Senior Retirement Investment Officer - Promotional

Job Description:

Senior Retirement Investment Officer - Promotional

Description

Position Information

This recruitment is promotional only. You must presently be a full or part-time regular or probationary County of Sonoma, Community Development Commission, Sonoma County Fairgrounds, or Sonoma County Water Agency employee in order to apply for this position. The Sonoma County Employees' Retirement Association (SCERA) has requested a department promotional certification to fill a Senior Retirement Investment Officer position. Only qualified permanent and/or probationary SCERA employees on the eligible list may be eligible for referral to the department for the advertised position. This employment list may also be used to fill future full-time or part-time positions as they occur during the active status of the list.

Under the direction of the Chief Retirement Investment Officer, the Senior Retirement Investment Officer provides oversight, analysis, and planning for SCERA's Investment Program. The position is responsible for managing the retirement plan's asset allocation within prescribed policy ranges, anticipating cash flow requirements and investment funding needs. As such, the work involves balancing multiple high-priority projects with strict deadlines while supporting fiduciary oversight of a multi-billion-dollar investment portfolio. The position exercises significant independent judgment in analyzing investment opportunities, evaluating manager performance, and developing recommendations, and will independently conducts investment research and financial analysis requiring advanced technical expertise. Duties of the position include:

• Managing and analyzing investment performance
• Evaluating the performance of investment service providers
• Meeting with investment managers to evaluate products and firms
• Reviewing, negotiating, and administering contracts for services
• May coordinate and direct the work of Retirement Investment Officers and other investment staff
• Serving as a principal advisor to the Chief Retirement Investment Officer on assigned asset classes and investment initiatives
• Frequently interacting with the Board of Retirement, Investment Committee, investment consultants, custodians, investment managers, attorneys, auditors, executive management and participating service providers
• Representing SCERA during manager due diligence meetings, investment conferences, and industry events
• Working collaboratively with Finance, Administrative Services, Member Services, and Executive staff on organization-wide initiatives

The position has standard weekday business hours with occasional early morning, evening, or extended hours to accommodate Board meetings, investment committee meetings or events, or travel. In addition, periodic overnight travel is required to conduct due diligence visits, conferences, and educational programs.

The selected candidate will possess a demonstrated commitment to fiduciary responsibility, transparency, and ethical decision-making. In addition to strong collaboration, communication, and analytical skills, the ideal candidate will have impeccable character and ethics, and many of the following:

• Experience managing institutional investment portfolios for a public pension fund, endowment, foundation, or other institutional investor
• A thorough understanding of institutional asset allocation, portfolio construction, manager selection, investment risk, and performance measurement
• Experience evaluating traditional and alternative investments including equities, fixed income, real estate, infrastructure, private equity, and real assets
• Knowledge of public pension governance and fiduciary responsibilities
• Experience presenting complex investment information to governing boards or executive leadership
• Experience supervising investment professionals and coordinating multiple investment initiatives
• Advanced Excel skills and preferably some experience using Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools in performing analytical work
• Desirable but not required is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA), or Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA), or Masters in Business Administration (MBA), with an emphasis in investment management or similar focus
• Also desirable but not required is continuing education in institutional investing, pension fund management, alternative investments, fiduciary governance, ESG considerations, and investment risk management

Application submissions require the Supplemental Questionnaire to be completed.

Minimum Qualifications

Experience and Education: Any combination of education and experience that would provide the opportunity to acquire the knowledge and abilities listed. Normally, this would include possession of a Bachelor's or equivalent degree in finance, accounting, economics, business administration or closely related field AND five years of investment experience in a public agency or financial institution which involved investment portfolio management, formulating, recommending, and implementing investment strategies, financial analysis, economic analysis, and/or investment reporting or performance measurement; OR a Master's degree or equivalent with the emphasis in any of the above listed areas and four years of experience in the above listed areas. Experience in retirement benefits administration, a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation, and experience leading or supervising staff are highly desirable.

License: Possession of a valid driver's license at the appropriate level including special endorsements, as required by the State of California, may be required depending upon assignment to perform the essential job functions of the position. The position advertised on this announcement does not require possession of a valid California Driver’s License.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

Thorough knowledge of: the principals and practices of institutional investing; financial analysis; risk monitoring, economic and market trends and conditions; applicable investment laws, rules and regulations; benchmarking; administrative analysis; statistics and actuarial analysis.

Working knowledge of: the principals of pension administration and retirement benefits administration.

Ability to: think strategically related to the management of a public pension system investment portfolio; analyze and communicate the strategies related to complex financial investments; perform complex financial analysis; prepare and write reports or presentations; establish and maintain effective working relationships; effectively communicate verbally and in writing; make presentations to Boards and management groups; work collaboratively with an executive board; supervise, plan, organize, direct, and evaluate the work of subordinates; exercise appropriate judgment in answering questions and releasing information.

Selection Procedure & Some Helpful Tips When Applying

• Your application information and your responses to the supplemental questions are evaluated and taken into consideration throughout the entire selection process.
• You should list all employers and positions held within the last ten years in the work history section of your application. Be as thorough as possible when responding to the supplemental questions.
• You may include history beyond ten years if related to the position for which you are applying. If you held multiple positions with one employer, list out each position separately.
• Failure to follow these instructions may impact your competitiveness in this process or may result in disqualification.

