Human Resource Services
Alameda Skyline

Financial Services Director, SSA

Recruitment #23-6075-01

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. Applications must be in the possession of the Human Resource Services Department by 5:00 p.m. on the Last Day for Filing.  Applications will only be accepted on-line.

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. Applications will only be accepted on-line. Postmarks are not accepted. Failure to submit the Application or Supplemental Questionnaire will result in disqualification.

DESCRIPTION

Alameda County Social Services Agency is searching for a Financial Services Director to oversee and direct the financial operations of the Agency. This responsibility includes planning, developing, implementing and monitoring over a $900 million dollar budget that funds over 40 programs, directing and supervising proper accounting and fiscal monitoring systems; oversight of recipients’ payroll operations; contract services; and grant administration and welfare claims.

The Social Services Agency consists of the following four departments whose mandated services include: 

 · Workforce and Benefits Administration administers the eligibility and disbursement of mandated assistance programs and provides the required employment and support services for public assistance recipients. · Children and Family Services provides emergency response and shelter services as well as investigative, maintenance, reunification, and permanent placement services and administer the Foster Care Program.
 · Adult and Aging Services provides Adult Protective, Public Guardian/Conservator/Administrator, and Older American/Californian Acts services. AAS also administers in Home Supportive Services (IHSS), Regular Medi-Cal and Long Term Care programs and operates the Area on Aging and Veteran Services Office.
 · Administration and Finance provides support to Agency departments and staff through various administrative areas such as Government and Community Relations, Human Resources and Training, Finance and General Accounting and general Office Support Services.

Please see our recruitment brochure here Financial Services Director, SSA Brochure.

 

THE IDEAL CANDIDATE

In addition to meeting the minimum qualifications, the Financial Services Director will have a solid history of:

Overseeing budget preparation, including planning, organizing, and directing a large organization’s budgeting process, line-item budgeting systems and a thorough understanding of current trends in health and welfare fiscal operations, including utilizing computer applications related to financial analysis and accounting.

Practicing techniques of financial analysis, including conducting budgetary, contract and grant administration and financial recordkeeping and reporting practices and performing cost/benefit analyses.

Researching, compiling and summarizing varied information, evaluating alternatives and reaching sound conclusions.

Understanding fiscal impacts of legislation and state memoranda related to state and county allocation formulas.

Effectively implementing management principles and practices when providing employee supervision.  Effectively plan, supervise, review and evaluate the work of others either directly or through subordinate supervision.  

Communicating effectively, including the ability to write complex technical reports and conduct effect meetings and representing the department and the County in meetings with others.

Being a politically astute leader, possessing the skills necessary for identifying, navigating and successfully interacting within the dynamics of the organization while maintaining sensitivity to the competing needs of a wide variety of internal and external stakeholders with strong interpersonal skills required to develop an effective, cohesive accounting and fiscal team.

Performing as a strong collaborator, adept in identifying opportunities and taking action to build strategic relationships to help achieve agency goals and building effective collaborative environment with internal and external stakeholders.

Being an innovative thinker who combines ideas in unique ways and can explore situations from multiple perspectives.

 For more detailed information about the job classification, visit Financial Services Director, SSA 


MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

Education:
Possession of a bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university with a degree in accounting; business administration, public administration, or a closely related field.
AND
Experience:
The equivalent of four years of progressively responsible experience in a management or administrative capacity which included fiscal and budget activities, two years of which required considerable independent judgment in financial policy development and interpretation. (Additional professional financial or administrative experience may be substituted for the bachelor’s degree on a year for year basis.)

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:
• Health or welfare funding sources.
• Budget preparation, including line item budgeting systems and current trends in health or welfare fiscal operations, including legislation and state memoranda influencing state to county allocation formulas.
• Management principles and practices including employee supervision.
• Principles of accounting.
• Practices and techniques of financial analysis.
• Budgetary, contract and grant administration and financial recordkeeping and reporting practices.
• Computer applications related to financial analysis and accounting.

Ability to:

• Write and speak effectively, including the ability to write complex technical reports and conduct effective meetings.
• Administer a large staff performing technical accounting functions.
• Perform cost/benefit analyses.
• Research, compile and summarize varied information, evaluate alternatives and reach sound conclusions.
• Provide leadership to the planning, organization and direction of the budgeting process of the appropriate agency.
• Plan, supervise, review and evaluate the work of others either directly or through subordinate supervision.
• Represent the department and the County in meetings with others.

EXAMINATION COMPONENTS

The examination will consist of the following steps:

  1. A review of applicants' applications 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 candidates' supplemental questionnaires to select 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 PM, Friday, February 10, 2023

5:00 PM, Tuesday, February 21, 2023

Review of Applications for Minimum Qualifications:

Week of February 21, 2023

TBD

Review of Supplemental Questionnaire for Best Qualified:

Week of March 6, 2023

Oral Examination*:

Week of March 20, 2023


  *Updated 2/10/23 IB


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


WE RESERVE THE RIGHT TO MAKE CHANGES TO THE ANNOUNCED RECRUITMENT & SELECTION PLAN.


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 @acgov.org@jobaps.comNoReply@jobaps.com, and NoReplyAlamedaCountyHR@acgov.org 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 ensure 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 boxes Noreply@acgov.org and NoReplyAlamedaCountyHR@acgov.org are routed to unmonitored mailboxes. All notices are generated through an automated email notification system. Replies to the email box 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.


Ione Bell | Human Resources Analyst
Human Resource Services, County of Alameda
(510) 272-6456 | Ione.Bell@acgov.org

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.