Benefits Manager

Will this position be Onsite, Remote, or Hybrid?

Will this position be Onsite, Remote, or Hybrid? Hybrid

Posting Number

Posting Number NC1242026

Working Title

Working Title Benefits Manager

Department Org

Department Org 501000 - Human Resources

We are excited that you are considering joining the UCA Family—the faculty, staff, students and alumni—who make the University of Central Arkansas a great place to work! At the University of Central Arkansas, we value our employees striving to maintain a work-life balance. We realize that this affects the overall well-being of employees while learning to prioritize challenging work and the ability to make a difference.

Participation in university-wide flexible work schedules may be available for certain positions. Training is provided on systems or job-specific software, and tools are available supporting professional and personal development. The benefits package allows you to customize your benefits to meet your current needs, with the ability to adjust them as your priorities change. This includes university contributions to health, dental, life and disability insurance, 80% tuition waivers for employees and their families, 12 official holidays, immediate leave accrual, and a retirement program with university contributions of 10% of employee salary.

Also available are health and wellness incentives, as well as access to sports and cultural activities on campus for the family, free gym membership and equipment rentals.

The Benefits Manager provides leadership and oversight for the University of Central Arkansas’ employee benefits and wellness programs serving faculty and staff. This position leads a team of three HR professionals responsible for benefits administration, leave administration, and employee offboarding, while partnering closely with senior HR leadership, Finance, Payroll, benefits vendors, brokers, consultants, and other university partners.

This is a hands‑on management role for an HR professional who enjoys combining employee service, problem‑solving, data analysis, compliance, process improvement, and team leadership. The Benefits Manager oversees the effective administration and continuous improvement of UCA’s benefits programs, including self-funded medical and dental plans, retirement and voluntary benefits, leave programs, wellness initiatives, annual open enrollment, and employee offboarding processes.

The successful candidate does not need to be an expert in every aspect of benefits administration on day one. UCA provides a collaborative environment with support from senior HR leadership and experienced external partners. The ideal candidate brings a strong HR foundation, sound judgment, analytical ability, attention to detail, excellent communication skills, and a desire to develop deeper expertise in benefits management and higher education HR operations.

• Establish priorities, assign work, monitor performance, and promote effective collaboration and cross‑training within the team.
• Provide operational leadership and coverage during annual open enrollment, fiscal year‑end, peak leave periods, team absences, and other high‑volume periods.
• Identify opportunities to improve processes, employee service, data accuracy, and operational efficiency.

• Oversee the administration of UCA’s medical, dental, retirement, voluntary benefit, wellness, and related employee benefit programs.
• Develop working knowledge of UCA’s self‑funded medical and dental plans and, with support from senior HR leadership and external partners, oversee claims administration, third‑party…