Description

Aspire Public Schools NorCal — Retirement Manager

Job Description 

About Aspire NorCal 

Founded in 1998, Aspire Public Schools has served scholars and communities across California for nearly three decades. With Aspire Los Angeles transitioning into an independent organization, the Bay Area and Central Valley regions are coming together to form Aspire NorCal, operating 22 schools serving approximately 10,000 scholars across Northern California (Oakland, Richmond, East Palo Alto, Sacramento, Stockton, Modesto, and Ceres). 

This evolution comes at an important moment for Aspire. Changes in California’s funding, policy, enrollment, and operating environment have created an opportunity to rethink how the organization supports its schools and scholars in its next chapter. The formation of Aspire NorCal creates an opportunity to strengthen support for schools across teams previously organized by geography, improve the consistency and effectiveness of school support, and create clear accountability systems for organizational and scholar outcomes. The new model will require the organization to balance greater coherence across Aspire NorCal with responsiveness to the different communities and contexts of its schools. 

Aspire NorCal enters this transition with a long-standing mission focused on post-secondary success and a deep commitment to educational equity, along with decades of institutional knowledge across its schools and teams. Preserving those strengths while building Aspire NorCal as a unified region will be central to the work ahead. 

About the role 

The Retirement Manager supports the organization by managing the reporting of retirement and health and welfare programs in accordance with the objectives, standards, and procedures of Aspire Public Schools. The successful candidate is knowledgeable in qualified defined contribution retirement/savings plans and defined benefit/pension plans, and performs 403(b) compliance reporting, CalPERS and CalSTRS reporting, and benefit plan reconciliations.

The Retirement Manager also resolves escalated retirement issues, supports governmental filings, assists the Controller and/or CFO with retirement solutions and strategies, and supports payroll functions during peak processing periods (such as the beginning and end of the year).

Key Responsibilities

• Develop and maintain comprehensive knowledge of CalPERS and CalSTRS and their regulations, and a general understanding of defined benefit plan funding and reporting requirements.

• Administer day-to-day retirement and benefit plans, including contribution funding, data analysis, reporting, and research; maintain plan documents and summary plan descriptions.

• Administer qualified and non-qualified plans, including the defined benefit pension plan, 403(b) plan, defined contribution profit sharing plan, and other non-qualified plans, ensuring compliance with government regulations and plan provisions.

• Ensure compliance with ERISA and with applicable federal, state, and local laws; review and analyze changes to laws pertaining to retirement benefits.

• Review defined benefit calculations and payments for accuracy and timeliness.

• Oversee, manage, and complete all retirement-related audits (CalSTRS, CalPERS, and 403(b)), collaborating with Accounting, Finance, and HR.

• Serve as the Retirement Service Level Agreement between Aspire NorCal and Aspire LA

• Develop training materials and deliver live training sessions on Aspire retirement benefits offerings, industry updates, and best practices; maintain a robust set of payroll tools and Q&A materials. 

• Advise on correct retirement plan placement (CalSTRS vs. CalPERS) for all roles based on job description evaluations.

• Oversee an internal Investment Committee and serve as liaison between the committee and the retirement plan administrator.

• Respond to retirement-related tickets, questions, and inquiries in a timely, customer-focused manner, and communicate with external plan administrators.

• Work with HR and vendors to ensure accurate, timely submission of Form 5500 and other regulatory filings.

• Provide payroll support during peak processing periods.

• Demonstrate knowledge of, and support, the Aspire Public Schools mission, vision, and values, including antiracism, and uphold confidentiality standards and the code of ethical behavior.

• Perform other related duties as required and assigned.

Qualifications 

Education

• Bachelor's degree in business or public administration or a closely related field, with benefits administration coursework or training.

Experience

• 5+ years of analytical or human resources/benefits experience; retirement benefits administration experience desired.

• Minimum 2+ years of US pension plan administration experience in a large organization or through consulting; direct experience with CalPERS and CalSTRS required.

• Vendor management experience; knowledge of third-party recordkeeping and benefits administration, including reporting.

Skills and competencies

• Excellent analytical and problem-solving ability and balanced judgment; ability to work with large databases and provide meaningful analysis.

• Advanced Excel skills; ability to analyze benefits programs using metrics.

• Influence and partnering skills across HR, Finance, and Payroll.

• Excellent written, verbal, interpersonal, and negotiation skills.

• Strong organizational and project management skills.

Compensation and benefits

The salary range for this role is $96,024 to $123,267 annually in accordance with our salary schedule policy, commensurate with experience. This full-time, exempt position offers a comprehensive benefits package, including:

• Eligible for Aspire health benefits

• Retirement through CalSTRS or CalPERS, depending on the role's credential requirements, with a 403(b) option

• Paid time off and additional teammate benefits to be determined in accordance with updated employee value proposition to be shared prior to offer.  

Aspire NorCal is conducting a comprehensive study of our employee value proposition, which could lead to material changes in July 2027.

Location and work arrangement

• Work location and in-person expectations for this role are being finalized as part of our broader NorCal planning. We will share clarity with candidates in the coming weeks

Aspire NorCal expects to provide Finance, Accounting, Payroll, and Retirement services to Aspire LA under a multi-year service agreement, and part of this department’s budget is expected to depend on that agreement.  If the agreement is not finalized, is not renewed, or ends early, Aspire NorCal may reduce the department’s size accordingly, and any position in the departments listed above may be impacted.  Employment with Aspire is at-will

Application Deadline: November 20, 2026.

Equal opportunity 

Aspire Public Schools is an equal opportunity employer. We consider all qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, age, sex (including pregnancy, sexual orientation, and gender identity), disability, genetic information, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, or local law. Aspire Public Schools provides reasonable accommodations during the application and interview process.

Disclaimer

We may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support parts of the hiring process, such as reviewing applications, analyzing resumes, or assessing responses. These tools assist our recruitment team but do not replace human judgment. Final hiring decisions are ultimately made by humans. If you would like more information about how your data is processed, please contact us.