Sheriff's Community Services Officer

  • Sonoma County, CA
  • Santa Rosa, California
  • Sep 07, 2024
Full Time Community and Economic Development Public Safety
  • Salary: $56,602.69 - $68,812.35 Annually USD

Job Description

Position Information

The Sonoma County Sheriff's Office is seeking individuals with a passion for public service to join their team as a Sheriff's Community Service Officer!

Starting salary up to $32.97/hour ($ 68,812 /year) and a competitive total compensation package!*

What We Offer

Working at the County of Sonoma offers expansive opportunities for growth and development, the ability to be a part of a challenging and rewarding work environment, and the satisfaction of knowing you're working to better our communities. You can also look forward to flexible work arrangements and excellent benefits* including:

  • Salary Advancement - A salary increase after 1,040 hours (6 months when working full-time) for good work performance; eligibility for a salary increase for good performance every year thereafter, until reaching the top of the salary range
  • Career Advancement - With time and good performance, the opportunity for advancement to Community Services Officer II
  • Paid Time Off - Competitive vacation and sick leave accruals, 12 paid holidays, and an additional 8 floating holiday hours per year
  • County Paid Health Premium Contributions - 100% premium contribution for the majority of employee-only and employee + family health plan options
  • Staff Development/Wellness Pay - Annual benefit allowances of up to $500 and ongoing education/training opportunities
  • Post-Retirement Health Reimbursement Arrangement - County contributions to help fund post-retirement employee health insurance/benefits
  • Retirement - A pension fully integrated with Social Security
  • Paid Parental Leave - May be eligible for up to 8 weeks (320 hours) after 12 months of County employment
  • Student Loan Debt Relief - County employees may be eligible for Public Service Loan Forgiveness through the U.S. Department of Education

About the Positions

The Sheriff’s Office is recruiting to fill two positions, one in the Property/Evidence Unit, and one department promotional position in the Civil Bureau. Applicants will be evaluated for both vacancies. Only qualified permanent and/or probationary Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office employees are eligible for referral for the department promotional position. However, all applicants will be evaluated for the position in the Property/Evidence Unit. If you are interested in joining the Sheriff’s Office work family and helping your community, please apply!

As a Sheriff's Community Service Officer in the Property/Evidence Unit, your responsibilities will include, but will not be limited to: Maintaining security and control of all property and evidence held by the Sheriff’s Office for the Property/Evidence Unit, and conducting work both indoors and outdoors, often traveling by car to other locations . The Unit receives, catalogs, safely stores, transports, and maintains the integrity of evidence, found property, and property taken for safekeeping. Sheriff's Community Service Officers frequently research cases detailing disturbing criminal acts and may be exposed to harmful substances or bodily fluids.

As a Sheriff's Community Service Officer in the Civil Bureau, your responsibilities will include, but will not be limited to: Reviewing and processing eviction documents received from attorneys and pro-per-judgment creditors for accuracy, as well as serving court documents in the field. You will also research civil code sections to properly apply civil code to requests from the public. The employee in this position must possess officer safety habits for serving court documents in the field in year-round weather conditions.

What You Bring

The ideal candidate will be a team player with the ability to work independently, will maintain a high level of customer service no matter the situation, and will be able to:

  • Communicate with diverse audiences
  • Work well on a team
  • Remain calm, clear, and in control when working with difficult or irate individuals
  • Effectively problem-solve
  • Demonstrate empathy, patience, and a common sense approach when supporting customers' needs
  • Work professionally with internal staff, outside agencies, and the public
  • Possess some knowledge regarding record keeping and modern office practices including computer skills and managing multi-lined phones
  • Demonstrate proficiency with Microsoft Office
*Salary is negotiable within the established range. Benefits described herein do not represent a contract and may be changed without notice. Additional information can be found in the Service Employees International Union Local 1021 Memorandum Of Understanding (SEIU MOU) and our Employee Benefits Directory .

