DIRECTOR OF LEAN GOVERNMENT

The City of San Marcos is seeking a strategic, experienced leader to serve as its next Director of LEAN Government. Reporting to the City Manager and serving on the Executive Team, this role will advise on complex organizational issues, lead organization-wide improvement efforts, and provide strategic leadership for the City's communications function.

About the role

This role is designed for an experienced, collaborative leader who can see the big picture, anticipate challenges, bring structure to ambiguity, and help leaders work together more effectively. The director supports the City Manager by providing strategic guidance, coordination, and follow-through across the organization. As an equal member of the Executive Team, the director advises and collaborates with fellow directors through influence and partnership and does not supervise, direct, or exercise authority over them or their departments.

Responsibilities

• Advise the City Manager and Executive Team
• Translate complex issues into clear, meaningful information
• Strengthen executive coordination, ownership, and follow-through
• Lead high-impact, cross-departmental initiatives
• Tactfully challenge ideas, assumptions, and strategies
• Lead and develop the City’s communications professionals
• Set communications and engagement strategy for major initiatives
• Improve City programs, processes, and customer experience
• Build systems that help the organization sustain improvements

Qualifications

The ideal candidate brings a collaborative approach, sound judgment, strong initiative, and steady follow-through. You are approachable, grounded, and comfortable with difficult conversations. You ask thoughtful questions and know when to lead, delegate, or step back. You measure success through stronger teams, clearer decisions, and better organizational results—not by taking on every task.

• Experience leading and developing professionals
• Executive-level strategic communications experience
• Strong judgment in sensitive or high-profile environments
• Success advising executives and influencing senior leaders
• Experience leading complex initiatives through implementation
• Knowledge of process improvement, organizational change, or customer experience
• Exceptional communication, facilitation, and organization skills
• Municipal or public-sector experience is strongly preferred
• Lean Six Sigma, change-management, or project-management credentials are desirable

Success Metrics

• Clearer, more proactive communications
• A strong and accountable communications team
• Better informed executive decisions
• Stronger coordination across departments
• Major priorities moving forward with clear ownership
• Improved processes and customer experiences

About San Marcos

At San Marcos, we live our values: teamwork, professionalism, fiscal responsibility, and customer service. We believe in operating like an efficient business while never losing sight of people—the residents we serve and the employees who make it possible. This is a place where your ideas will be heard, your creativity will be valued, and your work will make a visible difference in the community.

• One of the top 25 places to raise a family (Fortune Magazine)
• The health care hub of North County (Kaiser’s hospital opened last year and Scripps just announced its next hospital will be in San Marcos)
• An education leader, home to Cal State San Marcos and Palomar Community College
• One of the top 10 safest cities in California

Benefits

• Competitive salary
• 9/80 work schedule with every other Friday off
• Generous health benefits, with the City paying 90% of medical premiums
• 13 paid holidays, vacation, and executive leave
• CalPERS retirement (Classic members 2% @ 55, PEPRA members 2% @ 62) and Social Security