Principal Accountant- Energy Department

Our diverse and inclusive workforce of more than 7,000 employees play a key role in the success of San José, the heart of the Silicon Valley. All City of San José employees work together as one team to make San José a vibrant, innovative, and desirable place to live and work. Visit here to learn more about our One Team Leadership Values and Expectations, including quality and excellent customer service and here to learn more about San José.

The City of San José is an equal opportunity employer. Applicants for all job openings will be considered without regard to age, race, color, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, disability, veteran status or any other consideration made unlawful under any federal, state or local laws. The City of San José is committed to offering reasonable accommodations to job applicants with disabilities. If you need assistance or an accommodation due to a disability, please contact us at 408-535-1285, 711 (TTY) , or via email at CityCareers@sanjoseca.gov .

About the Department

San José Clean Energy, or SJCE, is San José’s local, not-for-profit electricity supplier operated by the City of San José’s Energy Department. Since 2019, our dedicated and motivated team has provided clean energy for residents and businesses at competitive rates, while also offering community programs, local benefits, and increased transparency and accessibility.

San José Clean Energy serves more than 350,000 customers and has a peak load of almost 1 GW. SJCE is responsible for purchasing over 4,500 GWh of electricity annually and has an annual operating budget of over $500 million. Serving our community with respect and integrity is at the core of what we do. Joining our team means that you will be making a big impact and in the forefront in the fight against climate change. SJCE plays an important role in meeting San José’s ambitious goal to be carbon neutral by 2030 and in implementing Climate Smart San José, the City’s climate action plan.

SJCE centers equity in its drive to provide clean, renewable energy at competitive rates and provide local benefits. Since inception, SJCE has sprinted ahead to now provide 62% renewable and 95% carbon-free energy in our base product and has contracted to add over 1GW of new solar, wind, and battery storage to the grid. SJCE’s low carbon energy supply is foundational as we work to meet the electrification goals outlined in Climate Smart San José. For more information about San José Clean Energy, please visit: www.sanjosecleanenergy.org.
Please see the brochure located here for additional details: https://acrobat.adobe.com/id/urn:aaid:sc:VA6C2:f7d5c577-420f-4488-9a97-194f5094133f

Position Duties

The Principal Accountant will be responsible for leadership and oversight of fiscal management functions for San José Clean Energy (SJCE). The incumbent in this position will lead the Department’s fiscal/accounting team and oversee all fiscal management activities for SJCE, including but not limited to the following:

• Develop and maintain accounting policies, procedures, and business processes to comply with generally accepted accounting principles and satisfy the financial management requirements associated with long-term power purchase agreements;
• Lead the development of SJCE standalone audited basic financial statements and SJCE financial statements in the City’s Annual Comprehensive Financial Report;
• Lead the preparation of quarterly financial statements (unaudited);
• Analyze the impact of GASB pronouncements on SJCE’s financial statements and develop accounting practices to satisfy GASB pronouncements;
• Actively participate in the financial planning and forecasting for SJCE with particular focus on validating actual financial data, proposed assumptions, and general feasibility of projections in the current and upcoming fiscal years;
• Manage external auditor inquiries pertaining to SJCE standalone financial statements and City Annual Comprehensive Financial Report.

Please see the brochure located here for additional details: https://acrobat.adobe.com/id/urn:aaid:sc:VA6C2:f7d5c577-420f-4488-9a97-194f5094133f

Minimum Qualifications

Education: Completion of a Bachelor's Degree from an accredited college or university with an emphasis in Accounting, Finance, or a closely related field, including eighteen semester units of accounting.

Experience: Five years of increasingly responsible professional experience in accounting or financial management including two years of supervising professional accountants.

Licenses: Possession of a valid State of California driver’s license may be required.

Employment Eligibility: Federal law requires employees to provide verification of their eligibility to work in the US. Please be informed the City of San José 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.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION: Form 700 Filing: Upon commencement of employment and subsequently each spring, the incumbent of this position must file the Family Gift Reporting Form together with the Statement of Economic Interest-Form 700. Please view the following link for details related to the State-Required reporting: Form 700 (ca.gov) and the following link for the City of San José Family Gift Reporting Form.

Other Qualifications

APPLICATION PROCESS:
The selection process will consist of an evaluation of the applicant’s training and experience based on the application, resume, 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.

To be considered for this vacancy, candidates must answer all job-specific questions and complete all sections in the on- line application (including education and work experience); otherwise, applications will be deemed incomplete and withheld from further consideration.

E-mail will be the default method of correspondence with applicants. To ensure that you receive timely notifications regarding your application status for this recruitment, please enter a valid e-mail address when submitting your application.
This job announcement will be open until filled, first review of applicants will take place on Wednesday May 7, 2025.
If you have questions about the duties of this position, the selection or hiring processes, please contact Adrienne Barreto via email at adrienne.barreto@sanjoseca.gov.

Additional Information:

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.

You must answer all job-specific questions to be considered for this vacancy or your application will be deemed incomplete and withheld from further consideration. Applicants are expected to write their own essays/responses. Please be advised that use of AI content in your responses may result in your removal from the hiring process.

Please note that applications are currently not accepted through CalOpps or any other third party job board application system.

This recruitment may be used to fill multiple positions in this, or other divisions or departments. If you are interested in employment in this classification, you should apply to ensure you are considered for additional opportunities that may utilize the applicants from this recruitment.

Please allow adequate time to complete the application and submit before the deadline or the system may not save your application. If your online application was successfully submitted, you will receive an automatic confirmation email to the email address you provided. IF YOU DO NOT RECEIVE THE CONFIRMATION, please email CityCareers@sanjoseca.gov and we will research the status of your application.

The City of San Jose offers a wide range of core health benefits including Medical, Dental, Vision, Employee Assistance Program, Life Insurance, Disability, and Savings Plans. Please visit the City's benefits pagefor detailed information on coverage, cost, and dependent coverage.

For information on the City’s Retirement Plan(pension for full-time employees), please visit the Office of Retirement Services website. You will be able to view information based on different Sworn/Federated job classification.

In additional to the benefits above, there is an additional perks siteto explore further benefits of working for the City of San Jose like paid leave, educational reimbursements, and holiday pay are specific to the job classification and union membership.

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• City of San Jose

• 408-535-1285

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