People and Culture Benefits Manager

SUMMARY

The People & Culture Benefits Manager is responsible for the comprehensive administration of employee benefits, leave programs, faculty contracts, and key operational compliance functions for Jackson College. The role ensures accurate and timely processing of benefits and leave transactions, maintains data integrity across HR and payroll systems, and serves as a primary subject‑matter expert for employees and leaders regarding benefits and contractual obligations.

It administers faculty contracts and workload in accordance with labor agreements, oversees Workers’ Compensation, unemployment claims, and FOIA requests, and ensures compliance with federal, state, contractual, and institutional requirements. Through close collaboration with Payroll, academic leadership, and senior People and Culture staff, this position supports organizational effectiveness, financial accuracy, and adherence to the College’s mission, values, and regulatory responsibilities.

• Manage the daily processing of benefits transactions, including new hire enrollments, status changes, and terminations
• First line of contact for employee questions regarding retirement programs
• Ensure data integrity by regularly auditing benefits information within Colleague or the benefits portal
• Maintain meticulous records of employee insurance files and beneficiaries, ensuring strict adherence to privacy and confidentiality.
• Act as first‑line support and subject‑matter expert by answering employee questions regarding plan options, eligibility, and coverage details.
• Participate in New Employee Orientations to explain the value of Jackson College’s total compensation program including benefits.
• Reconcile monthly invoices from vendors, identifying and resolving billing discrepancies.

• Process annual leave accruals and rollover in conjunction with the labor contracts and Administrative Manual
• Process, administer, and track employee FMLA, Short‑Term Disability, and Long‑Term Disability leaves according to labor contracts, Jackson College policy, and Federal/State laws
• Collaborate with Payroll to ensure correct leave‑pay calculations and with benefits to manage premium payments/arrears while an employee is on unpaid status.
• Compliance oversight – stay current on changing federal and state leave laws to ensure organizational policies, contract and handbooks remain compliant.

• Supports the Director of People & Culture in administration of base pay, merit pay, and overload pay according to labor agreements.
• Accurately administer annual performance pay according to labor agreements and administrative manual requirements under the direction of the Director of People & Culture
• Confidentially maintain records for pay changes outside of annual performance pay process.
• Audit Colleague to ensure compensation changes are accurately captured and reflected in the payroll system to prevent over/under payments.
• Coordinate with the Director of People and Culture to participate in annual salary surveys and perform market analysis to recommend needed market adjustments, pay scale adjustments and new hire offers.

• Administer the issuance of annual faculty contracts and teaching assignments in alignment with institutional policies, academic schedules, and labor agreements.
• Maintain accurate tracking of annual faculty appointments to ensure compliance for transition to continuing contract status.
• Coordinate and process faculty overload assignments in accordance with applicable labor agreements and institutional approval requirements.
• Monitor faculty instructional loads and overload activity to ensure compliance with contractual limits and workload provisions.
• Maintain documentation and reporting related to faculty appointments, workload, and contract status to support audits, planning, and decision‑making.

• Administer the Workers’ Compensation program, including coordination of claims, communication with employees, supervisors, medical providers, and insurance carriers, and ensuring timely reporting and documentation in…