Accountant III
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 excellent benefits* including:
- An annual Staff Development/Wellness Benefit allowance up to $1,700 and ongoing education/training opportunities
- Competitive vacation and sick leave accruals, 12 paid holidays, and an additional 8 floating holiday hours per year
- Significant portion of health care premiums paid by the County and access to several health plan options
- County contribution to a Health Reimbursement Arrangement to help fund post-retirement employee health insurance/benefits
- Retirement fully integrated with Social Security
- May be eligible for up to 8 weeks (320 hours) of Paid Parental Leave after 12 months of County employment
- Eligibility for 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
About the Position
Reporting to the Deputy Chief Financial Officer (Deputy CFO) for Health Services, this Accountant III position will perform the more difficult and complex accounting work required by DHS. Additionally, this position will be responsible for supervising the accounting work of a team of up to three direct reports, including one or more Accounting Technicians. The Accountant III will oversee the Administration Division from a fiscal standpoint, oversee the department's budget development, year-end transactions, and monitor fund balances. The position will also process monthly County Counsel invoices and assist with reporting narratives. Additionally, the position will oversee and be the lead staff person on Quarterly Consolidated board adjustments, Quarterly estimates and reports, and will be responsible for preparing and presenting high level reports to the Executive Management team.
The ideal candidate will possess:
- Experience preparing a variety of accounting, statistical, budget, and financial reports
- The ability to perform complex accounting activities
- Strong communication and relationship building skills
- Experience leading technical and clerical accounting staff
- The ability to coordinate department accounting needs with a diverse group of leaders
- Excellent analytical and critical thinking skills
- The ability to work independently as well as part of a collaborative team
- Initiative and the ability to make decisions with oversight by the Deputy CFO
- Advanced Microsoft Excel and Access skills
About the Department of Health Services
DHS is one of the County's largest and most complex departments. DHS consists of the Administration, Behavioral Health, and Public Health Divisions which are driven by their mission to promote, protect, and ensure access to services that support the health, recovery, and well-being of all in Sonoma County. The following ideas are the basis for how DHS operates and delivers services:
- Excellence - Strive to create a culture of learning, innovation, and data-driven practices in order to guide internal operations, improve performance, and build staff expertise
- Collaboration - Engage and work collaboratively with partners, communities, and staff to maximize its impact across the County
- Equity - Work to reduce disparities and ensure fairness, compassion, and social justice
For further information regarding the department, its programs, services, and partnerships, please visit the DHS website.
*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 Salary Resolution (SalRes).
This recruitment is being conducted to fill a full-time position in the Department of Health Services. This employment list may also be used to fill future full-time, part-time, or extra-help (temporary) positions as they occur during the active status of the list. County employees who wish to be considered for future positions should consider applying to this recruitment.
Minimum Qualifications
Education: Any combination of training and experience which would provide the opportunity to acquire the knowledge and abilities listed. Normally, possession of a Certified Public Accountant's Certificate, or possession of a college degree in accounting, finance, or business administration with at least 12 semesters or 16 quarter units of Accounting, including Principles of Accounting, Intermediate Accounting, Advanced Accounting, Governmental Accounting, Cost Accounting or Auditing; would provide such opportunity.
Experience: Experience which would provide the opportunity to acquire the knowledge and abilities listed. Normally, two years of full-time paid work experience in a position comparable to Accountant II in a local government agency, or two years in a professional level auditing or accounting position which demonstrates competency in the many different facets of accounting theory and their application to fiscal transactions, would provide such opportunity. Experience supervising technical and clerical accounting staff is desirable.
License: Possession of a valid driver's license at the appropriate level including special endorsements, as required by the State of California, may be required depending upon assignment to perform the essential job functions of the position.
Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities
Considerable knowledge of: the principles, techniques and procedures used in government accounting, auditing and budget systems; laws, ordinances and regulations which regulate county fiscal operations; modern office management, including the application and use of standard office and electronic data processing equipment; modern supervisory principles and practices.
Ability to: plan, organize and direct the work of an accounting division; set up, revise and maintain diverse accounting systems; coordinate the work of an accounting division with data processing and other county departments; interpret laws and regulations, and apply them to a variety of fiscal operations; analyze data and draw logical conclusions; detect possible weaknesses of internal control of standard accounting procedures and recommend revisions; effectively supervise technical and clerical personnel assigned to perform accounting activities; establish and maintain cooperative relationships with other employees, subordinates and others as required; present ideas in a clear, logical fashion in writing or orally; use personal computer applications including word processing, spreadsheet and database software.
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.