Sheriff's Community Services Officer



Sheriff's Community Services Officer

Salary

$45,040.05 - $54,745.16 Annually

Location

Santa Rosa, CA

Job Type

Full-Time

Job Number

22/04-3396-O

Department

Sheriff's Office (SHF)

Opening Date

04/19/2022

Closing Date

5/17/2022 11:59 PM Pacific

Bargaining Unit

01

Position Information

Start your career with the Sonoma County Sheriff's Office family. Become a Community Services Officer.
               


Starting salary up to $26.23/hour ($54,745/year), a cash allowance of $600/month, and a competitive total compensation package!*

 
The County of Sonoma offers a challenging and rewarding work environment, the satisfaction of knowing that you're working to better the community, and benefits, including*:

  • Eligibility for a 5% salary increase after 1040 hours (6 months when working full-time) for good work performance; eligibility for a 5% salary increase for good performance every year thereafter, until reaching the top of the salary range
  • With experience and good work performance, career advancement to Community Services Officer II ($60,818/year)
  • County paid 100% premium contribution for the majority of employee-only and employee + family health plan options
  • An annual Staff Development/Wellness Benefit allowance up to $500 and ongoing education/training opportunities
  • Differential pay for swing and graveyard shifts
  • Premium pay of $1.15/hour, in addition to the hourly pay rate, for future bilingual assignments
  • Competitive vacation and sick leave accruals, 12 paid holidays, and an additional 8 floating holiday hours per year
  • 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
Working as a Sheriff's Community Services Officer

Do you have customer service experience and motivation to help others, and the ability 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
If so, apply to become a Sheriff's Community Service Officer and join our team!

Supporting law enforcement is an exciting and challenging opportunity for someone with a passion for helping others. Community Services Officers (CSOs) work indoors and outdoors at various locations across the County, assisting the public, deputies, and other Sheriff's Office staff with a variety of public relations, customer service, and clerical law enforcement related activities. As a CSO, you will maintain files and records, and depending upon assignment, you may fingerprint citizens; process court ordered registrations (including arson, gang, and sex registrations); and intake, store, and release evidence. Additionally, CSOs may assist specialized assignments in the Sheriff's Office with the coordination of community events, Sheriff's Office tours, animal control responsibilities, and providing training to the public on the proper use and safe installation of infant/child car seats.

Current vacancies for this recruitment are located in the Sheriff's Property/Evidence Unit, where responsibilities include, but are not limited to: receiving, logging, storing, and maintaining evidence and property; disposing of property and evidence according to penal code and policy; packaging and transporting evidence; maintaining files and records; destroying and arranging for the destruction of weapons, narcotics or other materials; maintaining accountability for the overall security and integrity of the property room including preserving critical chain of evidence; testifying in court when subpoenaed; and other duties as required.

Being a Sheriff's Community Services Officer can be demanding, but for those who have passion for this work, you will be rewarded with camaraderie and the ability to help others in our community. Although they do not perform the full range of law enforcement duties that are assigned to Sheriff's Deputies, CSOs are non-peace officer staff who provide a variety of non-technical support services to community members across the County. They may be assigned to any area in the Sheriff's Office, including the main office, Sheriff's substations located in Guerneville and the Sonoma Valley, and the contracted city offices located in the City of Sonoma and the Town of Windsor. CSO's are subject to departmental policies, including uniform requirements and standards of conduct; and may work weekends, with occasional swing shifts, holiday assignments, and overtime as needed. CSO's assigned to the Central Information Bureau work a 4/10 day shift with weekends and holidays off. For more information about the services the Sheriff's Office provides our community, please visit the Sheriff's Office 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 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 extra-help positions as they occur during the active status of the list. The Civil Service title of this position is Community Services Officer I. Qualified County employees who wish to be considered for future positions should consider applying to this recruitment. 
 
APPLICATION SUBMISSIONS REQUIRE THE SUPPLEMENTAL QUESTIONNAIRE BE COMPLETED.

 

Minimum Qualifications

Any combination of education, training, and experience, 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 and should 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 thorough assessment of your qualifications. Responses which 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. Scores may be adjusted based on such factors as 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, 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 Drug Standards for Sheriff's Office for further information.

HOW TO APPLY

Applications are accepted on-line 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: MN
HR Technician: RR

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: Choice of five health plans (a PPO, EPO, HMO, and two deductible HMOs) with a County contribution toward the premium (the contribution amount varies by bargaining unit. For specific details, please refer to the applicable MOU). A County contribution to a Health Reimbursement Arrangement is available for some bargaining units.

Cash Allowance: In addition to monthly salary, a cash allowance of approximately $600 per month.

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.

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.

01
How did you first learn about this opportunity?
  • CalJobs
  • Careers in Government
  • College or University
  • Craigslist
  • Employee of Sonoma County
  • Facebook
  • Glassdoor
  • Google Jobs
  • GovernmentJobs.com
  • Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Sonoma County
  • Indeed
  • Job Fair
  • La Voz
  • Latino Service Providers
  • LinkedIn
  • Los Cien
  • Minority Organization or Group
  • Press Democrat
  • sonoma-county.org/www.yourpath2sonomacounty.org
  • Sonoma County Human Resources Office
  • Sonoma County Job Line
  • Twitter
  • Veterans Services Office
  • Workplace Diversity
  • Other Internet Site
  • Other Publication
02
Have you reviewed and do you understand the Sheriff's Office Drug Guidelines? (Please note, if you do not have Internet access, you can request the drug standards packet from the Human Resources reception desk.)
  • Yes
  • No
03
Are you a high school graduate or do you have a GED?
  • Yes
  • No
04
Are you willing to undergo a thorough background investigation, which may include a review of criminal, employment, education, driving, and credit records, and an inquiry into your personal and social history, including any use of drugs and/or alcohol?
  • Yes
  • No
05
Are you willing to work any shift assignments, including evenings, nights, weekends, and holidays?
  • Yes
  • No
06
For this question, and all subsequent questions, provide sufficient information to allow for a thorough evaluation of your qualifications.

Please describe your experience providing customer service to diverse audiences. Describe your customers and the services and/or information you provided them.
07
Please describe your experience performing clerical duties. Highlight any experience you have in:
  • Filing
  • Reception
  • Record maintenance
  • Computer operations
  • Mail handling, etc.
    08
    Please describe your work experience performing property or warehouse tasks such as shipping and receiving, stock clerk, and inventory management duties. What types of duties did you perform?

    Required Question

    Agency
    County of Sonoma (CA)
    Address
    575 Administration Drive, Suite 116B

    Santa Rosa, California, 95403
    Phone
    (707) 565-2331