Administrative Assistant I - Sheriff's Office (Departmental Promotional Only)

The San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office is seeking a highly motivated and detail-oriented professional for the position of Administrative Assistant I to support the Department’s centralized procurement and contract administration function. Under the direction of the Administrative Services Manager, the Administrative Assistant will provide administrative, clerical, and operational support for the development, processing, execution, monitoring, and maintenance of contracts, purchase orders, solicitations, and related procurement documents.

The ideal candidate for this position will have:

• Proficiency with desktop systems, database management, and the Microsoft Office Suite, particularly Word and Excel.
• Knowledge of County and Sheriff's Office Procurement policies and procedures, including Administrative Memoranda B-1.
• Proven organizational and time management skills and the ability to meet deadlines and handle time-sensitive matters.
• Strong attention to detail.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills.
• Experience in public-sector procurement, contract administration, and regulatory compliance.
• Experience in interpreting policies, procedures, and regulations and communicating requirements clearly to staff, management, vendors, contractors, and external agencies.
• Ability to build and maintain productive working relationships with both internal staff as well as external vendors, governmental agencies, and other stakeholders involved in procurement and contract administration activities.
• Experience with OpenGov contract management system.
• Experience with One Finance and Accounting Software (OFAS) system.
• Experience with Service Now platform.

NOTE: The eligible list established from this recruitment may be used to fill future vacancies within the Sheriff’s Office.Duties may include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Provide day-to-day administrative and clerical support to the Contracts Unit.
• Assist Contract Administrator and the Contract Manager with a variety of contract and procurement activities.
• Assist with tracking contract expiration dates, renewals, amendments, insurance requirements, and other important contract milestones.
• Assist with processing documents for contract review, approval, and execution.
• Perform data entry and conduct routine reviews of contract records to identify missing or inconsistent information.
• Track documents requiring signatures and follow up with appropriate parties to ensure timely completion.
• Assist with preparing contract status reports, tracking logs, spreadsheets, and other administrative reports.
• Answer inquiries and provide information to Sheriff’s Office staff regarding contract policy and procedure.
• Enter and maintain all contracts in the OFAS financial system, including processing encumbrance change requests.
• Perform related duties as assigned.

County Status: Only current County of San Mateo employees in the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office with at least six months (1040 hours) of continuous service in a classified regular, probationary, extra-help/limited term positions prior to the final filing date may apply.

Education and Experience:
Any combination of education and experience that would likely provide the required knowledge, skills and abilities is qualifying. A typical way to qualify is:

Graduation from an accredited college or university, with a degree in Public Administration, Accounting, Political Science, Business Administration or related field OR four years of responsible administrative or supervisory clerical experience which has included bookkeeping or sub-professional accounting duties.

Knowledge of:

• Working knowledge of sub-professional accounting, bookkeeping and fiscal procedures.
• Modern office methods and equipment.

Skill/Ability to:

• Learn quickly the laws governing the operations of the department.
• Interpret laws.
• Good judgment.
• Get along well with others.
• Work well without close supervision.

Department Promotional Only. Only current County of San Mateo employees in the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office with at least six months (1040 hours) of continuous service in a classified regular, probationary, extra-help/limited term positions prior to the final filing date may apply.
 
Responses to supplemental questions on the online application is required and must be submitted. A resume or reference to a resume will not be accepted as a substitute for your responses to these questions or the standard online application. 
 
The examination process will consist of an application screening (weight: pass/fail) based on the candidates' application and responses to the supplemental questions. Candidates who pass the application screening will be invited to a panel interview (weight: 100%). Depending on the number of applicants, an application appraisal of education and experience may be used in place of other examinations, or further evaluation of work experience may be conducted to group applicants by level of qualification. All applicants who meet the minimum qualifications are not guaranteed advancement through any subsequent phase of the examination. All examinations will be given in the County of San Mateo, California, and applicants must participate at their own expense.
 
IMPORTANT: Applications for this position will only be accepted online. If you are currently on the County's website, you may click the "Apply" button. If you are not on the County's website, please go to https://jobs.smcgov.org to apply.
 
TENTATIVE RECRUITMENT TIMELINE:
Final Filing Date: Tuesday, September 15, 2026 by 11:59PM PST
Application Screening:  Week of September 14, 2026
Panel Interviews: Week of September 28, 2026

About the County
San Mateo County is centrally located between San Francisco, San Jose, and the East Bay. With over 750,000 residents, San Mateo is one of the largest and most diverse counties in California and serves a multitude of culturally, ethnically and linguistically diverse communities.

The County of San Mateo is committed to advancing equity in order to ensure that all employees are welcomed in a safe and inclusive environment. The County seeks to hire, support, and retain employees who reflect our diverse community. We encourage applicants with diverse backgrounds and lived experiences to apply. Eighty percent of employees surveyed stated that they would recommend the County as a great place to work.

County of San Mateo is an equal opportunity employer committed to fostering diversity, equity and inclusion at all levels.