CALIFORNIA STATE TEACHERS' RETIREMENT SYSTEM CAREER EXECUTIVE ASSIGNMENT EXAMINATION ANNOUNCEMENT

California State Government supports equal opportunity to all regardless of race, color, creed, national origin, ancestry, sex, marital status, disability, religious or political affiliation, age, sexual orientation, medical condition or pregnancy. It is an objective of the State of California to achieve a drug-free work place. Any applicant for state employment will be expected to behave in accordance with this objective because the use of illegal drugs is inconsistent with the law of the State, the rules governing Civil Service, and the special trust placed in public servants.

DEPARTMENT:	CALIFORNIA STATE TEACHERS' RETIREMENT SYSTEM	RELEASE DATE:	Thursday, June 28, 2012
POSITION TITLE:	Director, Client Outreach and Guidance (COG)	FINAL FILING DATE:	Friday, July 13, 2012
CEA LEVEL:	CEA 2	EXTENDED FINAL FILING DATE:
SALARY RANGE:	$ 7,815.00 - $ 8,616.00 / Month	BULLETIN ID:	06272012_1

POSITION DESCRIPTION
Under the general direction of the Deputy Chief Executive Officer of Plan Design and Communication, the Director of Client Outreach and Guidance (COG) has full management authority over the member counseling, counselor training and outreach efforts to our members and employers. In that capacity, the Director has broad and complete responsibility for the administration of the program aspects, formulation of strategic goals and objectives, and communication efforts for the member counseling and educational outreach programs. The Director makes policy decisions that directly affect member education, field counseling operations and outreach activities.

The Director is fully responsible for planning, organizing, directing and monitoring the work of the COG staff, the benefits counselors, the operations of member service centers, and manages the operation of any enterprise wide projects affecting its areas of responsibility. There are several distinct areas of COG managed by the Director such as member education on financial services and the benefit programs, staff training on changes in the benefit structure, counseling services and quality assurance of those services, outreach efforts on the Defined Benefit, Defined Benefit Supplement, Cash Balance Benefit and Pension2 programs and the innate ability to offer seamless scheduling of workshops and online counseling interviews for CalSTRS members.

The Director also participates in cross-functional senior management teams to ensure that benefit structure and member expectations are measured, and set in motion policy changes for approval by the Executive Staff, the Board and other control agencies, when necessary. The Director can also be called upon as a key representative to CalSTRS when testifying before an administrative law judge regarding member related issues and other control agencies as deemed appropriate.

SUMMARY OF SERVICES PROVIDED BY CLIENT OUTREACH AND GUIDANCE

These services fall under the responsibility of the Director, Client Outreach and Guidance.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS
Applicants must meet the following minimum qualifications:

Either I
Must be a State civil service employee with permanent civil service status or who previously had permanent status in the State civil service.

Or II
Must be a current or former employee of the Legislature, with two or more consecutive years as defined in Government code § 18990.

Or III
Must be a current or former non-elected exempt employee of the Executive Branch with two or more consecutive years (excluding those positions for which salaries are set by statute) as defined in Government Code § 18992.

Or IV
Must be a person retired from the United States military, honorably discharged from active military duty with a service-connected disability, or honorably discharged from active duty as defined in Government Code Section 18991.

(1) Knowledge of the organization and functions of California State Government including the organization and practices of the Legislature and the Executive Branch; principles, practices, and trends of public administration, organization, and management; techniques of organizing and motivating groups; program development and evaluation; methods of administrative problem solving; principles and practices of policy formulation and development; and personnel management techniques; the department’s or agency’s Equal Employment Opportunity Program objectives; and a manager’s role in the Equal Employment Opportunity Program.

(2) Ability to plan, organize, and direct the work of multidisciplinary professional and administrative staff; analyze administrative policies, organization, procedures and practices; integrate the activities of a diverse program to attain common goals; gain the confidence and support of top level administrators and advise them on a wide range of administrative matters; develop cooperative working relationships with representatives of all levels of government, the public, and the Legislature and Executive branches; analyze complex problems and recommend effective courses of action; and prepare and review reports; and effectively contribute to the department’s or agency’s Equal Employment Opportunity objectives.

CEA Level 1. Supervisory/administrative experience in a line or staff activity, including the execution and/or evaluation of program policies.

CEA Levels 2 and 3. Broad administrative or program manager experience with substantial participation in the formulation, operation, and/or evaluation of program policies.

CEA Levels 4 and 5. Extensive managerial and program administrative experience which has included substantial responsibility for a combination of management functions such as program planning; policy formulation; organization coordination and control; and fiscal and personnel management. Where high technical professional qualifications are of primary importance in performing the duties of a given CEA position, then the above required experience may have been in a staff capacity exercising professional skills to influence and contribute to program, policy, and methods of providing those professional services. Primary examples are medical doctors and attorneys.

2. Demonstrated leadership skills necessary to attract, motivate, develop and retain qualified staff.

3. Experience in strategic planning, resource management and performance measurement and evaluation.

4. Experience at the managerial level building strong business relationships internally and externally that add value to the organization.

