Benefits & Payroll Administrator

Benefits & Payroll Administrator

Support People. Strengthen Processes. Make Every Employee Interaction Count.

Are you a detail-oriented HR professional who enjoys helping employees navigate benefits, payroll, leaves of absence, and HR processes with clarity and care in Buffalo, NY? Fisher Associates is seeking a Benefits & Payroll Administrator to support the administration of our benefits, leave, payroll, and HRIS processes while delivering high-quality employee experience. This role serves as a subject matter resource to employees, managers, benefits vendors, and third-party administrators;

interprets plan documents, policies, and regulatory requirements; recommends process improvements; and exercises discretion and independent judgment in administering and resolving benefit, leave, payroll, life event, and engagement programs to drive accuracy, compliance, and a seamless employee experience.

At Fisher Associates, we are a multidisciplinary design services firm with nine locations nationwide. Our services span civil/site engineering, transportation engineering, landscape architecture, planning, environmental services, land surveying, GIS, construction inspection, precast, and construction engineering—each offering opportunities to shape communities and improve lives.

The primary duty of this position is the administration, interpretation, coordination, and continuous improvement of company benefits, leave, payroll, and other HR operations programs directly related to Fisher Associates' operations. The role works under general supervision and regularly exercises discretion and independent judgment on matters of significance, including benefit eligibility, leave coordination, payroll-related issue resolution, compliance documentation, vendor escalation, and process improvement recommendations.

Benefit and Leave Administration

• Administer employee benefit programs, including medical, dental, vision, FSA, 401(k), life, disability, wellness, and related offerings.
• Conduct new hire benefits orientations, educating employees on benefit offerings, deductions, timekeeping, and payroll timelines.
• Serve as a primary point of contact for employee benefits, payroll, leave, and life event questions, providing clear, timely guidance with professionalism, empathy, and confidentiality.
• Administer benefit enrollments, qualifying life events, status changes, and employee updates in accordance with plan rules, company procedures, and regulatory requirements.
• Interpret benefit plan rules and company policies to evaluate employee eligibility, qualifying life events, enrollment changes, and benefit issues; determine next steps and escalate complex matters when needed.
• Maintain accurate employee, payroll, benefits, leave, and HRIS records while protecting sensitive and confidential information.
• Lead key components of annual open enrollment, including communications, system updates, employee education, vendor coordination, and follow-up support.
• Administer and coordinate employee leave programs, including FMLA, PFML, disability, parental leave, and company-specific leave policies.
• Partner with HR, managers, employees, and third-party vendors to ensure timely, accurate, and compliant leave processing and return-to-work coordination.
• Collaborate with vendors, brokers, carriers, and internal stakeholders to resolve employee questions, reconcile information, and support high-quality service delivery.
• Administer employee separation paperwork, related processes, and conduct exit interviews with employees.
• Analyze and process benefit invoices, enrollment records, payroll deductions, carrier files, and vendor reports to identify discrepancies, independently resolve issues, and recommend corrective action.
• Assist in the coordination of company-wide engagement events.

Payroll Administration

• Analyze employee changes, wage calculations, deductions, leave impacts, timekeeping issues, and payroll reports; independently identify discrepancies and make corrections before payroll finalization.
• Investigate and resolve complex payroll-related issues involving employee status changes, deductions, leave payments, benefit continuation, retroactive adjustments, and compliance-sensitive wage-and-hour considerations.
• Partner with Accounting to resolve payroll discrepancies and conduct regular audits and reconciliations, ensuring accuracy and compliance.
• Coordinate with Accounting on year-end payroll processes, including W-2 review and distribution.

Compliance & Process Improvement

• Lead assigned projects related to benefits, payroll coordination, leave administration, HRIS optimization, compliance reporting, vendor transitions, open enrollment, and process documentation.
• Design, update, and maintain standard operating procedures, employee-facing guidance, and internal workflows for benefits, leave, payroll coordination, and other related HR operations activities.
• Evaluate recurring issues and recommend changes to policies, procedures, vendor processes, or system improvements to…