The City and County of San Francisco

Company Description

Application Opening: Monday, June 2, 2025

Application Deadline: Candidates must apply by Wednesday July 2, 2025 at 11:59 p.m. (PST) for consideration. The application portal will close at 12:00 a.m. on July 3, 2025.

Compensation Range: $189,878-$242,398 annually.

The San Francisco Health Service System (SFHSS) was established in 1937 to provide medical care for municipal employees. SFHSS is responsible for all health benefits administration, including medical, dental, vision, flexible spending accounts (FSA), and a wide array of voluntary benefits for the employees, retirees, and covered dependents of the City and County of San Francisco (CCSF), San Francisco Unified School District, City College of San Francisco, and Superior Court of San Francisco.

Today, we serve over 130,000 employees, retirees, and their covered dependents. The department is comprised of seven divisions: Administration, Finance, Member Services Communications, Enterprise Systems and Analytics (ESA), Contracts, and Well-Being.

SFHSS' Mission

SFHSS is dedicated to ensuring quality and sustainable benefits that enhance the whole-person health and well-being of our members and their families throughout their lifecycles.

One of the most popular tourist destinations in the world, San Francisco is a city of truly international character with an eclectic mix of Victorian and modern architecture and a highly diverse cosmopolitan population. With approximately 810,000 residents in a 47 square mile area, San Francisco is the seventeenth most populous city in the United States and the fourth most populous city in California. The City is an internationally famous tourist destination known for its iconic landmarks like the Golden Gate Bridge, Fisherman’s Wharf and Alcatraz Island, and its diverse culture and arts scene. For the sports fans, San Francisco is home to the Giants and Golden State Warriors, with the 49ers located nearby in the South Bay. With fourteen Fortune 500 companies headquartered in the City, and a large infrastructure of professional services, including law, public relations, architecture, and graphic design, populating downtown, San Francisco is a world-class city. With Silicon Valley nearby, San Francisco has also emerged as a high-profile technology center. The City is home to San Francisco State University with over 23,000 students, the City College of San Francisco, the University of San Francisco, the University of California San Francisco and UC Law San Francisco.

Job Description

The Chief Operating and Experience Officer (COXO) of the SFHSS reports directly to the Executive Director and works closely with the Chief Financial and Affordability Officer (CFAO).

The COXO is responsible for ensuring compliance with all local, state, and federal laws, regulations, and rules (including the Internal Revenue Code Section 125 regulations, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, and the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act.

The COXO oversees the department's Member Services Division and its call center, the Communications Division, and the Information Technology (IT) infrastructure. At the direction of the Executive Director, acts as liaison with other key San Francisco City and County departments: Department of Human Resources, Controller’s Office, Department of Technology, Payroll Division, and others. The COXO also provides leadership with the other three additional employers who participate in SFHSS benefits: the San Francisco Unified School District, the San Francisco Superior Court, and the San Francisco Community College District.

Chief Operating and Experience Officer (COXO) responsibilities-

• Developing and implementing strategic plans: The COXO helps the Executive Director execute SFHSS' vision by translating long-term goals into actionable strategies.
• Collaborating with other executives: The COXO works with the Executive Director, CFAO, and other SFHSS leaders to ensure alignment and success.
• Ensuring efficient and productive operations: This involves the development and monitoring of departmental budgets and ensure that reliable operational and system outcomes and metrics are tied to specific funding options.
• Overseeing and optimizing daily operations - This includes functions of SFHSS' Member Services, Communications, and Enterprise, Systems and Analytics Divisions.
• Prioritizing member experience: This includes understanding member needs, mapping member journeys, and ensuring positive interactions at every touchpoint.
• Driving member satisfaction and advocacy - The COXO focuses on building member satisfaction and acting as an advocate for the members.
• Measuring and improving member satisfaction: This involves monitoring key performance indicators (KPIs), gathering member feedback, and implementing changes to improve the experience.
• Collaborating with various teams: The COXO works with both internal teams and external partners to ensure a seamless and positive member experience.
• Additional duties-
• Member Services Duties
• Administer all employee and retiree benefit programs offered by SFHSS including medical, dental, vision, flexible spending accounts, group life, and disability insurance, and other voluntary benefits.
• Maintain up-to-date Section 125 plan (Cafeteria Plan) and appropriate HSS member rules (both approved by the Health Service Board).
• Establish, assess, review and document policies and procedures for the administration of SFHSS Benefit Programs to ensure quality, consistency, and fairness.
• Monitor and assess the effectiveness of operations and recommend potential policy, budget, system, or other changes to continuously improve operations.
• Develop, implement, and champion process improvement methodologies to improve operational quality and efficiency.
• Assist Operations Manager and the Member Services team to ensure delivery of accurate service with a high level of customer satisfaction, ensuring that all member communication is clear and appropriately documented.
• Respond to member appeals and compile materials for cases that need to be decided by the Health Service Board.
• Marketing and Communication Duties
• Oversee the development and implementation of a comprehensive SFHSS Communications plan to ensure the accuracy, clarity, and consistency of the contents of all communications with the members and partner groups.
• Ensure any annual changes to the SFHSS Benefit Programs and/or vendors are clearly addressed throughout the Open Enrollment process, and any periodic changes are communicated in a timely manner.
• Enterprise System & Analytics (ESA) Related Duties
• Develop and update functional business requirements and specifications for HRIS and other information systems utilized by SFHSS and oversee the implementation and integration of such requirements into new or existing systems with a focus on electronic enrollment and record storage.
• Oversee the build and upgrades with the high-quality vendor, employer, and other system interfaces and ensure that sound operational practices are in place to provide seamless and high-quality service to SFHSS members, as well as financial transparency for financial reporting and projection purposes.
• Other Duties
• Ensure up-to-date implementation of MOUs of CCSF, the SF Unified School District, the City College of San Francisco, and the San Francisco Superior Court.
• Oversee the design of ongoing SFHSS Operations training to enhance service.
• Ensure departmental compliance with Disaster Worker Protocols, Emergency Protocols, Controller, and Department of Environmental reporting.
• Represent the Department (when assigned) at Health Service Board or other public meetings or in discussions with vendors, employers, retirement system, members, or other HSS partner groups.

