Retirement Compliance Officer

Bring your project management and risk assessment experience to the County of Sonoma. The Sonoma County Employees' Retirement Association is seeking a Retirement Compliance Officer. Starting salary up to $75.81/hour ($158,224/year) and a competitive total compensation package!*

The Sonoma County Employees' Retirement Association (SCERA) is a small office that values customer service, collaboration, professionalism, consistency, proactive planning, flexibility, and innovative problem-solving. We are committed to creating a diverse, equitable, and inclusive workplace where individuals from all backgrounds are welcomed, supported, and empowered to reach their full potential.

Reporting directly to the Assistant Chief Executive Officer/Chief Legal Counsel, the Retirement Compliance Officer serves as a member of SCERA’s management team and participates in manager meetings and organizational strategic planning. In this role, you will act in a lead and technical advisory capacity on compliance matters across all SCERA divisions. Working closely with division managers and staff, you will identify risks, evaluate controls, develop policies and procedures, implement mitigation measures, and provide compliance education.

In addition to department staff and the Retirement Board, you may interact with participating employers, affiliated organizations, vendors, regulatory agencies, outside professionals, members, and other stakeholders on compliance matters. In addition, you may need to provide direction to and/or supervise subordinate staff if assigned.

• Establishing, administering, and continuously improving SCERA’s organization-wide compliance program, including the compliance charter, program goals and priorities, policies and procedures, compliance calendar, and supporting systems
• Designing and conducting SCERA’s annual comprehensive risk assessment in collaboration with division managers and staff; identify, evaluate, and prioritize operational, fiscal, legal, regulatory, and program risks
• Conducting scheduled and targeted compliance reviews, monitoring, and internal control testing to evaluate compliance and determine whether controls are appropriately designed and operating effectively
• Monitoring and researching laws, regulations, Board policies, procedures, fiduciary requirements, and emerging compliance standards affecting SCERA; assess their impact and recommend necessary updates to policies, procedures, controls, or practices
• Developing recommendations to address identified risks or deficiencies; collaborating with management on corrective and mitigating actions, tracking remediation, and follow up on implementation
• Preparing and presenting compliance evaluations, findings, recommendations, status reports, and risk assessment results to management, the Audit Committee, and/or Board of Retirement
• Developing and delivering compliance education, orientation, and training for SCERA staff and the Board
• Receiving, reviewing, investigating, and documenting reports or complaints involving potential non‑compliance, fraud, abuse, or other compliance concerns and recommend appropriate responses
• Serving as SCERA’s technical advisor and organizational lead on compliance matters and participating in management meetings, strategic planning, and external committees or meetings as appropriate
• Working as a partner with management and staff to accomplish goals

In this role, you will use your consultation, facilitation, and interviewing skills to gather information, understand processes, and work with staff to identify practical solutions. In addition to strong research and analytical skills, you will possess many of the following:

• Experience designing, implementing, or managing an organization-wide compliance, enterprise risk management, internal audit, internal control, or fiscal compliance program
• Experience conducting risk assessments, compliance reviews, internal control evaluations, audits, investigations, or process reviews
• Knowledge of public pension systems, defined benefit plan administration, fiduciary responsibilities, and laws or regulations affecting public retirement…