5. Experience at the managerial level with teamwork and collaboration in pursuit of the mission, vision and goals.

6. Experience in integrating the following values within organizations: Customer Service, Accountability, Trust, Leadership, and Respect.

Applicants must demonstrate the ability to perform high level administrative and policy influencing functions effectively in educating public school educators on retirement planning concepts. Such overall ability requires possession of most of the following more specific knowledge, skills, and abilities:

2. Extensive knowledge of complex financial educational programs for CalSTRS members.

3. Knowledge of complex financial instruments (e.g., IRC 403(B), 401(K), 457).

4. Ability to direct activities in offices located elsewhere in California. 5. Executive level experience administering and evaluating member education programs.

6. In depth knowledge of the design and administration of pension programs and ability to effectively administer counseling activities.

7. Knowledge of the principles, practices and trends of public administrations, organization and management; program development, implementation and evaluation criteria.

8. Knowledge of the methods of administrative problem solving; principles and practices of policy formulation and development; equal employment opportunity and anti-discrimination programs.

9. Ability to achieve defined objectives in a timely and cost effective manner; to plan, organize and direct the work of multi-disciplinary professional and administrative staff.

10. Ability to direct the preparation of complex research, studies and analysis that require decisions that weigh potential risks for CalSTRS legislative resolutions on proposals and plan design issues.

11. Knowledge and ability to effectively contribute to CalSTRS strategic plan, mission, vision and core values.

12. Ability to represent CalSTRS both internally and externally to gain support and understanding of CalSTRS goals and objectives.

13. Executive experience performing high administrative and policy-influencing functions effectively.

14. Ability to a have high level of flexibility and adaptability for a range of diverse activities due to multiple projects and program modifications to changing business needs.

EXAMINATION INFORMATION
A minimum rating of 70% must be attained to obtain list eligibility. Hiring interviews may be conducted with the most qualified candidates. All candidates will receive written notification of their examination results. The result of this examination will be used only to fill the position of Director, Client Outreach and Guidance (COG), with the CALIFORNIA STATE TEACHERS' RETIREMENT SYSTEM. Applications will be retained for twelve months.

The Results of this examination will be used only to fill this position and may be used to fill subsequent vacancies for this position for a period of up to twelve months.

STATEMENT OF QUALIFICATIONS

2. Please share your experience on influencing adults to make hard decisions, particularly financial decisions. How would you engage our members on making timely financial decisions?

3. In your experience, what is the most effective way for adults to learn? What kind of education curriculum would you develop for our members?

4. Tell us about a time you had to create a highly functional work group. What steps did you take?

As applicable, within each response, you must include the civil service classification (public sector) or position title (private sector) held, the number of years performing the duties/tasks described, the organization at which it was performed, and the size of staff managed.

When replying to your Statement of Qualifications, please follow these guidelines:

Applications submitted without the above information will be disqualified from the examination process.

FILING INSTRUCTIONS
Applicants must file their application packages with the California State Teachers’ Retirement System either in person or by mail at the address listed below. All application packages must be received no later than 5:00 p.m. on the final filing date of July 13, 2012, to be considered. ALL MATERIALS PERSONALLY DELIVERED, RECEIVED VIA U.S. POSTAL SERVICE OR ANY OTHER DELIVERY SERVICE AFTER 5:00 P.M. ON THE FINAL FILING DATE WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED.

Interested applicants must submit:

• A completed Standard State Application (Form 678).
• A "Statement of Qualifications". The Statement is a narrative discussion of how the candidate's education, training, experience, and skills meet the minimum and desirable qualifications and qualify them for the position. The Statement of Qualifications serves as a documentation of each candidate's ability to present information clearly and concisely in writing and should be typed and no more than four pages in length.
• Resumes do not take the place of the Statement of Qualifications.

Applications must be submitted by the final filing date to:

CALIFORNIA STATE TEACHERS' RETIREMENT SYSTEM, Human Resources Office, Personnel Services
100 Waterfront Place, West Sacramento, CA 95605
Kristel Turko | (916) 414-4954 | kturko@calstrs.com

SPECIAL TESTING
If you have a disability and need special testing arrangements, mark the appropriate box in Part 2 of the "Examination Application." You will be contacted to make specific arrangements.

GENERAL INFORMATION
If you meet the requirements stated in this bulletin, you may take this examination, which is competitive. Possession of the entrance requirements does not assure a place on the eligible list. Your performance in the examination described on this bulletin will be compared with the performance of others who take this test, and all candidates who pass will be ranked according to their scores.

The CALIFORNIA STATE TEACHERS' RETIREMENT SYSTEM reserves the right to revise the examination plan to better meet the needs of the service if the circumstances under which this examination was planned change. Such revision will be in accordance with civil service law and rules and all competitors will be notified.

General Qualifications: Candidates must possess essential personal qualifications including integrity, initiative, dependability, good judgment, and ability to work cooperatively with others.

Class specs:  CEA and Exempt Appointees