Qualifications

• Possession of a Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university and
• Five (5) or more years of managerial experience in employee benefits administration and analysis all of which must include supervision.
• Education Substitution: Additional experience as described above may be substituted for the required degree on a year-for-year basis, up to a maximum of two (2) years. Thirty (30) semester units or forty-five (45) quarter units equals one (1) year.
• Note: One year of full-time employment is equivalent to 2000 hours. (2000 hours of qualifying work experience is based on a 40-hour work week.) Any overtime hours that you work above forty (40) hours per week are not included in the calculation to determine full-time employment.
• Applicants must meet the minimum qualifications requirement by the application deadline

Desirable Qualifications

• Skilled in both operational management and customer experience strategies, ensuring a balanced approach
• Strong analytic and systems thinking and ability to coordinate and manage complex cross-functional projects given multiple competing priorities and/or perspectives
• Experience and ability to work effectively as a team member in high-pressure situations that require sound decision-making and may involve confidential or sensitive matters
• Experience in a customer service environment
• Experience with and knowledge of major benefit programs and applicable laws and regulations, such as COBRA, HIPAA, and Medicare
• Experience with Human Resource Information Systems management
• Facilitative leadership skills, change management leadership skills, employee motivation skills along with excellent interpersonal skills, including the ability to communicate with a highly diverse range of coworkers and partner groups
• Business planning and project management experience
• Ability to simultaneously develop hands-on-mastery while focusing on big-picture solutions and improvements
• Professional certification such as CEBS desired

Additional Information

The normal annual salary range A is $189,878-$242,398. Appointments above the maximum of the normal range may be considered based on documented and substantiated recruitment and retention issues or exceptional skills.

In addition to competitive salaries, the City offers flexible benefit plans with pretax elections which include medical and dental insurance; Retirement Plan; Deferred Compensation Plan; Social Security; Long-term Disability Plan; Life Insurance; paid Management Training program; 12 paid holidays per year; 5 floating holidays; 10-20 vacation days per year, depending on years of service; and 5 days of paid management leave per year.

HOW TO APPLY

Please include the following in your application: Cover Letter and Comprehensive Resume.

Verification of Experience and/or Education:

Every application is reviewed to ensure that you meet the minimum qualifications as listed in the job ad. Please review our articles on Employment Application and Minimum Qualifications and Verification of Experience and/or Education

Verification: Applicants may be required to submit verification of qualifying education and experience. Information on how to verify education requirements, including verifying foreign education credits or degree equivalency, can be found at How to Verify Education Requirements.

Note: Falsifying one’s education, training, or work experience or attempted deception on the application may result in disqualification for this and future job opportunities with the City and County of San Francisco.

All work experience, education, training and other information substantiating how you meet the minimum qualifications must be included on your application by the filing deadline. Resumes will not be accepted in lieu of a completed City and County of San Francisco application.

Additional Information Regarding Employment with the City and County of San Francisco:

• Information About the Hiring Process
• Conviction History
• Employee Benefits Overview
• Equal Employment Opportunity
• Disaster Service Worker
• ADA Accommodation
• Veterans Preference
• Seniority Credit in Promotional Exams
• Right to Work
• Copies of Application Documents
• Diversity Statement

Applicants will receive a confirmation email from notification@careers.sf.gov that their online application has been received in response to every announcement for which they file. Applicants should retain this confirmation email for their records. Failure to receive this email means that the online application was not submitted or received.

If you have any questions, you may contact Lauren Rowe at lauren.rowe@sfgov.org

The City and County of San Francisco encourages women, minorities and persons with disabilities to apply. Applicants will be considered regardless of their sex, race, age, religion, color, national origin, ancestry, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition (associated with cancer, a history of cancer, or genetic characteristics), HIV/AIDS status, genetic information, marital status, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, military and veteran status, or other protected category under the law.