responsible for ensuring a sustainable and vibrant community that supports a high quality of life for residents, businesses and visitors. It is comprised of 35 FTE who operate as an effective and cohesive team across multiple functional areas and lead a number of City initiatives to support the City Council goals. The Department includes the Building, Planning and Housing Divisions, and core services include building permits, plan check, inspections, affordable housing administration and housing initiatives, as well as long-range planning and development review.
The Building Division, which is the division this position will be responsible for overseeing, includes managing building permit, plan check and inspection processes for compliance with all applicable State laws, local municipal codes and related policies involving building construction. These functions require a high level of customer service with the public and coordination within and across various departments and agencies. The Division issued approximately 1,700 building permits and conducted 10,000 building inspections in 2024. For additional budget information, visit menlopark.gov/budget.
THE POSITION
The City of Menlo Park is seeking a strong, forward-thinking leader who is collaborative and passionate about serving the community and advancing department and City goals. This position serves as the City’s Building Official, as well as plans, organizes, manages, and provides administrative direction and oversight for major functions, activities, and staff of the Building Division. The incumbent will assist with department initiatives, including annual budgeting and monitoring and the development and administration of departmental policies, procedures and services, as well as day-to-day operations, including reviewing plans, interpreting applicable code, and meeting with stakeholders to explain processes. Areas of responsibility include building and safety, permit processing and issuance, inspection and compliance with the California Building Standards Code and relevant parts of the City’s Municipal Code, and building plan check review.
This position plays a key role in collaborating and coordinating assigned activities with other City departments, teams, and outside agencies and fostering cooperative working relationships. The person in this role is also expected to have excellent rapport with the general public, with the ability to respond to, and resolve difficult and sensitive citizen inquiries and complaints.
Current examples of notable projects include coordinating the upcoming California Building Standards Code cycle, collaborating on the IT Master Plan and land management permitting system (Accela) to improve customer experience and service delivery, and overseeing the building permit process for a diverse range of development from tenant improvements to hotels to comprehensive mixed-use campuses. The City has over 2,000 residential units, two hotels and more than 1.8 million square feet of commercial spaces approved, but not yet under construction, along with a number of large development projects currently under review. This position reports directly to the Community Development Director and is responsible for overseeing several positions within the Building Division across all functional areas.
The Department:
The responsibilities of the City Attorney's Office broadly consist of representing and advising the City Council, City officials, and employees of all City departments in all matters of law pertaining to their offices and departments. This includes appearing on behalf of the City in legal actions or proceedings, providing the City Council with information and advice on wide range of legal matters including litigation and new legislation, and staffing City Council and City Board and Commission meetings as necessary. The City Attorney's Office provides legal advice and support on matters initiated by the City Council, City Manager's Office, and all City departments. Typical work includes research and opinion on various issues; review and negotiation of contracts, leases, or permits; drafting employee policies; review and drafting of resolutions, ordinances, and agenda reports; and preparation of responses to Public Records Act requests.
The Position:
The City is recruiting to fill one (1) Assistant City Attorney position. Ideally, the position will be assigned to act as the primary advisor to the City’s Human Resources Department, with additional general municipal areas of work for other departments including but not limited to finance, governance, conflicts of interest, open meetings, and public records.
The position is expected to perform a wide variety of legal services ranging from litigation (or litigation management) of administrative matters (such as internal disciplinary appeals, PERB UPC charges, and CalPERS determinations) to collective bargaining and MOU review/drafting; legal research and drafting opinions; negotiating contracts; drafting disciplinary documents; drafting resolutions and ordinances; providing on-call legal support to all divisions of the Human Resources Department (records, benefits, testing, classification, labor, workers compensation, recruitment, safety, risk management, etc.); and, staffing commission meetings such as the Civil Service Commission and Salary Setting Commission. This position is also expected to perform other duties as assigned.
