Benefits Manager
Full TimeJob Overview
The Benefits Manager responsibilities include establishing the organization’s employee benefits plans, determining, and recommending benefits budgets, reviewing offers from different benefits providers, and ensuring that all benefits plans are compliant with state and federal laws and industry regulations. Promotes a fundamentally employee-centered organization that emphasizes healthy and prosperous growth of the company, advocating for employees at all levels to ensure the unique company culture remains intact and flourishes as the organization develops.
What You’ll Do
- Conduct market research of benefits programs our main competitors are offering, identify issues with our existing benefits packages, and create strategies to improve them
- Organize company-wide benefits needs assessments, analyze results, and develop various employee benefits programs, such as retirement plans, wellness, preventive medicine, medical insurance, life insurance, etc.
- Communicate and negotiate with various benefits providers to identify vendors and benefits packages that are suitable for our employees and cost-effective for the business
- Oversees annual renewals of benefits plans and claim reviews for all benefit plans.
- Supervise the implementation and administration of benefits programs
- Ensure that all our benefits programs comply with relevant state and federal regulations
- Perform benefits and compensation structural analysis to evaluate cost effectiveness and to ensure program design is providing a high value.
- Create proposals for the annual benefits budget, present them to executive leadership, and oversee the allocation of approved resources
- Review financial statements to ensure that the company is meeting its obligations to different regulatory agencies
- Responsible for overseeing benefits plan audits, monitoring administrative costs of our benefits programs, and recommending cost-efficient alternatives.
- Maintain good working relationships with benefits providers, consultants, brokers, and auditors
- Oversee the management of employee benefits administration within Cotton’s human resource information system (HRIS), ADP.
Education:
- Bachelor’s degree in human resources, business, or related field. Master’s degree a plus.
- CCP, CBP and/or CEBS certification(s) preferred.
What You Bring to the Table
- 10+ years of experience in a similar role with an employee population of 1000 plus employees.
- Experience managing and administering self-insured, defined contribution and voluntary plans.
- Working knowledge of 401(k) plans to include administration, testing, 5500, loans, distributions and understanding of plan design and can assist with plan operations.
- Experience maintaining vendor data feeds to ensure accuracy in transactions.
- Knowledge of computerized HRIS - ADP experience is a plus.
- Experience managing with brokers and vendors as well as strong project management skills.
- Experience implementing new benefits programs and managing major benefit changes.
- Proficiency in development of complex spreadsheets and presentations in addition to preparing, documenting, and presenting narrative and statistical analyses.
- Demonstrated numerical aptitude, knowledge of business finance, and prior labor/benefits budgeting experience.
- Advanced working knowledge of Excel, PowerPoint, and Microsoft Word.
- Knowledge of current federal and state labor and benefits laws and regulations including but not limited to ADA, ADEA, COBRA, EEOC, ERISA, FLSA, FMLA, Healthcare Reform Act, HIPPA, Pension Protection Act.
- Working knowledge of third-party unemployment processing.
- Excellent oral and written communications skills and the ability to communicate with employees at all levels of the organization. Effective platform skills.
- Bilingual skills (English/Spanish) a plus.