Executive Assistant to the Director (Exempt)

City-of-Oakland,-Ca; Oakland (CA); On-site; USD 65,000 - 90,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Work/Life Balance

15 paid holidays

CalPERS retirement benefits

Health benefits

Job summary

The City of Oakland invites applications for an Executive Assistant in the Planning & Building Department. You will serve as a trusted partner to department leadership and coordinate priorities to ensure critical work is carried out efficiently.

This role offers exposure to department-wide initiatives, cross‑functional collaboration, and professional growth in a fast-paced public sector environment. The position emphasizes organization, proactive problem-solving, and discreet handling of

Qualifications

• Associate's degree required; a bachelor's degree is desirable.
• Two years of progressively responsible experience as an Administrative Assistant II or five years in executive-level support.
• Strong proficiency with Microsoft Office suite and document management.

Responsibilities

• Manage executive calendar, appointments, meetings, priorities, and day-to-day needs.
• Coordinate complex schedules, resolve conflicts, and prepare executives for commitments.
• Schedule meetings, develop agendas, prepare materials, take notes, and track follow-up items.
• Organize sensitive documents and ensure proper handling of confidential information.
• Draft, proofread, format, and coordinate executive materials and reports.
• Monitor outstanding matters and ensure timely follow-ups with staff and customers.
• Manage the department's council agenda process.

Skills

Attentive

Adaptable

Reliable

Organized

Proactive

Knowledgeable

Confidentiality

Self-directed

Education

Associate's degree

Bachelor's degree desirable

Tools

Microsoft Office

Outlook

Word

Excel

Teams

Job description

The City of Oakland is an equal opportunity employer that values workforce diversity, inclusion, and equity. Oakland has a long history of activism around issues of justice and equity. Both oppression and this resistance to oppression have shaped the city’s historical roots and the lives of its residents to this day. As public servants in one of the most diverse cities in the nation, we strive to develop employees who understand the harm and impacts of systemic inequity to create lasting, meaningful outcomes for everyone. Oakland strives to establish an environment that embraces the richness of culture, community, and individualism of employees.

Why join the City of Oakland's Planning & Building Department?

Joining the Planning and Building Department (PBD) as an Executive Assistant gives you the opportunity to be at the center of the work that keeps the organization moving. This role goes far beyond traditional administrative support. You will serve as a trusted partner to department leadership, help coordinate priorities, and play a key role in ensuring that critical work is carried out effectively and efficiently.

As an Executive Assistant, you will experience a wide variety of responsibilities and work with people at all levels throughout the City of Oakland. You will gain exposure to department-wide initiatives, organizational priorities, and important decision-making processes, all while building strong relationships with leadership, employees, other City departments, elected officials, community partners, and external stakeholders.

Most importantly, this role is ideal for someone who wants to make a meaningful impact. If you are organized, proactive, adaptable, resourceful, and take pride in being someone others can depend on, the Executive Assistant position offers the chance to contribute significantly to the department’s success while developing a broad understanding of City operations and growing professionally.

• Attentive. You stay engaged and aware of department activities, priorities, and emerging needs.
• Adaptable. You respond effectively to changing priorities and circumstances, and you are committed to finding solutions to accomplish assigned responsibilities.
• Reliable. You consistently follow through on commitments and can be counted on to respond and provide support when needed.
• Organized. You manage multiple tasks, projects, deadlines, and competing priorities effectively while maintaining strong attention to detail.
• Proactive. You anticipate needs, identify potential issues, and take initiative to address matters before they escalation.
• Knowledgeable. You demonstrate a strong understanding of departmental functions, processes, and subject‑matter areas.
• Confidentiality-focused. You handle sensitive information discreetly and maintain strict confidentiality.
• Self-directed. You work independently in a fast‑paced environment and stay productive under shifting demands.

What you will typically be responsible for:

• Managing the executive’s calendar, appointments, meetings, priorities, and day‑to‑day administrative needs.
• Coordinating complex schedules, resolving conflicts, prioritizing competing requests, and ensuring the executive is prepared for upcoming commitments.
• Scheduling meetings, developing agendas, preparing materials, coordinating participants, taking or distributing notes, and tracking follow‑up items.
• Organizing sensitive documents, reports, records, and correspondence while ensuring information is accessible and appropriately handled.
• Handling personnel, operational, financial, legal, and other sensitive information with a high degree of confidentiality and sound judgment.
• Drafting, proofreading, formatting, and coordinating reports, memoranda, presentations, correspondence, and other executive‑level materials.
• Monitoring outstanding matters and ensuring commitments made by the executive or assigned to staff are followed through, including timely responses to requests from the executive or customers.
• Managing the department’s council agenda process.

