Principal Auditor-Appraiser

THIS IS A NEW ASSEMBLED EXAMINATION.  The eligible list resulting from this examination will cancel any existing list and may last approximately one year, but can be extended.

Applications must be in the possession of the Human Resource Services Department by 5:00 p.m. on the Last Day for Filing.  Postmarks are not accepted.  Applications will only be accepted on-line.

Supplemental Questionnaire:  A properly completed Supplemental Questionnaire must be submitted with each application.  Applications and Supplemental Questionnaires must be in the possession of the Human Resource Services Department by 5:00 p.m. on the Last Day for Filing. Postmarks are not accepted.  Failure to submit the Supplemental Questionnaire will result in disqualification.
QUALIFIED BILINGUAL PERSONS WHO SPEAK ENGLISH AND ARE ALSO FLUENT IN SPANISH, CHINESE, VIETNAMESE, CAMBODIAN, LAOTIAN, KOREAN, MIEN, TAGALOG, AMHARIC, FARSI, DARI, TIGRIGNA, RUSSIAN, ROMANIAN OR SIGN LANGUAGE ARE ESPECIALLY ENCOURAGED TO APPLY.  THERE IS AN ADDITIONAL BI WEEKLY COMPENSATION FOR PERSONS IN POSITIONS DESIGNATED BILINGUAL.  Qualified candidates may be tested to demonstrate language proficiency.

THE AGENCY

The Assessor’s Office is currently seeking a Principal Auditor Appraiser to contribute enthusiastically to its mission to provide timely and accurate appraisal services in a manner resulting in fair and equitable treatment for all Alameda County taxpayers.  With a proposed staffing level of 175.47 full‐time equivalent positions, this team of professionals provides mandated assessment services performed in accordance with the California Constitution, Revenue and Taxation Code, Government Code, and State Board of Equalization guidelines and directives.

The primary mandated services of the Assessor's Office include: locate and identify the ownership of all taxable property in Alameda County; determine the taxability of all property; determine the reappraisability of property changing ownership or having new construction added; annually assess all real estate in accordance with the provisions of Article XIIIA of the State Constitution (Proposition 13); annually assess all taxable personal property at its fair market value; determine and apply all legal exemptions against these assessments; and surrender an accurate assessment roll to the Auditor's Office prior to July 1st each year.  To learn about other major functions of the Assessor's Office please visit the Assessor’s website at: http://www.acgov.org/assessor/

 

 THE POSITION

Under direction, to plan, coordinate and direct the work of the Business Personal Property Section; to assume primary responsibility for the personal property, fixture assessment and audit program of the County Assessor's Office; and to do related work as required.

DISTINGUISHING FEATURES

The Principal Auditor-Appraiser has primary responsibility for all auditing-appraisal functions of the Business Personal Property Section in the Assessor's Office, and reports directly to the Chief, Appraisal Division. The Chief, Appraisal Division, differs from this class by having overall program responsibility for all functions of the Appraisal Division, including Business Personal Property, Residential and Rural, Commercial and Industrial property. This class differs from the next lower class of Supervising Auditor-Appraiser II by the lower class having first-line supervisory responsibility of staff assigned at the unit level within the Business Personal Property Section.

• IDEAL CANDIDATE

In addition to meeting the minimum qualifications stated below, the ideal candidate will have demonstrated a track record of success in the following areas:

• An experienced manager with strong supervisory skills who is capable of instructing, focusing and guiding others in accomplishing performance and work goals and objectives.

• A highly knowledgeable professional who keeps up with terminology and current developments and trends related to the Business Personal Property Section of the County Assessor’s Office and who has extensive technical skill and knowledge in the performance of Business and Personal Property Appraisal.

• Someone capable of identifying and understanding how internal and external issues (e.g., economic, political, business trends) impact the work of the Business Personal Property Section and who is able to motivate and inspire others by providing leadership and setting a sense of purpose for the division.

• A competent decision maker with a demonstrated ability to logically and strategically problem solve, plan, compare data from different sources, take initiative and react calmly under pressure to arrive at sound conclusions.

• Someone who possesses an air of confidence and creates a good first impression by professionally commanding attention and earning the trust and respect of others. 

• An effective communicator who conveys information and in a manner that meets audience needs.

• A technically strong professional with exceptional Audit/Appraisal skills and thorough knowledge of governmental accounting and audit standards and practices.

• Someone who has a proven track record of developing and maintaining effective relationships with others and who relates well to people of diverse cultures, styles, abilities, motivations, or backgrounds even in times of conflict.

Either I

The equivalent of two years’ full-time experience in the class of Supervising Auditor-Appraiser II, OR the equivalent of four years’ full-time experience in the class of Auditor-Appraiser III in the Alameda County classified service. (Non-classified includes District Attorney’s Office, Hospital Authority, and the Consolidated Courts.)

Or II

Possession of a bachelor's degree which must have included or been supplemented by courses in elementary and intermediate accounting, auditing, cost accounting, and business law,

And

The equivalent of five years’ full-time experience in appraisal work for tax assessment purposes that included the equivalent of two years’ full-time experience in the appraisal of personal property and fixtures of large commercial and industrial firms, and which included at least the equivalent of one year of full-time supervision of technical personnel.

Substitution of Experience:

Each year of additional qualifying full-time equivalent experience may be substituted for each year of education. No substitution is allowed for the required courses listed above.

