Leave Specialist

Job Type: Full-Time

Join Wallick Communities, a 100% employee-owned company with over 55 years of experience in providing affordable housing and assisted living for families and seniors across the Midwest. With 1,000+ associates and a mission to open doors to homes, opportunity, and hope, we take pride in fostering a supportive and collaborative work environment where every employee-owner plays a vital role.

• Creating Homes for People Who Need It Most
  Providing new beginnings for residents seeking affordable, safe and high-quality housing where they can thrive.
• Pay-on-Demand: access your money as you earn it.
• Exceptional Benefit Package: Health, dental, vision insurance effective within 2 weeks of starting your new job, paid time off, gym membership reimbursement, paid parental leave, 401K, and more!
• Work-Life Balance: Paid time off, including paid parental leave.
• Learning & Support A supportive team that cares about your continued development, well-being and professional growth.
• Resident Stories That Stay with You From Henry, who moved into his first-ever home, to Jaci, whose stay at a Wallick community allowed her to achieve home ownership and graduate college, kickstarting her dream career.
• Work-Life Balance: Paid time off, including paid parental leave.
• Career Growth: Tuition reimbursement, training, professional development, and advancement opportunities within a company that invests in its people.
• Employee Owned, Resident Focused As a 100% employee-owned company, your daily work (supporting our residents) also contributes to your financial future by sharing in our profitability.

The Benefits and Leave Specialist is responsible for the effective administration of Wallick’s employee benefit, leave, and workers’ compensation programs. This position manages day-to-day processes, supports associates and managers, maintains accurate HRIS records, coordinates with external vendors, and helps ensure programs are administered consistently and in accordance with applicable plan requirements and regulations. The position also supports benefits communication, open enrollment, reporting, education, and continuous process improvement.

• Serve as subject matter expert for benefit programs, leave administration, and related policies and processes.
• Manage daily benefit administration in the HRIS system, ensuring accuracy and compliance.
• Partner with external benefit vendors to analyze metrics, data, and reports to support program improvements.
• Manage COBRA Administration through the vendor to ensure notices are mailed meeting the compliance timeline.
• Respond promptly to associate inquiries related to benefits, leave programs, and workers’ compensation.
• Ensure benefit enrollment processes are completed accurately and in compliance with plan guidelines.
• Support ongoing and special benefits projects, including open enrollment, benefits communications, ACA reporting, wellness initiatives, and associate education.
• Review benefit invoices or support invoice reconciliation and payment approval.
• Coordinate benefit changes resulting from new hires, qualifying life events, status changes, and terminations.

• Administer FMLA and other company, state, and local leave programs.
• Coordinate leave status, documentation, benefit continuation, return‑to‑work information, and payroll impacts.
• Communicate leave requirements, deadlines, and responsibilities to associates and managers.
• Maintain complete and confidential leave records.
• Coordinate workplace accommodations with the appropriate HR leader.
• Provide guidance…