Human Resources Specialist - Retirement Specialist

Section 16-Human Resources 

16/8777/HRS/07.03.24-MV

About this position:

This position is located in the Department of Transportation and Development, Headquarters Human Resources Office in the Payroll and Benefits Unit. The position works under the supervision of a Human Resources Manager A.

The incumbent is solely responsible for managing the agency's retirement program for 4,200+ employees. The position serves as the liaison between the Louisiana State Employees' Retirement System (LASERS), LA School Employees' Retirement System (LSERS),  Teachers  Retirement  System  of  LA  (TRSL),  and  LA  Deferred  Compensation. The incumbent functions independently on retirement related issues, and when needed, assists the HR Manager A on an agency-wide basis. The incumbent must have outstanding interpersonal communication skills; an expansive knowledge of all the requirements of the laws and procedures of each retirement system, Louisiana Revised Statutes, Retirement Board policies, Civil Service rules and internal policies; the ability to provide in-depth retirement guidance; and basic accounting skills to calculate/reconcile fiscal year retirement earnings and contributions.

Please visit our DOTD Career Center for more information about our agency:

http://wwwsp.dotd.la.gov/Inside_LaDOTD/Divisions/Mgmt_Finance/HR/Pages/Career_Center.aspx

This position may be filled as either a probational appointment (open to all qualified applicants); a promotion (open to all statewide classified and Agency-wide permanent status employees); or by detail to special duty.

Special Entrance Rate (SER)

Human Resources Specialist - $1,821.60/biweekly

Progressive Premium Pay for hours actually worked

0 months to less than 2 years - $1.00/hour

2 years to less than 4 years - $1.50/hour

4 years or greater - $2.00/hour

AN IDEAL CANIDATE SHOULD POSESS THE FOLLLOWING COMPETENCIES:

• Communicating Effectively (CE): The ability to relay information correctly and appropriately to connect people and ideas.

• Displaying Expertise (DE): The ability to exhibit specialized skills or knowledge gained from experience or training.

• Making Accurate Judgments (MAJ): The ability to form an opinion objectively and decisively based on relevant information and in accordance with established standards.

No Civil Service test score is required in order to be considered for this vacancy.

To apply for this vacancy, click on the "Apply" link above and complete an electronic application, which can be used for this vacancy as well as future job opportunities. Applicants are responsible for checking the status of their application to determine where they are in the recruitment process. Further status message information is located under the Information section of the Current Job Opportunities page.

• Resumes WILL NOT be accepted in lieu of completed education and experience sections on your application. Applications may be rejected if incomplete.*

For further information about this vacancy please contact:

Jessamye Charette

DOTD/Human Resources Manager

1201 Capitol Access Rd

Baton Rouge, La 70802

225-379-1675

The Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development (DOTD) is an equal employment opportunity employer and serves as a model employer for individuals with disabilities. DOTD does not discriminate in employment on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, political affiliation, disability, age, or pregnancy, and prohibits harassment of any type.

Information on the Louisiana Workforce Commission, Louisiana Rehabilitation Services is available - https://www.laworks.net/workforcedev/lrs/lrs_main.asp.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:

A baccalaureate degree plus three years of professional level human resources experience.

SUBSTITUTIONS:

a. Six years of full-time work experience in any field may be substituted for the required baccalaureate degree.

Candidates without a baccalaureate degree may combine work experience and college credit to substitute for the baccalaureate degree as follows:

A maximum of 120 semester hours may be combined with experience to substitute for the baccalaureate degree.

30 to 59 semester hours credit will substitute for one year of experience towards the baccalaureate degree.

60 to 89 semester hours credit will substitute for two years of experience towards the baccalaureate degree.

90 to 119 semester hours credit will substitute for three years of experience towards the baccalaureate degree.

120 or more semester hours credit will substitute for four years of experience towards the baccalaureate degree.

College credit earned without obtaining a baccalaureate degree may be substituted for a maximum of four years full-time work experience towards the baccalaureate degree. Candidates with 120 or more semester hours of credit, but without a degree, must also have at least two years of full-time work experience tosubstitute for the baccalaureate degree.

b. A Master's in Business Administration, Public Administration, Human Resources/Personnel, Industrial/Organizational Psychology, or Organizational Behavior will substitute for one year of the required experience. (The college transcript must indicate the major as business administration, public administration, human resources/personnel, etc. Master's degrees in fields such as marketing, economics, etc. are not acceptable.)

c. Possession of a Juris Doctorate will substitute for one year of the required experience.

Advanced degrees with less than a Ph.D. will substitute for a maximum of one year of the required experience.

d. A Ph.D. in Business Administration, Public Administration, Human Resources/Personnel, Industrial/Organizational Psychology, or Organizational Behavior will substitute for two years of the required experience.

All advanced degrees will substitute for a maximum of two years of the required experience.

e. Certification by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) as a Professional in Human Resources (PHR), a Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR), a Certified Professional (CP) or a Senior Certified Professional (SCP) will substitute for a maximum of one year of the required experience.

NOTE:

In order to receive credit, your certification must be current (i.e., issued within the last three years). If you have been certified and your certification expires, you must apply for and be re-certified before you can get credit again. Information regarding certification may be obtained from the Human Resource Certification Institute, 1800 Duke Street, Alexandria, Virginia, 22314. Phone: 866-898-4724 or Fax: 703-535-6474.

NOTE:

Human resources experience is that experience gained in an office whose sole responsibility is the administration of a comprehensive personnel program including many if

not all of the following programs: recruitment, selection and placement; training; equal employment opportunity; disciplinary and grievance proceedings; classification and wage; payroll; and employee relations OR experience gained in an office whose sole responsibility is the administration of one aspect of a comprehensive personnel program, such as training, payroll, or equal employment opportunity.

