Position Information

This recruitment is promotional only. You must presently be a full or part-time regular or probationary County of Sonoma, Community Development Commission, Sonoma County Fairgrounds, or Sonoma County Water Agency employee in order to apply for this position.

The Sonoma County Employees Retirement Association (SCERA) has requested a department promotional certification to fill a Retirement Member Services Manager position. Only qualified permanent and/or probationary SCERA employees on the eligible list may be eligible for referral to the department for the advertised position. This employment list may also be used to fill future full-time or part-time positions as they occur during the active status of the list. The Civil Service Title for this position is Retirement Benefits Services Manager.

Reporting to the Assistant CEO/Chief Legal Counsel for SCERA, the Retirement Member Services Manager oversees SCERA's Member Services Section, supervising staff who provide customer service to the active members of the retirement plan.

Skills

The position serves as a working manager, currently with three direct reports, and will focus on enhancing SCERA’s customer service model for active, deferred, and transferred members, from date of hire to retirement. This position will also be responsible for supporting the development of the team through focused training and coaching to ensure they have the skills and resources needed to deliver high-quality service. Additional duties include:

Overseeing eligibility for service and disability retirement, service purchases, and other retirement related transactions
Managing the disability retirement application process
Collaborating with management on policy and strategic direction of the plan
Counseling SCERA members
Interpreting and applying regulations and laws governing retirement benefits administration
Supervising the maintenance of retirement records and the calculation of monthly benefit payments

This work is performed in an office Monday through Friday typically between office hours which are 7:30am to 4:30pm, but may include evenings and weekends based on any operational needs, although there is some flexibility regarding the schedule around these timeframes. Telework opportunities may be considered after a satisfactory 6-month review.

The ideal candidate will not only provide a supervisory presence but will also possess strong leadership skills, fostering a culture focused on serving members, and continuous improvement. They will possess excellent communications skills, a collaborative work style with the ability to build consensus, strong personnel management skills, and the ability to create a cohesive team and support career growth.

In addition, the ideal candidates will possess experience with many of the following:

Interpreting and implementing provisions of complex bodies of law or regulations, especially in relation to human resources, public pensions, or employee benefits
Supervising staff, processing retirement system claims, and communicating with applicants, departments, professional experts, and attorneys.
Explaining, verbally and in writing, retirement system laws and retirement benefit provisions to members.
Analyzing and interpreting court orders concerning civil, probate, juvenile, spousal or community property issues and supervising the administration of such orders.
Assisting with communications programs, including group presentations, website content development, and newsletter production.

Application submissions require the Supplemental Questionnaire to be completed.

Minimum Qualifications

Experience and Education: Any combination of education and work experience which would provide an opportunity to acquire the knowledge and abilities listed herein. Normally, this would include a Bachelor's degree, or equivalent, in business administration, public administration, management, benefits administration, finance, economics, accounting, human resources, or a related field, and four years of increasingly responsible experience in benefits administration, including involvement with retirement benefits, preferably in a California government agency retirement office, including at least one year at a lead or supervisory level. Experience in medical terminology with the ability to analyze complex medical data and computer experience are highly desirable.

License: Possession of a valid driver's license at the appropriate level including special endorsements, as required by the State of California, may be required depending upon assignment to perform the essential job functions of the position.

Knowledge, Skills, And Abilities

Thorough knowledge of: County Employees' Retirement Law of 1937; the Public Employees' Pension Reform Act of 2013; related policies and regulations; the principles and practices of retirement benefit administration for public employees; and principles of effective service delivery in the public sector.

Considerable knowledge of: modern office management principles, practices and procedures; modern record keeping practices and maintenance of confidentiality of such records.

Working knowledge of: retirement system software and member access portal processing and design; electronic data processing equipment; modern supervisory principles and practices; and group dynamics as it relates to public organizations.

