Associate Principal

Associate Principal, Benefits

Reporting to the Manager Total Rewards, the Associate Principal, Benefits position is responsible for the administration, processes and controls of OCC's benefit programs. This includes, but is not limited to, leave administration, health & wellness programs, benefits administration support, and benefits communication activities. Assists in the planning, development, implementation and monitoring of company-wide total wellbeing initiatives.

Responsible for providing plan administration, participant communications, and customer service of the company's health and welfare and retirement benefit plans and provides counsel to employees related to their coverage and options according to established policy. This role will provide an increased level of employee support to the organization by achieving full understanding of all processes, programs and Workday activities to credibly respond to the employee.

The Associate Principal will use their judgment to identify and solve, when possible, the root cause problems and escalate when necessary.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily.

Well-Being & Benefits Programming

• Coordinate, manage and maintain company's well-being programming to reduce health risk, medical costs, support DE&I initiatives and encourage healthy lifestyles. Implement well-being related activities, including annual wellness screenings, benefit fairs, flu shot program, lunch and learn sessions, fitness classes, and other related activities.
• Create employee communication materials with respect to new or existing benefit programs and wellbeing programming to provide continuing education. Responsible for maintaining and updating all documents/content on internal and vendor sites. Develop processes and execute initiatives to improve SharePoint site content navigation and improve overall awareness of the company's benefit offerings.
• Monitor program utilization and identify trends; bring recommendations to the Manager, Total Rewards for process improvements or program enhancements.

Leave of Absence Administration

• Responsible for leave of absence administration, including Worker's Compensation. Advise employees and managers regarding LOA processes. Calculate eligibility regarding absences, FMLA, STD/LTD, and ADA.
• Coordinate with third-party vendors to ensure that notifications and tracking of leaves and disability are in compliance with State and Federal regulations, benefits deductions are in accordance with OCC's policies, and leave time is properly recorded and paid.
• Proactively identify compliance risks or process gaps and recommend corrective actions.

Benefits Administration & Vendor Management

• Coordinate with employees, managers, benefits broker, and outside vendors to ensure policies, laws and processes are followed appropriately and administration of all benefits programming operates efficiently.
• Manage vendor relationships and hold partners accountable to service expectations; escalate performance issues as needed.
• Maintain full working knowledge of Workday HR processes and benefits-related system activities to credibly respond to employee inquiries and ensure accurate data management.

Cross-Functional Collaboration & Projects

• Collaborate with Accounting/Payroll, Legal and HR Business Partners as needed. Assists HR department in other areas as needed.
• Lead or contribute to Total Rewards projects, including vendor evaluations, system enhancements, and annual open enrollment planning and execution.
• Partners with Manager Total Rewards to identify trends, to develop and drive process improvements, and to implement new or enhanced benefits, absence management, or well-being programming.

Supervisory Responsibilities:

• None

Qualifications:

The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• [Required] Experience with self-insured benefits administration and a solid understanding of both health and retirement plans; 5+ years' experience in employee benefits, leave of absence and wellness administration
• [Required] This position requires an extremely perceptive person who can relate to individuals at all levels within the organization.
• [Required] Strong analytical and organizational skills
• [Required] Excellent interpersonal skills and written/oral communication skills
• [Required] Achievement-orientation; ability to multi-task and manage shifting priorities to meet deadlines.
• [Required] Knowledge of pertinent federal and state regulations, filing and compliance requirements affecting employee benefits programs, including FMLA, ADA, ACA, ERISA, COBRA, HIPAA, Section 125, workers' compensation, DOL and EEOC.
• [Required] Ability to work independently and effectively handle sensitive and/or confidential matters.
• [Required] Working knowledge of HR…