NOTE:

Any college hours or degree must be from an accredited college or university.

Function of Work:

To perform specialized tasks in the maintenance of human resources functions.

Level of Work:

Advanced.

Supervision Received:

Direct from a Human Resources Supervisor, Human Resources Manager, or higher level administrative official.

Supervision Exercised:

May supervise one lower level Human Resources Analyst.

Location of Work:

May be used by all state agencies.

Job Distinctions:

Differs from Human Resources Analyst C by the presence of serving as a technical specialist over assigned programs.

Differs from Human Resources Supervisor by the absence of direct supervision of two or more subordinates, one of which must be a professional Human Resources position.

Please refer to the approved DSCS Allocation Criteria Memorandum for specific allocation requirements.This position is located in the Department of Transportation and Development, Headquarters Human Resources Office in the Payroll and Benefits Unit. The position works under the supervision of a Human Resources Manager A.

The incumbent is solely responsible for managing the agency's retirement program for 4,200+ employees. The position serves as the liaison between the Louisiana State Employees' Retirement System (LASERS), LA School Employees' Retirement System (LSERS), Teachers Retirement System of LA  (TRSL),  and  LA  Deferred Compensation. The incumbent functions independently on retirement related issues, and when needed, assists the HR Manager A on an agency-wide basis. The incumbent must have outstanding interpersonal communication skills; an expansive knowledge of all the requirements of the laws and procedures of each retirement system, Louisiana Revised Statutes, Retirement Board policies, Civil Service rules and internal policies; the ability to provide in-depth retirement guidance; and basic accounting skills to calculate/reconcile fiscal year retirement earnings and contributions.
35%      Internal Retirement Benefits Administrator

Advises individual employees on retirement issues such as eligibility, retirement options (Deferred Retirement Option Plan), disability retirement, survivors benefits, regular and early retirement options, considerations after retirement, and options for disposition of leave balances approaching retirement. Researches discrepancies and coordinates adjustments between employees and Office of State Uniform Payroll (OSUP), LASERS, and other retirement systems to resolve issues. Independently compiles data and prepares responses to requests from OSUP, Legislative Auditor's Office, Secretary of State, LA Attorney General's Office, various retirement systems (state and public), public officials, LA Deferred Compensation Plan executives, LASERS auditors and surviving family members regarding retirement reported earnings, missing documents, employer contributions, employee contributions, changes to retirement and/or DROP dates. Calculates and manually reports retirement contributions to LSERS, if necessary. Converts unused leave balance hours to days and reports to respective retirement systems. Processes requests for purchase of service credit from employees or other retirement systems by researching and compiling employment history and contributions. Generates and responds to correspondence regarding employees and retirees, to provide accurate interpretation of specific situations and cases. Maintains and reports data to retirement systems regarding active employee earnings, retiree fiscal year earnings, sick leave usage, etc. Tracks and monitors changes during each Legislative Session and provides interpretation of legislation agency-wide.  Keeps abreast of the latest trends in benefit management; attends relevant training, seminars and meetings. Compiles, evaluates, and analyzes policies, rules, laws, and procedural changes. Drafts correspondence to employees and administrators regarding changes, as they occur. Generates applicable LaGov HCM reports to maintain accuracy of retirement benefits.
30%      Human Resources Retirement Consultant

Provides technical assistance and oversight to HQ/Field Human Resources staff in determining retirement eligibility. Coordinates information between the retirement systems, HR Analysts, and employees/retirees. Audits retirement documents from Analysts and completes necessary information on all LASERS, TRSL, LSERS, and Deferred Compensation documents before transmission to the respective agency. Disseminates updated forms, memos and policy changes that are pertinent to retirement to appropriate parties. Develops and updates training manual and materials for HR workshops related to retirement. Conducts ongoing training of Field and HQ Human Resources staff on employee retirement issues and procedures. Independently generates weekly/biweekly reports to monitor accuracy of benefit plans in LaGov HCM and performs updates as needed.
20%       Agency Liaison

Serves as the Department's liaison with OSUP on retirement issues, LASERS, TRSL, LSERS, and Deferred Compensation, auditing agency reports and independently providing immediate resolutions to retirement benefit issues. Represents the agency by attending meetings, seminars, workshops, etc. related to retirement. Develops, organizes, and coordinates agency retirement workshops designed to train and educate employees/pre-retirees statewide on various options regarding retirement. Conducts presentations and provides program information for the agency's New Employee Orientation. Receives and disseminates updated program information to agency employees. Coordinates agency meetings between LA Deferred Compensation representatives and HQ employees. Regularly generates rep011s independently to monitor LA Deferred Compensation pa11icipants' maximum allowable annual contribution limits, to ensure they are not exceeded.
10%     Educational Leave/ Tuition Reimbursement Administrator

Interprets application of DOTD PPM# 17, Educational Leave/Tuition Reimbursement, to address questions and offer guidance to employees and agency managers. Reviews applications for educational leave and/or tuition reimbursement to determine eligibility, and forwards eligible applications to the Undersecretary for consideration. Drafts correspondence related to educational leave and tuition reimbursement, and accurately maintains a spreadsheet of approved applicants and their contract expiration dates. Processes payments of tuition reimbursement in LaGov HCM, upon receipt of appropriate documentation of satisfact01y course completion. Generates and compiles reports related to educational leave and tuition reimbursement, as needed.
5%          Special Projects

May be required to perform duties as necessa1y, including, but not limited to, emergency/disaster support activities.