Cement and Concrete Workers District Council Fringe Benefit Funds

The Board of Trustees for the Cement and Concrete Workers District Council (“CCWDC”)  Fringe Benefit Funds (“Funds”) is seeking an experienced, diplomatic and skillful leader with a commitment to providing outstanding service to participants and beneficiaries of the Funds to become its next Fund Administrator.

Background:
The Funds are comprised of the Cement and Concrete Workers District Council Pension Fund, the Cement and Concrete Workers District Council Annuity Fund, the Cement and Concrete Workers District CouncilWelfare Fund, and the Cement and Concrete Workers District Council Scholarship Fund.

The primary purpose of the Funds is to provide benefits to eligible workers who are represented by the Cement and Concrete Workers District Council. The District Council represents over 3,000 workers from New York City who are members of Locals 6A, 18A, and 20. The Funds are jointly managed by a Board of Union Trustees and Employer Trustees.  The Funds are funded solely by Contributing Employers and eligible union members bear no out-of-pocket expenses to receive these benefits.

Located in Bayside, Queens, the Funds office is led by the Fund Administrator who oversees a team of highly committed and dedicated professionals, many of whom have been with the Funds office for a number of years.  They work collaboratively to address participants’ needs, ensuring they are addressed quickly and with accuracy.  The Funds’ ultimate goal is to achieve 100% satisfaction ratings from its participants.

Position:
In partnership with the Board of Trustees, the Fund Administrator ensures that the benefits meet the needs of the participants at the most efficient and cost-effective level. They oversee a staff of nine full-time employees and ensure that members experience high-quality care and service in all interactions with Fund representatives. The Fund Administrator also provides guidance in the best practices of communicating eligibility requirements and benefit changes or updates to participants.

The Fund Administrator must be comfortable and tactful in communicating with the individuals who benefit from the Funds as well as with Trustees, Fund Professionals and benefit partners. They must be able to work closely with the Board and Fund Office staff in an honest and respectful fashion that promotes inclusiveness, cooperation, and teamwork. In addition, they  will be diplomatic, analytical, and possess sound judgment as well as a sense of humor, humility, and compassion. They will serve as a role model to their staff—consistently demonstrating the highest standards of professionalism, diligence, and integrity in all aspects of work, including staff and Board relations, as well as expertise in member requirements, qualifications, and benefits.

Responsibilities:

Management and administration

• Provides general oversight of all of the Funds’ activities; oversees the day-to-day operations and assures a successful, efficient organization.
• Assures a positive and professional work environment that retains and supports quality staff. Assures process for selecting, developing, motivating, and evaluating staff.
• Assures program quality and organizational stability through development and implementation of standards and controls, systems and procedures, and regular evaluation.
• Specifies accountabilities for personnel and evaluates performance regularly.

Mission, policy and planning

• Helps determine the Funds’ mission, vision, and short- and long-term goals.
• Keeps the Board of Trustees fully informed of the condition of the Funds and the important influencing factors; participates and presents critical information during Board and committee meetings.
• Identifies problems and opportunities and addresses them; brings those which are appropriate to the Board and facilitates discussion and deliberation.
• Helps monitor and evaluate the Funds’ effectiveness to meet the needs of the participants.
• Recommends policies to further the Funds’ service to participants; ensures compliance with all local, state, and federal laws.
• Identifies opportunities for improvement and suggests goals designed to deliver required results.
• Informs the Board and their committees about trends, issues, problems and activities in order to facilitate policy-making and/or updates to procedures, policies, and benefits.
• Provides guidance on budget, legal matters, public issues, matters pertaining to the Funds and the rights of participants.
• Keeps informed of developments in benefit administration and labor relations, including changes in laws, rules and regulations affecting participants.
• Works with the Board of Trustees and Funds’ Professionals to achieve the goals of the Board of Trustees.

Governance

• Provides clear and timely communication of all changes, challenges, and updates; responds to all inquiries in a timely and professional manner; manages relations between union and employer trustees with diplomacy, transparency, and confidence.
• Works to enable the Board to fulfill their functions and facilitates the optimum performance by the Board, their committees, and the individual Trustees.
• Responds in a timely fashion to Board directives and requests for information.
• Focuses Board attention on long-range strategic issues and evolving needs of union members.

Financial Oversight

• Promotes programs and services that are produced in a cost-effective manner, employing economy while maintaining an acceptable level of quality that meets the needs of the union members and their families.
• Oversees the fiscal activities of the organization including budgeting, reporting and audit.
• Works with Board to oversee short- and long-term financial goals and to provide the highest quality of service and benefits to union members.

Required competencies

Critical competencies in the following broad categories: commitment to results, knowledge of private sector collective bargaining, federal labor laws, and ERISA.

• Knowledge of Labor Unions, Collective Bargaining and Federal Labor Laws: The Fund Administrator must have demonstrated experience working directly for or with collective bargaining parties–employers and labor unions–and support the core values embedded in this relationship.  They will be familiar with the laws, rules, and regulations concerning unions and collective bargaining and be able to anticipate changes affecting benefits administration.
• Business savvy: This position requires an individual with knowledge of and experience in management and administration, including demonstrated experience integrating and coordinating diverse areas of management.
• Leading strategic change: The Fund Administrator shares the Funds’ values, mission and vision. They consistently display integrity, model best practices and behavior, encourage professional growth, and build teams. This individual deals effectively and efficiently with demanding situations and designs and implements interventions.
• Knowledge in the following areas is required: finance and human resources; oral and written communications; strategy, planning and evaluation; and governance.
• Commitment to results: The Fund Administrator is a systems thinker who is mission focused and goal driven. This individual identifies relevant information and transforms this information into organizational knowledge.
• Motivating: The Fund Administrator manages continuity, change, and transition. This individual knows how to influence and enable others. They address the impact of attitude and action on the Funds.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in business, finance, or related fields, as well as advanced degree, preferred.
• Experience with Taft-Hartley, multiemployer fund operations and regulatory environments applicable to administering pension, annuity, and welfare benefits.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, including the ability to interact with staff, at all levels of the organization, as well as outside professionals and service providers.
• A professional with collaborative leadership skills, proven “hands-on” managerial style, excellent judgment, and strong work ethic.
• Strong decision-making and organizational skills with the ability to optimize the use of all available resources and deliver on multiple priorities.
• Strong project management skills, including the ability to multi-task and prioritize effectively in order to meet deadlines.
• Flexible, team player that can lead effectively as well as provide support to others.
• Innovative and creative thinker, including the ability to implement necessary changes.
• Appreciation for regulatory and political environment.
• Strong oral and written communication skills, including experience speaking publicly in diverse forums.
• Fluency using and understanding data to inform decision making.

The Funds’ offer a competitive salary and benefits package.  Base salary will be in the $175K to $200K range.  All positions at the Funds’ are filled without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, disability, HIV/AIDS status, veteran status or any other characteristic protected by law. All are encouraged to apply.

To learn more about the Funds, please visit https://www.ccwbf.org.