Disability Retirement Benefits Manager

Job Description:

Disability Retirement Benefits Manager

Description

Description

WHAT WE OFFER

• Flexible Schedules - Flexible and hybrid telework schedules are possible.
• Educational Incentive - An educational incentive of 2.5% for completion of an associate degree, 3.5% for completion of a bachelor's degree, OR 5% for completion of a graduate degree.
• Bilingual Incentive - Incumbents may also be eligible for a bilingual incentive depending upon operational needs and certification skills.
• Annual Leave - 208 hours per year, increasing to 288 hours after 5 years of service.
• Annual Leave Redemption - The ability to "cash in" or redeem up to 100 hours of Annual Leave per year after using 80 hours in the preceding twelve months.
• Deferred Compensation - Eligible to participate in the County's 401(k) Shared Savings Plan and/or the Section 457 Plan. This position is eligible for up to a 3% match on your 401(k) contributions.
• Health Plans - Full time employees are afforded a flexible credit allowance for purchasing medical, dental, and/or vision insurance from a group of authorized plans: Tier one for employee only is $509 per biweekly pay period, tier two for employee plus one is $779 per biweekly pay period and tier three for employee plus family is $983 per biweekly pay period.
• Flexible Spending Accounts - Choice of participation in the Flexible Spending Accounts, which increase spending power through reimbursement of pre-tax dollars for IRS-approved dependent care and health care expenses.
• Pension Plan - Both the County and employees contribute to the County's Retirement Plan and to Social Security. If eligible, reciprocity may be established with other public retirement systems, such as CalPERS.
• Holidays - 12 paid days per year, which includes a scheduled floating holiday.

VENTURA COUNTY

The County's 1,873 square miles include 1,846 square miles of land with 42 miles of coastline which is home to the fol lowing cities and points of interest: Camarillo, Fillmore, Moorpark, Ojai, Oxnard, Port Hueneme, Santa Paula, Simi Valley, Thousand Oaks, and Ventura as well as national protected areas such as parts of the Angeles National Forest, Channel Islands National Park, and the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area.

Ventura County is a “general law” county, governed by a five-member, elected-by-district Board of Supervisors. The Supervisors appoint a County Executive Officer (CEO) to oversee the County budget, day-to-day operations, and to advise, assist, and act as an agent for the Board of Supervisors in all matters under the Board’s jurisdiction. It focuses on serving its residents by promoting engagement, strategy, execution and accountability to include diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives to ensure that all employees are treated with respect and without discrimination, and to improve culturally appropriate outcomes for community members.

THE AGENCY

The Ventura County Employees’ Retirement Association (VCERA) is a multi-employer, defined benefit, public pension plan located in Ventura County, California. Founded in 1947, the association is governed by the County Employees Retirement Law of 1937 (“1937 Act”) and the California Public Employees’ Pension Reform Act of 2013 (PEPRA). VCERA’s primary responsibility is to provide lifetime retirement benefits for eligible employees of the County of Ventura, Ventura County Superior Court, Ventura County Air Pollution Control District (APCD), Ventura Regional Sanitation District (VRSD) and VCERA. The plan serves over 10,000 active members, over 4,000 deferred members, and more than 8,000 retirees.

THE POSITION

Under general direction of the Chief Operations Officer (COO), the Disability Retirement Benefits Manager supervises and manages the daily direction of professional-level specialized Disability Retirement operations staff. The position oversees the administration of disability retirement cases in accordance with applicable retirement laws, medical review standards, and internal procedures. This role requires close collaboration with medical professionals, legal counsel, employers, and executive leadership to ensure compliant and timely case processing.

The ideal candidate will have considerable experience that demonstrates some knowledge of employee retirement benefit plans in general and disability retirement investigations in particular. They must have the ability to plan, organize and direct subordinate staff and to build strong teams that maintain effective working relationships. The ideal candidate will also have a high level of experience operating automated benefits systems, legal terminology, and the ability to calculate complex benefits. Experience with disability claims, Workers’ Compensation or insurance benefits, and knowledge of medical terminology specific to disability retirement is also required.

PAYROLL TITLES AND APPROXIMATE SALARIES

Staff/Services Manager II (SSMII): $94,952.16 - $132,946.06 Annually

Staff/Services Manager III (SSM III): $101,856.90 - $142,613.65 Annually

The eligible list established from this recruitment may be used to fill current and future Regular (including Temporary, Fixed-Term) vacancies for this position or similar positions only. There is currently one (1) Regular vacancy within the Retirement Administration Office.

