City of Palo Alto

  • Management Assistant

  • City of Palo Alto
  • Palo Alto, California United States View Map
Description

The City of Palo Alto is seeking a highly organized, customer-focused Management Specialist to provide advanced administrative and program support for Human Services. This position performs a variety of complex administrative duties, including supporting programs, contracts, budgets, public meetings, and department operations while handling confidential information with professionalism and discretion.

This is an excellent opportunity for a detail-oriented professional who enjoys working in a collaborative environment and supporting programs that serve the community.

The Ideal Candidate

The successful candidate is organized, adaptable, and committed to providing exceptional customer service. They will demonstrate the ability to:
  • Manage multiple priorities while meeting deadlines.
  • Exercise sound judgment and maintain confidentiality.
  • Prepare accurate reports, correspondence, and meeting materials.
  • Support contracts, budgets, records, and administrative processes.
  • Work effectively with City staff, community partners, and the public.
  • Utilize Microsoft Office and enterprise systems to manage data and workflows.

Work Schedule
  • Monday-Friday with a 9/80 work schedule option.
  • Typical hours are 7:30 a.m. - 5:30 p.m. with flexibility.
  • Hybrid work environment based at Cubberley Community Center.
  • One evening Human Relations Commission meeting per month (overtime eligible).


Essential Duties

Responsibilities include, but are not limited to:
  • Provide advanced administrative and program support for Human Services programs and initiatives.
  • Prepare and maintain reports, records, correspondence, contracts, and other administrative documents.
  • Respond to inquiries from City staff, community partners, and the public.
  • Track budgets, purchase orders, invoices, and contract compliance.
  • Coordinate public meetings by preparing agendas, packets, notices, and related materials.
  • Maintain electronic records, databases, and spreadsheets while ensuring data accuracy and confidentiality.
  • Conduct research, compile data, and assist with reports and special projects.
  • Support department communications, website updates, and other administrative functions as assigned.

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities

The ideal candidate will possess knowledge of administrative practices, recordkeeping, customer service, and modern office technology. Successful candidates will have the ability to organize and prioritize competing assignments, communicate effectively both verbally and in writing, prepare professional documents and reports, analyze and maintain data, work independently and collaboratively, and quickly learn City procedures and enterprise systems.
To View the Full Job Description, Click Here.

Minimum Qualifications

Sufficient education, training and/or work experience to demonstrate possession of the following knowledge, skills, and abilities which would typically be acquired through:
  • College graduate, with degree in public or business administration or field related to specific assignment. and
  • One or more year's experience in a staff capacity working with a public agency is desirable.


Desired Qualifications
Experience in one or more of the following areas is preferred:
  • A bachelor's degree in Public Administration, Business Administration, or a closely related field.
  • One (1) year of increasingly responsible administrative or staff experience; experience working in a public agency or local government environment is highly desirable.
  • Human Services, community services, local government, or public sector administration.
  • Contract administration, including purchase orders, invoice processing, and compliance tracking.
  • Budget tracking, expenditure monitoring, and administrative reporting.
  • Agenda preparation, meeting coordination, and support for public meetings or commissions.
  • Electronic records management and document organization.
  • Website content management, online forms, or public information updates.
  • Enterprise systems such as SAP, SharePoint, ERP, HRIS, or similar business applications.
  • Microsoft Office Suite, particularly Excel, Word, and Outlook, including spreadsheet management and basic data analysis.


Supplemental Information

This position is represented by Service Employee International Union (SEIU).

Compensation (SEIU): Comprehensive compensation plan, to learn more click HERE.

The Selection Process:
  • Applicants will receive recruitment status notifications via email. Governmentjobs.com account also has notification status updates.
  • The screening process for this position may include written exams, panel interviews and practical assessments preceding final interviews with the hiring manager or their designee.
  • Interview(s) and assessment(s) may be tentatively scheduled between July 13 - July 31.


Our online application system is provided by NeoGov. If you have problems while applying online, please contact NeoGov's Live Applicant Support at (855) 524-5627 between 6:00 AM and 5:00 PM Pacific Time, Monday - Friday.

The City of Palo Alto is an Equal Opportunity Employer. In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, the City will provide reasonable accommodation to qualified individuals with disabilities and encourages both prospective and current employees to discuss potential accommodations with the employer.

See our Benefits at a Glance Bookletfor more details.
Learn more about our Memorandum of Agreements (MOAs) between the City and its bargaining units, by clicking HERE.