The ideal candidate will have superior legal analytical ability and excellent research, writing and oral communication skills and the ability to deal effectively with City employees, opposing counsel, elected and appointed officials, and members of the public.
The ideal candidate will also have experience defending allegations of misconduct in personnel matters, significant experience advising on human resource issues, including Fair Labor Standards Act, Meyers-Milias-Brown Act, labor negotiations, California Public Employees’ Retirement Law, state and federal benefits/leave laws, state and federal employment-related tax laws, and experience providing training in laws, regulations, policies and best practices in personnel management and workplace misconduct
This is a professional position in the Unclassified Service, is an “at-will” position, and the incumbent serves at the discretion of the City Manager. This position is responsible for performing a broad range of duties, which deal with more complex issues. An incumbent in this classification must exercise independent judgment and discretion; manage, control, and direct employees; and formulate administrative policies for the effective use of assigned personnel. The position requires a demonstrated ability to work well with management, professional and administrative support employees in the Office; with clients, professionals, managers, City’s executive management team and all City Departments and elected and appointed officials from the City and various boards, commissions, and committees. An incumbent in this classification must demonstrate strong ethical, professional, and service-oriented leadership and interpersonal skills, set a good example; and correctly apply and abide by the tenets of the City’s Code of Ethics and Values.
This recruitment may be used to fill multiple positions in this, or other divisions or departments. If you are interested in employment in this classification, you should apply to ensure you are considered for additional opportunities that may utilize the applicants from this recruitment.
Additional Information:
Applications must be filled out completely (e.g. do not write “see resume, NA, or personnel file.”). To receive consideration for the screening process, candidates must submit a 1) Cover Letter 2) Resume, and 3) Writing Sample of maximum 5 pages (appropriate examples would be a staff report, public legal memo, redacted memo). Incomplete applications will not be considered.
Application packets may be submitted online through the “Apply Now” feature on the job announcement at www.santaclaraca.gov. This job posting is open until filled: Applications will be reviewed on a monthly basis. If you are interested in applying you are encouraged to apply as soon as possible, before the posting is closed, which may happen at any time.
THIS RECRUITMENT MAY BE USED TO FILL MULTIPLE POSITIONS IN THIS, OR OTHER DIVISIONS OR DEPARTMENTS BESIDES THE POSITIONS LISTED BELOW. IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN EMPLOYMENT IN THIS CLASSIFICATION, YOU SHOULD APPLY TO ENSURE YOU ARE CONSIDERED FOR ADDITIONAL OPPORTUNITIES THAT MAY UTILIZE THE APPLICANTS FROM THIS RECRUITMENT. MEETING THE MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS DOES NOT GUARANTEE ADMITTANCE INTO THE EXAMINATION PROCESS. ONLY THE MOST QUALIFIED CANDIDATES WHO DEMONSTRATE THE BEST COMBINATION OF QUALIFICATIONS IN RELATION TO THE REQUIREMENTS AND DUTIES OF THE POSITION WILL BE INVITED TO TEST OR INTERVIEW.
The annual salary range for this position is $213,185.04 - $275,895.96. This position will be filled at or near the minimum of the salary range.
Minimum Qualifications
EXPERIENCE
• J.D. or L.L.B. from an accredited law school;
• Six (6) years recent experience in the general practice of law. Four (4) years of the qualifying experience must include dealing with municipal, county or state governmental agencies in the State of California;
• One year of supervisory experience is desirable; and
• Trial experience is highly desirable.
CERTIFICATION
• Active member in good standing of the State Bar of California is required;
• Admission to the Federal District Court and Federal Appeals Court Bar is desirable.
LICENSE:
Possession of an appropriate California driver's license is required.
OTHER REQUIREMENTS
Must be able to perform all of the essential functions of the job.
CONFLICT OF INTEREST
Incumbents in this position are required to file a Conflict of Interest statement upon assuming office, annually and upon leaving office, in accordance with City Manager Directive 100.
