Benefits & Leave Administrator

Essential Functions

• Supports benefit plan administration in alignment with HIPAA, ERISA, ACA, COBRA, and related federal, state, and local requirements.
• Administers benefit programs across the employee lifecycle, including enrollments, life events, coverage changes, dependent verification, and employee questions.
• Supports retirement program administration, including enrollments, changes, inquiries, reporting, and annual 401(k) audit support.
• Provides clear, accurate, timely, and compassionate guidance to employees on benefit options, HRIS navigation, plan documents, SPDs, and vendor sites or resources.
• Validates and maintains benefit election data, including elections, dependents, beneficiaries, COBRA events, HSA elections, payroll deductions, and records, ensuring accuracy, completeness, and timely processing.
• Research, resolve, document, and escalate enrollment, eligibility, deduction, payroll, system, and vendor file issues, including related trends or risks.
• Partners with vendors, brokers, carriers, Payroll, Accounting, HR, Finance, and IT leadership to resolve benefit issues and support claims, eligibility, deductions, reimbursements, funding, and reporting.
• Reviews and reconciles weekly self-funded claim payments and requests benefit-related invoice funding.
• Assists in creating and promoting benefit communications and keeping resources current and accessible.
• Assists in distributing annual compliance notices, HIPAA communications, plan document updates, SPDs, required reporting, and record retention materials.
• Supports open enrollment planning, HRIS setup, communications, education, completion monitoring, and post-enrollment follow-up.
• Validates and tests plan design changes, rates, eligibility rules, vendor file impacts, payroll deductions, and reporting before and after enrollment.
• Administers leaves of absence in partnership with the third-party claim administrator while supporting federal and multistate leave compliance.
• Coordinates benefit continuation, payroll deductions, return-to-work timelines, leave tracking, and outstanding items.
• Responds to claim administrator requests and helps employees and managers understand leave-related steps, expectations, and resources.
• Maintains current leave tracking dashboards.
• Uses reporting tools, HRIS functionality, Microsoft 365, and approved AI-enabled resources to improve data review, documentation, communications, and workflow efficiency while maintaining accuracy, confidentiality, and compliance.
• Develops and maintains practical job aids, checklists, SOPs, training materials, quick-reference resources, procedures, and process improvement documentation.
• Contributes to team initiatives, education sessions, communications, projects, testing, audits, process improvement work, and other related duties as assigned.

• Bachelor’s degree in business, human resources, or a related field, or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Three to five years of experience using Dayforce or a similar HRIS.
• Three to five years of related experience in benefits administration, HR operations, and payroll support.
• Working knowledge of benefit plans, eligibility rules, open enrollment, life event processing, dependent verification, and payroll deductions.
• Experience supporting open enrollment, ACA reporting, HIPAA communications, COBRA events, HSA/HRA/FSA administration, disability benefits, leave coordination, or multistate benefits compliance.
• Experience with vendor invoice review, benefit deduction audits, reporting, system testing, or process documentation.
• Knowledge of and comfort with AI-enabled resources to support efficient, accurate, and compliant workflows.

• Employee-centric with a focus on clear communication.
• Demonstrated ability to follow up and follow through on multiple priorities.
• Ability to handle confidential information with discretion and maintain privacy, documentation, and compliance standards.
• Analytical and critical thinking skills to identify, research, elevate, and resolve issues appropriately.
• Commitment to continuous learning, process improvement, and practical solutions.

$70,000.00 -…