*** NOTICE OF CHANGE - This recruitment has been extended by one week and will now be closing on Tuesday, March 4, 2025 by 4:59pm PT.

The Santa Barbara County Employees' Retirement System (SBCERS) is accepting applications to fill one current vacancy for a Retirement Payroll Analyst (classified as Department Business Specialist II) in the Member Services division located in Goleta, CA. Please select Santa Barbara or All Locations on your application to be considered. New hires typically start at the minimum of the posted salary range.
  
THE POSITION:  Under general direction of the Member Services Team Lead, this role manages a wide range of responsibilities. This position offers opportunities to engage with external entities, including health insurance providers, consultants, and retirement systems with mutual reciprocal members. Your tasks will involve requesting, obtaining, and analyzing a range of employer records to facilitate retirement account transactions for SBCERS members and communicate with partner agencies to implement benefit changes. The ideal incumbent will excel at process improvement and the development of new policies and procedures.  

This role will play a crucial role in educating and advising members through meetings and one-on-one consultations on computation and reconciliation processes, analyzing program requirements and performance, reporting on findings, and executing related duties. This role will oversee, and direct tasks associated with the calculations of service purchases, redeposits, and plan changes, ensuring effective workload prioritization and strict adherence to established procedures and workflows.

THE DEPARTMENT:

The Santa Barbara County Employees' Retirement System (SBCERS) is a 401(a) Defined Benefit Plan with over $4 billion in assets. SBCERS provides pension benefits for the County of Santa Barbara and 11 additional employers, also called participating employers, and serves over 11,000 retirees, active employees, deferred members, and beneficiaries. The System is led by the Chief Executive Officer and has 20+ full-time positions across five divisions, including Member Services, Information Technology, Accounting, Disability, Investments, and Administration. For information about SBCERS, please visit www.sbcers.org.

IDEAL CANDIDATE will possess:

• Knowledge of and ability to analyze, recommend and implement system(s), policy and procedure changes to meet the business needs of the department.
• High degree of proficiency and subject matter expertise in benefits, human resources, payroll, financial accounting, FLSA and Worker's Compensation eligibility, as well as Plan Sponsor domain knowledge of earnings code utilization.
• Strong technical ability with financial analysis tools like MS Excel and SQL and a willingness to learn new approaches to data management.
• Knowledge of standard accounting internal controls, procedures, and best practices.
• Excellent interpersonal skills with a public service focus.
• Ability to exercise discretion and professionalism, including ability to maintain confidentiality.
• Ability to organize and plan work assignments to meet deadlines, at times with limited direction. 
• Sound judgement, independent decision-making, and logical reasoning ability. 
• Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with colleagues, other County personnel, and members of the public. 
• Excellent teamwork and influence - including collaborating with various stakeholders, serving as a principal lead in innovative strategies and activities, influencing cross functional teams to facilitate process improvements.
• Ability to develop and conduct professional presentations appropriate for a wide variety of audiences.

1. Review and implement amended procedures for the automated processing of active member refunds.
2. Develop and recommend procedures and system improvements to implement business process improvements.
3. Develop written job aids to facilitate emerging practices, automate standardized processes and consistently report on use of these job aids and workflows.
4. Coordinates the development or revision of supporting policies and procedures to maximize service levels and ensure accuracy of pension benefit calculations.
5. Designs and improves related forms and earnings code questionnaires, and coordinates dissemination of such materials.
6. Oversee and implement all training materials and processes for the automation and completion of service purchase requests.
7. Serve as primary liaison with statewide reciprocal agencies for the computation and validation of reciprocal salary exchanges, including those of members with retroactive Alameda finding impacts, and disability retirement benefit apportionment.
8. At the direction of the SBCERS executive management team, perform complex analysis, calculations, and studies of current processes based on potential legislative changes.
9. Participates in meetings and presents data to assist managers in making operational and administrative decisions.

