Real Estate Project Specialist

Salary : $112,892.32 - $137,207.27 Annually
Location : Santa Rosa, CA
Job Type: Full-Time
Job Number: 26/10-0762-O
Department: Sonoma County Public Infrastructure (SPI)
Opening Date: 10/29/2026
Closing Date: 11/16/2026 11:59 PM Pacific
Bargaining Unit: 50

Position Information
Starting salary up to $65.74/hour ($137,207/year) and a competitive total compensation package!*
Under the direction of the Real Estate Manager, the Real Estate Project Specialist performs real property acquisitions, dispositions, and leasing transactions. They lead cross-functional project teams and direct retained consultants within approved scopes. The Real Estate Project Specialist prepares and reviews agreements for real property transactions, ensures that facilities are maintained according to contract obligations, conducts financial feasibility and market studies, and prepares and reviews resolutions and staff reports for the Board of Supervisors. Additional duties also include:

• Assisting the Real Estate Manager in County-wide facility planning, space utilization, and financial analysis
• Developing and clearly explaining comparative analyses of lease versus purchase options, rent and escalation structures, net versus full-service costs, tenant improvements, operating expenses, property value, and transaction timelines
• Managing property acquisitions for County use, including due diligence, appraisal and title coordination, negotiations, agreements, and closing support
• Representing the County as the landlord or licensor of County-owned property, including handling negotiations, renewals, revenue terms, and coordinating operational and maintenance obligations with Facilities Management

The ideal candidate for the Real Estate Project Specialist position will be able to read and critically assess commercial leases, purchase and sale agreements, licenses, MOUs, rights of entry, and telecom agreements, and effectively identify business risks, missing terms, and issues for County Counsel. They will also possess many of the following:

• Experience with purchase and sale agreements, commercial tenant and landlord leasing, licenses, telecommunications occupancy agreements, rights of entry, and/or public property dispositions
• A practical understanding of title, survey, appraisal, environmental and building due diligence; lease economics, tenant improvements, property operations, risk allocation, and the points that warrant legal or technical review
• Proven success advising clients or executives with competing priorities, negotiating with owners or tenants, and translating financial and legal issues into clear recommendations

• Effective oral, written, and business communication skills
• Knowledge of real estate appraisal principles and practices and familiarity with the California Surplus Land Act
• The ability to conduct market research, assess property fit and due diligence reports, manage concurrent milestones, negotiate effectively, and write concise decision memos and Board materials
• Experience presenting findings and facilitating meetings for audiences ranging from department staff to senior leadership and elected officials
• Intermediate to advanced Microsoft Office Skills including Excel, Word, PowerPoint, and Outlook

What We Offer
Working at the County of Sonoma offers expansive opportunities for growth and development, the ability to be a part of a challenging and rewarding work environment, and the satisfaction of knowing you're working to better our communities. You can also look forward to flexible work arrangements and excellent benefits* including:

• Hybrid Telework - A schedule that meets the needs of our staff, department operations, and the communities we serve may be available depending on the assignment
• Salary Advancement - A salary increase after 1,040 hours (6 months when working full-time) for good work performance; eligibility for a salary increase for good performance every year thereafter, until reaching the top of the salary range
• Paid Time Off - Competitive vacation and sick leave accruals, 12 paid holidays, and an additional 8 floating holiday hours per year
• Staff Development/Wellness - Annual benefit allowances of up to $2,000 and ongoing education/training opportunities
• County Paid Health Premium Contributions - 100% premium contribution for the majority of employee-only and employee + family health plan options
• Post-Retirement Health Reimbursement Arrangement - County contributions to help fund post-retirement health insurance/benefits
• Retirement - A pension fully integrated with Social Security
• Incentive Retirement Savings Plan (IRSP) and 457 Voluntary Deferred Compensation - 3% of salary County contribution to a 401(a), in addition to the County matching up to 1% of base salary in 401(a), based upon employee contribution
• Paid Parental Leave - May be eligible for up to 8 weeks (320 hours) after 12 months of County employment
• Additional Benefits: Excellent dental, vision, disability, life insurance, employee assistance program, professional development, and more
• Student Loan Debt Relief - County employees may be eligible for through the U.S. Department of Education

