Job Details

The Position

Take your Human Resources / Benefits career to the next level! The City of Santa Rosa Human Resources Department seeks to hire an energetic, passionate experienced Benefits Professional ready to make a significant impact on benefits policies, procedures, programs, and services. It should be noted that this position's designated job classification title is Supervising Human Resource Analyst, with "Benefits Supervisor" serving as the working title. The City of Santa Rosa is committed to building a workforce reflective of our community and establishing a lasting culture of equity and belonging within our organization. Our collective talents and expertise contribute to high-quality public services that support a vibrant, resilient, inclusive City for our community and visitors. We celebrate a diverse workforce and welcome all qualified candidates to apply.

THE BENEFITS OF CITY EMPLOYEMENT: In addition to offering a challenging, rewarding work environment and excellent salary, the City of Santa Rosa provides a generous suite of benefits, including retirement through CalPERS, a competitive leave accrual package, your choice of three health plans, a flexible spending program, employer contributions to a Retiree Health Savings plan, and top of the line employer paid (FREE) vision and dental coverage. Additional benefits include:

• 12 paid holidays annually, plus 2 to 3 "floating holidays per year depending on years of service"
• $500 Annual wellness bonus
• The City is a Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program (PSLF) Employer
• Paid Family Leave

About the Position

The Benefits Supervisor will oversee the benefits staff, processes, and programs within the HR department. This position reports to the Deputy Director and will play an essential role in modernizing the workflows of Benefits & Leave Administration.

Our Ideal Candidate

The ideal candidate is an experienced, collaborative benefits professional with extensive expertise in benefit plans administration, in a union environment preferably in the public sector, and will be knowledgeable of leave management. This individual is a strategic leader who combines strong technical knowledge with exceptional customer service and is committed to delivering compliant, efficient, and employee-focused service delivery of the benefits programs.

In addition, the ideal candidate will possess:

• Extensive experience administering comprehensive employee benefits programs, including medical, dental, vision, retirement, life and disability insurance, flexible spending accounts, and other voluntary benefit programs.
• Strong knowledge of federal and state laws governing benefits and leave administration, including FMLA, CFRA, PDL, USERRA, COBRA, HIPAA, ACA, and CalPERS.
• Experience managing all aspects of benefits administration, including open enrollment, employee eligibility, qualifying life events, vendor management, audits, reporting, compliance, and resolving complex employee benefit issues.
• Experience developing and improving benefits and leave policies, procedures, and workflows to increase efficiency, compliance, and service delivery.
• Proven leadership experience supervising, mentoring, and developing professional staff while fostering a collaborative, customer-focused team environment.
• Ability to interpret complex laws, policies, collective bargaining agreements, and plan documents and provide sound guidance to employees, managers, and leadership.
• Experience analyzing benefits data, managing HRIS or benefits systems, and leading projects or process improvements that support organizational goals.
• Strong ability to build relationships with other business partners in the organization, such as payroll and finance.
• Excellent communication, organizational, analytical, and problem-solving skills, with a strong commitment to confidentiality, collaboration, and continuous improvement.

The successful candidate will be a proactive leader who values innovation, builds strong partnerships, and is dedicated to providing exceptional benefits and leave administration services to City employees.

Please complete a thoughtful, thorough Supplemental Questionnaire submission. As part of the selection process, your responses to these questions will be scored using criteria specific to this position. Incomplete responses, or responses such as "See Resume" may not be considered.

Examples of Duties and Responsibilities

Each incumbent in the classification may not perform all the duties listed below depending upon the program(s) for which he/she is responsible. Also, the listed duties are not necessarily inclusive of all duties that may be assigned.

EXAMPLES OF TYPICAL JOB FUNCTIONS (Illustrative Only)

Management reserves the right to add, modify, change, or rescind the work assignments of different positions and to make reasonable accommodations so that qualified employees can perform the essential functions of the job.

