Benefits & Leave Specialist

Benefits & Leave Specialist

Working at Reece & Fortiline means being part of a growing global company that brings our purpose and values to life every day. We celebrate our team members living our values and provide opportunities to build a long and remarkable career. We're proud to support essential industries helping bring clean air and water to everyone.

The Benefits & Leave Specialist is responsible for the administration of the organization's health and welfare benefit programs and leave of absence processes, serving as a trusted resource for employees, managers, and internal stakeholders. This role delivers a seamless, compliant, and employee-centered experience by managing benefits administration, coordinating leave and workplace accommodations, and ensuring employees receive timely guidance and support throughout the employee lifecycle.

In addition to leave administration, this role administers day-to-day health and welfare benefits, including life event changes, responding to employee inquiries, partnering with vendors, and supporting annual Open Enrollment. The ideal candidate is a collaborative HR professional who enjoys solving complex issues, building trusted relationships, and delivering exceptional service in a fast-paced environment.

• Serve as the organization's subject matter expert for leave of absence programs and workplace accommodations, including FMLA, ADA, PWFA, USERRA, statutory leave programs, and company leave policies.
• Independently manage a caseload of leave and accommodation requests from initial intake through return to work, ensuring timely communication, documentation, and resolution.
• Partner with the Company's third-party leave administrator (Voya) to ensure accurate and timely administration of leave requests while serving as the primary internal resource for employees and managers.
• Coordinate all aspects of the leave process, including eligibility determinations, required notices, medical certifications, leave extensions, benefit continuation, return-to-work planning, and case closure.
• Lead and facilitate the ADA interactive process by partnering with employees, managers, and People Experience Business Partners to evaluate accommodation requests, identify reasonable accommodations, and document outcomes.
• Monitor leave activity for compliance, trends, and potential misuse, escalating concerns appropriately while maintaining confidentiality and professionalism.
• Serve as a primary point of contact for employee benefit inquiries, providing timely, accurate, and customer-focused guidance on eligibility, enrollment, life events, plan provisions, and claims escalation.
• Process qualifying life events, job changes, and dependent verifications in Workday.
• Partner with benefit vendors, carriers, Payroll, HR Operations, and internal stakeholders to resolve eligibility, billing, and enrollment issues.
• Support the planning, testing, communication, and administration of the annual Open Enrollment process.
• Facilitate benefits education during new hire orientation, support employee education initiatives, and contribute to ongoing process improvements.
• Provide expert guidance to employees and managers regarding benefits, leave options, workplace accommodations, eligibility, pay impacts, benefit continuation, and return-to-work expectations.
• Deliver responsive, high-quality customer service by resolving inquiries through the HR ticketing system while meeting established service levels.
• Build trusted relationships by navigating sensitive and confidential situations with professionalism, empathy, and sound judgment.
• Ensure compliance with applicable federal, state, and local regulations governing employee benefits, leave administration, and workplace accommodations.
• Maintain accurate records and employee transactions in Workday and related systems while protecting confidential information.
• Partner with Payroll, HR Operations, Finance, Benefits vendors, and People Experience Business Partners to ensure accurate benefit deductions, employee records, and leave administration.
• Stay current on legislative and regulatory changes impacting employee benefits and leave…