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The City of Berkeley invites you to apply for the position of Risk Manager in the City Attorney’s Office!

 

THE DEPARTMENT

The City Attorney's Office provides the City with the highest caliber legal services and advice, and protects and advances the interests of the City by all legal and ethical means. The department provides legal advice and support to the City Council, City Manager, all City Departments, as well as appointed City Boards and Commissions. 

 

THE OPPORTUNITY

Although the City Attorney’s Office collectively serves as the City’s Risk Manager, this is the first time the role has been established as a stand-alone position. As the inaugural Risk Manager, the incumbent will have the unique opportunity to shape and develop the program. Under the general direction of the City Attorney, the Risk Manager administers the general liability claims program, provides advice and education to City officials and employees on risk avoidance, retention, and transfer, and serves as the City’s liaison to the Bay Cities Joint Powers Insurance Authority. 

 

THE IDEAL CANDIDATE

The ideal candidate is an experienced and forward-thinking risk management professional with a strong foundation in government claims, public liability litigation, and insurance practices within public agencies. They bring experience working with attorneys on liability cases, guiding mediation strategies, and supporting the City’s interests in settlement negotiations. The successful candidate is well-versed in general liability and property insurance, public agency risk pools, and contractual risk transfer, and is able to analyze complex data, assess financial impacts, and make informed recommendations to identify emerging risk issues.

Strengths include being proactive, analytical, and solutions-oriented, with a demonstrated ability to strengthen risk management practices across an entire organization. The ideal candidate will provide clear, practical advice to departments citywide, review contracts with a critical eye toward risk exposure, and recommend strategies to avoid, reduce, or transfer risk. The ideal candidate is comfortable meeting with a wide variety of groups, serving as the City’s representative on a risk pool board, actively participating in governance, and presenting information in a clear, concise, and accessible manner to a wide range of audiences.

They are highly organized, detail-oriented, and skilled at managing multiple priorities, including reviewing invoices, overseeing work, engaging in case assessments, and navigating mediation processes. The ideal candidate brings strong writing skills, sound judgment, and the ability to work independently with minimal direction – looking at things with a fresh mindset and consistently seeking better, data-informed approaches. A collaborative spirit and the ability to work effectively with a diverse team round out this candidate’s strengths.

While advanced expertise in public agency insurance and risk management terminology is ideal, candidates with strong transferable skills and the ability to quickly learn the nuances of municipal risk management are encouraged to apply.

 

THE RISK MANAGER

This is a supervisory position in which incumbents direct, coordinate and perform the work related to managing the City’s claims through the Bay Cities Joint Powers Insurance Authority and outside counsel conducting legal work on behalf of the city. Incumbents work collaboratively with attorneys within the City Attorney’s Office and with staff from City Departments related to liability claims made against the City. This classification is distinguished from other classifications responsible for occupational health and safety and workers’ compensation by the absence of those program elements. Areas of responsibility include:

• Plans, organizes, develops, supervises and coordinates the operations of the Risk Management Division within the City Attorney’s Office. 
• Receives claims, determines if claims meet statutory requirements, sets reserves, and determines who will adjust. 
• Performs or facilitates investigations; works with City staff, third-party claims adjusters, attorneys, and subject matter experts to evaluate investigation and determine whether a claim should be accepted or denied.
• Ensures that all statutory time limits and documentation are complied with; represents the City in small claims matters involving tort claims; coordinates with City Attorney's Office staff with regards to claims evolving into litigation.
• Develops and maintains a comprehensive claims management system for making determinations on processing of public liability claims and supervises the processing of City claims, individuals and other agencies.
• Coordinates with attorneys to provide research and recommendations for legal issues concerned with safety and risk management. 
• Maintains a complete record system of all claims and related activities. 
• Coordinates, prepares and presents studies, reports and agenda items to the City Council and other City boards or teams. 
• Studies statutory and regulatory requirements and modifies program components to ensure they meet standards and legislative mandates established by federal and state regulations; analyze the impact of legislative changes. 
• Represents the City on the Bay Cities Joint Powers Insurance Authority for general liability.
• Evaluates insurance risks; monitors the City's insurance program including reviewing and approving contracts to reduce risk exposure and to develop accident insurance and indemnification provisions and contacting vendors and consultants regarding insurance requirements; evaluates costs and benefits of alternative coverage; re-negotiates or makes arrangements for coverage; and develops insurance requirements, reviews bids, and recommends policy purchases. 
• Supervises, evaluates, and trains staff. 
• Performs related duties as assigned.

 

A typical way of gaining the knowledge, skills, and abilities for this position is: 

Education
Equivalent to a bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university with major coursework in public or business administration, human resources, industrial engineering, risk management, or a closely related field.

Experience
Four (4) years of progressively responsible professional experience in risk management, loss prevention or municipal/corporate insurance administration, including supervisory experience.

