Principal Accountant

SALARY:

$83,589.80 - $117,025.72 Annually, plus Benefits

CLOSING DATE:

Continuous

WHAT WE OFFER:

The County of Ventura offers an attractive compensation and benefits package that includes:

A general salary increase of 3.5% effective December 22, 2024.

New Hire Incentive: New hires may be eligible for a one-time New Hire Incentive up to 10% of the current annual base wage. (Subject to the applicable section of the SEIU 721 MOA 2019-2022, Amendment #6 (Secs. 3801 – 3803)

Merit Increases – New employees are eligible for an initial 5% merit increase within the pay range upon completion of at least 1,040 hours (approximately 6 months) assuming work meets satisfactory standards. Subsequent merit increases within the pay range will be upon completion of each additional 2,080 hours (approximately one year) from the initial merit increase.

Educational Incentive - An educational incentive of 2.5% for completion of an associate's degree, 3.5% for completion of a bachelor's degree, OR 5% for completion of a graduate degree.

Bilingual Incentive – Based on agency need, proficiency levels by exam are $.69 per hour (Level I), $1.00 per hour (Level II), or $1.32 per hour (Level III).

Certified Public Accountant (CPA) Pay - A premium of $.47 per hour for a maximum of 80 compensated hours per biweekly pay period will be paid to employees in this classification who possess and maintain a valid, current CPA license or certificate.

Flexible Workweek - A compressed work schedule (e.g., 9/80 workweek) may be available for some positions.

Telework Schedule - A remote hybrid telework schedule may be available for some positions.

Vacation Accrual – New regular, full-time employees shall accrue approximately 14 days of vacation a year for the first 10,400 hours or 5 years of service; vacation accruals increase at 5, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 and 20 years of service topping out at 26 days a year and 400 hours of vacation hours banked.

Annual Leave Redemption – After 14,560 hours of continuous County service an employee may elect to "cash in" or redeem up to 80 hours of vacation accrued in the same year after using 80 hours of vacation in the preceding 12 months.

Sick Leave - Full time regular employees accrue 3.08 hours of sick leave per bi-weekly pay period with an advance at hire of 40.04 hours which will be balanced at the completion of 13 bi-weekly pay periods.

Deferred Compensation - Eligible to participate in the County's 401(k) Shared Savings Plan and/or the Section 457 Plan. This position is eligible for up to a 3.00% match on your 401(k) contributions.

Health Plans–Full time employees are given a flexible credit allowance of up to $23,530 annually to offset the purchase of medical, dental, and/or vision insurance for you and your dependents.

o Employee only - $502 per biweekly pay period

o Employee plus one dependent - $730 per biweekly pay period

o Employee plus family - $905 per biweekly pay period

Flexible Spending Accounts - Pre-tax benefit towards eligible medical, dental and vision care and/or dependent care expenses.

Pension Plan - Participation in the County's defined pension plan, which has reciprocity with CalPERS.

Holidays - 12 paid days per year which, includes a scheduled floating holiday.

Additional Benefits - Tuition Reimbursement, Disability Plans, Employee Assistance Program, Life Insurance, Wellness Program.

OUR COUNTY AND COMMUNITY:

Ventura County is located on California's "Gold Coast," approximately 35 miles northwest of Los Angeles and 20 miles southeast of Santa Barbara. The County includes 42 miles of coastline which is home to the following cities and points of interest: Camarillo, Fillmore, Moorpark, Ojai, Oxnard, Port Hueneme, Santa Paula, Simi Valley, Thousand Oaks, and Ventura as well as national protected areas such as parts of the Angeles National Forest, Channel Islands National Park, and the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area. Ventura County’s beauty and weather combined with a wonderful quality of life are among the many reasons our residents choose to call Ventura County "home."

THE POSITION:

Under general direction, performs working supervisory accountant functions which are highly complex in assigned fiscal program area; functional areas of responsibility may include the supervision and direction of staff performing professional or technical accounting work in an assigned department or agency fiscal program area; non-supervisory, expert-level responsibility for planning, organizing and directing a major department finance program or function; and directing and supervising fiscal staff and operations within smaller department settings.

Principal Accountant is the fourth and highest working level in the Accountant series performing working supervisory accountant functions which are highly complex, but less policy focused than accountabilities assigned to management level positions. Functional areas of responsibility include the supervision and direction of staff performing professional or technical accounting work in an assigned department or agency fiscal program area; some positions may not directly supervise staff but instead may have expert-level responsibility for planning, organizing and directing a major department finance program or function; some positions may also direct and supervise fiscal staff and operations within smaller department settings.

