Program Manager - San Jose Police Department Academy Training

Our diverse and inclusive workforce of more than 7,000 employees play a key role in the success of San José, the heart of the Silicon Valley. All City of San José employees work together as one team to make San José a vibrant, innovative, and desirable place to live and work. Visit here to learn more about our One Team Leadership Values and Expectations, including quality and excellent customer service and here to learn more about San José.

The City of San José is an equal opportunity employer. Applicants for all job openings will be considered without regard to age, race, color, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, disability, veteran status or any other consideration made unlawful under any federal, state or local laws. The City of San José is committed to offering reasonable accommodations to job applicants with disabilities. If you need assistance or an accommodation due to a disability, please contact us at 408-535-1285, 711 (TTY) , or via email at CityCareers@sanjoseca.gov .

About the Department

The San José Police Department is dedicated to providing public safety through community partnerships and 21 st Century Policing practices, ensuring equity for all. The Department is committed to treating all of San Jose’s diverse community members with dignity, fairness, and respect, while protecting their rights and providing equal protection under the law.

Position Duties

Under the supervision of the Police Academy Lieutenant, the Program Manager is responsible for managing the training program operations within the Bureau of Administration’s Training Unit. This position is responsible for coordinating and facilitating training for the 32-week Police Recruit training program and is responsible for ensuring training hours and requirements meet or exceed California's Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) requirements.

The Academy has a Paramilitary structure with weekly physical conditioning, firearms training, arrest and control tactics, and an intense classroom curriculum. There are learning domains, weekly exams, mid-term and final exams including scenario/role-playing practical situations.

Typical duties and responsibilities may include, but are not limited to the following:

• Create and manage the Police Academy schedule, coordinate and facilitate Police Recruit training academy requirements.
• Monitor and conduct training needs assessments for training staff, and entry level employees to ensure basic courses meet education, training, and safety expectations, both by the Department and state level.
• Constant evaluation of academy policy and procedures to ensure compliance at local and state level. Maintain awareness and incorporate new training on amended or new policies or procedures.
• Plan, implement, and manage academy training operations to ensure the efficient utilization of staffing and resources. Coordinate and collaborate on the instruction schedule with over 80 instructors for each academy cycle. Maintain ongoing communication with instructors on scheduled dates, plan future academy classes, and respond to schedule changes as needed to accommodate testing requirements and instructor availability, particularly when overlapping academy schedules are present.
• Management of electronic database systems and academic files to fulfill the POST Commission Regulations. Work directly with POST to coordinate academy opening and closing procedures, including deadlines and other relevant details. Oversee instructor files, security forms, and administrative documents for daily operations and successful POST audits.
• Represent the Department Training program to outside agencies and professional groups to build and maintain positive working relationships. Market and promote training academy, network at CA POST and advisory meetings to establish SJPD as a best practices’ agency at local, state and regional levels.

Minimum Qualifications

Education and Experience: Bachelor’s degree in a closely related field AND five (5) years of directly-related experience, including two (2) years of supervisory experience.

Background: Ability to successfully pass a comprehensive background investigation is a condition of employment.

Desirable Qualification: Possession of a Police Officer Standards and Training (POST) certificate or an Academy Instructor Certificate Course (AICC).

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.

Communication Skills - Communication Skills - communicates and listens effectively and responds in a timely, effective, positive and respectful manner; written reports and correspondence are accurate, complete, current; well-organized, legible, concise, neat, and in proper grammatical form.

Supervision - Sets effective long and short-term goals based on a good understanding of management practices; establishes realistic priorities within available resources; provides motivational support; empowers others; assigns decision-making and work functions to others in an appropriate manner to maximize organizational and individual effectiveness.

Facilitation - Exhibits behaviors and techniques that enhance the quality of group processes.

Collaboration - Develops networks and builds alliances; engages in cross-functional activities.

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.

Multi-Tasking - Can handle multiple projects and responsibilities simultaneously; has handled a wide variety of assignments in past and/or current position(s).

Planning- Acts to align own unit's goals with the strategic direction of the organization; defines tasks and milestones to achieve objectives, while ensuring the optimal use of resources to meet those objectives.

Selection Process

The selection process will consist of an evaluation of the applicant's training and experience based on the application and responses to the Job Specific Questions. Only the 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 and a background investigation .

You will be prompted to answer the following job-specific questions during the online application process. Please provide a specific written response to each question. Please note that there is a 4,000-character limit, including spaces, for each text response.
Please describe your background experience sufficient to successfully perform the essential duties of the job, including at least five years of program, project or administrative management experience, which should include at least two years of supervisory experience. Please include specific details about your functions, the size and scope of your assignments, and number of staff supervised. Describe your experience planning and managing projects or a specific program. Please include the scope and size of the project/program, your specific role and responsibilities, project/program goals, milestones and performance measures, and the outcome. Include how your role influenced the project/program, obstacles that got in the way of success and in what ways did you overcome these obstacles.
You must answer all job-specific questions in order to be considered for this vacancy or your application will be deemed incomplete and withheld from further consideration.

If you have questions about the duties of the position or about the selection or hiring processes, please contact Rose Lara at rose.lara@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.

The City of San Jose offers a wide range of core health benefits including Medical, Dental, Vision, Employee Assistance Program, Life Insurance, Disability, and Savings Plans. Please visit the City's benefits pagefor detailed information on coverage, cost, and dependent coverage.

For information on the City’s Retirement Plan(pension for full-time employees), please visit the Office of Retirement Services website. You will be able to view information based on different Sworn/Federated job classification.

In additional to the benefits above, there is an additional perks siteto explore further benefits of working for the City of San Jose like paid leave, educational reimbursements, and holiday pay are specific to the job classification and union membership.

Closing Date/Time: 12/22/2025 11:59 PM Pacific

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• City of San Jose

• 408-535-1285

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