California Public-Agency Compensation and Benefits Specialist

AlphaHire is seeking an experienced California Public-Agency Compensation and Benefits Specialist for project-based consulting assignments. This professional will support compensation studies, benefit valuations, labor-cost analysis, report review, and presentations to executive teams and public-agency Boards.

The ideal consultant has direct experience working with California public agencies and understands the compensation, retirement, benefit, and labor-relations considerations affecting special districts and public utilities.

This is an independent contractor or subconsultant engagement—not an employee position or legal-counsel role.

Key Responsibilities

• Conduct and review compensation and benefits studies for California public agencies.
• Analyze salaries, classifications, premiums, allowances, and total compensation.
• Evaluate CalPERS retirement costs and provisions for classic members and PEPRA members.
• Value employer-provided health benefits, deferred-compensation contributions, leave programs, and premium-pay practices.
• Review compensation surveys, market-comparison methodologies, data sources, and findings for accuracy and defensibility.
• Develop fiscal-impact calculations and clearly explain underlying assumptions.
• Support meet-and-confer preparation through compensation analysis, costing, scenario modeling, and presentation materials.
• Provide technical support during labor discussions without acting or presenting as legal counsel.
• Review draft reports and help convert complex findings into clear, decision-ready recommendations.
• Prepare executive summaries, staff reports, presentations, and supporting materials for management and Board review.
• Present findings or respond to technical questions during executive, stakeholder, or public Board meetings when requested.
• Coordinate effectively with agency management, human resources, finance, labor-relations professionals, consultants, and legal counsel.

Required Qualifications

• Demonstrated experience conducting or supporting compensation and benefits work for California public agencies.

• Working expertise in CalPERS classic-member and PEPRA retirement provisions.

• Experience valuing health benefits, deferred compensation, paid leave, and premium pay as components of total compensation.

• Familiarity with the Meyers-Milias-Brown Act and California public-sector meet-and-confer processes.

• Experience supporting meet-and-confer activities through analysis, costing, research, or technical consultation.

• Strong quantitative, analytical, report-writing, and quality-review skills.

• Ability to explain technical findings clearly to nontechnical audiences.

• Experience preparing materials for executive or Board-level review.

• Ability to work independently, meet deadlines, and handle sensitive information professionally.

Preferred Qualifications

• Direct experience with California special districts, municipal utilities, public utilities, or similarly structured public agencies.
• Experience conducting classification and compensation studies, total-compensation surveys, or labor-cost analyses.
• Familiarity with public-agency salary schedules, memoranda of understanding, personnel rules, and publicly available compensation data.
• Experience presenting study findings during Board meetings or public proceedings.
• Prior consulting or subconsulting experience supporting public-sector engagements.
• Engagement Expectations
• The selected consultant must maintain independent professional judgment, produce accurate and well-supported work, and clearly document methodologies, assumptions, and limitations. Assignment scope, schedule, deliverables, and compensation will be established for each engagement.
• This role may provide analytical support related to labor relations and meet-and-confer activities. It does not provide legal advice and will not substitute for the agency’s labor counsel.

How to Apply

Please submit:

• A current resume or professional biography.
• A brief description of your California public-agency compensation and benefits experience.
• Examples of relevant special-district, utility, or comparable public-agency assignments.
• A description of your experience with CalPERS, PEPRA, benefit valuation, and meet-and-confer support.
• Your availability and proposed hourly or project-based rate.
• One or more professional references.
• Confidential or client-identifying work samples should not be submitted without authorization.