Job Description

Company Description

Application Opening: September 3, 2026

Application Deadline: Apply Immediately. Application filing will be open at least through Friday, September 11, 2026 at 5:00 PM (Pacific Time) and will close any time thereafter.

Contact: For questions about this position or how to apply, please contact Eugenia Paw at eugenia.paw@sfgov.org.

Amid a dynamic and ever-evolving urban landscape, the San Francisco Recreation and Park Department stewards one of the premier urban park systems in America. In 2017, San Francisco became the first city in the nation where all residents have access to a park within a 10-minute walk, a direct result of the Department’s commitment to increasing and improving parkland in the city Learn More. Considered by San Franciscans to be one of the City’s most popular and effective public agencies, our Department currently manages more than 230 parks, playgrounds and open spaces throughout San Francisco, including two outside city limits—Sharp Park in Pacifica and Camp Mather in the High Sierras. The system includes full-complex recreation centers, swimming pools, golf courses, sports fields and numerous small-to-medium-sized clubhouses that offer a variety of sports- and arts-related recreation programs for people of all ages. Included in the Department’s responsibilities are Golden Gate Park, Coit Tower, the Marina Yacht Harbor, the San Francisco Zoo and Lake Merced.

More than 2,000 talented individuals are part of our team, from gardeners, foresters, and recreation leaders to park rangers, custodians, electricians, painters and more. Our core mission, as it has been throughout our history, is to provide opportunities for San Francisco residents and visitors alike to gather, play, learn, relax, and enjoy nature in the city.

Job Description

Under general direction, this 1654 Accountant III will serve as the lead accountant for the Embarcadero Plaza Project, the Jackson Playground renovation, and the Kezar Pavilion renovation. The lead accountant will be responsible for project reconciliations, grant reimbursements, dispatching purchase orders and tracking payments to primary and subcontractors, reviewing and processing construction invoices for payment, and performing traditional accounting duties, including but not limited to year-end closing, quarterly reconciliations, annual audits, and project closeouts.

Essential Duties:

• Reviews, prepares, reconciles, and supervises the preparation of complex financial reports derived from the City's financial reporting system.
• Reviews, reconciles, and audits accounting records of capital project grant expenditures, receivables, and encumbrances to ensure fiscal accuracy and control.
• Identifies, creates, and maintains task profile IDs.
• Performs quarterly and fiscal year-end closing activities. Activities include but are not limited to capital project reconciliations, accruals, and fixed assets reporting.
• Provides accounting analysis, reasoning, and recommendations to the Capital Finance Manager, grants manager, and Departmental capital project managers.
• Meets with project managers to discuss and manage capital project funding sources and expenditures. Provide project managers with analysis regarding expenditure projections, project and construction contingencies, and additional financial support as needed.
• In the City’s Financial System:
• Creates and maintains accounting chartfield and structures to ensure accurate recording, reporting and control in financial systems.
• Identifies, initiates, and coordinates interdepartmental grant and capital accounting entries, reconciliations, and project closures.
• Performs analysis and reconciliation of all General Ledger (GL) accounts related to capital funds.
• Close-out and/or de-obligate appropriation and estimated revenue for project and its associated fund.
• Submits grant reimbursement requests in coordination with the grants manager. Monitors and conforms to all applicable grant agreement guidelines and deadlines.
• Analyze fund balances and reconcile and correct abnormal fund balances.
• Provides financial and accounting support on other Recreation and Parks Capital projects.
• May supervise subordinate staff by delegating, planning, directing and assigning accounting work. Includes training, coaching, and evaluating staff performance.
• Maintains current knowledge of applicable ordinances, rules, regulations, policies and standards related to grant and capital accounting.
• Performs special projects, other and related duties and responsibilities as assigned.

Please note that incumbents in this classification may be required to perform duties as listed in the class specification 1654 Accountant III | City and County of San Francisco (sf.gov).

Qualifications

Minimum Qualifications

Education and Experience

1. A baccalaureate degree from an accredited college or university, preferably with major course work in accounting, finance, business administration, or related field. Such education must include eighteen(18) semester units or twenty-four ( 24) quarter units of coursework in accounting AND

Four (4) years of professional accounting which includes analysis or problem solving. Experience must include: Working with an automated financial system, (preferably a government system) performing difficult and responsible accounting, as well as preparing financial records and reports OR

1. City and County of San Francisco Employees with four (4) years of professional accounting experience including experience as a 1652 Accountant II.

