Assessor-Recorder Senior Office Specialist - Office of the Assessor-Recorder (4215)

The Office of the Assessor-Recorder currently has a full-time vacancy in class 4215 Senior Office Specialist. This is the senior-level class of the Assessor-Recorder support series. Incumbents work under direction to perform the most difficult and specialized clerical and technical duties that require advanced knowledge of technical administrative policies and procedures, most of which are unique to the Assessor-Recorder’s Office. Duties emphasize advanced and technical level activities pertaining to document examining, property ownership and transactions, change in ownership assessment determination recommendations, transfer tax assessment, complex exemptions, and real/personal property appraisal services. Incumbents perform assigned duties with substantial independence, applying advanced knowledge of technical assessment and recording requirements, policies and procedures to make decisions and perform assignments.

Other essential duties may include, but are not limited to:

1. Performs highly-specialized technical work and analysis requiring in-depth knowledge and a high level of independence involving review and processing of real property transactions and/or complex document recording processes within the Assessor-Recorder’s Office; receives, examines, evaluates, and records deeds, reconveyances, releases of liens, judgments, marriage certificates and various legal and other documents; interprets various codes, statutes and ordinance in examining and recording a wide variety of complex documents; performs detailed and complex document examination to ensure sufficiency, completeness, jurisdiction, appropriateness for recording, and/or adherence to legal codes and state and county recording requirements; provides follow up with customers and other parties as appropriate to resolve problems; refers customers to other Office staff and/or outside agencies as required on committees and task forces.
2. Ensures compliance with the Transfer Tax Ordinance by reviewing change of ownership transactions; requests and analyzes documentation of proof of exemption; and collects transfer taxes in real-time, in accordance with the Revenue and Taxation Code and State and local tax laws and ordinances.
3. Searches deeds to determine real property ownership; receives and verifies records supporting property statements.
4. Receives and collects payments for a wide range of complex service fees based on Revenue and Taxation codes as well as state and local tax laws and ordinances; issues receipts and accounts for money received by balancing records. May receive and collect payments of recordable documents; balance cash receipts and receivables; prepare balance sheets and processing forms; and post receivables and credit appropriate accounts.
5. Provides complex technical information in person, on the phone, and via email and regular mail regarding policies and procedures pertaining to recording requirements, assessment and recording laws, regulations, policies and procedures to attorneys, government agencies and the public.
6. Performs technical tax assessment activities by reviewing and evaluating real property transactions such as grant deeds, quitclaim deeds, affidavits of death, court orders, final decrees of distribution, leases, foreclosure sales deeds and other documents; researches property rolls to verify changes in ownership, transfer of property, boundary discrepancies and overlap or breaks in the chain of title for real property; makes recommendations regarding property transfer tax and other assessments, based on State and County laws and codes.
7. Provides technical assistance to professional appraisers pertaining to real property appraisals; collects structural classification data in the field or in the office for residential dwellings, apartment complexes, commercial concerns and industrial firms; notes construction characteristics related to foundation, exterior, interior, plumbing, lighting and heating; determines shape classifications using perimeter and square footage calculations; takes photographs of structures.
8. Gathers property and/or business data to determine welfare tax exemption status; gathers and tabulates data to determine appropriate exemption percentage allowable; inspects property based on application information and other data; and prepares inspection reports; explains exemption programs; eligibility requirements; evaluates program applications and determines eligibility based on well defined, pre-established criteria; responds to and researches complaints regarding determinations; works with other divisions and the Tax Collector’s Office to ensure that exemption accounts are adjusted appropriately.
9. Researches and compiles property value data; identifies comparable sales; searches deeds to determine delivered prices; provides technical support for cost analyses and/or income analyses for both real and business/personal property; receives and verifies records supporting property statements from public accountants for client firms; researches, gathers and tabulates data from financial and operating statements.
10. Explains appraisal procedures and policies to builders, contractors, real estate brokers and the general public; serves as a technical liaison to various agents regarding appraisal processes.
11. Maintains and updates statistical data; prepares and maintains complex statistical reports.
12. May serve as a lead worker by directing and monitoring the work of a small group of subordinate employees and serving as a technical resource regarding the more complex work issues in the unit. May be required to provide training to entry level classifications.
13. Operates personal computers, computer terminals and other equipment to research databases, documents and records and locate requested information; provides and/or sends copies of requested documents according to Office policies and procedures.
14. Types and prepares a wide variety of correspondence, forms and complex documents; independently initiates correspondence pertaining to areas of assignment.
15. Performs other technical administrative duties; attends meetings and trainings; may serve on committees and task forces.
16. Reviews and examines documents to ensure recording standards are met, accurately input appropriate codes, indexing fields and document characteristics to correctly cashier recording fees/transfer taxes or rejections, ensuring proper workflow routing, document retrieval, and the preservation of the public record.
17. May include additional duties as assigned.

