Principal Project Analyst 1824Office of the City Administrator

City and County of San Francisco; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 170,000; Full time

Job summary

The Office of the City Administrator seeks a Principal Project Analyst to join the team, providing senior-level analysis across a portfolio of high-priority initiatives. You will work with City divisions, translating complex issues into actionable recommendations and leading cross-functional workstreams.

As a senior generalist, you will research, analyze, and communicate findings to senior leaders, manage competing priorities, and support strategic decision-making in a fast-paced government

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in a relevant field.
• 5 years of professional-level analytical work experience.
• Graduate degree may substitute for one year of experience; additional experience may substitute for degree.

Responsibilities

• Lead the planning and advancement of complex initiatives and workstreams.
• Conduct independent research and policy analysis to support strategic decision-making.
• Plan and facilitate stakeholder engagement and cross-department coordination.
• Prepare concise briefings, slide decks, and recommendations for senior leadership.

Skills

Project management

Analytical work

Stakeholder engagement

Executive communication

Research & policy analysis

Education

Bachelor's degree

Master's degree substitute for experience

Tools

Microsoft Office

Job description

Job Description

Role Description

The Office of the City Administrator is seeking a Principal Project Analyst to join our team, where you will play a key role in a portfolio of complex, high-priority initiatives led by the City Administrator’s Office. This is a unique opportunity to work as a senior generalist on a wide range of new and time-sensitive projects across City divisions and departments, including work related to real estate, technology, policy, operations, and interdepartmental initiatives. The ideal candidate is a highly skilled analyst with strong project management skills who is intellectually curious, communicates complex ideas clearly and effectively, enjoys collaboration, research, and strategic problem-solving, is comfortable bringing structure to complex or underdefined issues, and takes pride producing thoughtful, high-quality work.

You’ll work closely with senior leaders, department partners, and other stakeholders on sensitive, consequential, and politically nuanced issues in a fast-paced, high-performing, and supportive environment. If you’re ready to roll up your sleeves and get to work improving government, this might be the position for you.

Under the general direction of the Project Director, you will:

Project Leadership & Delivery

• Lead the planning and advancement of complex initiatives and workstreams.
• Independently drive workstreams forward, maintaining ownership of follow-through and surfacing risks, decisions, and issues requiring escalation.
• Manage competing priorities and adapt quickly as new leadership questions and time-sensitive assignments arise, while maintaining high-quality results.

Research, Analysis & Strategic Problem-Solving

• Bring structure to complex or underdefined issues and develop effective analytical approaches.
• Conduct independent research and policy analysis to understand complex issues and support strategic decision‑making.
• Synthesize complex legal, operational, and stakeholder information, identifying the findings and insights that matter most.
• Interpret evidence, assess implications and tradeoffs, and develop clear, actionable recommendations, including processes, operating models, or other solutions where appropriate.

Stakeholder Engagement & Cross-Departmental Coordination

• Plan and facilitate stakeholder engagement, meetings and multi‑stakeholder processes.
• Lead and coordinate work across organizational boundaries without formal authority, navigating differing responsibilities and perspectives and recognizing when disagreements or decisions should be surfaced or escalated.

Executive Communication & Decision Support

• Prepare concise briefings, slide decks, written analyses, and recommendations for senior leadership.
• Distill research, analysis, and stakeholder perspectives into clear, actionable insights that support decision-making on complex, sensitive, or underdefined issues.
• Respond to sensitive information requests with discretion, professionalism, and sound judgment.

Qualifications:
Qualifications

Minimum Qualifications:

Education: Possession of a baccalaureate degree from an accredited college or university

Experience: Five (5) years full-time equivalent experience performing professional-level analytical work. Qualifying professional-level analytical work includes analysis, development, administration, and reporting in major programs and functions of an organization in the areas of budgets, contracts, grants, policy, or other functional areas related to the duties of positions in the 182X Class series.

Substitution: Possession of a graduate degree (Master's degree or higher) from an accredited college or university with major coursework in specialized subject matter areas such as public or business administration, management, business law, contract law, public policy, urban studies, economics, statistical analysis, finance, accounting or other fields of study closely related to the essential functions of positions in the Class series may be substituted for one (1) year of required experience.

Additional experience as described above may be substituted for the required degree on a year-for-year basis (up to a maximum of 2 years). Thirty (30) semester units or forty-five (45) quarter units equal one year.

Note(s):

• One-year full-time employment is considered equivalent to 2000 hours (2000 hours of qualifying work experience is based on a 40 hour work week). Any overtime hours that you work above forty (40) hours per week are not included in the calculation to determine full-time employment.
• Applicants must meet minimum qualification requirements by the final filing date unless otherwise noted.

Desirable Qualifications:

The stated desirable qualifications may be used to identify job finalists at the end of the selection process when candidates are referred for hiring. Desirable experience includes:

• Leading Complex, Cross-Functional Work – leading or advancing complex projects or initiatives involving multiple functions, departments, or organizational units, particularly in a large or decentralized organization.
• Conducting Qualitative and Organizational Research – conducting stakeholder interviews, qualitative research, process analysis, organizational analysis, or similar work to understand complex problems and identify opportunities for improvement.
• Communicating with Executive Audiences – preparing concise written analyses, presentations, briefings, or recommendations for senior leaders and other decision-makers.
• Designing and Improving How Organizations Work – developing or implementing improvements to policies, processes, operating models, organizational structures, roles and responsibilities, or other ways of working.
• Navigating Diverse Stakeholder Perspectives – facilitating groups or coordinating work among stakeholders with differing responsibilities, priorities, expertise, or organizational interests.
• Government or Other Complex Institutional Environments – Familiarity with government operations or experience working in another large, complex institutional or bureaucratic environment. Experience with the City and County of San Francisco is helpful but not required.
• Breadth Across Public Administration or Related Functions – Familiarity with one or more areas such as policy, budgeting, contracting, capital planning, real estate, technology, organizational development, or other functions relevant to public administration. Deep expertise in any particular subject area is not required.

Verification:
Please make sure it is clear in your application exactly how you meet the minimum qualifications. Every application is reviewed to ensure that you meet the minimum qualifications as listed in the job ad. Please review our articles on Employment Application and Minimum Qualifications and Verification of Experience and/or Education for considerations taken when reviewing applications. Applicants may be required to submit verification of qualifying education and experience at any point in the application and/or departmental selection process.

Note: Applications completed improperly may be cause for ineligibility, disqualification or may lead to lower scores. 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. Resumes will not be accepted in lieu of a completed City and County of San Francisco application.

Additional Information

Additional Information Regarding Employment with the City and County of San Francisco:

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

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.