A few reasons you might love this job:

• The role offers variety, bringing new priorities, challenges, people, and projects that keep the work engaging.
• The position provides opportunities to work with leadership, staff, other departments, external partners, and community stakeholders.
• You play a critical role in turning priorities into action by coordinating people, information, deadlines, and resources.

A few challenges you might face in this job:

• Priorities can shift quickly, requiring flexibility and the ability to adapt without losing track of important deadlines.
• Meetings, deadlines, unexpected issues, and last‑minute changes can create a fast‑paced environment where staying calm is essential.
• Balancing multiple urgent requests while determining what requires immediate attention and what can wait.

Competencies Required:

• Informing: Proactively obtaining and sharing information.
• Leading Cross‑Functional Collaboration: Demonstrating cooperation and teamwork while working within and across divisions, functions, or teams.
• Listening: Fully comprehending spoken communication.
• Oral Communication: Engaging effectively in dialogue.
• Political & Organization Savvy: Working skillfully with politics, procedures, and protocols across organizational levels and boundaries.
• Professional & Technical Expertise: Applying technical subject matter to the job.
• Project Management: Ensuring that projects are on‑time, on‑budget, and achieve their objectives.
• Strategic Thinking & Perspective: Evaluating immediate actions in context of achieving long range objects.
• Writing: Communicating effectively in writing.

Any combination of education and experience that is equivalent to the following minimum qualifications may be acceptable:

Education:

An associate's degree in a related field. A bachelor's degree is desirable.

Experience:

Two years of progressively responsible experience in a position comparable to an Administrative Assistant II level position in the City of Oakland, or five years of increasingly responsible experience providing administrative and clerical support to an executive management level position or elected official.

Desirable Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree
• Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Office, including Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Teams, and document management systems.

License or Certificate:

Successful incumbents in this position are expected to operate automotive vehicles in the performance of assigned duties. Due to the nature of the assignment and the hours worked, public transportation may not be a cost‑effective or efficient method for traveling to the various locations required. Individuals who are appointed to this position will be required to maintain a valid California driver's license throughout the tenure of employment OR demonstrate the ability to travel to various locations on time as required in the performance of duties.

Other Requirements:

This classification is exempt from overtime compensation per the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) Administrative exemption criteria.

The Recruitment Process:

This is an at‑will position, exempt from the provisions of the City of Oakland Civil Service Rules, per Charter Section 902. All applications received will be forwarded to the Planning and Building Department (PBD) for further consideration. Meeting the minimum qualification requirements may not result in further consideration; only the most qualified candidates will be contacted for interviews.

What's in it for you?

• Work/Life Balance: 37.5 hour works
• 15 paid holidays
• Vacation: 2 weeks per year minimum with the ability to accrue more depending on public sector years of service.
• Retirement: CalPERS (California Public Employees’ Retirement System) with a pension formula of 2.5% @ 55 (for Classic CalPERS members) and 2% @ 62 for new CalPERS members. Classic Employees contribute 8% of pre‑tax wages. The City of Oakland does not participate in Social Security.
• Health: The City of Oakland pays the full cost of employee and eligible dependent coverage at the Kaiser rate. Other plans include Anthem, Blue Shield, United Health Care, and other HMO and PPO plans.
• Dental: Delta Dental full premium for employees and eligible dependents.
• Vision: VSP full premium for employees and eligible dependents.
• Sick leave: Employees accrue 12 days per year.
• Deferred Compensation: 457(b) pre‑tax plan and an after‑tax ROTH 401(k) plan.
• Other benefits include a Flexible Spending Account, Wellness Program, Employee Assistance Program, Life Insurance, Tuition Reimbursement, employee training, & telecommuting.

*Benefits described herein do not represent a contract and may be changed without notice. Additional information can be found here:

Applicants are required to submit criminal history information upon request after receiving a conditional offer of employment. If the requested information is not furnished in a timely manner, applicants will not qualify for further consideration and will be removed from the eligible list.

Disaster Service Worker:

All employees are designated Disaster Service Workers through the state and local law. Employees are required to complete all Disaster Service Worker‑related training as assigned and to return to work as ordered in the event of an emergency.