AGENCY/DEPARTMENT:

Various

EDUCATION, TRAINING AND EXPERIENCE:

Any combination of education and experience which has led to the acquisition of the required knowledge, skills, and abilities. An example of qualifying education and experience includes:

EDUCATION:

Completion of a Bachelor's degree with at least eighteen (18) semester units of college-level accounting coursework, including two (2) semesters of Intermediate Accounting; AND Five (5) years of progressively responsible professional accounting experience, one (1) year of which must be at the lead or supervisory level; OR two (2) years as a Senior Accountant for the County of Ventura.

Education/Experience Substitution:

Professional level accounting experience may be substituted for up to two (2) years of undergraduate education on a year-for-year basis, provided the candidate possesses at least eighteen (18) semester units of college-level accounting coursework, including two (2) semesters of Intermediate Accounting.

NECESSARY SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS:

Verification of accounting coursework completed is required.

Depending on position, may require the possession of, or the ability to obtain prior to appointment and maintain, a valid California driver license.

OTHER REQUIREMENTS:

Verification of the required college degree and college-level coursework is required. Transcripts or grade reports from an accredited college or university which reflect the date your degree was conferred and passing grades in the required subject areas must be submitted to County of Ventura, Human Resources within three (3) business days of the recruitment closing date. If transcripts or grade reports are not submitted, your application will be screened out and you will not be allowed to continue in the process.

You may submit transcripts using one of the following options:

Attach the transcripts or grade reports to your application

Email the transcripts

Mail to Human Resources, 800 South Victoria Avenue, L#1970, Ventura, CA 93009

Unofficial transcripts are acceptable. Degree(s) from a foreign institution require an academic credential evaluation to determine the U.S. equivalency.

You must submit this documentation with your application, a hard copy with a paper application or a scanned PDF copy as an attachment for an online application. If you submit a hard copy with a paper application, be sure it's a copy. Whatever you submit will not be returned to you. To attach a PDF scanned copy to an online application, use the Add Attachment(s) link in the Attachments section of your application.

If the name on this documentation is different from the name on your application, include documents that show the name change (e.g., a marriage certificate).

COUNTY EMPLOYEES AS DISASTER SERVICE WORKERS:

When a disaster strikes of natural or manmade origin, Ventura County employees may be called upon to provide service to the community by assisting in emergency response efforts. This may require employees to work in other locations, different hours, and out of class. At the time of hire, all County employees will be required to sign an Oath or Affirmation of Allegiance for Disaster Service Workers and Public Employees (Sections 3102 and 3103, Government Code of California).

DESIRED:

Master's degree in Business Administration

Certified Public Accountant (CPA) license

HOW TO APPLY:

To apply online, please refer to our web site at www.ventura.org/jobs. If you prefer to fill out a paper application form, please call (805) 654-5129 for application materials and submit them to County of Ventura, Human Resources, 800 South Victoria Avenue, L-1970, Ventura, CA 93009.

NOTE TO APPLICANTS:

It is essential that you complete all sections of your application and supplemental questionnaire thoroughly and accurately to demonstrate your qualifications. A resume and/or other related documents may be attached to supplement the information in your application and supplemental questionnaire; however, it/they may not be submitted in lieu of the application.

NOTE:

The selection process will likely consist of an Oral Exam, which may be preceded or replaced with the score from a Training and Experience Evaluation (T&E), contingent upon the size and quality of the candidate pool. In a typical T&E, your training and experience are evaluated in relation to the background, experience and factors identified for successful job performance during a job analysis. For this reason, it is recommended that your application materials clearly show your relevant background and specialized knowledge, skills, and abilities. It is also highly recommended that the supplemental questions within the application are completed with care and diligence. Responses such as "See Resume" or "Refer to Resume" are not acceptable and may disqualify an applicant from further evaluation.

EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY:

The County of Ventura is an equal opportunity employer to all, regardless of age, ancestry, color, disability (mental and physical), exercising the right to family care and medical leave, gender, gender expression, gender identity, genetic information, marital status, medical condition, military or veteran status, national origin, political affiliation, race, religious creed, sex (includes pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding and related medical conditions), and sexual orientation.

CONTACT INFORMATION:

For further information about this recruitment, please contact Kim Mariscal by telephone at (805) 477-5153.