Principal Office Specialist - Human Resources Department

Job Description:

Principal Office Specialist - Human Resources Department

Description

Our diverse and inclusive workforce of more than 7,000 employees play a key role in the success of San José, the heart of the Silicon Valley. All City of San José employees work together as one team to make San José a vibrant, innovative, and desirable place to live and work. Visit here to learn more about our One Team Leadership Values and Expectations, including quality and excellent customer service and here to learn more about San José.

The City of San José is an equal opportunity employer. Applicants for all job openings will be considered without regard to age, race, color, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, disability, veteran status or any other consideration made unlawful under any federal, state or local laws. The City of San José is committed to offering reasonable accommodations to job applicants with disabilities. If you need assistance or an accommodation due to a disability, please contact us at 408-535-1285, 711 (TTY) , or via email at CityCareers@sanjoseca.gov .

About the Department

The mission of the Human Resources Department states: “Our Human Resources team recognizes that our employees power the City of San José and our success as a city is dependent on our ability to create a dynamic and engaged workforce. Our employees’ ability to provide excellent service is strengthened when we invest in attracting talent, provide opportunities for career growth, enable an environment focused on health, safety, and wellness, and retain a diverse workforce in a workplace that is equitable and inclusive.”

San Jose’s Human Resources Department offers key strategic support to the City and is responsible for the following core services:

Employee Benefits - Provide benefit programs that best meet the needs of employees, retirees, their dependents, and the City, assist participants in effectively utilizing their plans and promote employee wellness.

Employment Services - Facilitate the City’s ability to attract and hire a diverse and talented workforce.

Health and Safety - Provide services that promote employee health, safety, and well-being.

Recruitment and Workforce Development - Lead Citywide recruitment strategies and oversee employee training and pipeline initiatives that drive growth, engagement, and long-term retention.

Strategic Support - Supports Citywide Human Resources Systems Management and Records Management, Departmental Administration, Customer Service, Personnel Management, Financial Management, and Emergency Response and Recovery.

The Employee Benefits team is comprised of eleven members which includes the Division Manager, two Senior Analysts, three Analysts, four Staff Specialists and one Principal Office Specialist. The Benefits team administers the City’s benefits programs including medical, dental, vision, employee assistance program, life, disability, flexible spending,

voluntary insurance, and deferred compensation programs, as well as leaves of absence, new employee orientations, and a robust wellness program.

For more information about Human Resources, please visit www.sanjoseca.gov/humanresources.

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Position Duties

The Human Resources Department is currently seeking to fill one (1) full-time Principal Office Specialist vacancy in the Benefits Division.

The salary range for this classification is: $74,627.28 - $90,679.68

This salary range includes an approximate five percent (5%) ongoing non-pensionable compensation. The actual salary shall be determined by the final candidates’ qualifications and experience.

This position requires a customer centric philosophy, strong attention to detail, initiative, and critical thinking. The primary responsibilities and functions of this role are customer service, administration, and transactional tasks to support Human Resources and the Employee Benefits Division. The Principal Office Specialist is the main point of contact for employees who have questions about, need assistance with, or have problems with their benefits.

Key functions include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Provide excellent customer service in responding timely to phone calls, e-mails, and walk-in customers.
• Independently investigating/researching problems and answering inquiries
• Analyzing and resolving customer issues and complaints
• Providing solutions to the customer and following up to ensure issues are resolved in a timely manner
• Providing accurate benefits information, explaining policies and procedures
• Assisting customers with on-line transactions in eWay (Employee Self Service HRIS system) and the associated review, follow-up, and processing of eWay transactions
• Present benefit information to new employees at the bi-weekly New Employee Welcome Orientation
• Administrative support for the Benefits staff and for all benefits plans including, but not limited to:
  • Determine employee and dependent eligibility.
  • Utilize PeopleSoft (HRIS system) to process benefits enrollments, changes and terminations.
  • Process manual enrollments with benefit vendors.
  • Conduct benefit audits.
  • Produce and/or maintain informational materials/reports/forms (ex: benefits statements, informational flyers/brochures, rate sheets, letters, etc.).
  • Maintain the Benefits website.
  • Support the annual Benefits/Wellness Fair and Open Enrollment and conduct and/or assist with Open Enrollment informational meetings
  • Supporting the administrative and transactional areas of leave management.
  • Running and exporting queries in PeopleSoft.
  • Assists with testing and implementation of new programs, system enhancements, and benefit plans.

• Assist with wellness initiatives, programs, and events, including coordination of employee engagement activities and incentives.

• • Support administration and logistics of New Employee Welcome.
  • Provide administrative support with I-9/Employment Verification.
  • Develop and improve administrative processes to accommodate changes in operations and HR strategic initiatives.
  • Filing and maintenance of benefit files - hardcopy and digital.
  • Act as back up to the HR Front Desk; answers multi-line telephone, screens calls, takes messages, and refers calls to the appropriate person.