Licenses, Certifications, and Other Requirements
Designation as Associate in Risk Management for Public Entities (ARM-P) is highly desirable. When driving on City business, must possess a valid California driver’s license.

Applications must be received by 5:00 p.m. PT on Monday, April 6, 2026 and must include a completed application. Please note that resumes are not a substitute for a completed application.

The City Attorney's Office
The City Attorney’s Office provides legal advice to all City Departments, the City Council and all Boards and Commissions. In addition, the City Attorney’s Office provides risk management services through the Risk Management Division. 

The Ideal Candidate
The ideal candidate brings a strong background in safety and insurance, with hands-on experience in general liability claims, workers’ compensation, and claims investigation. The candidate is comfortable taking a deep dive into safety programs. This individual is highly collaborative, able to work effectively across departments, and skilled at clearly explaining processes, requirements, and projects to both technical and non-technical audiences. The ideal candidate is confident working directly with clients, internal staff, and executive leadership, balancing detail-oriented analysis with strong communication and relationship-building skills.

First Review
The first review of applications will take place on March 25, 2026, at 5:00 PM (PT). This recruitment may close without notice so interested applicants are encouraged to apply immediately. A resume and supplemental questionnaire (part of the online application) must be submitted with the completed City application. To be considered for this outstanding employment opportunity, please complete an application online.

Selection Process
The process may include individual and/or panel interviews, written and/or in-basket exercise, professional reference checks, DOJ fingerprint check, and other related components. Only those candidates who have the best combination of qualifications in relation to the requirements and duties of the position will continue in the selection process. Meeting the minimum qualifications does not guarantee an invitation to participate in the process. 

Reasonable Accommodation
Human Resources will make reasonable efforts in the examination process to accommodate persons with disabilities. Please advise Human Resources of any special needs a minimum of 5 days in advance of the selection process by calling (510) 494-4660 or emailing humanresources@fremont.gov.

Contact Us
For additional information, please contact Human Resources Department at: humanresources@fremont.gov.

The information contained herein is subject to change and does not constitute either an expressed or implied contract.

San José Clean Energy, or SJCE, is San José’s local, not-for-profit electricity supplier operated by the City of San José’s Energy Department. Since 2019, our dedicated and motivated team has provided clean energy for residents and businesses at competitive rates, while also offering community programs, local benefits, and increased transparency and accessibility. SJCE serves more than 350,000 customer accounts, and has contracted for more than 1 GW of power.

Joining our team means that you will be making a big impact on the fight against climate change. SJCE plays an important role in meeting San José’s ambitious goal to be carbon neutral by 2030 and in implementing the City’s climate action plan, Climate Smart San José. Thanks to SJCE, San Jose has one of the cleanest energy mixes of any large city and offers a 62% renewable product and a 100% renewable product.

Serving our community with respect and integrity is at the core of what we do. We center equity, diversity, inclusion and belonging in our work. The department also hosts active staff-led Culture and Racial Equity committees, and has won awards for its education and outreach work with Spanish and Vietnamese-speaking communities.

For more information about San José Clean Energy, please visit: www.sanjosecleanenergy.org.

 

Position Duties

 

The Energy department is seeking to fill one (1) full-time Power Resources Specialist I/II position to support the Risk Management and Contracts Administration Division. This position is part of an exciting fast-paced team responsible for mitigating risks and managing a power portfolio comprised of hundreds of Megawatts of renewable energy projects. 

The selected candidate will have the following duties and responsibilities:

• Develop analytical modeling and reporting for evaluating portfolio-level and enterprise-wide risks, providing insights that strengthen decision making. 
• Define and quantify the risk metric to demonstrate financial risk during extreme, disadvantageous energy market conditions and assess their implications for the organization. 
• Support the creation of scalable risk management tools to track the various operational, financial, strategic, legislative, regulatory risks specific to the energy industry.
• Perform quantitative and qualitative analysis to assess critical energy-sector risks - such as wholesale market fluctuations and evolving regulatory requirements - and recommend mitigation strategies.
• Perform attribution analysis to identify the factors contributing to power portfolio performance and generate insights for strategic decision making.
• Perform sensitivity analyses on key energy-related risk variables using financial modeling techniques to evaluate organizational impact and prepare clear, data-driven reports for management.
• Coordinate with different divisions within the department to identify the key risks across various categories, supporting the development and maintenance of an enterprise risk register.
• Monitor the organization's risk exposure and the effectiveness of existing risk management strategies through continuous data analysis. 
• Evaluate enterprise risks, conduct risk assessments, and collaborate with business units to assess, track, and mitigate business-level risks, while informing enterprise-level risk assessment and management.
• Identify emerging operational and financial risks by analyzing internal and external energy-market data to evaluate risk likelihood, impact, exposure, and control effectiveness, providing strategic recommendations to prevent or reduce potential losses.
• Maintain an understanding of existing and new regulatory laws related to California Energy Regulation and assess how policy changes may impact organizational operations and compliance.
• Perform other duties that may be assigned from time to time.