Please visit Getting a Job with the County of Sonoma to review more detailed information about the hiring process, including the application process, examination steps, and department selection process.

Application submissions require the Supplemental Questionnaire to be completed.

Responses to supplemental questions may be scored using position-specific criteria. Please provide specific and detailed responses of a reasonable length to allow for a thorough assessment of your qualifications. Responses that state, "See Resume" or "See Application" may be considered insufficient and therefore may not be scored.

The selection procedure will consist of the following examination:

An Application and Supplemental Questionnaire Appraisal Examination (weight 100%) will be conducted to evaluate each applicant's application and supplemental questionnaire for satisfaction of minimum qualifications (pass/not pass); and for educational coursework, training, experience, knowledge, and abilities which relate to this position. Personally identifiable information (PII) is removed from the standard application fields and applicable attachments. This PII blind screening practice redacts a candidate’s personal information that could potentially influence or bias the scoring process. Personal information includes the applicant’s name, former last name, address, phone number, email, driver's license number, school name, education start and end dates, age, date of birth, gender, and race. This PII blind screening practice helps contribute to a fair and equitable examination process.

Each applicant will be evaluated based on the following criteria:

• Relevance of work history, related experience, and achieved level of education and/or training as described in the application and responses to the supplemental questions.

Candidates demonstrating possession of the minimum qualifications will be placed on an employment list in order of most qualified to least qualified based on the achieved score received in the Application and Supplemental Questionnaire Appraisal Examination which evaluates the education, training, experience, skills, knowledge, abilities, and other qualifications that you demonstrate in your application and/or response to the supplemental questionnaire. Please be aware that resumes and cover letters are not typically evaluated in the Application and Supplemental Questionnaire Appraisal Examination. Scores may be adjusted based on such factors as the number of candidates, anticipated vacancies, past practice, and natural breaks in the scores achieved by this group of candidates.

Additional Information

A background investigation may be required prior to employment. Candidates referred to departments for a selection interview are typically required to sign authorization and release forms enabling such an investigation. Failure to sign prescribed forms will result in the candidate not being considered further for that vacancy. Reference information will not be made available to candidates.

Additional requirements, such as successful completion of a physical exam, drug screen, etc., may apply, depending on the duties and responsibilities of the position. If you receive a conditional job offer for the position, the requirements upon which the offer is contingent will be outlined in the conditional job letter. You may also review the Job Classification Screening Schedule to determine the requirements for this position.

How to Apply

Applications are accepted online at www.yourpath2sonomacounty.org . Paper applications may be submitted by person, fax (707-565-3770), email, or through the mail. All applications and appropriate supplemental information as outlined in the job announcement must be received by the time and date specified on the first page of this job announcement. Applications received after the recruitment closes will not be accepted.

The County of Sonoma values diversity and is dedicated to creating a workplace environment that provides individuals with a sense of belonging. We are committed to having a diverse workforce that is representative of the communities we serve. The County is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer where all aspects of employment are based on merit, competence, performance, and business need.

HR Analyst: DP

HR Technician: KK

Important Note: Benefits described herein do not apply to Extra Help positions.

County of Sonoma Benefits: Management*

These are some of the excellent benefits the County offers:

Paid Time Off: Competitive vacation accrual and sick leave accruals; additional management leave annually; 12 paid holidays, and an additional 8 floating holiday hours per year; and may be eligible for up to 8 weeks (320 hours) of Paid Parental Leave after 12 months of County employment.

Health Plan: Choose from nine health plans (three HMOs, three deductible HMOs, and three HSA-qualifying plans) with a generous County contribution to the premium (the contribution amount varies by bargaining unit). For more information, please see the appropriate MOU.

Retirement: Fully integrated with Social Security. For more information regarding eligibility, retirement contributions, and reciprocity with prior public service, please visit https://scretire.org/active-/-deferred/when-you-are-hired .

IRS 457 Plan: Pre-tax employee contribution up to the IRS annual maximum.

Retiree Medical: County contribution to a Health Reimbursement Arrangement to help fund post-retirement employee health insurance/benefits.

Student Loan Debt Relief: County employees may be eligible for Public Service Loan Forgiveness through the U.S. Department of Education.

Plus, excellent dental, vision, disability, life insurance, professional development, and more.

For answers to specific questions regarding the employment process and more details about benefits or retirement, please contact Human Resources at (707) 565-2331. Additional details about benefit and compensation packages can be found in the MOUs located at Labor Agreements & Salary Resolution . For specific information about health and welfare benefits, including plan options, coverage, and premium amounts, go to Human Resources or contact the Human Resources' Risk Management-Benefits Office at [email protected] or (707) 565-2900.

*Important Notes: Benefits described herein do not represent a contract and may be changed without notice.

Closing Date/Time: 7/31/2026 11:59 PM Pacific

Salary:

$163,859.79 - $199,173.86 Annually