Human Resource Services
Alameda Skyline

Benefits Accountant

Recruitment #20-0267-01

Introduction

THIS IS A NEW ASSEMBLED EXAMINATION.  The eligible list resulting from this examination will cancel any existing list and may last approximately one year, but can be extended.

Supplemental Questionnaire: A properly completed Supplemental Questionnaire must be submitted with each application. Applications and Supplemental Questionnaires must be in the possession of the Human Resource Services Department by 5:00 p.m. on the Last Day for Filing. Failure to submit the Supplemental Questionnaire will result in disqualification.

Applications and Supplemental Questionnaires will only be accepted on-line.

DESCRIPTION

 

THE DEPARTMENT

Department Mission
Deliver high quality and timely human resource services in partnership with County agencies, departments and special
districts to enable our customers to reach their organizational goals.

Vision
To be the employer of choice and a great place to work.

Values
In a spirit of partnership, HRS strives for: Excellence in everything we do. Responsiveness to our customers and their
needs. Fairness in our policies and practices. Innovation in developing and implementing new programs. Diversity in
recognizing everyone’s unique contribution. Development of every employee’s full potential. Anticipate and meet the
changing needs of employees and candidates to ensure the recruitment and retention of a talented and committed
workforce. Support the County’s organizational culture that values customer service, performance excellence, diversity,
and fiscal stewardship. Redesign and transform the recruitment function for improved customer service and satisfaction.
Champion workforce planning and development to ensure that employees have every opportunity to assume leadership
positions as baby boomers retire. Improve the efficiency and effectiveness of services through the increased use of
technology.

THE POSITION

Incumbents in the class will be responsible for performing professional level duties with a great degree of
independence within the ALCOLINK HRMS automated benefits system. Under direction examine, analyze and verify a variety of records and documents, additionally prepare analytical narrative statistical and accounting reports. This position may report to the Benefits Administration Supervisor of the Human Resource Services.

Please click here for the full Benefits Accountant job description.

THE IDEAL CANDIDATE
In addition to meeting the established minimum qualifications, the ideal candidate for the Benefits Accountant will possess the following critical attributes:

  • Demonstrated expertise with bank and account reconciliation, financial analysis, review and report writing.
  • Accurately complete assignments and tasks, while paying attention to detail and processes.
  • Consistently manage time and resources to appropriately prioritize and complete goals and objectives. Maintain effectiveness while experiencing major changes in work responsibilities or environment and the ability to adjust within new structures, processes, requirements or cultures.
  • Willingness to learn and apply accounting processes and procedures to keep up with advancing accounting methods and computer technology.
  • Strong knowledge of general, non-profit, governmental accounting, auditing principles and practices.
  • Ability to establish and maintain an effective process to monitor, collect and review information while vigilantly managing quality to ensure work is free of errors.
  • Ability to deliver a high level of customer service and work as an effective member of a diverse team.
  • Communicates effectively both orally and in writing to a diverse audience Incumbents are tasked with: Ensuring that the County benefit environment is functioning at a high level through data analytics, as well as, detailed documentation reviews;
  • Performing some financial statement and other audits of County benefit accounts;
  • Establishing strong working relations and high level of customer service through skillful and professional communication, both orally and in writing
  • Undertaking special projects as required.

Incumbents are tasked with:

  • Ensuring that the County benefit environment is functioning at a high level through data analytics, as well as, detailed documentation reviews;
  • Performing some financial statement and other audits of County benefit accounts;
  • Establishing strong working relations and high level of customer service through skillful and professional communication, both orally and in writing
  • Undertaking special projects as required.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

Either I

Experience:  

The equivalent of one year of full-time experience as an Accountant or three years of full-time experience as an Accounting Specialist II or other higher level paraprofessional classification performing work at the level of the Alameda County class of Accounting Specialist II in the Alameda County classified service.  

Or II

Experience:  

The equivalent of three years of full-time experience in a professional Accounting position involving the exercise of accounting or auditing duties similar to Alameda County’s class of Accountant, or five years of paraprofessional experience performing full time duties similar to Alameda County’s Accounting Specialist II or Accounting Technician classifications.   

 

(Substitution: A Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting, or a related field, may substitute for two years of the required work experience.)

 

NOTE:  The Civil Service Commission may modify the above Minimum Qualifications in the announcement of an examination.

KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS

The most suitably qualified candidates will possess the following competencies:

Knowledge of:

 

  • Generally accepted Governmental accounting principles and practices.
  • Generally accepted auditing standards.
  • General and governmental accounting and auditing principles, theory, and procedures.
  • Practices and techniques of automated accounting and financial record keeping and report preparation.
  • Principles and practices of auditing and reconciling a variety of financial and accounting documents and records.
  • Basic budgeting and cost accounting practices and procedures.
  • Operational characteristics of automated personnel/payroll record processing system.
  • The purposes, methods, and practices of financial record-keeping work.
  • Modern office methods and equipment.
  • Business office practices.
  • Computer applications related to the work, including intermediate to advanced level spreadsheet and database applications.
  • Procedures, terminology and forms related to the functional area to which assigned.
  • Techniques used to reconcile subsidiary accounts, to control accounts, and to maintain books through trial balance.
  • English grammar, spelling and punctuation. 

Ability to:

 

  • Communicate effectively both orally and in writing with employees, department personnel and customers.
  • Communicate with diverse groups of people by demonstrating effective interpersonal skills and sensitivity.
  • Read, research, analyze and interpret fiscal documents and other records.
  • Perform detail work and accounting.
  • Learn specific accounting information systems.
  • Interpret and apply business and governmental laws and regulations.
  • Identify and correct errors in a variety of mathematical computations and financial documents.
  • Use automated spreadsheet software.
  • Prepare comprehensive, clear, and concise accounting and statistical reports.
  • Read and interpret financial reports.
  • Audit and reconcile financial, accounting and budgetary documents and records; maintain journals and reports.
  • Read, interpret and apply rules, regulations, policies and procedures involved in fiscal recordkeeping and accounting functions.
  • Interpret, explain and apply regulations and procedures in varying situations.
  • Organize and prioritize work and meet critical deadlines.
  • Maintain accurate records and files.
  • Operate standard office equipment.
  • Exercise judgement.
  • Work independently in the absence of specific instructions.
  • Establish and maintain effective working relationships with those contacted in the course of work.

EXAMINATION COMPONENTS

The examination will consist of the following steps:

  1. A review of candidates' application to verify possession of minimum requirements.  Those candidates who possess the minimum requirements for the class will move on to the next step in the examination process.
  2. A review of the supplemental questionnaire to determine the best qualified
    applicants to continue in the process.
  3. An oral interview which will be weighted as 100% of the candidates' final examination score.  The oral interview may contain situational exercises.

Candidates must attain a qualifying rating on each portion of this recruitment. 

WE RESERVE THE RIGHT TO MAKE CHANGES TO THE ANNOUNCED EXAMINATION STEPS.

Alameda County utilizes a Civil Service Selection System founded on merit. Such a system is competitive and based on broad recruitment efforts and equal opportunity for qualified applicants to test in an examination process designed to determine the qualifications, fitness, and ability of competitors to perform duties of the vacant position. Many of our recruitments are targeted and specific to the needs of a current vacant position, in which case, the eligible list may be exclusively used for that current vacant position. Other recruitments may be more broadly used for both current and future vacancies, or for other alternate jobs with comparable scopes of work.

To learn more about our recruitment and selection process, please visit the “What You Need to Know” section of our website, www.acgov.org/hrs .

Selection Plan

Applicants will be informed via email with reasonable notice in advance of any examination process which will require their attendance. The following dates are tentative and subject to change based on the needs of the Agency:

TENTATIVE SELECTION PLAN

 Deadline for Filing:

 5:00 p.m., Monday, December 07, 2020 

 Review of Minimum Qualifications:

 by Friday, December 11,.2020 

 Review of Supplemental Questionnaire for best qualified:

 by Monday, December  28, 2020

 Oral Interviews*:

 Week of January 18, 2021

*The combined oral examination/hiring interview, in addition to establishing an eligibility list, may serve as the final selection interview for vacancies in this classification.

Alameda County and the Human Resource Services Department will make reasonable efforts in the examination and/or selection process to accommodate qualified individuals with disabilities and/or medical conditions in accordance/compliance with the State Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), Federal Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Alameda County’s Reasonable Accommodation Policy and applicable statutes. To request an accommodation due to a disability/medical condition during this or other phases of the examination/selection process, please contact the assigned Human Resources Representative listed on the job announcement before the last date of filing. Alameda County requires applicants to provide supporting documentation to substantiate a request for reasonable accommodation. In order to qualify for a reasonable accommodation, applicants must have a disability/medical condition pursuant to the ADA, FEHA and applicable statutes.