About the Department

Sonoma Public Infrastructure (SPI) plans, builds, manages, and maintains the County of Sonoma's investment in critical services and quality infrastructure. SPI's multiple Divisions are dedicated to providing construction and maintenance services throughout the community, including:

• Administration
• Airport - operates and maintains airfield facilities for general and commercial services as well as corporate, recreational, law enforcement, emergency medical transport, and firefighting aircraft
• Integrated Waste (Refuse) - provides ecologically sound solid waste disposal, natural gas recovery, recycling, community hazardous waste disposal, and composting programs to the County
• Roads - performs design, construction, and maintenance of all roads, bridges, and minor drainage systems within the County road system, and keeps roads open and safely passable for the public
• Transit - delivers cost-effective public transportation services to meet the public's transit needs
• Water Systems - operates, maintains, and improves the Fitch Mountain, Salmon Creek, Freestone, and Jenner water systems
• Fleet Operations
• Facilities Development Management

Minimum Qualifications
Experience and Experience: Any combination of education and work experience which would provide an opportunity to acquire the knowledge and abilities listed herein. Normally, this would include coursework in real estate, business administration, public administration, economics, law, or a closely related field and two years of professional experience in the leasing, management, acquisition, and/or disposition of commercial real estate assets and interests. A Bachelor's or Master's degree, or equivalent, in a related field is highly desirable.

License: Possession of a valid driver's license at the appropriate level including special endorsements, as required by the State of California, may be required depending upon assignment to perform the essential job functions of the position.
The position advertised in this announcement does not require possession of a valid California Driver's License.
Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities
Considerable knowledge of: principles, practices, and techniques of property appraisal, acquisition, leasing, and disposition; negotiation techniques and strategies; state, federal, and local laws and regulations applicable to the acquisition, disposition, and leasing of real property assets and interests; principles and practices of project management; the principles of research methodology, data collection, and analysis; effective written and oral communications, including language mechanics, syntax, and English composition, modern office practices and procedures, including computers and related software.

Working knowledge of: principles and practices of County policies and procedures related to procurement, contract development, and insurance; the appropriate forms and terminology used for real property transactions; local real estate and relocation service providers; statistical and financial analysis; presentation skills.

Ability to: organize, plan, schedule, budget, and coordinate real estate projects; collect, interpret, and analyze data and make recommendations based on that analysis; plan, coordinate, initiate, and complete actions necessary to implement project plans; analyze situations and select appropriate course of action; act as a liaison between departmental clients and other parties such as property owners and contractors; develop and maintain effective working relationships with those encountered in the course of work; present detailed technical data clearly and concisely both orally and in writing.

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. 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 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 to 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 a thorough assessment of your qualifications. Responses that 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 and 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. Personally identifiable information (PII) is removed from the standard application fields and applicable attachments. This PII blind screening practice redacts a candidate's personal information that could potentially influence or bias the scoring process. Personal information includes the applicant's name, former last name, address, phone number, email, driver's license number, school name, education start and end dates, age, date of birth, gender, and race. This PII blind screening practice helps contribute to a fair and equitable examination process.

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 and Supplemental Questionnaire Appraisal Examination which evaluates the education, training, experience, skills, knowledge, abilities, and other qualifications that you demonstrate in your application and/or response to the supplemental questionnaire. Please be aware that resumes and cover letters are not typically evaluated in the Application and Supplemental Questionnaire Appraisal Examination. Scores may be adjusted based on such factors as the number of candidates, anticipated vacancies, past practice, and natural breaks in the scores achieved by this group of candidat