Substitution:

A Master's degree in accounting, business administration, computer information systems, public policy, or a closely related field may be substituted for one year of work experience.

Desirable Qualifications:

• Experience managing grants and contracts.
• Experience working in the City's Financial System.
• Advanced understanding and knowledge of the City’s Financial System Project (F$P).
• Familiarity with Oracle BI and the ability to extract data from the database to generate a variety of reports for Capital projects.
• Proficient in Microsoft Excel and Pivot Tables.
• Strong work ethic, interpersonal, oral and written communication skills.
• Excellent analytical, reconciliation, and organizational skills.
• Self-starter, a team player, and detailed oriented.
• Ability to prioritize multiple and competing assignments to meet deadlines. Flexibility and adaptability.

Verification of Education and Experience:

Applicants may be required to submit verification of qualifying education and experience at any point during the recruitment and selection process. More information can be found at: https://careers.sf.gov/knowledge/experience-education/

Note: Falsifying one's education, training, or work experience or attempted deception on the application may result in disqualification for this and future job opportunities with the City and County of San Francisco.

Selection Process:

Applications will be screened for relevant qualifying experience. Additional screening mechanisms may be used to determine candidates' qualifications. Only those applicants who most closely meet the needs of the Department will be invited to move forward in the selection process. Applicants who meet the minimum qualifications are not guaranteed to advance through all of the steps in the selection process.

Additional Information

Appointment Type: Full-time. Permanent Exempt appointment (up to 3 years). This position is excluded by the Charter from the competitive Civil Service examination process and shall serve at the discretion of the Appointing Officer.

Additional Information Regarding Employment with the Recreation and Park Department

• Information About the Hiring Process
• Conviction History
• Employee Benefits Overview
• Equal Employment Opportunity
• Disaster Service Worker
• ADA Accommodation
• Right to Work
• Copies of Application Documents
• Diversity Statement

Candidates for positions with the Recreation and Park Department may be disqualified from consideration should their conviction history not meet the standards established under California Public Resources Code 5164.

Where to Apply:

All job applications for the City and County of San Francisco must be submitted through our online portal. Please visit https://careers.sf.gov/ to begin your application process.

Computers are available for the public (9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Monday through Friday) to file online applications in the lobby of the Dept. of Human Resources at 1 South Van Ness Avenue, 4th Floor and at the City Career Center at City Hall, 1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place, Room 110.

Ensure your application information is accurate, as changes may not be possible after submission. Your first and last name must match your legal ID for verification, and preferred names can be included in parentheses. Use your personal email address, not a shared or work email, to avoid unfixable issues.

Applicants will receive a confirmation email from notification@smartrecruiters.com that their online application has been received in response to every announcement for which they file. Applicants should retain this confirmation email for their records. Failure to receive this email means that the online application was not submitted or received.

Race and Social Equity Statement

We believe that parks and open space in San Francisco provides the opportunity to model equitable access for all. With this belief, San Francisco became the first city in the United States for which 100% of its residents live within a ten-minute walk of a park. The Recreation and Park Department’s goal is to close the gaps and improve equity and access to quality parks and open space, and recreation activities for historically marginalized communities.

We envision a department that proactively infuses racial and social equity in its internal operations. With a multi-disciplinary team of talented individuals - gardeners, recreation leaders, park rangers, custodians, craft shop personnel, park and recreation managers and more, the department is committed to doing its part to provide equitable access to parks and programs for all the communities we serve to enjoy, as well as foster a work environment where our differences are celebrated, and everyone has what they need to thrive regardless of their race, age, ability, gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, or country of origin.

The City and County of San Francisco encourages women, minorities and persons with disabilities to apply. Applicants will be considered regardless of their sex, race, age, religion, color, national origin, ancestry, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition (associated with cancer, a history of cancer, or genetic characteristics), HIV/AIDS status, genetic information, marital status, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, military and veteran status, or other protected category under the law.