For more information regarding our Reasonable Accommodation procedures, please visit our website, www.acgov.org/hrs.

BENEFITS

Alameda County offers a comprehensive and competitive benefits package that affords wide-ranging health care options to meet the different needs of a diverse workforce and their families. We also sponsor many different employee discount, fitness and health screening programs focused on overall well being.  These benefits include but are not limited to*:

For your Health & Well-Being

  • Medical – HMO & PPO Plans
  • Dental – HMO & PPO Plans
  • Vision or Vision Reimbursement
  • Share the Savings
  • Basic Life Insurance 
  • Supplemental Life Insurance (with optional dependent coverage for eligible employees)
  • Accidental Death and Dismemberment Insurance 
  • County Allowance Credit
  • Flexible Spending Accounts - Health FSA, Dependent Care and Adoption Assistance
  • Short-Term Disability Insurance
  • Long-Term Disability Insurance
  • Voluntary Benefits - Accident Insurance, Critical Illness, Hospital Indemnity and Legal Services
  • Employee Assistance Program

For your Financial Future

  • Retirement Plan - (Defined Benefit Pension Plan)
  • Deferred Compensation Plan (457 Plan or Roth Plan)

For your Work/Life Balance

  • 11 paid holidays
  • Floating Holidays
  • Vacation and sick leave accrual
  • Vacation purchase program
  • Management Paid Leave**
  • Catastrophic Sick Leave
  • Group Auto/Home Insurance
  • Pet Insurance
  • Commuter Benefits Program
  • Guaranteed Ride Home
  • Employee Wellness Program (e.g. At Work Fitness, Incentive Based Programs, Gym Membership Discounts)
  • Employee Discount Program (e.g. theme parks, cell phone, etc.)
  • Child Care Resources
  • 1st United Services Credit Union 

*Eligibility is determined by Alameda County and offerings may vary by collective bargaining agreement.  This provides a brief summary of the benefits offered and can be subject to change.

** Non-exempt management employees are entitled to up to three days of management paid leave. Exempt management employees are entitled to up to seven days of management paid leave.

Conclusion

All notices related to County recruitments for which you have applied will be sent/delivered via email. Please add @jobaps.com, acgov.org and Noreply@jobaps.com as accepted addresses to any email blocking or spam filtering program you may use. If you do not do this, your email blocking or spam filtering program may block receipt of the notices regarding your application for recruitments. You are also strongly advised to regularly log into your County of Alameda online application account to check for notices that may have been sent to you. All email notices that will be sent to you will also be kept in your personal online application account. You will be able to view all of your notices in your online application account by clicking on the 'My applications' button on the Current Job Openings page.

Please take the steps recommended above to insure you do not miss any notices about a recruitment for which you have applied. The County of Alameda is not responsible for notices that are not read, received or accessed by any applicant for a County recruitment.

NOTE: All notices are generated through an automated email notification system. Replies to the email box Noreply@jobaps.com are routed to an unmonitored mailbox. If you have questions, please go to our website at www.acgov.org/hrs. You may also contact the Human Resources Analyst listed on the job announcement for the recruitment for which you have applied.

Erika Beams, Human Resources Analyst 
Human Resource Services Division, County of Alameda
Erika.Beams@acgov.org.
510-272-6393
www.acgov.org/hrs

 

DISASTER SERVICE WORKER

All Alameda County employees are designated Disaster Service Workers through state and local law.  Employment with the County requires the affirmation of a loyalty oath to this effect.  Employees are required to report to work as ordered in the event of an emergency.

EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY

Alameda County has a diverse workforce, that is representative of the communities we serve, and is proud to be an equal opportunity employer.  All aspects of employment are based on merit, competence, performance and business need. Alameda County does not discriminate in employment on the basis of, race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy and gender identity), national origin, political affiliation, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, genetic information, age, membership in an employee organization, retaliation, parental status, military service, or other non-merit factors protected under federal, state and local law. Alameda County celebrates diversity and is committed to creating an inclusive, and welcoming workplace environment.