Closing Date/Time: 7/5/2026 11:59 PM Pacific
City of Palo Alto

City of Palo Alto

650-329-2376

The Community


The birthplace of Silicon Valley, Palo Alto, is a community of approximately 68,000 residents and nearly 100,000 jobs. Located on the mid-Peninsula between San Francisco and San Jose, Palo Alto is recognized worldwide as a leader in cutting-edge technology, medicine, and green innovation. The community's treelined streets and historic buildings reflect its California heritage, and, at the same time, many world-class businesses maintain or started offices here, such as Stanford Health Care and Lucile Packard Children's Hospital, Amazon, Broadcom, Hewlett-Packard, Houzz, Rivian, SAP and SAP Ariba, Tesla, and Varian Medical Systems. Numerous start-ups are also at home in Palo Alto, arguably making it the start-up capital of the world. Stanford University is foundational to the history and prestige of Palo Alto, reflected in the community's dedication to lifelong learning. Stanford's cultural and educational offerings are integral to the vibrancy and charm of Palo Alto, while the City's exceptional K-12 school district ranks among the top public-school systems in the country. With more than 50% of adult residents holding a graduate degree or higher, Palo Alto is frequently listed as one of the most educated cities in the nation. Palo Alto boasts a genuine sense of community and an active citizenry with strong environmental values. Beautiful neighborhoods are complemented by vibrant commercial corridors and a bustling economy featuring premium shopping and dining options. Excellent healthcare facilities, performing arts, and diverse recreational opportunities are some of the community's incredibly desirable and cherished amenities. To learn more, visit https://www.paloalto.gov/Departments/City-Manager/Latest-News

City Government

Palo Alto is a full-service charter city with a council-manager form of government. The seven-member City Council is elected at large, and the City Council annually selects the Mayor and Vice Mayor from among its members. The Mayor and City Council appoint the City Manager, City Attorney, City Clerk, and City Auditor. The City Manager is responsible for the strategic direction and day-to-day operations of the City. Palo Alto is organized into 15 departments/offices with 1,093.10 authorized positions in FY 2025. There is also a FY 2025 capital budget of $316.2 million. Palo Alto owns and operates its own utilities, including electricity (carbon-neutral), gas, water, wastewater, and an expanding fiber network. This dynamic municipal environment ensures an ever-engaging platform for unique problem-solving and advances new initiatives, including sustainability, broadband, and effective service delivery. Community assets also include five libraries, 36 parks, five community centers, a museum and zoo, youth centers, a general aviation airport, an 18-hole golf course, a regional water treatment plant, and wildland open space preserves at the San Francisco Bay and in the foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountains offering 41 miles of walking/biking trails in addition to its police, fire, and ambulance services. Palo Alto has long been a leader in sustainability, and the City's ambitious greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction goals are part of what sets it apart. Since the City's first Climate Protection Plan was passed in 2007, Palo Alto has set goals that exceed State and Federal targets. Today, the City's goal to reduce emissions 80% below 1990 levels by 2030 (the "80x30" goal) and achieve carbon neutrality by 2030 guides sustainability efforts. An award-winning City, Palo Alto is recognized nationally as innovative and well-managed. City services and performance also receive impressive marks from community members in the Palo Alto Community Survey.

Many of those ratings put City programs and services in the highest percentiles among the hundreds of benchmark cities. Palo Alto makes decisions through comprehensive processes and proactively seeks to involve its extremely informed, educated, and engaged residents. Projects are naturally a cooperative effort among the City Council, Boards, Commissions, Committees, engaged residents, neighborhoods, businesses, property owners, and staff.

Join an Award Winning Team 

Palo Alto is an award-winning City recognized nationwide as innovative and well-managed. Palo Alto is one of a small number of California cities with a AAA bond rating. Recently, Palo Alto became one of the most livable cities in the U.S. by Livability.com. It's the only city to receive the Platinum Beacon Award in sustainability best practices by California’s Institute for Local Government. We offer a variety of career paths that relate to building and improving communities. The City has fourteen departments employing 1,000 full-time staff. Police officers, fire fighters, paramedics, and building inspectors keep us safe. Engineers and public works staff build and re-build the physical infrastructure. City planners help envision and shape future community growth. Recreation, arts and library professionals enhance community life. Utilities provides electric, gas, water, sewer and other services. Internal services departments help manage, staff, and protect the City.

Want to learn more about our benefits? Learn more by reviewing our "Benefits at a Glance Booklet."

Contact Us

Phone: 650-329-2376   

Email: Recruit@paloalto.gov   

Location: City Hall, 1st Floor | 250 Hamilton Ave 94301 | View Map

 

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