Retirement Benefits Services Manager

Sonoma County Employees' Retirement Association (SCERA) seeks a qualified Retirement Member Services Manager!

What We Offer

Working at the County of Sonoma offers expansive opportunities for growth and development, the ability to be a part of a challenging and rewarding work environment, and the satisfaction of knowing you're working to better our communities. You can also look forward to flexible work arrangements and excellent benefits* including:

• Hybrid Telework - A schedule that meets the needs of our staff, department operations, and the communities we serve may be available depending on the assignment
• Salary Advancement - A salary increase after 1,040 hours (6 months when working full-time) for good work performance; eligibility for a salary increase for good performance every year thereafter, until reaching the top of the salary range
• Paid Time Off - Competitive vacation and sick leave accruals, 12 paid holidays, and an additional 8 floating holiday hours per year
• County Paid Health Premium Contributions - 100% premium contribution for the majority of employee-only and employee + family health plan options
• Staff Development/Wellness Pay - Annual benefit allowances of up to $2,000 and ongoing education/training opportunities
• Post-Retirement Health Reimbursement Arrangement - County contributions to help fund post-retirement employee health insurance/benefits
• Retirement - A pension fully integrated with Social Security
• Paid Parental Leave - May be eligible for up to 8 weeks (320 hours) after 12 months of County employment
• Student Loan Debt Relief - County employees may be eligible for Public Service Loan Forgiveness through the U.S. Department of Education

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.

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.

Other 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 members, interpreting and applying regulations and laws governing retirement benefits administration, and 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 need, 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 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:

• Interpreting and implementing provisions of complex bodies or 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.

About SCERA

SCERA is a public employee defined benefit retirement system that was established on January 1, 1946, and is administered by the Board of Retirement (the Board). SCERA is governed by the California Constitution, the County Employees Retirement Law of 1937 (CERL), the California Public Employees' Pension Reform Act of 2013 (PEPRA), the bylaws, regulations, resolutions, policies, and procedures adopted by the Board. SCERA is responsible for establishing policies governing the administration of the retirement plan, setting actuarial funding policies, making benefit determinations, and managing the investments of the System's assets.

SCERA maintains member records, receives contributions from participating employers (County of Sonoma, Sonoma County Superior Courts, and Sonoma Valley Fire District) and their employees, manages investment of Plan assets, disburses pension benefit payments to members and survivors, including lump distributions.

About Sonoma County

The County of Sonoma offers a rare and compelling array of scenic, recreational, and geographic characteristics that include over 200 award winning wineries, majestic redwoods, inspiring coastline and beaches, and the vibrant Russian River. Encompassing over one million acres of land and water, rich with agriculture, parks, campsites, lakes, and open spaces, the County is home to over 500,000 residents and offers a wide variety of art and music festivals, farmers' markets, and concert venues. Local schools continually rank high on California's Academic Performance Index, and the Santa Rosa Junior College and Sonoma State University offer higher education opportunities.

Please visit sonomacountyconnections.org for more information about Sonoma County, the place to live, work, and build your career.

This recruitment is being conducted to fill a Retirement Member Services Manager vacancy with the Sonoma County Employees' Retirement Association (SCERA). This employment list may also be used to fill future full-time, part-time, or extra-help (temporary) vacancies as they occur during the active status of the list. County employees who wish to be considered for future vacancies should consider applying to this recruitment. The Civil Service title for this classification in Retirement Benefits Services Manager.

*Salary is negotiable within the established range. Benefits described herein do not represent a contract and may be changed without notice. Additional information can be found in the Salary Resolution (SalRes) and our Employee Benefits Directory.

Experience & Education: Any combination of work experience and education which would provide an opportunity to acquire the knowledge and abilities listed herein. Normally, this would include 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, and a Bachelor's degree, or equivalent, in business administration, public administration, management, benefits administration, finance, economics, accounting, human resources, or a related field. 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.

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.