The vacancy may be filled at either the Staff/Services Manager II or Staff/Services Manager III level. The qualifications of the selected candidate will determine the placement level.

Staff/Services Manager II and III are Management classifications and are not eligible for overtime compensation.

TENTATIVE SCHEDULE

OPENING DATE: 07/09/25
CLOSING DATE: 07/24/2025

Examples Of Duties

Duties may include but are not limited to the following:

• Plans, organizes, and directs all aspects of the Disability Retirement Program, including: the investigation and evaluation of disability retirement applications and medical records; generation and presentation of staff recommendations to the Board of Retirement; scheduling hearings, issuing subpoenas, preparing administrative records for court proceedings; coordination with parties involved in investigations and hearings; and policy development for disability process.
• Ensures the accuracy of calculations within the pension administration system, including troubleshooting, data analysis, system testing, querying, and reporting; determines necessary system enhancements/requirements and recommends defect remediation.
• Directs, trains, leads, and supervises professional-level and clerical staff within operations; establishes performance standards, evaluates work product, and mentors and trains staff; implements hiring and promotional decisions and disciplinary actions within assigned units.
• Confers with managers on policy matters and work problems.
• Assists in establishing and implementing policies and procedures; anticipates and analyzes operational issues, considering alternatives and recommending sound solutions.
• Interprets and applies retirement law as related to the administration of pension benefits.
• Performs other related duties as required.

Typical Qualifications

These are entrance requirements to the examination process and assure neither continuance in the process nor placement on an eligible list.

EDUCATION, TRAINING, and EXPERIENCE

Considerable administrative support, supervision, management, or specific operations and/or technical experience, which has led to the acquisition of the required knowledge, skills and abilities.

An example of qualifying experience is:

• At least three (3) years (for the SSM II level) and five (5) years (for the SSM III level) of administrative support, supervisory/management, operations, or technical experience administering a major employee benefits program and/or large-scale complex payroll operation.
  

NECESSARY SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS

• At least two (2) years of investigation of claims for disability retirement, Workers’ Compensation or related benefits
• Experience with:
  • Direct supervision
  • Medical terminology and/or medical records related to benefit eligibility
  • Developing and maintaining effective working relationships with various stakeholders
• Excellent written communication skills must be demonstrated in the completion of the employment application and supplemental questionnaire.

DESIRED

• A Bachelor’s degree, preferably in a medically related field
  
• Experience with:
  
  • Administration of a large and complex retirement benefit system under applicable federal and state rules and regulations, including the County Employees Retirement Law of 1937
  • Analyzing complex medical, legal, and personnel information to make sound recommendations
  • Human Resources investigations
  • Complex retirement benefits calculations
  • Technology system requirements for operational processes and enhancements through to implementation, as well as troubleshooting system application issues within a retirement benefits system

KNOWLEDGE. SKILLS, and ABILITIES

Considerable to thorough knowledge of: administrative principles and practices, including establishing objectives, program development, analysis, policies and operational needs; administration of an employee benefits program and/or payroll operations; medical terminology and/or medical records related to benefit eligibility; principles of leadership and personnel management including supervision practices; principles, development and operation of a large and complex retirement benefits system; applicable federal and state rules and regulations applicable to the evaluation and implementation of retirement benefits programs, including the County Employees Retirement Law of 1937.

Working knowledge of: Plan Sponsor personnel and payroll rules, practices, and procedures as it relates to a qualified pension plan; medical records related to disability retirement, Workers’ Compensation or related benefits; medical and legal terminology; human resources investigations.

Working ability to: effectively plan, organize, lead and manage the administration of retirement benefits; make complex calculations and ensure accuracy of calculations; administer complex retirement plan operations and services in an independent and cooperative manner; evaluate, determine and develop system requirements for processes and enhancements through to implementation, as well as troubleshoot system application issues; comprehend system data at a high level to create meaningful reports and queries; analyze, plan, assign, review, and evaluate the work of professional and clerical staff providing optimal customer service; understand, interpret, summarize , explain and ensure compliance with federal, state and local policies, procedures, laws and regulations; research, analyze, evaluate and develop new service delivery methods and procedures; advise executive management regarding strategic planning and ongoing evaluation of operations; develop and implement policies and procedures to address operational compliance and consistency in accordance with legal mandates; establish and maintain effective working relationships in all aspects of business; model effective leadership behavior; use sound judgment and make well-informed decisions; communicate clearly and effectively in writing and orally.

