Program Manager - Office of Retirement Services, Pension Benefits Division

Job Description:

Program Manager - Office of Retirement Services, Pension Benefits Division

Description

Our diverse and inclusive workforce of more than 7,000 employees play a key role in the success of San José, the heart of the Silicon Valley. All City of San José employees work together as one team to make San José a vibrant, innovative, and desirable place to live and work. Visit here to learn more about our One Team Leadership Values and Expectations, including quality and excellent customer service and here to learn more about San José.

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. The City of San José is committed to offering reasonable accommodations to job applicants with disabilities. If you need assistance or an accommodation due to a disability, please contact us at 408-535-1285, 711 (TTY) , or via email at [email protected] .

About the Department

The City of San José, the Capital of Silicon Valley, is one of the nation's best managed cities and one of the top 10 cities in which to live, work, and do business. Moreover, San José is the center of cultural, government and economic activity for the region. The employees of the City of San José have embraced the following values: Integrity, Innovation, Excellence, Collaboration, Respect and Celebration

The Office of Retirement Services(ORS) oversees the investments of assets and administers the benefits of the two Defined Benefit Retirement Plans for the City of San Jose employees. One plan is for the sworn police and fire employees called the Police and Fire Department Retirement Plan. The other plan is for all other eligible City employees called Federated City Employees' Retirement System. The assets of the two plans total over $8.0 billion. As of June 30, 2025, there were 7,392 retirees and beneficiaries, and 5,932 active employees in the two retirement plans. Each of the retirement plans has a Board of Administration that has fiduciary responsibility over their respective retirement plan. The ORS staff has accountability to them as well as City Administration. ORS has a total of about 46 positions spread among five different work groups within the department: Investments, Benefits, Accounting, Information Technology, and Administration. ORS utilizes the City's Financial Management System for all general ledger activities. In addition, ORS has its own pension administration system called Pension Gold that holds all pension/contribution information for active members and retirees and is used in almost all of the functions for the Benefits Group staff.

Position Duties

The Pension Benefits Division is seeking a collaborative, innovative, and service-oriented Program Manager to lead disability retirement and customer service operations for the City's pension systems. This is an exceptional opportunity to make a meaningful impact by leading high-performing teams, enhancing the customer experience, and driving business-led technology and process improvements that support thousands of active and retired City employees and their families.

Reporting to the Division Manager, the Program Manager provides leadership for multiple teams responsible for administering complex retirement, disability, death, and customer service functions for both sworn and non-sworn members. This position plays a critical role in ensuring the accurate, timely, and legally compliant delivery of pension benefits while fostering operational excellence, continuous improvement, and exceptional customer service.

The Program Manager will also have the opportunity to help shape the future of the Division by leading strategic initiatives, modernizing business processes, implementing technology solutions, and collaborating across the organization to improve the delivery of retirement services.

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.

Key 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.

The Ideal Candidate

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.

Success in this role requires sound judgment, exceptional analytical and problem-solving skills, effective communication, political acumen, and the ability to build strong working relationships across all levels of the organization. The successful candidate will be equally comfortable leading people, managing complex operations, and driving strategic initiatives that improve service delivery and organizational effectiveness.

This recruitment may be used to fill multiple positions in this, or other divisions or departments. If you are interested in employment in this classification, you should apply to ensure you are considered for additional opportunities that may utilize the applicants from this recruitment.

Minimum 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.

Required Licensing: Possession of a valid State of California driver's license may be required for some assignments.

Other Qualifications

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.

Selection Process:
The selection process will consist of an evaluation of the applicant's training and experience based on the application and responses to all the job specific questions. You must answer all questions to be considered or your application may be deemed incomplete and withheld from further consideration. Only those candidates whose backgrounds best match the position will be invited to proceed in the selection process. Additional phases of the selection process will consist of one or more interviews. The application deadline is July 20, 2026 at 11:59 PM.

If you have questions about the duties of these positions, the selection or hiring processes, please contact Ellesia Janto at [email protected] .

Additional Information:

Employment Eligibility: Federal law requires all employees to provide verification of their eligibility to work in this country. Please be informed that the City of San Jose will NOT sponsor, represent or sign any documents related to visa applications/transfers for H1-B or any other type of visa which requires an employer application.

You must answer all job-specific questions to be considered for this vacancy or your application will be deemed incomplete and withheld from further consideration. Applicants are expected to write their own essays/responses.

Please note that applications are currently not accepted through CalOpps or any other third party job board application system.

This recruitment may be used to fill multiple positions in this, or other divisions or departments. If you are interested in employment in this classification, you should apply to ensure you are considered for additional opportunities that may utilize the applicants from this recruitment.

Please allow adequate time to complete the application and submit before the deadline or the system may not save your application. If your online application was successfully submitted, you will receive an automatic confirmation email to the email address you provided. IF YOU DO NOT RECEIVE THE CONFIRMATION, please email [email protected] and we will research the status of your application.

AI and the Hiring Process

We recognize that Artificial Intelligence (AI) is becoming part of daily life and can be a valuable tool for learning, research, and professional growth. We encourage candidates to use AI responsibly as a support in preparing application materials, live assessments, and interviews. However, we value authenticity, accuracy and truthfulness. Application responses and interview answers must reflect your own knowledge, skills, and experiences. While AI can supplement preparation, it cannot replace the originality and judgment we look for in our employees. This ensures fairness, transparency, and equity for all applicants in the hiring process.

The City of San Jose offers a wide range of core health benefits including Medical, Dental, Vision, Employee Assistance Program, Life Insurance, Disability, and Savings Plans. Please visit the City's benefits pagefor detailed information on coverage, cost, and dependent coverage.

For information on the City’s Retirement Plan(pension for full-time employees), please visit the Office of Retirement Services website. You will be able to view information based on different Sworn/Federated job classification.

In additional to the benefits above, there is an additional perks siteto explore further benefits of working for the City of San Jose like paid leave, educational reimbursements, and holiday pay are specific to the job classification and union membership.

Closing Date/Time: 7/20/2026 11:59 PM Pacific

Salary:

$134,490.72 - $174,851.04 Annually