Assistant City Manager (Two Positions)

Summary

ASSISTANT CITY MANAGERS (TWO POSITIONS)

Location/ Employer: City of Sacramento, CA

Salary Range: $242,215.51* - $340,812.60 DOE/DOQ

*The bottom of the salary range is expected to increase to $264,339.25, pending City Council Approval at the 10/13/26 City Council Meeting.

California’s capital city is building momentum, and the City of Sacramento is seeking two accomplished, collaborative executives to serve as Assistant City Managers and help advance the City’s priorities during an important period of leadership transition. One of these vacancies is the result of an upcoming retirement, and both positions follow successful, long-standing tenures that have provided stability and strong leadership to the organization. The next ACMs will have the opportunity to build upon that strong foundation, serving as trusted partners to the City Manager, supporting talented department leaders, and bringing the versatility, enterprise perspective, and executive judgment to lead across a dynamic municipal organization. For leaders energized by complex challenges, meaningful collaboration, and the opportunity to turn Citywide priorities into visible progress, Sacramento offers the chance to help shape what comes next for California’s capital city.

To see the full recruitment brochure and to apply, visit: https://tristargov.applicantpool.com/jobs/1333209-334416.html

Job Description

CALIFORNIA’S CAPITAL CITY: ROOTED IN HISTORY. BUILT FOR WHAT’S NEXT.

Located at the confluence of the Sacramento and American Rivers, Sacramento is a vibrant and evolving capital city where history, culture, recreation, and opportunity come together. Home to more than 500k residents, Sacramento offers the amenities of a major metropolitan area while maintaining distinctive neighborhoods and an approachable quality of life. As one of California’s most diverse cities, Sacramento embraces its diversity as a defining strength and is committed to advancing equity, inclusion, and opportunity across every neighborhood and community.

The city has earned a reputation for its farm-to-fork culinary scene, with restaurants, farmers markets, breweries, wineries, and local producers reflecting the richness of the surrounding region. Downtown and Midtown offer an active mix of dining, nightlife, arts, entertainment, and community events, while destinations such as the Golden 1 Center, Crocker Art Museum, Old Sacramento Waterfront, and the SAFE Credit Union Convention and Performing Arts District contribute to a lively cultural and visitor experience.

Outdoor recreation is equally accessible. With more than 200 parks and 80 miles of trails, Sacramento offers abundant opportunities for cycling, running, kayaking, and enjoying its rivers and green spaces. Its central Northern California location also puts residents within easy reach of Lake Tahoe, the Sierra Nevadas, Napa Valley, and the Bay Area.

As California’s capital, Sacramento is also a center for government, business, education, healthcare, and innovation, with institutions such as Sacramento State and UC Davis contributing to the region’s talent and economic ecosystem. Continued investment in the city’s neighborhoods, commercial corridors, waterfront, entertainment offerings, and major development projects is helping shape an increasingly dynamic place to build a career, establish a business, and call home.

CITY GOVERNMENT STRUCTURE. ONE CITY, ONE FUTURE.

The City of Sacramento is a charter city operating under a Council-City Manager form of government. The nine-member City Council consists of a Mayor elected at large and eight Councilmembers elected by district. Together, the Mayor and City Council establish policy, adopt the City’s budget, and appoint the City Manager, City Auditor, City Clerk, City Treasurer, and City Attorney. The City Manager serves as the City’s Chief Executive Officer and is responsible for implementing Council direction and overseeing City operations.

City Council Priorities:

Through the “One City, One Future” Strategic Workplan, City Departments are bringing city services and City Council priorities into alignment with greater focus and accountability on coordinated action and measurable results. For FY2026/27, the Council has established three priorities that guide the City’s work:

• Economic Development: Strengthen Sacramento’s economic vitality through business attraction, retention and expansion, targeted industry growth, small business support, workforce development, streamlined development processes, catalytic investment, and vibrant commercial and cultural destinations.
• Homelessness: Advance coordinated strategies that connect people experiencing homelessness with shelter, services, and permanent housing while strengthening regional partnerships and pursuing additional resources.
• Public Safety: Maintain strong Police and Fire services while advancing strategies that improve community safety, strengthen emergency response, and support effective deployment of public safety resources.

These priorities are supported by the strategic workplan which identifies specific objectives and initiatives across City departments, creating clearer accountability for moving from policy direction to implementation and results.

THE CITY MANAGER’S OFFICE

The City Manager serves as Sacramento’s Chief Executive Officer, providing executive leadership for a full-service municipal organization with 13 departments, approximately 4,884 FTEs, and a $1.7B FY2026/27 Budget. As members of the City’s executive leadership team, Assistant City Managers provide oversight of assigned departmental portfolios while working across organizational boundaries to advance City Council priorities, coordinate complex Citywide initiatives, and strengthen alignment, accountability, and results across the organization.

THE TWO ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER POSITIONS

Reporting directly to the City Manager and serving as members of the City’s Executive Team, Assistant City Managers (ACMs) serve as trusted partners to the City Manager, Mayor and City Council, providing executive leadership across assigned departmental portfolios and helping advance the City’s most important priorities. The City is seeking two (2) ACMs to provide direction and support to department directors, connect work across organizational boundaries, and help ensure Citywide priorities move forward with strong alignment, accountability, and execution. These positions carry broad executive authority and advise the City Manager on complex policy, operational, fiscal, and organizational matters; represent the City in critical internal and external settings; and act on behalf of the City Manager as assigned.

