Chief Counsel, ACERA

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

 

THE AGENCY
The Alameda County Employee's Retirement Association (ACERA) is a retirement system organized under the County Employees Retirement Law of 1937, which provides retirement, disability and death benefits to the employees, retirees and former employees of the County of Alameda, and certain other participating public employers. The retirement plan provides lifetime benefits to members of the retirement system who meet the minimum age and length-of-service requirements and is a significant and fundamental part of the comprehensive benefits package ACERA provides to eligible employees.  Over the years, ACERA has expanded its member services to include employees of the Alameda County-based Superior Court of California and the five special districts of the County, as well as to administer retiree health care, dental care, vision care, and supplemental cost-of-living benefits.

MISSION
To provide ACERA members and employers with flexible, cost-effective, participant-oriented benefits through prudent investment management and superior member services. Commitment (Board and Staff) to carry out our Mission through a competent, professional, impartial and open decision making process. In providing benefits and services, all persons will be treated fairly and with courtesy and respect. Investments will be managed to balance the need for security with superior performance. We expect excellence in all activities. We will also be accountable and act in accordance with the law.

THE POSITION
ACERA is recruiting for Chief Counsel to conduct, organize and direct the legal activities and services of ACERA including providing advice on matters related to County Employees Retirement Law of 1937 (1937 ACT), all aspects of public retirement law, Public Employees' Pension Reform Act (PEPRA) of 2013, and other pension and management related issues.

The Chief Counsel serves as legal advisor to the ACERA Board of Retirement and ACERA staff, represents ACERA in civil cases and advises on matters of civil law, and does related work as required. This requires deep knowledge of legal principles and proficiency in civil law, especially as it applies to public pension plans. Appointed by, and reporting to the Chief Executive Officer, the Chief Counsel serves as a critical member of the Senior Management Team. The Chief Counsel provides legal advice and representation on complex legal matters in support of ACERA’s pension and non-vested benefit programs for select medical and supplemental benefits, disability, investment portfolio and actuarial functions.

The Chief Counsel oversees a Legal Department of six employees including three Associate Counsels, an Administrative Specialist, and two Administrative Support Specialists.   

THE IDEAL CANDIDATE  
The ideal candidate will be a legal professional with a  track record of experience as a legal generalist with exceptional analytical skills.  This person will be well-versed in California law as it applies to governmental agencies with deep experience in transactional/ advisory work in a public agency. He/she is energetic, self-motivated, dependable, and highly ethical with a proven track record for providing sound and practical legal advice on a range of public law topics. Additionally, the ideal candidate for this position will have exceptionally strong interpersonal and communication skills.

In addition to meeting the minimum requirement of the position, the ideal candidate with the following competencies and characteristics will be considered highly competitive:

• A relationship-builder who embraces an environment focused on problem-solving, collaboration and teamwork
• Strong candidates will possess exceptional leadership and management skills in developing and leveraging the expertise of the Legal Department staff in an environment of teamwork, collaboration, and mutual trust
• Political Sensitivity
• Detail oriented with strong problem solving skills
• Ability to provide excellent oral and written legal advice during public and closed sessions of the Board of Retirement and others; provide excellent oral and written advice to the Chief Executive Officer, staff and others as required

 

Either I

The equivalent of five years’ full-time experience in the class of Associate Counsel, ACERA or Deputy County Counsel in the Alameda County classified service. (Non-classified includes District Attorney’s Office, Hospital Authority, and the Consolidated Courts.)

Or II

The equivalent of six years’ full-time increasingly responsible experience as an attorney in the practice of civil law.

Licenses:

Current membership in the California State Bar.
California Class “C” Driver’s License.

NOTE: The Civil Service Commission may modify the above Minimum Qualifications in the announcement of an examination.
 

NOTE: The level and scope of the following knowledge and abilities are related to duties listed under the “Examples of Duties” section of this specification.

Knowledge of:

• Legal research.
• Principles and practices of constitutional, civil and administrative law and procedures.
• California statutory and constitutional law.
• Provisions of law and rules of procedure governing the conduct of hearings before administrative bodies.
• Provides legal services for a local, State or Federal public agency (preferably a public pension plan).
• Behaviors required in order to function effectively in a work team environment.

Ability to:

• Perform legal research.
• Analyze, appraise, and apply legal principles, facts and precedents to legal problems.
• Analyze situations accurately and adopt an effective course of action.
• Present oral and written statements of fact, law and argument in a clear, logical and persuasive manner.
• Prepare correspondence and reports.
• Exercise good judgment and make sound decisions on legal casework and in dealing with people.
• Work effectively with hearing officers, attorneys, elected officials and ACERA staff in a sensitive and diplomatic manner.
• Establish and maintain professional relationships in a team environment with members of the Retirement Board, ACERA staff, members of the Retirement Association, other government agencies, legal, medical and investment professionals and other consultants.
• Manage and provide leadership to a professional staff, including attracting, motivating, developing and retaining talent.
• Maintain the highest ethical standards and conduct with a reputation of integrity
• Establish and build rapport by modeling values-based behavior.

THE EXAMINATION WILL CONSIST OF the following steps:
1) A review of candidates' 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 candidate's final examination score. The oral interview may contain situational exercises.

CANDIDATES MUST ATTAIN A QUALIFYING RATING ON EACH PORTION OF THIS EXAMINATION.

We reserve the right to make changes to the announced examination components. 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.

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:	Friday, December 16, 2016* Updated 11/22/2016  Tuesday, November 22, 2016
Review of Applications for Minimum Qualifications:	TBD November 23, 2016
Review of Supplemental Questionnaire for Best Qualified:	TBD November 29, 2016
Oral Examination:	TBD Week of December 12th, 2016

*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

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 & Welfare Benefits

• Medical – HMO & PPO Insurance
• Dental – PPO & DHMO Insurance  
• Vision
• Basic Life Insurance 
• Supplemental Life Insurance (with optional dependent coverage) 
• County Allowance (Employer Credit)
• Health Flexible Spending Account
• Dependent Care Flexible Spending Account
• Accident, Critical Illness & Hospital Indemnity
• Long Term Care Insurance
• Employee Assistance Program

For your Financial Future

• Short-term Disability Insurance
• Long-Term Disability Insurance
• Retirement Plan – (Defined Benefit Pension Plan)
• Deferred Compensation Plan

For your Work/Life Balance

• 11 paid holidays
• Vacation and sick leave accrual
• Vacation purchase program
• Management Paid Leave**
• Group Auto/Home Insurance
• Commuter Benefits Program
• Group Legal
• 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
• 1^st 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.

All notices related to County recruitments for which you have applied will be sent/delivered via email. Please add @acgov.org and alamedacountyHR@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 insure 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 box alamedacountyHR@acgov.org 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 bulletin for the recruitment for which you have applied.

Anna Montoya
Human Resources Analyst III
Human Resource Services Division-County of Alameda
510-272-6459
www.acgov.org

Alameda County is an Equal Opportunity Employer