Chief Building Official

The City of Santa Rosa is conducting a search for its next Chief Building Official!

The City of Santa Rosa is committed to building a workforce reflective of our community and establishing a lasting culture of equity and belonging within our organization. Our collective talents and expertise contribute to high-quality public services that support a vibrant, resilient, inclusive City for our community and visitors. We celebrate a diverse workforce and welcome all qualified candidates to apply.

THE BENEFITS OF CITY EMPLOYMENT:

In addition to offering a rewarding work environment, opportunity for career growth, and excellent salary, the City of Santa Rosa provides a generous suite of benefits, including retirement through CalPERS, a competitive leave accrual package, your choice of three health plans, and top of the line employer paid vision and dental coverage. 

• A flexible work schedule: 5/8 or 9/80
• 11 paid holidays annually, plus 1 to 3 'floating holidays' per year, depending on start date and years of service
• $500 annually for wellness

ABOUT THE POSITION:

The Chief Building Official is a senior management position responsible for the management and operation of the Building Division, reporting to the Assistant City Manager/Director of Planning and Economic Development. The incumbent exercises significant independent judgment in planning, organizing, and supervising the building inspection, plan check, and public counter activities of the City; recommending and implementing City policy concerning building safety and zoning matters; enforcing and administering construction and safety codes; and providing highly responsible staff assistance.

THE IDEAL CANDIDATE:

The ideal candidate will possess:

• Exceptional leadership, staff management and change management skills

• Comprehensive knowledge of state and local building, safety, zoning and code enforcement policies, laws and procedures

• Current certification as a Certified Building Official

• Excellent written and oral communication skills

• Comfort in making public presentations

• Ability and desire to mentor and develop staff

• A technological orientation

• A clear record of working creatively and collaboratively with groups and individuals to solve complex problems

• Ability to make timely and sometime difficult decisions

• Understanding of and values the needs of customers

• Understanding of and values workplace diversity

• Experience in administration, personnel and budget management in a public agency

• A Bachelor's Degree in a related field

HOW TO APPLY:

Please complete a thoughtful, thorough Supplemental Questionnaire submission. As part of the selection process, your responses to these questions will be scored using criteria specific to this position. Incomplete responses, or responses such as "See Resume" can result in disqualification from the selection process. 

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS:

Additional requirements, such as successful completion of a physical exam, drug screen, etc., may apply, depending on the duties and responsibilities of the position. If you receive a conditional job offer for the position, the requirements upon which the offer is contingent will be outlined in the conditional job letter.

THE SELECTION PROCESS:

The selection process will include a minimum qualifications assessment; and may also include an application and supplemental questionnaire review, followed by department selection interviews.

For more information about this exciting opportunity, please contact Debbie Gutman at dgutman@cpshr.us

Essential Duties:

The following duties are considered essential for this job classification:

• Under general direction of the Director of Community Development, to participate in the development and implementation of goals, objectives, policies and priorities.

• As assigned by the Director of Community Development, to function as the Chief Building Official for the City, reviewing and enforcing laws, ordinances and codes.

• To plan, organize, control and evaluate the functions and activities of the Building and Code Compliance Division including building inspection, plan checking, code enforcement and public counter.

• To review and update City Code through City of Santa Rosa model code adoption ordinances.

• Amend California codes per local requirements.

• Establish, improve and coordinate the plan checking, building inspection, code enforcement and public counter procedures of the City.

• Enforce all appropriate building, zoning and safety codes and ordinances.

• Resolve difficult and complex building and code compliance problems, meeting with developers, contractors, architects, engineers and homeowners.

• Appear before public agencies, business and civic groups and other organizations in the presentation and discussion of building and safety related problems, proposals, projects and policies.

• Prepare and administer the division budget.

• Maintain a high level of public relations, including positive and productive working relationships with the department staff, the general public, other departments at the City, and adjacent jurisdictions.

• Supervise, train, and evaluate subordinate professional, technical and administrative support personnel.

• Perform duty of Secretary to the Board of Building Regulation Appeals

Additional Duties:

In addition to the duties listed above, the Chief Building Official may perform field inspections of construction and development as required, perform plan review as required, act as Department Director in Director's absence, and perform other related duties as assigned.

Knowledge of: Principles and practices of organization, administration, personnel and budget management; principles and practices of the State of California Building, Plumbing, Mechanical and Electrical Codes, and other pertinent State and City codes and ordinances; principles of structural design, engineering mathematics and architectural plan review.

Ability to: Organize, direct and coordinate the activities of a division in a manner conducive to efficient and full performance while maintaining high morale; analyze, interpret and check complex plans, specifications, calculations, laws and regulations; communicate clearly and concisely, orally and in writing; plan, organize, direct, establish and maintain cooperative relations with City and other elected officials, governing boards and/or commissions, administrative officers, regulatory agencies, the Builders Exchange, and other public and private professional organizations; supervise, train and evaluate subordinate professional, technical and administrative support personnel.

Experience and Education: Any combination equivalent to experience and education that could likely provide the required knowledge and abilities would be qualifying. A typical way to obtain the knowledge and abilities would be: Experience

• Sufficient years of increasingly responsible experience of a supervisory, administrative or professional nature in the design, construction and inspection of public, commercial, industrial or residential buildings to demonstrate possession of the knowledge and abilities listed above; Education

• Equivalent to a Bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university with major work in structural, mechanical, or civil engineering, architecture or a closely related field.

License or Certificates:

Possess a valid, Class C California Driver's License, or be able to demonstrate the ability to travel on scheduled and unscheduled visits to various locations within and/or outside of the City which may or may not be reachable by public transportation.

Possession of a certification as a Certified Building Official issued by the International Code Council (ICC), or equivalent certification is required.

Possession of a Certification of Registration as a professional engineer or architect in the State of California is highly desirable.

Selection Process:

Applicants possessing the MOST DESIRABLE qualifications based on a screening of the application materials and supplemental questionnaire will be invited to continue in a selection process that may consist solely of an application screening, or may include an oral appraisal interview, assessment center, or another activity selected by the Human Resources Department. An eligible list will be established as a result of this selection process and may be used to fill future vacancies.

Working Conditions:

The Chief Building Official works primarily indoors, sitting for extended periods of time with the ability to change positions. Using a computer, calculator and other standard office equipment requires making continuous or repetitive arm-hand movements. Books and plans weighing less than 20 pounds are carried more than 20 feet. Part of the work involves inspecting development and construction sites which requires the ability to walk over rough, uneven or rocky surfaces, jumping over trenches and other obstacles and working in a variety of weather conditions with exposure to the elements. Inspecting sites requires the ability to hear alarms and operation of construction equipment.

SANTA ROSA - A WONDERFUL CITY TO CALL HOME:

The City of Santa Rosa is nestled in the center of famous Sonoma Wine Country, located just 55 miles north of San Francisco and 30 miles east of the Pacific Ocean with a population of approximately 180,000. Santa Rosa serves as the County seat and the center of trade, government, commerce, and medical facilities for the North Bay. The surrounding area is home to over a hundred wineries and vineyards and many beautiful parks and recreational facilities, including golf courses. Santa Rosa is in the center of a nationally recognized cycling area. We boast many attractions associated with large cities, including a symphony, performing arts center, theater productions and internationally recognized restaurants, yet still retain the warmth and small town feel of decades past. Santa Rosa has been named one of the 50 greenest cities in the United States with one of the top five mid-sized downtowns in California.