Sacramento’s ACMs are enterprise leaders first and foremost. The City benefits from highly experienced and technically strong department directors who bring deep subject-matter expertise to their respective functions. As a result, the ACMs do not need to be the technical experts in every area they oversee. Their value comes from bringing the versatility, strategic perspective, leadership, and organizational judgment to lead experts, connect priorities and resources, and help translate strategy into coordinated action and measurable progress.

The breadth of these roles creates opportunities to provide leadership across a wide range of municipal functions and Citywide initiatives. Depending on organizational needs, assignments may span areas such as economic and community development, finance and administrative services, human resources, technology, culture and destination development, and other critical City functions. Portfolios may evolve over time, allowing the City to align executive leadership with changing priorities while drawing on each ACM’s strengths and experience. The ACMs may also step across portfolio lines and support one another as priorities shift.

At the heart of these positions is the ability to see across the organization: understanding how decisions in one area affect another, bringing the right people together around complex challenges, and helping strong departmental leaders translate Citywide strategy into coordinated action and measurable progress.

The ACMs’ key areas of responsibility include:

• Executive Portfolio Leadership: Provide strategic direction and executive oversight across assigned departments, establishing clear priorities, strengthening accountability, and supporting department directors in delivering results.
• Citywide Strategy & Priorities: Help translate City Council and City Manager priorities into coordinated action, connecting policy direction with effective organizational implementation.
• Organizational Partnership: Work collaboratively with department directors and organizational leaders to understand operational needs, navigate complex issues, and support effective service delivery across the City.
• Cross-Departmental Alignment: Strengthen coordination among departments and across the organization, breaking down silos and ensuring interconnected initiatives move forward with shared direction and purpose.
• Policy & Executive Leadership: Provide strategic counsel to the City Manager, navigate complex and sensitive issues, and represent the City with sound judgment and political acumen.
• Performance & Delivery: Maintain a strong focus on execution, helping translate plans and priorities into measurable outcomes while promoting timely, fiscally responsible delivery.

STRATEGIC PRIORITIES & OPPORTUNITIES AHEAD

Sacramento’s ACMs will have the opportunity to help advance a range of significant Citywide priorities, bringing executive leadership, cross-departmental coordination, and a strong focus on execution to work already underway and emerging priorities, including:

• Strengthen Sacramento’s Economic Development Ecosystem: Help advance the new Economic Development Department and ScaleUp Sacramento, including targeted industry growth, business attraction and retention, small business support, and workforce development.
• Create a More Predictable Path for Development: Advance Streamline Sacramento.
• Advance Catalytic Projects & Place-Based Investment: Help move significant development opportunities forward through public-private partnerships and strategic investment, including The Railyards, Old Sacramento Waterfront, Sacramento Valley Station, Aggie Square, Stockton Boulevard Housing Stabilization, and the Community Benefits Ordinance.
• Elevate Sacramento as a Destination: Strengthen the Waterfront-to-Convention Center corridor while advancing entertainment permitting, the creative economy, cultural districts, and heritage experiences that reinforce Sacramento’s identity as a destination.
• Strengthen Fiscal Understanding & Decision-Making: Equip City Council and the community with a clear understanding of the City’s financial picture, budget process, and fiscal realities, translating complex financial information into meaningful context that supports informed policy discussions and decision-making.
• Foster a Solutions-Oriented Service Culture: Strengthen organizational partnership by helping departments navigate complex processes, understand requirements, and identify thoughtful, responsible pathways forward while balancing operational needs with Citywide priorities, policies, and resources.

THE IDEAL EXECUTIVE LEADERS

The ideal candidates will be empathetic, collaborative, and action-oriented executives who understand that meaningful progress does not always require disruption. Sacramento has talented teams, significant initiatives underway, and a clear strategic direction. The next ACMs will recognize what is working, identify where greater focus or alignment is needed, and create the conditions for department directors and their teams to succeed, while fostering an organizational culture where diverse perspectives are valued and equity and inclusion inform how the City leads, makes decisions, and serves its communities.

These leaders will be approachable, responsive, and committed to exceptional customer service and organizational partnership. They will build trusted relationships across departments, listen to and understand operational needs, and approach challenges with a solutions-oriented mindset. Rather than focusing solely on barriers or why something cannot be done, they will look for thoughtful, responsible pathways to support departments in achieving their goals while balancing broader organizational priorities, policies, and requirements.

Importantly, Sacramento is not seeking executives defined by expertise in a single discipline. The successful candidates will bring the curiosity, versatility, executive judgment, and enterprise perspective to lead across diverse functions, support strong subject-matter experts, navigate complex issues, and adapt as priorities and assignments evolve.

To thrive in these roles, the ideal candidates will bring:

• Empathetic Leadership: Listens well and creates an environment where experienced leaders and teams can perform at their best.
• Enterprise Perspective: Sees beyond individual departments and connects people, priorities, and resources around broader Citywide outcomes.
• Service-Oriented Leadership: Models responsiveness, accountability, and a strong commitment to serving both the organization and the community.
• Political & Community Savvy: Navigates elected leadership, community interests, businesses, and external partners with sound judgment and credibility.
• Collaborative Leadership: Breaks down silos and creates shared ownership across departments and disciplines.
• Execution & Accountability: Establishes priorities, follows through, and maintains a strong focus on delivering measurable results within available resources.