Manager, Retirement Administration

Job Summary

The Manager, Retirement Administration owns the implementation, and coordination of the university's retirement tracks and programs, and will collaborate on plan design considerations. This position will enable the strategy for the retirement department, be responsible for administration of the retirement plan and associated regulatory administration requirements, and ensure that the retirement savings administration team is performing at high capacity in their day-to-day operations. Additionally, this role will serve as an essential team member or project manager for key retirement plan initiatives. The Manager, Retirement Administration will bring exemplary customer and relationship management skills to successfully foster a cohesive team environment and strong relationships with university partners and external vendors. This role will help enable USC's vision while championing USC's culture and values.

Minimum Qualifications

The candidate for the position of Manager, Retirement Administration must meet the following qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in business, accounting, finance, economics, or another related field.

• Seven or more years of experience in human resources and/or retirement plan administration.

• Two or more years of experience leading teams in a management or leadership role.

• Advanced working knowledge and understanding of retirement plan administration, associated regulations, and IRS tax rules.

• Experience in retirement plan administration in a high-volume, fast-paced environment.

• Experience performing all facets of daily qualified and non-qualified plan administration including but not limited to processing of contributions, loans, distributions, hardship withdrawals, QNECs and QDROs.

• Experience performing non-discrimination and other testing and providing strategic alternatives for correction of failures and present options to improve future nondiscrimination tests.

• Experience ensuring compliance with applicable laws and regulations.

• Experience managing a team by providing feedback, assessment, encouragement, and support to achieve goals and drive positive change.

• Demonstrated excellence in providing personalized customer service.

• Demonstrated project management experience, providing effective oversight from inception to delivery.

• Demonstrated ability to effectively manage time, prioritize tasks, work independently, and maintain confidentiality.

• Excellent communication and facilitation skills with a wide variety of internal and external business partners and a proven track record of building strong collaborative relationships with senior stakeholders.

• Strong research, analytical, critical thinking, problem-solving skills, and decision-making skills.

• Proficiency with Microsoft Office applications (Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint) ServiceNow, and a working knowledge of Workday.

Preferred Qualifications

The ideal candidate for the position of Manager, Retirement Administration has the following qualifications:

• Advanced degree in business, accounting, finance, economics, or another related field.

• Ten or more years of experience in human resources and/or retirement savings administration.

• Five or more years of experience leading teams in a management or leadership role

• Experience in retirement administration and/or higher education, including 401(a), 403(b), 401(k), 457(b) and defined benefit plans.

• Ability to promote change and build understanding, acceptance, and commitment of that change.

• Experience workingcloselywith senior leadership and executives, including identifying needs, developing action plans, identifying deliverables, and presenting results and recommendations.

• Ability to identify knowledge and resource gaps and comfort utilizing industry trends to create opportunities for development.

• Track record of positive influence of department culture during change through trust-building.

• Ability to train staff on emerging industry trends and ensure quality baseline of department knowledge.

• NAPA/ASPPA Certification, or other similar certification.

• Certified Benefits Professional, Certified Employee Benefit Specialist, , or other similar certifications.

Job Responsibilities

The candidate for the position of Manager, Retirement Administration will be responsible for:

• Advising benefits leadership on matters pertaining to retirement programs. Providingmanagerial support toretirement savings administration specialists. Serving as a main point of contact for allretirement vendor relationships and partners within the HR organization. Reviewing and resolving escalated concerns and issues related to retirementplans and administration. Overseeing and advising on all facets of daily plan administration including processing of contributions, loans, distributions, and hardship withdrawals. Demonstrating working knowledge and understanding of retirement plan administration and associated regulations and IRS tax rules.

• Supporting leadership in fiscal management including budgeting and staffing. Communicating to team members how university retirement strategies drive long-term business goals through fostering culture and improving workforce retainment. Managing relationships between the university and any third parties, such as benefits consultants and administrators, to enable retirement program success. Researching and collaborating on appropriate benefit plan design alternatives based on data analysis and trends with appropriate team members.

• Supervising day-to-day operations related to retirement plan consultations and ensuring efficient support for team members. Communicating critical changes in a timely manner. Coaching team members to exhibit exemplary customer service when guiding faculty and staff through retirement planning and completion. Performing non-discrimination and other testing, providing strategic alternatives for correction of failures, and presenting options to improve future nondiscrimination tests.

