Government Jobs
Lead Utility Billing Assistant
Government Jobs, San Luis Obispo, California, United States, 93410
Lead Utility Billing Assistant
This recruitment will remain open until the position has been filled. Applications submitted by 11:59pm on Tuesday, September 9, 2025, will be given first consideration. The first round of interviews has been scheduled for Tuesday, September 23, 2025, so please hold that date. As this is a continuous recruitment, this posting can close at any time without notice. Interested candidates are encouraged to apply immediately. The successful candidate for the Lead Utility Billing Assistant position is a detail-oriented, customer-focused professional with direct experience in utility billing operations, including monthly billing cycles, payment processing, adjustments, and collections. They have demonstrated the ability to assign and review workload for a small team, ensuring accuracy, timeliness, and compliance with City policy and state regulations. They are proficient in Microsoft Excel and utility billing software (i.e. Springbrook, CUSI, Oracle) and use advanced functions (e.g., VLOOKUP, PivotTables, conditional formatting) to audit accounts, identify errors, and improve efficiency. They have successfully trained and mentored staff, improved workflow efficiency, and implemented procedural enhancements such as streamlining shut-off notifications, late fee adjustments, or meter read error corrections. The successful candidate is calm and tactful under pressure, able to resolve complex billing disputes with diplomacy, and confident in applying policy consistently. They are self-motivated, organized, and capable of making sound independent decisions within established guidelines, while communicating clearly and professionally with customers, staff, and other departments. Under general supervision of the Utilities Business Manager, oversees the day-to-day operation of the utility billing office and billing system activities; assists in planning, developing, and maintaining utility billing procedures, and work load assignments; is responsible for providing direction and training to the Utility Billing Assistants; performs a variety of complex financial record keeping functions and provides phone assistance and information to the public. The position is responsible for monthly billing of water and sewer charges, shut-off proceedings, legally required notification, and collection activities. Employee is responsible to track and report on changes in state legislation pertaining to water and sewer services. This single position classification is distinguished from the Utility Billing Assistant in that incumbent spends a majority of their time coordinating workload, assigning priorities, and directing the work required for Utility Billing. Plans, assigns, reviews, and directs the work of assigned clerical and technical utility billing staff. Performs a variety of paraprofessional administrative, and accounting duties. Ensures that staff provides a high degree of service to both internal and external customers in support of the department's and the City's mission, objectives, and values. Evaluates utility billing systems and procedures, and recommends improvements. Assists in program budget needs assessment, and budget preparation and management. Assists in revenue studies and compilation of cost and budget estimates. Administers the Utility Billing Adjustment Committee process, including meeting coordination, document preparation, and response to customers. Tracks and implements needed changes in state legislation pertaining to water and sewer service. Performs a variety of complex financial duties in support of Utility Billing and customer service operations. Prepares financial and statistical reports. Oversees the processing of utility bills; balances and records payments; prepares and records adjustments, service requests and change orders; processes meter reads; prepares, proofs and adjusts bills. Trains and assists other Utility Billing staff in the proper operations and procedures of assigned desk. Prepares correspondence, reports, forms, receipts, vouchers, work orders, contracts, certificates and specialized documents related to Utility Billing. Composes standard correspondence, such as transmittal letters, from prior materials or brief instructions. Proofreads materials for accuracy, completeness, compliance with departmental policies, formatting and correct English usage including grammar, punctuation and spelling. Enters, edits, updates and retrieves data from narrative reports or spreadsheets and prepares periodic or special reports, following established formats and menus. Creates new departmental forms, spreadsheets or other means of capturing data. Maintains financial and office files, following an established records management system; compiles information from such files; purges files as required. May serve on a variety of departmental or City-wide project teams or committees. Performs related duties similar to the above in scope and function as required. Knowledge of: modern office procedures, practices and use of equipment with general computer software applications including word processing and spreadsheet applications; business English and proper grammatical uses for oral and written communication; principles and practices of work planning, assignment, review and training of staff in work procedures; techniques for providing a high level of customer service to the public, the community, and City staff, in person and over the phone; purposes, methods, and practices of technical financial record keeping and billing; record keeping methods, techniques, and legal mandates; basic principles of statistics and data analysis; pertinent federal, state, and local laws, codes, and ordinances. Ability to: use tact and initiative to make sound, independent decisions within established policy and procedural guidelines; maintain tactfulness and courtesy in high stress situations; perform arithmetical calculations accurately and quickly; interpret and explain City policies and procedures; take a proactive approach to problem solving; communicate clearly and concisely, both orally and in writing; analyze technical data, evaluate situations, and solve problems; plan and organize work to meet deadlines; perform job tasks with minimal supervision; follow oral and written instructions; type at a speed necessary for successful job performance. Education and experience: equivalent to graduation from high school and four years of recent experience in utility billing, customer service, finance or related field. Intermediate Microsoft Excel skills. Any equivalent combination of education and experience. Recent experience in a public agency setting and additional college level course work in accounting, finance or related field as well as bilingual communication (English/Spanish) is desirable. This position will be required to complete the following before a final offer is made: Live Scan Fingerprinting (DOJ).
