Retirement And Benefit System Coordinator

The State of Connecticut, Office of the State Comptroller (OSC), is an agency whose mission is to provide accounting and financial services, to administer employee and retiree benefits, to develop accounting policy and exercise accounting oversight, and to prepare financial reports for the state, federal and municipal governments and the public.

We are recruiting for a full-time Retirement and Benefit System Coordinator.  This is an exciting opportunity to assist in charting a new course for the Retirement Services Division (RSD).  The successful candidate will:

• Supervise our Member Accounts Unit;
• Serve as the primary liaison between RSD and state agency HR professionals; and
• Play an integral role in the coordination and centralization of retirement processes for the Executive Branch in-scope agencies.

Candidates must meet the minimum qualifications for General Experience and Special Experience, as indicated, to apply for this position.  State employees currently holding the above title or those who have previously attained permanent status in the class may apply for a lateral transfer. 

Special Requirement:  Incumbents in this class may be required to travel.  Incumbents in this class may be required to possess and retain a valid Motor Vehicle Operator's License.

This position works first-shift, 40 hours per week and is located at the newly renovated State Office Building, located at 165 Capitol Avenue in Hartford, CT.  This state-of-the-art building offers an on-site cafeteria, free garage parking and ergonomic workspaces.  The Office of the State Comptroller (OSC) offers an excellent salary and benefits package.

In order to be considered for this job opening, you must be a current State of CT employee, who has permanent state status* and meet the Minimum Qualifications as listed on the job opening.  You must specify your qualifications on your application.

*For employees in the classified service, permanent status is obtained after successful completion of a working test period.  For employees in the unclassified service, permanent status is obtained after serving in a position for at least six months (full-time or full-time equivalent).

All applicants must include a resume within the “Resume Tab” of their JobAps application.  Candidates invited to interview will be required to submit their last two performance evaluations and last two years of attendance records, as well as three (3) business references.

INCOMPLETE APPLICATION PACKAGES AND THOSE RECEIVED AFTER THE CLOSING DATE INDICATED ABOVE WILL NOT BE CONSIDERED.  Questions about the required documents should be directed to the hiring agency's human resources office: Ginger Frasca/ ginger.frasca@ct.gov.

In the Office of the State Comptroller or State Teachers Retirement Board this class is accountable for supervising the administration of retirement and/or benefit services to eligible members.

The Retirement and Benefit System Coordinator is proactive with a desire to work in fast-paced and ever-evolving environment; this position will supervise the administration of a complex and specialized retirement service to eligible members of the retirement system within the jurisdiction of the State Employees Retirement Commission; responsible for assisting in the transition of the consolidation of retirement services and working with RSD Division leadership along with the Department of Administrative Services to ensure services remain fluent and to increase accountability; responsible for statistical tracking to include but not limited to retirement statistics, demographics, and various other databases; has direct responsibility for employee schedules; assigns, oversees and reviews work and operations of staff and assigned unit; provides staff training and assistance; conducts performance evaluations; determines priorities and plans unit work; establishes and maintains unit procedures; develops or makes recommendations on development of policies, procedures and standards; acts as liaison with operating units, agencies, boards and outside officials regarding unit policies and procedures; prepares and analyzes a variety of fiscal, statistical and other related reports and correspondence; determines compliance with state and federal statutes and regulations and collective bargaining agreements; performs a variety of technical and administrative tasks involving administration of a pension and/or benefit service/program; supervises maintenance of financial, statistical and personnel data for eligible members; prepares or participates in preparation of periodic statements of eligible members equity; performs and prepares research and material for cases appealed to a retirement board; coordinates review of various pension and/or benefit applications; identifies data processing requirements; related duties as assigned.

Considerable knowledge of and ability to apply relevant state and federal laws, statutes and regulations; knowledge of principles and practices of public administration; knowledge of collective bargaining and retirement administrative appeal processes; knowledge of principles and practices of governmental accounting; knowledge of personnel and payroll practices and procedures; considerable interpersonal skills; considerable oral and written communication skills; ability to analyze financial and actuarial reports; ability to prepare financial statements and statistical reports; ability to utilize computer systems for administrative and fiscal management; supervisory ability.

Eight (8) years of experience in employee benefit and/or retirement administration.

Two (2) years of the General Experience must have been at the professional working level in the administration of retirement and benefits plans and programs.

Note: For state employees the Special Experience is interpreted at the level of Retirement and Benefits Officer or Retirement Counselor.

1. College training may be substituted for the General Experience on the basis of fifteen (15) semester hours equalling one-half (l/2) year of experience to a maximum of four (4) years for a Bachelor's degree.
2. A Master's degree in business administration or public administration or a closely related field may be substituted for one (l) additional year of the General Experience.

Preference will be given to the candidate who possesses:
• A minimum of 10 years of HR or State Pension system experience with at least 5 years of service supervising staff in a collective bargaining environment;
• Ability to coach, train, and motivate employees;
• Demonstrated experience processing various transactions for state employees, including but not limited to:  benefits enrollment, preparation and completion of state employee retirement applications;
 Excellent problem solving, leadership, and customer service skills;
• Ability to remain calm and courteous under pressure and navigate tense situations;
• Demonstrated experience conducting training seminars and developing training materials;
• Experience counseling employees on retirement and benefit issues;
• Experience administering and interpreting collective bargaining and/or stipulated agreements;
• Demonstrated expertise in researching and analyzing employee records in Core-CT;
• Strong time management skills and demonstrated ability to prioritize tasks and competing priorities in an effective and efficient manner;
• The ability to maintain partnerships across state agencies.

AN AFFIRMATIVE ACTION/EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER

The State of Connecticut is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer and strongly encourages the applications of women, minorities, and persons with disabilities.