1. Possession of a bachelor's degree in business administration or in a specific area of study related to assignment (this is typically determined at the time of recruitment) AND two years of professional experience analyzing general business processes, including (a) fiscal management, budgeting, grant preparation and monitoring, and contract management; (b) automated systems; or (c) specializedHRIS and financialbusiness systems used by the hiring department; or,
    
2. possession of an associate's degree in business administration or related field AND four years of professional experience analyzing general business processes, including (a) fiscal management, budgeting, grant preparation and monitoring, and contract management; (b) automated systems; or (c) specialized HRIS and financial business systems used by the hiring department; or,
    
3. six years of professional experience analyzing general business processes, including (a) fiscal management, budgeting, grant preparation and monitoring, and contract management; (b) automated systems; or (c) specialized HRIS and financial business systems used by the hiring department; or,
    
4. a combination of training, education, and/or experience that is equivalent to one of the employment standards listed above and that provides the required competencies.

For full list of competencies for this job classification, click here. 

APPLICATION & SELECTION PROCESS:

1. Review applications and supplemental questionnaire to determine those applicants who meet the employment standards.
2. Application Ranking and Supplemental Questionnaire Ranking - Applications that meet the employment standards will be evaluated and scored. Candidates' final score and rank on the eligibility list will be determined by the information provided on their application based on the Ideal Candidate section on the job bulletin. This process may be eliminated if there are fewer than 11 qualified candidates.

   Candidates must receive a percentage score of at least 70 on the Application Ranking to be placed on an employment list. An adjustment may be made to raw scores based on factors listed in Civil Service Rule VI. Those candidates who are successful in the selection process will have their names placed on the employment list for a minimum of three months. At the time the employment list is established, all candidates will receive an email notice of their score on the exam(s), rank on the employment list, and exact duration of the employment list.
     
    REASONABLE ACCOMMODATIONS: The County of Santa Barbara is committed to providing reasonable accommodation to applicants. Qualified individuals with disabilities who need a reasonable accommodation during the application or selection process should contact the recruiter listed on the job posting. We require verification of needed accommodation from a professional source, such as a Medical Provider or a learning institution.
     
   Recruiters will communicate with applicants by e-mail during each step in the recruitment process. Applicants are reminded to check spam filters continuously during the Recruitment & Selection Process steps listed above to ensure they do not miss required deadlines.

   The appointee must satisfactorily complete a one-year probationary period.
    

   Disaster Service Workers: Pursuant to Governmental Code section 3100, all employees with the County of Santa Barbara are declared to be disaster service workers subject to such disaster service. Activities as may be assigned to them by their superiors or by law.

   Statement of Commitment
    The County of Santa Barbara is dedicated to cultivating and sustaining an environment that exhibits equity and inclusion everywhere, and at all levels of our organization. The County believes equity is a fundamental principle that must be imbedded in policies, institutional practices and systems. The County recognizes the negative impacts of systemic racism and is committed to eliminating the barriers affecting our Black, Latinx, Indigenous, and Asian community members, as well as people of other diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds. We envision a world where society and its systems (e.g. education, criminal justice, and health care, housing the economy) are just, fair, and inclusive, enabling all people to participate and reach their full potential.
    
    We celebrate community and employee diversity, strive for inclusion and belonging, and promote empowered participation. We aspire to build a workforce that is reflective of these values and the communities we serve. We are proud to be an equal opportunity employer and will resolutely uphold federal, California state law and/or Santa Barbara County ordinances.
    
    We believe equity and inclusion are vital to fulfill the County's mission and to embody a culture of "One County, One Future." Expanding the full range of employee talent allows the County to deliver our best to all our community members.
    
    We believe in the dignity and humanity of all people. We strive for a healthy and prosperous society that promotes all people having equitable access and opportunity.
      

   APPLICATION AND SUPPLEMENTAL QUESTIONNAIRE DEADLINE: Tuesday, March 4, 2025 by 4:59pm PST. Applications and job bulletins can be obtained 24 hours a day at www.sbcountyjobs.com

   For questions regarding this recruitment, contact Leza Patatanian, Talent Acquisition Analyst, at lpatatanian@countyofsb.org