County Administrator

County Administrator

The County of Siskiyou is an Affirmative Action / Equal Opportunity Employer. We welcome applicants of any race, religion, or ancestry. This will be ran as a continuous recruitment until the position is filled. First application review will be August 10, 2026. Second application review will be August 31, 2026 if needed. Third application review will be September 20, 2026 if needed.

The mission of the County Administrator is to provide leadership and guidance to the County organization in implementing the policies of the Board of Supervisors while maintaining and improving the effective operation and fiscal integrity of the County. The County Administrator's Office is responsible for several major functional areas including Budget, General County Administration, Personnel/Labor Relations, Purchasing and Risk Management.

Current issues and priorities facing the County that will require leadership from the County Administrator include:

• Continuity of Current Operations
• Economic Development
• Succession Planning
• Provide Leadership to the team of department heads, which encourages leadership and development.

Siskiyou County has a general law form of government with a five-member Board of Supervisors elected for four year terms on an alternating basis. The County's total spending budget of nearly $241 million reflects a staff of approximately 650 FTEs.

The Board of Supervisors appoints the County Administrator, County Counsel, and other non-elected Department heads. Appointed Department heads include Agricultural Commissioner, Chief Probation Officer, County Librarian, Director of Child Support Services, Director of Health and Human Service Agency, Director of Community Development Agency, Director of Public Works, and Public Defender. Elected County officials include the Assessor/Recorder, Auditor/Controller, County Clerk, District Attorney, Sheriff, and Treasurer-Tax Collector.

Compensation and Benefits:

Salary: $254,492.41 annually, negotiable based on qualifications.

Retirement: CALPERS Retirement

2% @ 55 for classic members

2% @ 62 for new members

Deferred Compensation (457b): County contributes $3,600 annually.

Health & Dental Insurance: County pays a portion of premium costs for a comprehensive health and dental plan for employee and dependents; optional Flexible Medical and Childcare accounts available through Navia.

Leave Time:

Vacation leave; additional time negotiable

60 hours administrative leave

12 sick leave days

12 holidays plus three floating holidays annually.

Vision Insurance: County paid plan.

Life/Disability Insurance: County paid life insurance equal to twice annual salary and short and long term disability programs.

Examples of Duties

Typical duties of the position include:

• Assist the Board of Supervisors in the development and implementation of ongoing goals, objectives, policies and priorities for the County.
• Directs the analysis and evaluation of annual budget requests of all County Departments and prepares budget recommendations to the Board of Supervisors.
• Directs the continuous review of County expenditures throughout the fiscal year.
• Conducts studies or assignments as directed by the Board of Supervisors.
• Negotiates agreements, purchases, acquisitions, leases and concessions, annexation agreements
• Direct labor negotiations with various unions and unrepresented groups
• Attend meetings of the Board of Supervisors and make recommendations on administrative and budgetary matters.
• Represents the County to the public, media and other governmental agencies

Typical Qualifications

The ideal candidate is an experienced county administrator/executive, or senior level executive from a comparable public sector organization; some relevant private sector experience may be helpful. This strong leader will possess the following:

• Strong budgetary skills
• A strategist who lays out the facts, analyzes and develops effective strategies and presents alternatives to the Board
• Outstanding communication, consensus building skills, as well as the ability to work collaboratively in partnership with the Board of Supervisors, Department Heads and Community Partners
• Has a track record of accomplishment
• Ability to see the 'big picture' while negotiating solutions to various issues among stakeholders with diverse interest
• Adaptable to the diversity of issues and viewpoints facing the County
• Open-minded, take risks when and if necessary
• Able to manage change
• Influential, decisive and confident; a 'closer' who gets things done to implement Board Policy
• Genuinely likes people and interacts easily with others; able to put others at ease; patient; an even tempered leadership style
• Common sense and good judgment when providing leadership
• An articulate spokesperson for the County
• Understanding of rural economic development issues
• Knowledge of Environmental laws/regulations is desirable
• Experience and Education:
• A bachelor's degree in public or business administration, political science, or other related fields from an accredited college or university; a master's degree in public administration or similar fields desirable
• Five to seven years of experience as County Administrative Officer or increasingly responsible executive administrative/management experience in a public administration position, preferably within the State of California.
• It is preferred that applicants have a solid understanding of California laws and regulations.