Ability to: interpret and apply complex state and federal laws and regulations to specific cases as they relate to benefits and taxation; research and recommend innovative approaches to providing improved service levels; maintain accurate and complete retirement records; compile actuarial and other data; prepare and write reports, correspondence, and office procedures; plan, organize, direct, and evaluate the work of subordinates; work effectively with individuals in sensitive and stressful circumstances; communicate effectively, both orally and in writing; present conclusions before advisory and policy bodies; use principles of inductive and deductive reasoning to validate conclusions and recommendations; persuade, rationalize, and project consequences of decisions and/or recommendations; establish and maintain effective work relationships with management, members, staff, and representatives of County departments and other agencies; and perform basic mathematical computations, including the use of decimals and fractions.

Selection Procedure & Some Helpful Tips When Applying

Your application information and your responses to the supplemental questions are evaluated and taken into consideration throughout the entire selection process.
You should list all employers and positions held within the last ten years in the work history section of your application. Be as thorough as possible when responding to the supplemental questions.
You may include history beyond ten years if related to the position for which you are applying. If you held multiple positions with one employer, list out each position separately.
Failure to follow these instructions may impact your competitiveness in this process or may result in disqualification.

Please visit Getting a Job with the County of Sonoma to review more detailed information about the hiring process, including the application process, examination steps, and department selection process.

Application submissions require the Supplemental Questionnaire to be completed.

Responses to supplemental questions will be scored using position-specific criteria. Please provide specific and detailed responses of a reasonable length to allow for a thorough assessment of your qualifications. Responses that state, "See Resume" or "See Application" may be considered insufficient and therefore may not be scored.

The Selection Procedure Will Consist Of The Following Examination

An Application and Supplemental Questionnaire Appraisal Examination (weight 100%) will be conducted to evaluate each applicant's application and supplemental questionnaire for satisfaction of minimum qualifications (pass/not pass); and for educational coursework, training, experience, knowledge, and abilities which relate to this position. Personally identifiable information (PII) is removed from the standard application fields and applicable attachments. This PII blind screening practice redacts a candidate’s personal information that could potentially influence or bias the scoring process. Personal information includes the applicant’s name, former last name, address, phone number, email, driver's license number, school name, education start and end dates, age, date of birth, gender, and race. This PII blind screening practice helps contribute to a fair and equitable examination process.

Each applicant will be evaluated based on the following criteria:

Relevance of work history, related experience, and achieved level of education and/or training as described in the application and responses to the supplemental questions.

Candidates demonstrating possession of the minimum qualifications will be placed on an employment list in order of most qualified to least qualified based on the achieved score received in the Application and Supplemental Questionnaire Appraisal Examination, which evaluates the education, training, experience, skills, knowledge, abilities, and other qualifications that you demonstrate in your application and/or response to the supplemental questionnaire. Please be aware that resumes and cover letters are not typically evaluated in the Application and Supplemental Questionnaire Appraisal Examination. Scores may be adjusted based on such factors as the number of candidates, anticipated vacancies, past practice, and natural breaks in the scores achieved by this group of candidates.

Additional Information

A background investigation is required prior to employment. Candidates referred to departments for a selection interview are typically required to sign authorization and release forms enabling such an investigation. Failure to sign prescribed forms will result in the candidate not being considered further for that vacancy. Reference information will not be made available to applicants.

Additional requirements, such as successful completion of a physical exam, drug screen, etc., may apply, depending on the duties and responsibilities of the position. If you receive a conditional job offer for the position, the requirements upon which the offer is contingent will be outlined in the conditional job letter. You may also review the Job Classification Screening Schedule to determine the requirements for this position.

How To Apply

Applications are accepted online at www.yourpath2sonomacounty.org . Paper applications may be submitted by person, fax (707-565-3770), email, or through the mail. All applications and appropriate supplemental information as outlined in the job bulletin must be received by the time and date specified on the first page of this job announcement. Applications received after the recruitment closes will not be accepted.

The County of Sonoma values diversity and is dedicated to creating a workplace environment that provides individuals with a sense of belonging. We are committed to having a diverse workforce that is representative of the communities we serve. The County is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer where all aspects of employment are based on merit, competence, performance, and business need.

HR Analyst: JT

HR Technician: VH

County of Sonoma

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Retirement Member Services Manager - Promotional