• Develops procedures and recommend policies for assigned area(s) and identify and implement improved methods of operation.
• Develops and update various Human Resources training curricula for assigned area(s); present associated training to employees and supervisors/managers.
• Performs the most complex and specialized assignments and projects related to assigned program(s), independently act as project and technical lead for such assignments; coordinate consultant activities as necessary; plan, coordinate and review the preparation of various reports, correspondence, statistics, and publications.
• Provides consultation to department supervisors, managers, and work groups regarding work force planning, staffing, classification and compensation, employee and labor relations, benefits and leaves management, risk management, organization development and change management.
• Understands, interprets and applies city, state and federal human resources laws and regulations.
• Conducts research and analysis on human resources topics.
• Understand basic budgeting techniques, exhibiting such in analyzing program costs and submitting budget recommendations.
• Analyzes and evaluates data, incorporating determinations into recommendations.
• Writes correspondence and prepare reports on a wide variety of technical, professional, and legal matters; deliver associated presentations on same.
• Assists in the preparation of the annual budget for assigned program area(s).
• Utilizes computer software and/or human resources – related information systems to perform duties, and train users on same
• Plans, schedules and coordinates recruitment and examination activities for a variety of job classifications; supervise professional, technical and support staff.
• Identifies and executes process improvements regarding employee lifecycle activities.
• Provides direct and indirect assistance in the administration and coordination of organization medical, dental and vision plans and contracts as well as other benefit plans such as life and disability insurance program; supervise assigned staff.
• Evaluates and makes recommendations on various benefits options and work with brokers, insurance carriers, plan administrators, healthcare providers, city staff, employees, labor representatives and others to meet employee and organization needs.
• Provides direction and coordination regarding Public Employees' Retirement System (PERS) matters; provide assistance and direction on all matters of legally mandated and City leaves including: FMLA, CFRA, PDL and USERRA.
• Participates in the hiring of staff; trains staff in department procedures; evaluates employee performance, counsels employees and effectively recommends disciplinary and other personnel actions.
• Makes presentations to City or public groups; governmental agencies, boards and commissions, auditors, the public and others; appears before the City Council to present reports and make recommendations, as assigned.
• Ensures staff observe and comply with all City and mandated safety rules, regulations, and protocols.
• Performs related duties as required.

Required Qualifications

QUALIFICATIONS Knowledge of: Fundamental principles and practices of public sector human resources administration, including practices, methods and techniques related to one or more of the program areas of recruitment and selection, classification, benefits and leaves management, risk management, safety and workers' compensation, or employee and labor relations; Federal, State and local laws and regulations pertaining to human resources administration; business computer applications such as Microsoft Office Suite, HRIS, benefits administration systems and applicant tracking systems; written and oral communication techniques for a professional business environment including knowledge of English composition, spelling, grammar, report writing and formal presentation practices; research methodology including statistical analysis and report writing; supervisory techniques and practices; and fundamentals of budgeting. Ability to: Organize, direct, plan, prioritize, delegate and coordinate the work of self and others in the assigned program area(s); balance competing priorities; establish performance standards and evaluate performance; work independently and collaboratively to gather, organize and analyze data, draw conclusions and make recommendations; understand, interpret and apply provisions of applicable laws, ordinances, regulations, memoranda of understanding and operating procedures; prepare a variety of written documents, such as correspondence, reports and performance evaluations; explain rules, policies, procedures and technical concepts; communicate information in verbal and written form to a variety of audiences; establish and maintain effective working relationships with colleagues, subordinate staff, representatives of other departments and agencies as well as members of the public; maintain objectivity and confidentiality; use a personal computer and standard business software applications; remain current on all applicable laws, processes and procedure to accomplish the objectives of the program area(s) assigned. Experience and Education: Any combination of training or experience which would likely provide the required knowledge and abilities would be qualifying. A typical way to obtain the knowledge and abilities would be: Experience – Sufficient progressively responsible