Program Manager - Office of Retirement Services, Pension Benefits Division

About the role

The Pension Benefits Division seeks a Program Manager to lead disability retirement and customer service operations for the City's pension systems. This role plays a critical role in ensuring the accurate, timely, and legally compliant delivery of pension benefits.

Responsibilities

• Provide leadership and supervision for the Disability Retirement, Retirement/Death Intake & Customer Service, and Business Systems teams (6.0 FTE).
• Oversee the administration of the Disability Retirement Programs for the Police and Fire Department Retirement Plan and the Federated City Employees' Retirement System (FCERS).
• Present disability retirement cases and recommendations to the Pension Boards and Disability Committees.
• Manage contracts and relationships with disability retirement legal counsel, independent medical examiners, and other medical service providers.
• Lead high-volume retirement intake and customer service operations supporting thousands of member inquiries and benefit transactions each year.
• Champion business-led technology initiatives, digital transformation, and self-service enhancements to improve operational efficiency and the member experience.
• Review and approve complex pension benefit calculations, retirement benefit setups, payroll adjustments, disability determinations, and other specialized pension transactions.
• Partner with division leadership to develop policies, improve business processes, analyze complex issues, and ensure compliance with the San José Municipal Code and applicable laws and regulations.
• Mentor, coach, and develop staff while fostering a collaborative, inclusive, and customer-focused team culture.

Requirements

The ideal candidate is an experienced, collaborative leader with a passion for public service and continuous improvement. They will possess strong experience in pension administration, public-sector benefits administration, or another complex regulatory human resources environment, along with a demonstrated ability to lead high-performing teams, manage legally sensitive programs, and successfully implement operational and technology improvements.

Qualifications

• Education: A Bachelor’s Degree from an accredited college or university.
• Experience: Five (5) years of directly-related experience, including two (2) years of supervisory experience.

Skills

The ideal candidate will possess the following competencies, as demonstrated in past and current employment history:

• Job Expertise – Demonstrates knowledge of and experience with applicable professional/technical principles and practices, Citywide and departmental procedures/policies and federal and state rules and regulations.
• Computer Skills - Experienced with common business computer applications including but not limited to: MS Outlook, MS Word, MS PowerPoint, MS Access, and MS Excel.
• Decision Making - Identifies and understands issues, problems, and opportunities; uses effective approaches for choosing a course of action or developing appropriate solutions.
• Fiscal Management - Understands the relationship of the budget and resources to the strategic plan; complies with administrative controls over funds, contracts, and procurements.
• Initiative - Exhibits resourceful behaviors toward meeting job objectives; anticipates problems, is proactive, and avoids difficulties by planning ahead; displays willingness to assume extra responsibility and challenges; pursues continuing education opportunities that promotes job performance.
• Leadership - Leads by example; demonstrates high ethical standards; remains visible and approachable and interacts with others on a regular basis; promotes a cooperative work environment, allowing others to learn from mistakes; provides motivational supports and direction.
• Supervision- Sets effective long and short-term goals based on a good understanding of management practices; establishes realistic priorities within available resources; provides motivational support; empowers others; assigns decision-making and work functions to others in an appropriate manner to maximize organizational and individual effectiveness.
• Communication Skills - Effectively conveys information and expresses thoughts and facts clearly, orally and in writing; demonstrates effective use of listening skills and displays openness to other people's ideas and thoughts.

Benefits

The City of San José is an equal opportunity employer. Applicants for all job openings will be considered without regard to age, race, color, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, disability, veteran status or any other consideration made unlawful under any federal, state or local laws.

Pay

The salary range for this position is $80,000 - $100,000 annually, depending on qualifications and experience.

Schedule

This position follows a hybrid work schedule, with four days per week in the office and one remote workday. The specific remote workday will be determined in collaboration with the selected candidate based on operational needs.