This employment list may also be used to fill future full-time or part-time positions as they occur during the active status of the list. The Civil Service title of this position is Community Services Officer.

APPLICATION SUBMISSIONS REQUIRE THE SUPPLEMENTAL QUESTIONNAIRE BE COMPLETED.

Minimum Qualifications

Any combination of experience, training, and education, which would provide the opportunity to acquire the knowledge and abilities listed.

Normally, a High School Diploma or equivalent and some experience in a clerical, customer service, or legal/law enforcement setting which included assisting the public or customers. Academic coursework in law enforcement or a closely related field and/or experience working in a law enforcement or public safety agency is desirable.

License: Possession of a valid driver's license at the appropriate level including necessary special endorsements, as required by the State of California to perform the essential job functions of the position.

Background Requirements: Applicants must successfully complete a thorough background investigation including a polygraph examination. Applicants who have been convicted of a felony in this state or any other state or in any federal jurisdiction, or of any offense in any other state or in any federal jurisdiction, which would have been a felony if committed in California, or are under formal probation may be subject to disqualification for this class.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

Knowledge of: modern office routines and equipment, record keeping, filing; principles of receiving, storing, and inventory control; basic arithmetic; local geography; English grammar, spelling, and punctuation.

Ability to: learn and apply basic laws, codes, ordinances, processes, techniques, rules, regulations, and practices pertaining to area of assignment; learn, interpret and apply department policies, procedures; understand legal, court, and law enforcement documents and reports; understand local resources and services for referrals; work, communicate effectively, and demonstrate effective interpersonal skills and sensitivity with the general public, outside agencies, department personnel, etc.; obtain accurate and detailed information in person or by telephone; follow written and oral instructions; make decisions in routine procedural matters without immediate supervision; read, correct, prepare, and maintain accurate and concise records and reports; work under stress and in emergency situations; exercise judgment and discretion in sensitive situations and in analyzing and resolving problems; speak before public groups; work in contact with and oversee inmate/probation workers; obtain information, enter data, develop correspondence, etc. in modern software programs.

Selection Procedure & Some Helpful Tips When Applying

  • Your application information and your responses to the supplemental questions are evaluated and taken into consideration throughout the entire selection process.
  • You should list all employers and positions held within the last ten years in the work history section of your application. Be as thorough as possible when responding to the supplemental questions.
  • You may include history beyond ten years if related to the position for which you are applying. If you held multiple positions with one employer, list out each position separately.
  • Failure to follow these instructions may impact your competitiveness in this process or may result in disqualification.
Please visit Getting a Job with the County of Sonoma to review more detailed information about the hiring process, including the application process, examination steps, and department selection process.

APPLICATION SUBMISSIONS REQUIRE THE SUPPLEMENTAL QUESTIONNAIRE BE COMPLETED.

Responses to supplemental questions will be scored using position-specific criteria. Please provide specific and detailed responses of a reasonable length to allow for a thorough assessment of your qualifications. Responses that state, "See Resume" or "See Application" may be considered insufficient and therefore may not be scored.

The selection procedure will consist of the following examination:

An Application & Supplemental Questionnaire Appraisal Examination (weight 100%) will be conducted to evaluate each applicant's application and supplemental questionnaire for satisfaction of minimum qualifications (pass/not pass); and for educational coursework, training, experience, knowledge, and abilities which relate to this position. Each applicant will be evaluated based on the following criteria:

  • Relevance of work history, related experience, and achieved level of education and/or training as described in the application and responses to the supplemental questions.
Candidates demonstrating possession of the minimum qualifications will be placed on an employment list in order of most qualified to least qualified based on the achieved score received in the Application & Supplemental Questionnaire Appraisal Examination which evaluates the education, training, experience, skills, knowledge, abilities, and other qualifications that you demonstrate in your application and/or response to the supplemental questionnaire. Please be aware that resumes and cover letters are not typically evaluated in the Application & Supplemental Questionnaire Appraisal Examination. Scores may be adjusted based on such factors as the number of candidates, anticipated vacancies, past practice, and natural breaks in the scores achieved by this group of candidates.

