Program Manager (Broadband and Partnerships) - San Jose Public Library

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

The award-winning San José Public Library (SJPL) consists of more than 600 employees, a 23% bilingual workforce, and has 24 branch libraries across San José, in addition to the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Library, which is the city’s main library jointly operated through a unique partnership with San José State University. SJPL serves a diverse community of roughly one-million residents and currently has nearly 700,000 library members. It annually attracts over 6 million visitors (pre-pandemic) and circulates more than 8 million items per year.

Over the past few years, SJPL has cultivated a 21st century library experience dedicated to public service and committed to equity, diversity, and inclusion at the core. In addition to providing library services to the community, SJPL proudly leads two citywide initiatives - the Education and Digital Literacy Strategy and the SJ Access digital equity initiative, which has become the number one provider of free public access to Wi-Fi connectivity, tech device lending, and multi-lingual digital literacy programs and support. SJPL is led by Jill Bourne, City Librarian, who was nationally recognized in 2017 as Library Journal’s “Librarian of the Year.”

SJPL enriches lives by fostering lifelong learning and ensuring that every member of the community has access to a vast array of ideas and information. The library department is a place where people do great work and make a difference in our community. To see examples of SJPL’s work and learn more about its impact, visit www.sjpl.org. Join us to make a difference!

Position Duties

The Program Manager position will implement the City’s Broadband Permitting program. This position serves as the lead for the Broadband and Telecommunications Partnerships Unit in the Library’s Digital Empowerment and Public Technology division and will report to the Division Manager. To implement the citywide Broadband strategy the Program Manager will lead and project manage the citywide Broadband workplan and work directly with assigned staff from other departments to implement the workplan.

The Program Manager requires a broad set of skills including strategic thinking, negotiation, telecommunications experience, public policy, team leadership, and public collaboration. They will negotiate value exchange agreements to generate the demand for broadband deployments and ensure City’s departments fulfill that demand by permitting communications facilities including macro site, small cells, underground fiber optics, and Wi-Fi. This role requires collaboration with various city departments including, but not limited to Planning, Building and Code Enforcement (PBCE); Public Works; Transportation; Information Technology; and the City Attorney’s Office. The Program Manager will also work closely with telecommunications companies and internet service providers to evaluate ways to accelerate broadband deployment. Collaboration with public interest groups, community organizations, and other stakeholders will also be required to ensure public adoption of broadband deployment. Finally, the Program Manager will work closely with the Library’s Digital Empowerment & Equity Unit and external stakeholders to ensure progress on social justice for the digitally under-served people in San Jose.

The Program Manager responsibilities include the following:

• Negotiate value trading agreements with broadband providers that promote economic development and support for digital empowerment.
  

• Direct the development of balanced broadband friendly policies.
  

• Direct the City departments involved with broadband deployment.
  

• Collaborate with external stakeholders on community concerns with broadband deployments.
  

• Measure compliance with agreement terms and conditions.
  

• Evaluate new technologies and approaches to accelerate broadband.
  

• Report progress to City Council and external stakeholders.
  

• Advise on federal, state, and local regulations including rulings from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) and recent court decisions.
  

• Advise on proposed telecommunications resiliency standards for broadband deployments from and emergency operations perspective such as the CPUC Wireless Resiliency Strategy and the City of San José Power Vulnerability Plan.
  

• Supervise and manage the Senior Analyst position in the Broadband and Telecommunications Partnerships Unit.
  

• Manage the Digital Inclusion Fund in relation to telecommunications public-private partnership contract requirements.
  

This recruitment may be used to fill multiple positions in this or other 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.

Minimum Qualifications

Education and Experience

Bachelor’s degree in a closely related field AND five (5) years of directly-related experience, including two (2) years of supervisory experience.

Other Qualifications

Competencies

• Job Expertise - Demonstrates knowledge of and experience with applicable professional/technical principles and practices, technical project management, Citywide and departmental procedures/policies and federal and state rules and regulations.
  

• Communication Skills: Effectively conveys information and expresses thoughts and facts clearly, orally and in writing; demonstrates effective use of listening skills; displays openness to other people's ideas and thoughts.
  

• Project Management - E nsures support for projects and implements agency goals and strategic objectives.
  

• Facilitation : Exhibits behaviors and techniques that enhance the quality of group processes.
  

• Teamwork & Interpersonal Skills: Develops effective relationships with co-workers and supervisors by helping others accomplish tasks and using collaboration and conflict resolution skills.
  

• Political Skill : In taking action , demonstrates an understanding and consideration of how it will impact stakeholders and affected areas in the organization.
  

• Leadership: Leads by example; demonstrates high ethical standards; remains visible and approachable and interacts with others on a regular basis; promotes a cooperative work environment, allowing others to learn from mistakes; provides motivational supports and direction.
  

• Vision/ Strategic Thinking: Supports, promotes, and ensures alignment with the organization’s vision and values; understands how an organization must change in light of internal and external trends and influences; builds a shared vision with others and influences others to translate vision to action.
  

• Initiative : Exhibits resourceful behaviors toward meeting job objectives; anticipates problems, is proactive, and avoids difficulties by planning ahead ; displays willingness to assume extra responsibility and challenges; pursues continuing education opportunities that promotes job performance.
  

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 , one of which may include a practical/writing exercise.

If you have questions about the duties of these positions, the selection or hiring processes, please contact Daniel Aholt at Daniel.Aholt@sjlibrary.org .

Supplemental Questions

What is the highest level of education you have completed?

• Bachelor's Degree
  

• Master's Degree
  

• Doctoral Degree
  

• Other
  

• None of the above
  

If you have a bachelor's degree or higher from an accredited college or university in a related field, please state the field of study and the issuing accredited college or university.


Do you have at least five (5) years of full-time progressively responsible administrative experience, including two (2) years of supervisory experience? (1 year of full-time equivalent work is 2080 hours )

• Yes
  

• No
  
  

Describe a time when you had to drive a project forward despite facing ambiguity or resistance. How did you maintain momentum and ensure progress?


Describe how you accounted for political, community, or organizational sensitivities when working on a broadband deployment effort with a private provider. How did you anticipate and manage potential risks or concerns?


Describe a time when you facilitated a conversation or meeting to resolve a complex issue involving multiple stake holders. What steps did you take to guide the discussion and reach a productive outcome?


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, selection, or hiring processes, please contact Daniel Aholt at Daniel.Aholt@sjlibrary.org .

The application deadline is Thursday September 4 , 2025 at 11:59 PM. 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.

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.

Closing Date/Time: 9/4/2025 11:59 PM Pacific

• 

• City of San Jose

• 408-535-1285

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