Retirement Business Analyst

WHAT WE OFFER

• Flexible Schedules - Flexible and hybrid telework schedules possible
• General Salary Increase - 4.0% effective December 24, 2023, and 3.5% effective December 22, 2024.
• New Hire Incentive - New hires may be eligible for a one-time New Hire Incentive up to 10% of the current annual base wage. (Subject to the section of the Management Resolution Article 6, Secs. 625 - 627).
• Educational Incentive - An educational incentive of 2.5% for completion of an associate's degree, 3.5% for completion of a bachelor's degree, OR 5% for completion of a graduate's degree.
• Bilingual Incentive - Incumbents may also be eligible for 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 $497 per biweekly pay period, tier two for employee plus one is $678 per biweekly pay period and tier three for employee plus family is $825 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 PERS.
• 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 fol­lowing 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 POSITION
Under general direction of VCERA's Chief Technology Officer (CTO), this Retirement Business Analyst will work as part of the technical team to support VCERA's Pension Administration System (PAS) and integrated solutions. The successful candidate will be responsible for analyzing and gathering business and system requirements, recommending enhancements for the PAS, improving automated business processes in relations with the PAS, integrated software implementations and writing queries and SQL reports. This position is a liaison between benefits staff and information technology staff and performs vendor management.
The ideal candidate will possess three (3) to five (5) years of pension and/or benefit related experience, including advanced systems analysis experience supporting enterprise level pension or benefit administration application. Advanced experience writing complex SQL statements and reports is required. The successful candidate will have strong analytical skills and the ability to think critically, quickly identify solutions, and translate technology terms into business terms. The ability to demonstrate excellent written and oral communication skills is required for working with a variety of both technical and non-technical system users and partners.
Payroll Title
Program Administrator III
The Program Administrator III is a management classification and not eligible for overtime compensation.
TENTATIVE SCHEDULE
OPENING DATE: November 2, 2023
CLOSING DATE: December 19, 2023, at 5:00 p.m.
(Previously: Continuous
First review of applicants anticipated to begin on November 13, 2023)Duties may include, but are not limited to the following:

• Gathers and analyzes requirements for development and management of the Pension Administration System (PAS) and other integrated systems.
• Analyzes complex business and pension requirements and proposes possible solutions to user requests for system modifications, enhancements and/or error corrections to improve overall efficiency and processes.
• Assists with PAS design including testing, maintenance, and compliance with business rules and regulations.
• Collaborates with the business and technology teams to ensure the PAS supports business needs.
• Participates in the design, modification, testing and creation of business processes implemented in the PAS.
• Imports biweekly payroll files from the Ventura County Human Resources and Payroll System (VCHRP); audits data and validates the data in VCHRP with PAS; resolves errors in collaboration with plan sponsors.
• Creates complex SQL queries and reports with an advanced understanding of database structure and design, such as Oracle.
• Directs and performs critical cyclical processes within the PAS, such as interest posting, retiree COLAs, 1099-R annual benefit statements, actuarial extracts, etc.
• Resolves queries from staff and/or agency administrators related to benefit calculations, service credit purchases and member accounts within the PAS.
• Ensures PAS contains accurate data and formulas for calculation of various retirement benefits.
• Participates in creating and managing training sessions for staff.
• Performs other related duties as required.

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
Any education, training and experience which has provided considerable technical experience supporting enterprise level applications. This requirement may be met by:
A bachelor's degree in computer information systems, computer science or an equivalent field
AND
A minimum of three (3) years of systems analysis experience supporting enterprise resources planning systems or pension administration systems including design, modification, testing and creation of business processes.
Substitution
Additional experience may substitute for a bachelor's degree for up to four (4) years.
NECESSARY SPECIAL REQUIREMENT

• Advanced experience writing complex SQL queries, and reports.
• Advanced knowledge of Oracle and/or PostgresSQL
• Advanced experience recognizing, analyzing, troubleshooting and correcting system issues
• Advanced experience effectively and reliably managing multiple assignments with established deadlines
• Experience establishing and maintaining effective, positive working relationships with a variety of stakeholders, such as staff, management, vendors and customers

NOTE: Excellent written communication skills must be demonstrated in the completion of the employment application and supplemental questionnaire.
DESIRED:
Experience:

• Supporting an enterprise level pension or benefits applications for a major public employer as a systems analyst
• Auditing retirement calculations for accuracy and completeness
• Supporting Vitech's V3/V3locity pension administration system

Knowledge, Skill and Abilities
Working knowledge of administration of an employee retirement benefit program.
Advanced knowledge of: automated retirement benefits systems such as PAS including design, modification, testing and creation of business processes; development tools (e.g. SQL query writing skills, Excel,); business requirements analysis related to employee retirement benefit programs, such as Vitech's V3/Velocity pension administration system.
Skilled in: system compliance with federal and state retirement regulations, labor agreements and retirement case law; audit retirement calculations for accuracy and completeness; recognizing, analyzing, troubleshooting, and correcting system issues; creating complex SQL queries and reports with an advanced understanding of database structure and design, such as Oracle or PostgresSQL; effectively and reliably managing multiple assignments within established deadlines.
Ability to: design, configure and fully monitor compliance of the pension administration system; interpret and apply provisions of the County Employees' Retirement Law, MOA's, contracts, etc.; train staff on policies and procedures; establish and maintain effective, positive working relationship with staff, management, vendors, and customers; communicate effectively both orally and in writing; confer with administration on policy matters and performance related to PAS functionality; think critically. FINAL FILING DATE
Applications must be received by County of Ventura Human Resources no later than 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday, December 19, 2023.
(Previously: This is a continuous recruitment and may close at any time; therefore, apply as soon as possible if you are interested in it. Your application must be received by County of Ventura Human Resources in Ventura, California, no later than 5:00 p.m. on the closing date.)
To apply on-line, please refer to our web site at www.ventura.org/jobs. A paper application form can be obtained by calling (805) 654-5129. Our address is: County of Ventura, Human Resources Division, 800 South Victoria Avenue, L-1970, Ventura, CA 93009.

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 for additional information.

Note to Applicants: It is essential that you complete all sections of your application and supplemental questionnaire thoroughly and accurately to demonstrate your qualifications. A resume and/or other related documents may be attached to supplement the information in your application and supplemental questionnaire; however, it/they may not be submitted in lieu of the application.
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.
APPLICATION SCREENING - qualifying
Candidates' applications, resumes, or other required documentation will be evaluated on a comparative basis against pre-established criterion. Those individuals whose materials best indicate possession of 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. Responses such as "See Resume" or "Refer to Resume" are not acceptable and may disqualify an applicant from further evaluatio...