This recruitment will remain open until the position has been filled. Applications submitted by 11:59pm on Tuesday, September 9, 2025, will be given first consideration. The first round of interviews has been scheduled for Tuesday, September 23, 2025, so please hold that date. As this is a continuous recruitment, this posting can close at any time without notice. Interested candidates are encouraged to apply immediately. The successful candidate for the Lead Utility Billing Assistant position is a detail-oriented, customer-focused professional with direct experience in utility billing operations, including monthly billing cycles, payment processing, adjustments, and collections. They have demonstrated the ability to assign and review workload for a small team, ensuring accuracy, timeliness, and compliance with City policy and state regulations. They are proficient in Microsoft Excel and utility billing software (i.e. Springbrook, CUSI, Oracle) and use advanced functions (e.g., VLOOKUP, PivotTables, conditional formatting) to audit accounts, identify errors, and improve efficiency. They have successfully trained and mentored staff, improved workflow efficiency, and implemented procedural enhancements such as streamlining shut-off notifications, late fee adjustments, or meter read error corrections. The successful candidate is calm and tactful under pressure, able to resolve complex billing disputes with diplomacy, and confident in applying policy consistently. They are self-motivated, organized, and capable of making sound independent decisions within established guidelines, while communicating clearly and professionally with customers, staff, and other departments. Under general supervision of the Utilities Business Manager, oversees the day-to-day operation of the utility billing office and billing system activities; assists in planning, developing, and maintaining utility billing procedures, and work load assignments; is responsible for providing direction and training to the Utility Billing Assistants; performs a variety of complex financial record keeping functions and provides phone assistance and information to the public. The position is responsible for monthly billing of water and sewer charges, shut-off proceedings, legally required notification, and collection activities. Employee is responsible to track and report on changes in state legislation pertaining to water and sewer services. This single position classification is distinguished from the Utility Billing Assistant in that incumbent spends a majority of their time coordinating workload, assigning priorities, and directing the work required for Utility Billing. Plans, assigns, reviews, and directs the work of assigned clerical and technical utility billing staff. Performs a variety of paraprofessional administrative, and accounting duties. Ensures that staff provides a high degree of service to both internal and external customers in support of the department's and the City's mission, objectives, and values. Evaluates utility billing systems and procedures, and recommends improvements. Assists in program budget needs assessment, and budget preparation and management. Assists in revenue studies and compilation of cost and budget estimates. Administers the Utility Billing Adjustment Committee process, including meeting coordination, document preparation, and response to customers. Tracks and implements needed changes in state legislation pertaining to water and sewer service. Performs a variety of complex financial duties in support of Utility Billing and customer service operations. Prepares financial and statistical reports. Oversees the processing of utility bills; balances and records payments; prepares and records adjustments, service requests and change orders; processes meter reads; prepares, proofs and adjusts bills. Trains and assists other Utility Billing staff in the proper operations and procedures of assigned desk. Prepares correspondence, reports, forms, receipts, vouchers, work orders, contracts, certificates and specialized documents related to Utility Billing. Composes standard correspondence, such as transmittal letters, from prior materials or brief instructions. Proofreads materials for accuracy, completeness, compliance with departmental policies, formatting and correct English usage including grammar, punctuation and spelling. Enters, edits, updates and retrieves data from narrative reports or spreadsheets and prepares periodic or special reports, following established formats and menus. Creates new departmental forms, spreadsheets or other means of capturing data. Maintains financial and office files, following an established records management system; compiles information from such files; purges files as required. May serve on a variety of departmental or City-wide project teams or committees. Performs related duties similar to the above in scope and function as required. Knowledge of: modern office procedures, practices and use of equipment with general computer software applications including word processing and spreadsheet applications; business English and proper grammatical uses for oral and written communication; principles and practices of work planning, assignment, review and training of staff in work procedures; techniques for providing a high level of customer service to the public, the community, and City staff, in person and over the phone; purposes, methods, and practices of technical financial record keeping and billing; record keeping methods, techniques, and legal mandates; basic principles of statistics and data analysis; pertinent federal, state, and local laws, codes, and ordinances. Ability to: use tact and initiative to make sound, independent decisions within established policy and procedural guidelines; maintain tactfulness and courtesy in high stress situations; perform arithmetical calculations accurately and quickly; interpret and explain City policies and procedures; take a proactive approach to problem solving; communicate clearly and concisely, both orally and in writing; analyze technical data, evaluate situations, and solve problems; plan and organize work to meet deadlines; perform job tasks with minimal supervision; follow oral and written instructions; type at a speed necessary for successful job performance. Education and experience: equivalent to graduation from high school and four years of recent experience in utility billing, customer service, finance or related field. Intermediate Microsoft Excel skills. Any equivalent combination of education and experience. Recent experience in a public agency setting and additional college level course work in accounting, finance or related field as well as bilingual communication (English/Spanish) is desirable. This position will be required to complete the following before a final offer is made: Live Scan Fingerprinting (DOJ).