The ideal candidate is a highly motivated individual with strong modeling, analytical, quantitative and problem-solving skills. The candidate should have effective communication skills, show attention to detail, and be able to work independently. Candidates that are highly collaborative with colleagues and are able to think outside the box are ideal. Experience in energy sector is desirable.
 

The Risk Management and Contracts Administration Division is responsible for providing independent oversight of the risks in transacting for energy products and services as well as ensuring compliance with adopted risk management policies and procedures.  This unit also provides strategic support to facilitate the development and execution of various non-energy contracts, administers signed energy contracts, and manages the invoicing process.

The position will remain open until filled, with the first review of applications on March 13, 2026.

 

Minimum Qualifications

 

Education and Experience 

Power Resources Specialist I - A Bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university in Business, Economics, Engineering, Environmental Studies, Law, Natural Resources, Statistics, or an analytical degree related field to utility business. 

Experience: None

Power Resources Specialist II - A Bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university in Business, Economics, Engineering, Environmental Studies, Finance, Law, Natural Resources, Statistics, or an analytical degree related field to utility business AND one (1) year of experience in energy resources operations, planning, purchasing, scheduling, or contract negotiations. 

Acceptable Substitution

None

Licenses or Certificates: Valid California Driver’s License may be required.

THIS IS A HYBRID POSITION, REQUIRING PART OF THE WORK WEEK TO BE ONSITE IN THE DOWNTOWN SAN JOSE OFFICE. The hybrid work schedule may change due to the department’s business needs in the future.

 

Other Qualifications

 

Competencies:

The ideal candidate will possess the following competencies, as demonstrated in past and current employment history. Desirable competencies for this position include:

• Job Expertise – Demonstrates knowledge of and experience with applicable professional/technical principles and practices, Citywide and departmental procedures, policies, and federal and state rules and regulations. 
• Analytical Thinking – Approaches a problem or situation by using a logical, systematic, sequential approach.
• Initiative - Exhibits resourceful behaviors toward meeting job objectives; anticipates problems, is proactive, and avoids difficulties by planning ahead; displays willingness to assume extra responsibility and challenges; pursues continuing education opportunities that promotes job performance.
• Problem Solving – Approaches a situation or problem by defining the problem or issue; determines the significance of problem; collects information; uses logic and intuition to arrive at decisions or solutions to problems that achieve the desired outcome.
• Teamwork & Interpersonal Skills – Develops effective relationships with co-workers and supervisors by helping others accomplish tasks and using collaboration and conflict resolution skills.
• Multi-Tasking - Can handle multiple projects and responsibilities simultaneously; has handled a wide variety of assignments in past and/or current position(s).
• Computer skills - Experienced with common business computer applications including but not limited to: MS Outlook, MS Word, MS PowerPoint, MS Access,   MS Excel, as well as data visualization and modeling tools.
• Communication Skills – Effectively conveys information and expresses thoughts and facts clearly, orally and in writing; demonstrates effective use of listening skills; displays openness to other people's ideas and thoughts.

Selection Process: 
The selection process will consist of an evaluation of the applicant's training and experience based on the application and responses to all the job specific questions. You must answer all questions to be considered or your application may be deemed incomplete and withheld from further consideration. Only those candidates whose backgrounds best match the position will be invited to proceed in the selection process. Additional phases of the selection process will consist of one or more interviews.

If you have questions about the duties of these positions, the selection or hiring processes, please contact Adrienne Barreto at adrienne.barreto@sanjoseca.gov. 

 

 

Additional Information:

Employment Eligibility:  Federal law requires all employees to provide verification of their eligibility to work in this country. Please be informed that the City of San Jose will NOT sponsor, represent or sign any documents related to visa applications/transfers for H1-B or any other type of visa which requires an employer application.  

You must answer all job-specific questions to be considered for this vacancy or your application will be deemed incomplete and withheld from further consideration. Applicants are expected to write their own essays/responses.  

Please note that applications are currently not accepted through CalOpps or any other third party job board application system.

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.

Please allow adequate time to complete the application and submit before the deadline or the system may not save your application.  If your online application was successfully submitted, you will receive an automatic confirmation email to the email address you provided.  IF YOU DO NOT RECEIVE THE CONFIRMATION, please email CityCareers@sanjoseca.gov and we will research the status of your application. 

AI and the Hiring Process

We recognize that Artificial Intelligence (AI) is becoming part of daily life and can be a valuable tool for learning, research, and professional growth. We encourage candidates to use AI responsibly as a support in preparing application materials, live assessments, and interviews. However, we value authenticity, accuracy and truthfulness. Application responses and interview answers must reflect your own knowledge, skills, and experiences. While AI can supplement preparation, it cannot replace the originality and judgment we look for in our employees. This ensures fairness, transparency, and equity for all applicants in the hiring process.