Minimum Qualifications

Education: Completion of high school or equivalent (General Education Development [GED] Test or California Proficiency Certificate).

Experience: Three (3) years of experience in varied office clerical work.

Acceptable Substitutions: A bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university may be substituted for the required experience.

Desired Qualifications

• Education: Completion of 2 year or 4 year College Degree program (Associate or Bachelor’s Degree).
• Experience: Five or more years of experience in office/administrative work. Proficient with Microsoft Office 365. Experience with PeopleSoft or other HR Information Systems is highly desired. Experience with Microsoft Excel and Adobe Acrobat is also desired.

Other Qualifications

The ideal candidate will possess the following competencies, as demonstrated in past and current employment history.

Job Expertise - Demonstrates knowledge of and experience with applicable professional/technical principles and practices, Citywide and departmental procedures/policies and federal and state rules and regulations. PeopleSoft experience is highly desired.

Communication Skills - Effectively conveys information and expresses thoughts and facts clearly, orally and in writing; demonstrates effective use of listening skills and displays openness to other people's ideas and thoughts.

Computer Skills - Experience with common business computer applications including but not limited to: MS Outlook, MS Word, MS PowerPoint, MS Access, and MS Excel. Proficiency in Excel is highly desired.

Customer Service - Demonstrates the ability to anticipate customers' needs and deliver services effectively and efficiently using professional demeanor.

Flexibility - Makes effective decisions and achieves desired results in the midst of major changes in responsibilities, work processes, timeframes, performance expectations, organizational culture, or work environment.

Initiative - Exhibits resourceful behaviors toward meeting job objectives; anticipates problems, is proactive, and avoids difficulties by planning ahead; displays willingness to assume extra responsibility and challenges; pursues continuing education opportunities that promotes job performance.

Multi-tasking - Can handle multiple projects and responsibilities simultaneously; has handled a wide variety of assignments in past and/or current position(s).

Problem Solving - Approaches a situation or problem by defining the problem or issue; determines the significance of problem; collects information; uses logic and intuition to arrive at decisions or solutions to problems that achieve the desired outcome.

Reliability - Completes quality work assignments in a timely and efficient manner; fulfills responsibilities and maintains confidentiality as appropriate.

Teamwork and Interpersonal Skills - Develops effective relationships with co-workers and supervisors by helping others accomplish tasks and using collaboration and conflict resolution skills.

Selection Process :

The selection process will consist of an evaluation of the applicant's training and experience based on the application and responses to all the job specific questions. You must answer all questions to be considered or your application may be deemed incomplete and withheld from further consideration. Applicants are expected to write their own essays/responses. Please be advised that use of AI content in your responses may result in your removal from the hiring process. Only those candidates whose backgrounds best match the position will be invited to proceed in the selection process. Additional phases of the selection process will consist of one or more interviews.

If you have questions about the duties of these positions, the selection or hiring processes, please contact Ginger Quijano at Ginger.Quijano@sanjoseca.gov .

Additional Information:

Employment Eligibility: Federal law requires all employees to provide verification of their eligibility to work in this country. Please be informed that the City of San Jose will NOT sponsor, represent or sign any documents related to visa applications/transfers for H1-B or any other type of visa which requires an employer application.

You must answer all job-specific questions to be considered for this vacancy or your application will be deemed incomplete and withheld from further consideration. Applicants are expected to write their own essays/responses. Please be advised that use of AI content in your responses may result in your removal from the hiring process.

Please note that applications are currently not accepted through CalOpps or any other third party job board application system.

This recruitment may be used to fill multiple positions in this, or other divisions or departments. If you are interested in employment in this classification, you should apply to ensure you are considered for additional opportunities that may utilize the applicants from this recruitment.

Please allow adequate time to complete the application and submit before the deadline or the system may not save your application. If your online application was successfully submitted, you will receive an automatic confirmation email to the email address you provided. IF YOU DO NOT RECEIVE THE CONFIRMATION, please email CityCareers@sanjoseca.gov and we will research the status of your application.

The City of San Jose offers a wide range of core health benefits including Medical, Dental, Vision, Employee Assistance Program, Life Insurance, Disability, and Savings Plans. Please visit the City's benefits pagefor detailed information on coverage, cost, and dependent coverage.

For information on the City’s Retirement Plan(pension for full-time employees), please visit the Office of Retirement Services website. You will be able to view information based on different Sworn/Federated job classification.

In additional to the benefits above, there is an additional perks siteto explore further benefits of working for the City of San Jose like paid leave, educational reimbursements, and holiday pay are specific to the job classification and union membership.

Closing Date/Time: 9/2/2025 11:59 PM Pacific

Salary:

$74,627.28 - $90,679.68 Annually