BACKGROUND PROCESS

Being part of the Sheriff's Office and being expected to keep the public safe requires a thorough background investigation process. This process includes an assessment of prior work history, verifying educational experiences, court reports, public records searches, and understanding past patterns relating to drug usage, financial patterns, etc. This entails gathering a significant amount of information from job candidates and speaking to former employers, friends, family members, etc. Polygraphs, drug tests, and medical and physical examinations are also part of this process. Candidates must be honest and forthcoming about information that may arise during the background process. Deception during any portion of this process is grounds for disqualification, even after employment. This process can take anywhere from 3-5 months. Many factors are taken into consideration and one should not assume a credit issue or prior drug use is automatically disqualifying. Candidates will be given the opportunity to present mitigating information they feel should be considered. You are encouraged to be as responsive as possible while this process is taking place to help expedite the timeline, and we encourage you to stay patient and interested in this great career opportunity while this process is taking place.

You may also review the Job Classification Screening Schedule to determine the requirements for this position.

Please read the Sheriff's Office Pre-Employment Drug Use Guidelines for further information.

HOW TO APPLY

Applications are accepted online at www.yourpath2sonomacounty.org . Paper applications may be submitted by person, fax (707-565-3770), email, or through the mail. All applications and appropriate supplemental information as outlined in the job bulletin must be RECEIVED by the time and date specified on the first page of this job announcement. Applications received after the recruitment closes will not be accepted.

The County of Sonoma values diversity and is dedicated to creating a workplace environment that provides individuals with a sense of belonging. We are committed to having a diverse workforce that is representative of the communities we serve. The County is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer where all aspects of employment are based on merit, competence, performance, and business need.

HR Analyst: JL
HR Technician: EV

IMPORTANT NOTE: Benefits described herein do not apply to Extra Help positions.

COUNTY OF SONOMA BENEFITS: GENERAL*

These are some of the excellent benefits the County offers:

Paid Time Off :Competitive vacation and sick leave accruals; 12 paid holidays, and an additional 8 floating holiday hours per year; and may be eligible for up to 8 weeks (320 hours) of Paid Parental Leave after 12 months of County employment.

Health Plan : Choose from nine health plans (three HMOs, three deductible HMOs, and three HSA-qualifying plans) with a generousCounty contribution to the premium (the contribution amount varies by bargaining unit). For more information, please see the appropriate MOU.

Retirement :Fully integrated with Social Security.For more information regarding eligibility, retirement contributions, and reciprocity with prior public service, please visit https://scretire.org/active-/-deferred/when-you-are-hired .

IRS 457 Plan : Pre-tax employee contribution up to the IRS annual maximum.

Retiree Medical :County contribution to a Health Reimbursement Arrangement to help fund post-retirement employee health insurance/benefits.

Student Loan Debt Relief :County employees may be eligible for Public Service Loan Forgiveness through the U.S. Department of Education.

Plus excellent dental, vision, disability, life insurance, professional development, and more.

For answers to specific questions regarding the employment process and more details about benefits or retirement, please contact Human Resources at (707) 565-2331.Additional details about benefit and compensation packages can be found in the MOUs located at https://sonomacounty.ca.gov/administrative-support-and-fiscal-services/human-resources/divisions-and-units/employee-relations/labor-agreements-and-salary-resolution . For specific information about health and welfare benefits including plan options, coverage, and premium amounts go to https://sonomacounty.ca.gov/administrative-support-and-fiscal-services/human-resources or, contact the Human Resources' Risk Management-Benefits Office at benefits@sonoma-county.org or (707) 565-2900.

*IMPORTANT NOTES: Benefits described herein do not represent a contract and may be changed without notice.

Closing Date/Time: 9/15/2024 11:59 PM Pacific

Base Pay

56,602

Job Address

Santa Rosa, California United States View Map