Guardian and Estate Administrator - Public Fiduciary

Job Description Summary

Department - Public Defense Services

Job Description

Job Type: Unclassified

Job Classification: 1540 - Guardian and Estate Administrator

Salary Grade: 11

Pay Range

Hiring Range: $52,251 - $62,701 Annually 

Pay Range: $52,251 - $73,151 Annually 

Range Explanation: 

Hiring Range is an estimate of where you can receive an offer. The actual salary offer will carefully consider a wide range of factors, including your skills, qualifications, experience, education, licenses, training, and internal equity.,  

Pay Range is the entire compensation range for the position. 

The Pima County Public Fiduciary serves as the court-appointed Guardian, Conservator, or Estate Administrator (Personal Representative) to protect the legal rights and financial interest of vulnerable adults. The Public Fiduciary also administers the estates of deceased persons when there is no one else willing or able to serve per Arizona Revised Statutes. A fiduciary is someone who accepts the responsibility for taking care of the needs or property of another person for the benefit of that person and serves in a role of trust. The person served by the fiduciary places trust in the fiduciary to manage his or her affairs solely for his or her benefits and not the fiduciary’s benefit. This element of trust becomes crucial when the person receiving services is vulnerable and incapacitated. The Public Fiduciary is seeking a professional and compassionate candidate to fill the position of Guardian and Estate Administrator.

The Guardian and Estate Administrator is responsible for investigating, evaluating, and overseeing the personal and financial affairs of persons or decedent estates placed under guardianship, conservatorship, or probate estate by the court. This position provides case management services including medical, entitlement benefits, personal needs, and end-of-life planning for wards; additionally, this role provides property and asset management services, ensuring comprehensive marshalling and financial planning for the protected person.

For more information on the Pima County Public Defense Services Department and the offices in this department, please visit their website at: www.pima.gov/pds 

This classification is in the unclassified service and is exempt from the Pima County Merit System Rules.

Essential Functions:

As defined under the Americans with Disabilities Act, this classification may include any of the following tasks, knowledge, skills, and other characteristics. This list is ILLUSTRATIVE ONLY and is not a comprehensive listing of all functions and tasks performed by incumbents of this class. Work assignments may vary depending on the department’s need and will be communicated to the applicant or incumbent by the supervisor.

• Responds to and screens referrals from medical, mental health, law enforcement and other community sources;
• Performs primary assessment of potential wards which includes gathering psycho-social history, interviewing the proposed ward, and conducting a mental status exam;
• Interviews, evaluates, and documents a proposed ward's relationship to family and community, to determine if an individual with statutory priority may serve as fiduciary;
• Works with fiduciary staff to conduct property and asset searches, access records and protect assets, and documents all activity;
• Initiates and maintains court reports, recording summaries and documents in preparation for potential court testimony;
• Researches and assesses assets, performs cost-benefit analysis, marshals assets and prepares disposition plans, manages and supervises sale or disposition of real and/or personal property, and maintains records and prepares reports and correspondence;
• Participates in budgeting and conservatorship planning;
• Manages a caseload of wards/protected persons served by the Public Fiduciary, including consenting to and coordinating care, making medical and financial decisions, final arrangements, and contracting for benefits/services on the ward's behalf;
• Conducts in-person visits to ensure health and welfare of wards per statutory obligations and best practice, maintains regular contact with service providers, and responds to after-hours telephone calls, text messages and emails;
• Prepares audits and reports, conducts assessments for social, medical and related services, and develops and implements care or management plans.

Minimum Qualifications:

Current Arizona Supreme Court Fiduciary Certification.

OR:

Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university with a major in social or behavioral science, public or business administration, finance, accounting or a closely-related field as defined by the department head AND two (2) years of experience in one of the previously noted fields, case management or behavioral health.

(A combination of education or guardian certification and specifically relevant full-time work experience gained within the previous 10 years may substitute. Specifically, relevant work experience must be in the administration of trust, decedent’s estate, guardianship or conservatorship under the supervision of either a licensed fiduciary; bank trust; trust company officer; or a licensed attorney emphasizing the area of probate, trust, elder, mental health, or disability law.)

(Relevant experience and/or education from an accredited college or university may be substituted.)

Qualifying education and experience must be clearly documented in the "Education" and "Work Experience" sections of the application. Do not substitute a resume for your application or write "see resume" on your application.
 

Selection Procedure:

Pima County Human Resources Department reserves the right to admit to the selection process only those candidates that meet the minimum qualifications. All applications will be assessed based on an evaluation of the listed education and experience. Candidates meeting the minimum qualifications may be further evaluated/scored against any advertised Preferred Qualifications. The hiring authority will interview and select the successful candidate from a referral list provided by Human Resources. Additional assessments/testing may be required as part of the selection process.