Senior Appraiser (Open and Promotional)

Note: This recruitment schedule was amended on March 5, 2026, to extend the Final Filing Date.  This recruitment has been changed to "Continuous."

The Office of the Assessor-County Clerk-Recorder and Chief Elections Officer of the County of San Mateo is seeking experienced Senior Appraisers to join our team, with current openings in the Residential and Commercial Appraisal Units. If you bring extensive expertise in property valuation and have a keen interest in navigating the complexities of Proposition 19 or property tax Exemptions, we encourage you to apply. Join us in ensuring accurate assessments and contributing to the dynamic and evolving landscape of property valuation.

The Assessor’s Office has launched a new cutting-edge, cloud-based property tax system, replacing its legacy system. This marks an exciting time to join our team of experienced and committed professionals as we modernize our operations and enhance how property tax services are delivered.

Ideal candidates for this position will:

• Have a bachelor’s degree from an accredited four-year institution of higher learning, and five years of experience appraising residential and commercial properties, 3 years of which involved appraising residential properties for tax assessment purposes

OR

• Be a high school graduate (or equivalent) and have 7 years of experience appraising residential and commercial properties, three years of which involved appraising commercial industrial properties for tax assessment purposes

The previous experience of an ideal candidate will include:

• Appraisal of all types of tangible and taxable property such as commercial, industrial, apartments and high value residential, possessory interest in government-owned and agricultural properties
• Extensive application of the California Revenue and Taxation Code, California Board of Equalization Property Tax Rules, and California Property Tax case law
• Analysis of appraisal reports and other information provided by external parties
• Presentations and appearances as an expert witness before the Assessment Appeals Boards on appraisal and assessment valuations
• Review of property tax assessments for possible decline in value
• Review of other assessment issues, including but not limited to, Change in Ownership, Exemptions, etc., in compliance with the Revenue and Taxation Code
• Analysis of Business Property Statements and application of the Unsecured System to resolve complex Leasehold Improvement assessment issues
• Interaction with county departments and governmental agencies
• Interacted with and engagement in discussion with property owners, and their agents
• Training of new appraisers and performance of related duties as required
• Extensive use of the computer, including extensive use of MS Office, specifically Excel and Word
• Functioning as a team player and have providing leadership   

Senior Appraisers may act as lead workers within a group of other appraisers and must be able to operate in a rapidly changing technological environment. Knowledge of personal computers in a Windows environment is highly desired.

The Department

 The mission of the Office of the Assessor-County Clerk-Recorder and Chief Elections Officer is to ensure equitable treatment of County property owners by accurate and fair valuation of land, improvements, and businesses; to create an accurate public record of recorded transactions relating to people and property within San Mateo County; and to register County citizens to vote and efficiently conduct honest elections.  

The Department is responsible for:

• The maintenance of about 235,000 assessments and around $308 billion local property tax roll
• The maintenance of County birth, death, and marriage records
• The maintenance of over 3,000,000 recorded land records
• The conduct of local elections
• The maintenance of the voter registration rolls representing over 330,000 County voters 

The Department is also responsible for a budget of about $27 million, election billing to all jurisdictions, and 15 governmental trust funds.