The Senior Specialist, Benefits & HRIS is the day-to-day engine behind our health and welfare and retirement programs and the primary administrator of our HRIS. Supporting approximately 1,000 employees across multiple states, this role handles the hands-on execution that keeps benefits accurate and compliant in every jurisdiction we operate in, and keeps our HR data clean, secure, and reportable.
This is a senior individual contributor role. You will work with meaningful independence on established programs and processes, escalating plan design decisions, budget commitments, and novel compliance questions to the Manager or Director. It suits someone who takes real satisfaction in getting the details right - reconciling a carrier file, catching an eligibility error before it becomes a claim problem, and explaining a deductible clearly to an employee who is worried about a bill. This person works independently, knows when to escalate, and maintains accuracy and composure during high-volume periods.
RequirementsBenefits Administration- Administer all health and welfare plans day to day, including medical, dental, vision, HSA/FSA, life and AD&D, short- and long-term disability, EAP, and voluntary benefits.
- Process enrollments, qualifying life events, terminations, and COBRA notifications; audit for accuracy and timeliness.
- Coordinate benefits continuation and premium payment for employees on leave of absence: maintain carrier eligibility during leave, calculate and collect employee premium contributions, track arrears, and partner with Payroll on catch-up deductions upon return. Work from leave status, type, and dates provided by HR Business Partners, who own leave administration.
- Reconcile carrier invoices and eligibility files monthly; research and resolve discrepancies with carriers and the broker.
- Execute open enrollment under the direction of the Manager: configure and test the system, prepare and distribute communications, deliver employee education sessions, respond to questions, and complete the post-enrollment audit.
- Support the annual renewal cycle by compiling census, claims, and utilization data for the broker and Manager, and by preparing analysis to inform plan design and contribution recommendations.
- Administer the 401(k) plan operationally: contribution and loan feeds, eligibility and enrollment monitoring, and preparation of data for nondiscrimination testing, Form 5500, and the annual plan audit.
- Serve as first-line support for employee benefits questions, claims issues, and eligibility inquiries; escalate complex disputes and exception requests.
- Maintain vendor relationships at the service level - open and track tickets, hold carriers to service standards, and flag performance concerns to the Manager.
HRIS Administration & Reporting - Serve as primary day-to-day administrator for UKG: process transactions, maintain configuration within established design, manage security role assignments, and test releases.
- Maintain data integrity through recurring audits, validation checks, and reconciliation across HRIS, payroll, benefits carriers, and the 401(k) recordkeeper.
- Monitor integrations and EDI feeds to downstream systems; triage failures, resolve routine errors, and escalate structural issues to the Manager and vendor support.
- Audit that leave status changes entered by HR Business Partners flow correctly through to benefits eligibility and carrier feeds, and flag gaps before they result in a coverage lapse.
- Build and maintain standard and ad hoc reports and dashboards - headcount, turnover, benefits enrollment and cost, and EEO and compliance reporting.
- Contribute to system projects and module rollouts as a functional resource: document current-state processes, write test scripts, execute testing, and support training and go-live.
- Create and maintain process documentation and job aids; train HR partners, managers, and employees on self-service functionality.
Compliance Support - Prepare and distribute required participant notices on the annual compliance calendar; maintain plan documents, SPDs, and wrap documents in current form.
- Compile data and documentation for ACA reporting (1094-C/1095-C), Form 5500, plan audits, and regulatory inquiries.
- Maintain HIPAA privacy practices in daily handling of protected health information.
- Track state and local regulatory changes affecting benefits; surface new requirements and their operational impact to the Manager.
- Other duties as assigned.
Qualifications- Bachelor's degree in Human Resources, Business, or a related field, or equivalent experience.
- 3+ years of hands-on benefits administration experience, including exposure to a multi-state US environment.
- 3+ years of hands-on HRIS administration experience in a cloud HCM platform (UKG, Workday, ADP Workforce Now, Paylocity, Dayforce, or similar).
- Working familiarity with ERISA, ACA, COBRA, HIPAA, Section 125, and FMLA benefit continuation requirements as they apply to daily administration.
- Experience supporting an open enrollment cycle end to end.
- Strong Excel skills (pivot tables, lookups, reconciliation of large files) and solid reporting ability.
- Demonstrated discretion handling confidential employee, medical, and compensation data.
- Clear written and verbal communication, including the ability to explain plan provisions to a non-technical audience.
- CEBS, CBP, PHR, or SHRM-CP coursework or certification, or progress toward one is preferred.
- Participation in an HRIS implementation, module rollout, or platform migration highly desirable.
- Exposure to 401(k) plan audit and Form 5500 preparation is preferred.
Compensation is based on experience; $83,000+ based on experience
Benefits- 401(k) with matching program
- Dental insurance
- Health insurance
- Health savings account
- Life insurance
- Paid time off
- Vision insurance