License:
Possession of a valid California Motor Vehicle Operator's License.

Certification:
Possession of an Appraiser's certificate issued by the California State Board of Equalization.

Special Requirement:
Incumbents are required to furnish their own automobile to use on the job. Reimbursement for such use will be made consistent with County policy.

NOTE: The Civil Service Commission may modify the above Minimum Qualifications in the announcement of an examination.

The most suitably qualified candidates will possess the following competencies:

NOTE: The level and scope of the following knowledge and abilities are related to duties listed under the "Examples of Duties" section of this specification.

Knowledge of:

• Methods and procedures used in appraisal for tax assessment purposes of personal property and fixtures of large commercial and industrial firms.
• General accounting and auditing principles and procedures.
• Principles, methods, and techniques of training and personnel management.
• Sections of the State Revenue and Taxation Code pertaining to the assessment of property for ad valorem tax assessment purposes, and the administrative rules and regulations of the State Board of Equalization.

Ability to:

• Plan, coordinate, and direct the work of the personal property division.
• Organize and supervise the training, and evaluate the work of technical staff.
• Develop valuation schedules; make appraisals of complex commercial and industrial accounts and effectively relate such appraisal to the tax assessment program.
• Establish and maintain cooperative relationships with firm representatives and others.
• Speak effectively before governmental boards, civic organizations and technical groups.
• Analyze and problem solve situations accurately and use effective decision making and judgment in adopting an effective course of action.
• Write effective correspondence and reports.
• Plan and organize time to meet workload.
• Provide leadership to enable staff to meet goals.
• Exhibit management control in directing staff to focus on goals and objectives.

THE EXAMINATION WILL CONSIST OF the following steps: 1) A review of candidates' applications to verify possession of minimum requirements. Those candidates who possess the minimum requirements for the class will move on to the next step in the examination process. 2) A review of candidates’ Supplemental Questionnaires to select the best qualified applicants to continue in the process. 3) An oral interview which will be weighted as 100% of the candidate's final examination score. The oral interview may contain situational exercises.  CANDIDATES MUST ATTAIN A QUALIFYING RATING ON EACH PORTION OF THIS EXAMINATION.  We reserve the right to make changes to the announced examination components.

Alameda County utilizes a Civil Service Selection System founded on merit.  Such a system is competitive and based on broad recruitment efforts and equal opportunity for qualified applicants to test in an examination process designed to determine the qualifications, fitness and ability of competitors to perform duties of the vacant position.  Many of our recruitments are targeted and specific to the needs of a current vacant position, in which case, the eligible list may be exclusively used for that current vacant position.  Other recruitments many be more broadly used for both current and future vacancies, or for other alternate jobs with comparable scopes of work.
To learn more about our recruitment and selection process, please visit the “What You Need to Know” section of our website, www.acgov.org/hrs.

Applicants will be informed via email with reasonable notice in advance of any examination process which will require their attendance.  The following dates are tentative and subject to change based on the needs of the Agency:

TENTATIVE SELECTION PLAN

Deadline for Filing:                                                                5:00PM, Friday, May 10, 2013
Review of Minimum Qualifications:                                       TBD
Review of Supplemental Questionnaire for best qualified:   TBD
Panel Interviews:                                                                   TBD

The Human Resource Services Department will make reasonable efforts in the examination process to accommodate qualified individuals with mental and physical disabilities, and/or medical conditions in accordance/compliance with the State Fair Employment Housing Act (FEHA), Federal Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990, and Alameda County Resolution No. R-83-773.  To request an accommodation due to a disability during this or other phases of the selection process, please contact the assigned Human Resources Analyst listing on the job announcement before the final filing deadline. Alameda County Human Resources Services will require documentation to substantiate a request for reasonable accommodation. In order to qualify for a reasonable accommodation, applicants must have a permanent disability pursuant to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's statute of the Americans with Disability Act of 1990, as amended, and/or the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) Act.
For more information regarding our Reasonable Accommodation procedures, please visit our website, www.acgov.org/hrs

All notices related to County recruitments for which you have applied will be sent/delivered via email. Please add @acgov.org and alamedacountyHR@acgov.org as accepted addresses to any email blocking or spam filtering program you may use. If you do not do this, your email blocking or spam filtering program may block receipt of the notices regarding your application for recruitments. You are also strongly advised to regularly log into your County of Alameda online application account to check for notices that may have been sent to you. All email notices that will be sent to you will also be kept in your personal online application account. You will be able to view all of your notices in your online application account by clicking on the "My applications" button on the Current Job Openings page.
Please take the steps recommended above to insure you do not miss any notices about a recruitment for which you have applied. The County of Alameda is not responsible for notices that are not read, received or accessed by any applicant for a County recruitment.
NOTE: All notices are generated through an automated email notification system. Replies to the email box alamedacountyHR@acgov.org are routed to an unmonitored mailbox. All notices are generated through an automated email notification system. Replies to the email box are routed to an unmonitored mailbox. If you have questions please go to our website at www.acgov.org/hrs. You may also contact the Human Resources Analyst listed on the job announcement for the recruitment for which you have applied.

Ione Bell,  Human Resources Analyst II
Human Resource Services, County of Alameda
510-272-6456

Alameda County is an Equal Opportunity Employer