Chief of Claims Management

California Department of Industrial Relations; Sacramento (CA); On-site; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

The California Department of Industrial Relations seeks an experienced executive to provide strategic leadership for the Subsequent Injuries Benefit Trust Fund, Unemployed Employers Benefit Trust Fund, Return-to-Work Supplement Program, and the Audit & Enforcement Unit. You will authorize high-value settlements, guide regulatory modernization, represent the department to state agencies, and serve as final escalation for complex claims and audits.

Travel and public speaking are required.

Qualifications

• Describe your experience—years—advising on legislative initiatives to improve oversight and modernize processes with concrete examples.
• Describe your experience—years—monitoring changes in workers’ compensation laws and overseeing benefit trust funds and audits, with examples.
• Describe your experience—years—familiarity with the statutory framework of SIBTF/UEBTF and ensuring timely delivery of benefits with examples.
• Describe your experience—years—mentoring and directing a multidisciplinary team of managers and analysts, with performance and succession examples.
• Describe your experience—years—shaping high-level policy and advising executive leadership on sensitive issues with examples.
• Describe your experience—years—engaging external stakeholders through public speaking, briefings, and collaborative policy efforts with examples.

Job description

Job Description And Duties

This position provides executive leadership and strategic oversight of the Subsequent Injuries Benefit Trust Fund, Unemployed Employers Benefit Trust Fund, Return-to-Work Supplement Program, and the Audit & Enforcement Unit, ensuring statutory compliance and fiscal solvency. Highlights include authorizing high-value claim settlements and fund disbursements, directing legislative/regulatory modernization efforts, representing DWC before state agencies and stakeholders, and serving as the final escalation point for the most complex claims and audit matters. Public speaking, attendance at conferences and travel required. You will find additional information about the job in the Duty Statement.

Working Conditions

This position is located at:
1750 Howe Avenue Suite 370
Sacramento, CA 95825-3367
In office at minimum 4 days per week; will need to travel within California.
There is only one position that may be filled in either Sacramento or Alameda. Please complete the Conditions of Employment, located in Additional Documents as Organizational Chart, and indicate which location(s) you are willing to accept employment.

Special Requirements

• Describe your experience, including number of years , advising on and implementing legislative and regulatory initiatives to improve management oversight and modernize business processes. Please provide an example(s) of your experience.
• Describe your experience, including the number of years , monitoring changes in workers’ compensation laws , experience overseeing special disability or benefit trust funds and/or claims audit and enforcement functions. Please provide an example(s) of your experience.
• Describe your experience, including the number of years, demonstrating your knowledge of the statutory framework governing the Subsequent Injuries Benefits Trust Fund (SIBTF) and the Uninsured Employers Benefits Trust Fund (UEBTF), and describe your approach to ensuring timely delivery of benefits to injured workers. Please provide an example(s) of your experience.
• Describe your experience, including the number of years, mentoring and directing a multidisciplinary team of managers and analysts. How did you evaluate performance, foster technical expertise and ensure effective succession planning. Please provide an example(s) of your experience.
• Describe your experience, including the number of years, influencing executive-level decision-making and shaping high-level policy direction within a complex organization, including advising and supporting executive leadership on sensitive, high-impact issues requiring strategic judgment and alignment with organizational priorities. Please provide an example(s) of your experience.
• Describe your experience, including the number of years, effectively engaging external stakeholders while representing leadership through public speaking, briefings, and collaborative efforts that inform and advance policy initiatives. Please provide an example(s) of your experience.

Applicants will also be evaluated on how clearly and concisely their qualifications were presented throughout the SOQ (including grammar and punctuation).

Who May Apply

Individuals who are eligible to be appointed to this Career Executive Assignment (CEA) by the State of California.

Final Filing Date: 10/11/2026

Applicants requiring reasonable accommodations for the hiring interview process must request the necessary accommodations if scheduled for a hiring interview. The request should be made at the time of contact to schedule the interview. Questions regarding reasonable accommodations may be directed to the EEO contact listed on this job posting.

Equal Opportunity Employer

The State of California 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.

It is an objective of the State of California to achieve a drug-free work place. Any applicant for state employment will be expected to behave in accordance with this objective because the use of illegal drugs is inconsistent with the law of the State, the rules governing Civil Service, and the special trust placed in public servants.