Salary: $180,000.00 - $215,000.00 Annually
Location : San Jose
Job Type: Full-Time
Job Number:
DEPART: Mayor and City Council
Opening Date: 07/20/2026

Position Duties
ABOUT THE POSITION

The Mayor's Policy and Intergovernmental Relations Team is responsible for helping the Mayor develop, advance, and deliver an outcome-oriented policy agenda and represent San José's interests across all levels of government.

Policy duties include reviewing City Council and Committee agendas and memoranda, as well as external agendas for boards, commissions, and other working groups in which the Mayor participates; developing concise analyses, recommendations, and briefing materials that enable timely executive decision-making; conducting in-depth analysis of administrative staff's policy and program formulation, implementation, and evaluation; identifying emerging policy opportunities and risks; proactively engaging in interjurisdictional policy and special initiatives that affect the City; tracking City Council referrals; and working with the Mayor, Chief of Staff, and office leadership to establish priorities, define measurable goals, develop near-term initiatives, and assess whether strategies are producing the intended results.

The Policy team also works closely with the City Administration to move adopted policy direction from concept to implementation, identify barriers to execution, and recommend adjustments when progress is not occurring at the pace or scale required.

Intergovernmental Relations duties include developing and executing the Mayor's legislative and intergovernmental strategy; monitoring and advocating for legislation at the federal, state, regional, and local levels; staffing the Mayor in special intergovernmental groups; building coalitions with elected officials, public agencies, and external partners. Intergovernmental work is done collaboratively with the City Manager's Intergovernmental Relations team and City consultants in Sacramento and D.C.

Successful execution of these duties requires building and maintaining trusted relationships with key stakeholders inside and outside City Hall; exercising strong political and organizational judgment; maintaining discretion regarding sensitive information; and working collaboratively with other functions within the Mayor's Office to align policy development, budget strategy, communications, neighborhood engagement, innovation, and public/private partnerships.

The Chief leads a staff of five full-time-equivalent positions and two temporary positions.

The Chief Policy and Intergovernmental Relations Officer reports to the Mayor's Chief of Staff, serves as a principal policy advisor to the Mayor, and is a member of the Mayor's Office leadership team. The Chief helps the Mayor and Chief of Staff navigate complex decisions, evaluate competing priorities and tradeoffs, anticipate political and implementation risks, and identify practical pathways for advancing the Mayor's agenda.

The Chief often coordinates with and acts as an internal and external liaison on behalf of the Mayor, as needed. This includes representing the Mayor's interests in sensitive discussions, developing alignment among stakeholders, and ensuring that the Mayor's direction is understood and effectively carried forward.

As a senior leader in the Mayor's Office, the position requires exceptional judgment, initiative, discretion, and the ability to lead multiple high-profile priorities in a fast-moving elected-office environment. The successful candidate must be able to distinguish between issues that require the Mayor's attention and those that can be resolved independently, while maintaining a consistent no-surprises approach with the Mayor and Chief of Staff.
THE IDEAL CANDIDATE
The Mayor is seeking an accomplished Chief Policy and Intergovernmental Relations Officer with a passion for public service and a demonstrated ability to advise elected or executive leaders, manage a high-performing team, navigate complex governmental systems, and convert policy goals into measurable public outcomes.

Success in the Mayor's Office requires a commitment to service, focus, integrity, collaboration, intellectual curiosity, pragmatic problem-solving, and accountability for results. In addition, the ideal candidate will:

• Be a highly collaborative, creative, and strategic thinker who can bring structure to ambiguous problems, identify leverage points, test assumptions, and develop practical solutions to complex policy challenges.
• Provide clear and candid advice to the Mayor and Chief of Staff, including alternative viewpoints, risks, tradeoffs, unintended consequences, stakeholder considerations, and a recommended course of action.
• Demonstrate extensive knowledge of and experience with public policy formulation and implementation, considering varying community needs and perspectives, private-sector decision-making, departmental procedures and policies, and federal and state laws and regulations.
• Demonstrate an ability to maintain focus on the Mayor's highest priorities while evaluating and appropriately sequencing emerging issues, opportunities, and requests.
• Have significant experience with cross-jurisdictional policymaking and the ability to engage public agencies, elected officials, community organizations, labor, business, philanthropy, and other partners to advance San José's priorities.
• Possess a strong understanding of the legislative, budgetary, and regulatory environments at the federal, state, regional, and local levels.
• Demonstrate knowledge of and experience with stakeholder analysis, program evaluation, and robust community-engagement methods, including the ability to incorporate community experience, performance data, and implementation lessons into policy development and improvement.
• Possess superior verbal, written, and listening skills, with the ability to produce clear, concise, and persuasive recommendations; prepare an elected official for high-stakes meetings and public deliberations; and translate complex policy analysis and strategies into understandable terms.
• Exercise strong political judgment and understand how policy substance, stakeholder interests, Council dynamics, administrative feasibility, communications, and public perception intersect.
• Be highly resourceful, organized, and accountable for results; anticipate problems; move work forward with appropriate urgency; communicate early when risks arise; and follow through consistently on commitments.
• Operate effectively amid ambiguity, changing priorities, compressed timelines, and incomplete information while remaining calm, thoughtful, and decisive.
• Build alignment and lead cross-functional work across teams and organizations, including in circumstances where participants do not report directly to the position.
• Demonstrate the ability to recruit, manage, and retain a high-performing team, including setting clear priorities and expectations; establishing ownership for deliverables; giving and receiving direct feedback; supporting professional development; addressing performance concerns; and building a positive workplace culture grounded in collaboration, accountability, learning, and continuous improvement.
• Model the highest standards of integrity, confidentiality, sound judgment, and respect in interactions with colleagues, elected officials, public employees, community members, and external partners.

The total salary range for the Chief Policy and Intergovernmental Relations Officer is $180,000 - $215,000. This amount includes an approximate five percent (5%) ongoing non-pensionable pay. The actual salary shall be determined by the final candidates' qualifications and experience.

Please note that applications are currently not accepted through CalOpps or any other third-party job board application system. To apply, applicants must complete an application via the City of San Jose's website at .

Employees in this classification are not members of the classified civil service and appointment would be on a contract "at-will" basis and is for a specified period of time to be determined by the appointing elected official and does not extend past the end of the elected official's term. Candidates must be willing to work frequent evenings and weekends, and as exempt management employees, are not eligible for overtime compensation. This unclassified position requires a disclosure of outside investments, real property interest, income and business positions.

Minimum Qualifications
Any combination of training and experience that provides the knowledge, skills, and abilities to advise the Mayor on matters of public policy.

Required Licensing: Possession of a valid California Driver's license is required.

Employment Eligibility: Federal law requires all employees to provide verification of their eligibility to work in this country. Please be informed that the City of San Jose will NOT sponsor, represent or sign any documents related to visa applications/transfers for H1-B or any other type of visa which requires an employer application.

Other Qualifications
Desirable Qualifications

The ideal candidate will possess the most desirable combination of training, skills, and experience, which will allow them to serve as a member of the Mayor's Team.

Education: Bachelor's degree in engineering, science, political science, public administration, business administration, public relations or related field. A Master's degree in public or business administration; or a degree in a technical field related to a municipal function is highly desirable.

Experience:Three (3) or more years of government, public service, or research experience. Experience working for an elected official at the federal, state, or local level or as a public or private sector manager is highly desirable. Candidates with significant private industry experience are also encouraged to apply.
Selection Process

The selection process will consist of an evaluation of the applicant's training and experience based on the application and responses to the Job Specific Questions. Only the candidates whose backgrounds best match the position will be invited to proceed in the selection process. Additional phases of the selection process will consist of one or more interviews with an applied project.

You will be prompted to answer the following job-specific questions during the online application process. Please note: Applicants must write their own responses. Use of AI content in responses may result in disqualification.

1. Describe a complex and politically sensitive policy issue for which you advised an elected official or senior executive leader. Explain the issue, your role, how you evaluated policy options and stakeholder interests, the risks and tradeoffs you identified, the recommendation you made, and the ultimate outcome. Please also describe what you learned and what, if anything, you would do differently.

2. Describe a significant policy or intergovernmental initiative that required you to lead a team and build alignment across multiple departments, agencies, levels of government, or external stakeholders. Explain how you established the strategy, managed competing interests, maintained accountability for deliverables, addressed obstacles or disagreement, and moved the initiative from concept toward implementation. Include the measurable results achieved and your specific contribution.

3. Why are you our next Chief Policy and Intergovernmental Relations Officer?
To be considered for this position, you must fill out the online application on the City of San José website and submit the following:

• Cover Letter
• Resume/CV
• 1 Writing Sample

You must answer all job-specific questions in order to be considered for this vacancy or your application will be deemed incomplete and withheld from further consideration.

If you have questions about the duties of these positions, the selection or hiring processes, please contact Sarah Zarate at <