• Communicating with team members openly and transparently to maintain efficiency, resolve challenges, and socialize current progress. Communicating with HR Systems & Data Analytics team and vendors as needed to ensure accurate data reporting and tracking. Providing timely and constructive feedback to team members to maintain high performance. Maintaining open lines of communication with the HR organization and serving as the main point of contact for retirement vendor relationships. Communicating with clients and customers in a timely and professional manner. Conducting group benefits presentations for and/or individual interviews with employees regarding retirement and pension options. Coordinate with the service center on training needs and supporting the development of knowledge base articles.

• Developing and maintaining records of participants and beneficiaries including active, deferred, retired, and separated members.

• Monitoring vendor activity including compliance with service level agreements, key metrics, and ongoing performance reporting.

• Evaluating the work performance of members of the retirement team in a fair and unbiased manner. Analyzing program utilization and collaborating on recommendations on initiatives to improve cost-effectiveness. Managing, reviewing, and resolving escalated retirement issues. Demonstrating fairness, impartiality, and integrity in decision-making.

• Developing trusting, crediblerelationshipsfrom demonstrated ethicaljudgment, behavior, and practiced confidentiality. Promoting an environment that fosters inclusive relationships and creates unbiased opportunities for contributions through ideas, words, and actions that uphold principles of the USC Code of Ethics.

• Leveraging retirement programs as a mechanism to highlight university culture and bolster USC's reputation as a destination employer. Communicating understanding of alignment between retirement to overall HR strategy to direct reports to ensure a common team direction. Demonstrating, through words, actions, and ideas, alignment to USC's strategic plan and the HR organization's strategic plan. Enabling the university to fulfill its academic and people missions through enhanced HR service.

• Performing other related responsibilities as requested and when necessary. The University reserves the right to add or change duties at any time.

Required Documents and Additional Information

Resume and cover letter required (may be uploaded as one file). Please do not submit your application without these documents.

The budgeted salary range for this position is $117,399 - $130,000. When extending an offer of employment, the University of Southern California considers factors such as (but not limited to) the scope and responsibilities of the position, the candidate's work experience, education/training, key skills, internal peer equity, federal, state, and local laws, contractual stipulations, grant funding, as well as external market and organizational considerations.

The University of Southern California is an Equal Opportunity Employer

Minimum Education: Bachelor's degree Addtional Education Requirements Combined experience/education as substitute for minimum education Minimum Experience: 7 years in HR and/or retirement administration And 1 year in a leadership/management role Minimum Skills: Bachelor's degree in business, accounting, finance, economics, or another related field. Seven or more years of experience in human resources and/or retirement plan administration. Two or more years of experience leading teams in a management or leadership role. Advanced working knowledge and understanding of retirement plan administration, associated regulations and IRS tax rules. Experience in retirement plan administration in a high volume, fast paced environment. Experience performing all facets of daily qualified and non-qualified plan administration including but not limited to processing of contributions, loans, distributions, hardship withdrawals, QNECs and QDROs. Experience performing non-discrimination and other testing and providing strategic alternatives for correction of failures and presents options to improve future nondiscrimination tests. Experience ensuring compliance with applicable laws and regulations. Experience managing a team by providing feedback, assessment, encouragement, and support to achieve goals and drive positive change. Demonstrated excellence providing personalized customer service. Demonstrated project management experience, providing effective oversight from inception to delivery. Demonstrated ability to effectively manage time, prioritize tasks, work independently, and maintain confidentiality. Excellent communication and facilitation skills with a wide variety of internal and external business partners and a proven track record of building strong collaborative relationships with senior stakeholders. Strong research, analytical, critical thinking, problem solving skills and decision-making skills. Proficiency with Microsoft Office applications (Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint) ServiceNow and a working knowledge of Workday. Preferred Education: Master's degree Business Administration Master's degree Accounting Master's degree Economics Master's degree in related field(s) Preferred Certifications: NAPA/ASPPA Service Provider Certification, or other similar certification. Certified Employee Benefits Specialist - CEBS (IFEBP) Certified Compensation Professional - CCP (WorldatWork) Preferred Experience: 10 years in higher education And 4 years in a leadership/management role Preferred Skills: Advanced degree in business, accounting, finance, economics, or another related field. Ten or more years of experience in human resources and/or retirement savings administration. Five or more years of experience leading teams in a management or leadership role Experience in retirement administration and/or higher education, including 401(a), 403(b), 401(k), 457(b) and defined benefit plans. Experience working closely with senior leadership and executives, including identifying needs, developing action plans, identifying deliverables, and presenting results and recommendations. Ability to identify knowledge and resource gaps and comfort utilizing industry trends to create opportunities for development. Track record of positive influence of department culture during change through trust-building. Ability to train staff on emerging industry trends and ensure quality baseline of department knowledge. NAPA/ASPPA Certification, or other similar certification.