Qualifications

These minimum qualifications establish the education, training, experience, special skills and/or license(s) which are required for employment in the classification. Please note, additional qualifications (i.e., special conditions) may apply to a particular position and will be stated on the exam/job announcement.

Pattern I

Experience: Three (3) years equivalent to or higher than a 4213 Assessor-Recorder Office Assistant in the City/County of San Francisco; OR

Pattern II

Experience: Two (2) years equivalent to or higher than a 4214 Assessor-Recorder Office Specialist in the City/County of San Francisco; OR

Pattern III

Education: Completion of sixty (60) semester (or equivalent quarter) units from an accredited college or university, with major coursework in business administration, accounting or a closely-related field.

Experience: Three (3) years of progressively responsible legal document technical review, researching documents, and processing experience, preferably in a legal environment or county Assessor or Recorder’s office, including two (2) years performing journey-level duties comparable to or higher than those assigned to the class of 4214 Assessor-Recorder Office Specialist in the City/County of San Francisco.

Substitution:

1) Additional specialized assessment/recording-related experience may substitute for the above-required education on a year-for-year basis, where one year of experience is equivalent to thirty (30) semester or forty-five (45) quarter units, OR

2) Possession of Certificate of Recognition certifying that the applicant has successfully completed the Recordable Document Examiner course administered by the County Recorder’s Association of California may substitute for six (6) months of the required experience described in Pattern III of the Minimum Qualifications.

Desirable Qualifications

• Experience in performing advanced clerical or analytical work that involves reviewing and processing complex real estate and legal documents or records.
• Experience in interpreting and applying detailed policies, procedures, or regulations to make independent decisions with a high level of accuracy and consistency.
• Experience in providing complex technical information or assistance to a diverse audience, in a concise and timely manner, in a customer-facing environment.

Verification of Education and Experience: Applicants may be required to submit verification of qualifying education and experience at any point during the recruitment and selection process. If education verification is required, information on how to verify education requirements, including verifying foreign education credits or degree equivalency, can be found here.

Note: Falsifying one’s education, training, or work experience or attempted deception on the application may result in disqualification for this and future job opportunities with the City and County of San Francisco.

All work experience, education, training and other information substantiating how you meet the minimum qualifications must be included on your application by the filing deadline. Information submitted after the filing deadline will not be considered in determining whether you meet the minimum qualifications.

Resumes will not be accepted in lieu of a completed City and County of San Francisco application.

Applications completed improperly may be cause for ineligibility or disqualification.

Selection Procedures:

Applications will be screened and evaluated for qualifying experience. Additional screening mechanisms may be implemented in order to determine candidate’s qualifications. Only qualified candidates whose experience best meets the needs of the position will be selected to continue to additional steps in the selection process, which may include an interview. Applicants who meet the minimum qualifications are not guaranteed advancement.

Additional Information

Additional Information Regarding Employment with the City and County of San Francisco:

• Information About The Hiring Process
• Conviction History
• Employee Benefits Overview  
• Equal Employment Opportunity 
• Disaster Service Worker
• ADA Accommodation
• Right to Work
• Copies of Application Documents
• Diversity Statement

HOW TO APPLY

Applications for City and County of San Francisco jobs are only accepted through an online process. Visit https://careers.sf.gov/ and begin the application process.

• Select the “I’m Interested,” or “Apply Now” button and follow instructions on the screen

Computers are available for the public (9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Monday through Friday) to file online applications in the lobby of the Dept. of Human Resources at 1 South Van Ness Avenue, 4th Floor and at the City Career Center at City Hall,1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place, Room 110.

Applicants will receive a confirmation email from notification@careers.sf.gov that their online application has been received in response to every announcement for which they file. Applicants should retain this confirmation email for their records. Failure to receive this email means that the online application was not submitted or received.

If you have any questions regarding this recruitment or application process, please contact the recruitment analyst, Stella Choi at stella.choi@sfgov.org.

All your information will be kept confidential according to EEO guidelines.

The City and County of San Francisco encourages women, minorities and persons with disabilities to apply. Applicants will be considered regardless of their sex, race, age, religion, color, national origin, ancestry, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition (associated with cancer, a history of cancer, or genetic characteristics), HIV/AIDS status, genetic information, marital status, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, military and veteran status, or other protected category under the law.