Recruitment Process

FINAL FILING DATE: Applications must be received by the County of Ventura, Human Resources in Ventura, California, no later than 5:00 p.m. on July 24, 2025.

To apply online, please refer to our website at www.ventura.org/jobs If you prefer to fill out a paper application form, please call (805) 654-5129 for application materials and submit your application to County of Ventura Human Resources, 800 South Victoria Avenue, L-1970, Ventura, CA 93009.

NOTE TO APPLICANTS: Sufficient information must be provided under the Education/Work Experience portion of the application and supplemental questionnaire to determine eligibility. A resume may be attached to supplement your responses in the above-referenced sections; however, it may not be submitted in lieu of the application.

NOTE: If presently permanently employed in another "merit" or "civil service" public agency/entity in the same or substantively similar position as is advertised, and if appointed to that position by successful performance in a "merit" or "civil service" style examination, then appointment by "Lateral Transfer" may be possible. If interested, please click here (Download PDF reader) for additional information.

SUPPLEMENTAL QUESTIONNAIRE - qualifying

All applicants are required to complete and submit the questionnaire for this examination at the time of filing. The supplemental questionnaire may be used throughout the examination process to assist in determining each applicant's qualifications and acceptability for the position. Failure to complete and submit the questionnaire will result in the application being removed from consideration.

APPLICATION EVALUATION - qualifying

All applications will be reviewed to determine whether the stated requirements are met. Those individuals meeting the stated requirements will be invited to continue to the next step in the screening and selection process.

TRAINING & EXPERIENCE EVALUATION

A Training and Experience Evaluation (T&E) is a structured evaluation of the job application materials submitted by a candidate, including the written responses to the supplemental questionnaire. The T&E is NOT a determination of whether the candidate meets the stated requirements; rather, the T&E is one method for determining who are the better qualified among those who have shown that they meet the stated requirements. In a T&E, applications are either scored or rank ordered according to criteria that most closely meet the business needs of the department. Candidates are typically scored/ranked in relation to one another; consequently, when the pool of candidates is exceptionally strong, many qualified candidates may receive a score or rank which is moderate or even low resulting in them not being advanced in the process.

NOTE: The selection process will likely consist of an Oral Exam, which may be preceded or replaced with the score from a Training and Experience Evaluation (T&E), contingent upon the size and quality of the candidate pool. In a typical T&E, your training and experience are evaluated in relation to the background, experience and factors identified for successful job performance during a job analysis. For this reason, it is recommended that your application materials clearly show your relevant background and specialized knowledge, skills, and abilities. It is also highly recommended that the supplemental questions within the application are completed with care and diligence.

ORAL EXAMINATION - 100%

A job-related oral examination will be conducted to evaluate and compare participating candidates' knowledge, skills, and abilities in relation to those factors which job analysis has determined to be essential for successful performance on the job. Candidates must earn a score of seventy percent (70%) or higher to qualify for placement on the eligible list.

NOTE: If there are three (3) or fewer qualified applicants, an examination will not be conducted. Instead, a score of seventy percent (70%) will be assigned to each application, and each applicant will be placed on the eligible list.

ELIGIBLE LIST

Candidates successfully completing the examination process may be placed on an eligible list for a period of one (1) year.

NOTE: If appointed at the lower level, incumbents may be promoted to the higher level without further examination upon meeting the minimum requirements, demonstrating satisfactory performance, and in accordance with the business needs of the department.

ACKGROUND INVESTIGATION

A thorough pre-employment, post-offer background investigation, which may include inquiry into past employment, education, criminal background information and driving record may be required for this position.

EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY

The County of Ventura is an equal opportunity employer to all, regardless of age, ancestry, color, disability (mental and physical), exercising the right to family care and medical leave, gender, gender expression, gender identity, genetic information, marital status, medical condition, military or veteran status, national origin, political affiliation, race, religious creed, sex (includes pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding, and related medical conditions), and sexual orientation.

For further information about this recruitment, please contact Yvonne Martinez by e-mail at Yvonne.Martinez@ventura.org or by telephone at 805-654-3051.

YOUR BENEFITS AS A COUNTY OF VENTURA EMPLOYEE

MANAGEMENT

To learn more about Benefits, Retirement, and the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA), see links below.

• Benefits website or you may call (805) 654-2570.
• Retirement FAQ's
• Memorandum of Agreement

Union Codes:MB3, MB4, MS, MT,MCC, MU

Closing Date/Time: 7/24/2025 5:00 PM Pacific

Salary:

$94,952.16 - $142,613.65 Annually