Program Manager - Office of Retirement Services, Pension Division

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 City employees. One plan is for sworn police and fire employees called the Police and Fire Department Retirement Plan. The other plan is for all other eligible City employees called the 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 retirement plan has a Board of Administration that has fiduciary responsibility over its respective plan. ORS staff is accountable to the Boards and to City Administration. ORS has about 46 positions spread among five 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. ORS also uses 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 Benefits Group functions.

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 help shape the Division’s future by leading strategic initiatives, modernizing business processes, implementing technology solutions, and collaborating across the organization to improve retirement services delivery.

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.

• 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,…