Benefits & Compensation Specialist

ARAG North America•Des Moines, IA

About The Position

Do you have a keen eye for detail and a knack for managing benefits and leave administration? Are you passionate about engaging with team members and building strong internal relationships? If you thrive in a collaborative environment and have experience with employment practices, HR concepts and HRIS systems, we want to hear from you! ARAG is hiring a Benefits & Compensation Specialist! Key responsibilities include collaborating with brokers, carriers, and vendors, leading the benefits enrollment process, and serving as the main point of contact to our team members for all benefits and leave related questions. If you are looking to make a difference – look no further than ARAG!

Requirements

Working knowledge and understanding of general Human Resources best practices.
Solid understanding of employee benefits, insurance plans and leave laws (e.g., FMLA, ADA, HIPAA, COBRA).
Familiarity with Human Resource concepts related to payroll, benefits & compensation.
Familiarity with compensation and benefit benchmarking tools and methodologies.
Experience working with an HRIS system. ADP experience preferred.
Excellent computer skills in a Microsoft Office Windows environment. Must include working knowledge of Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.
Must be able to maintain a high degree of confidentiality.
Requires critical thinking, problem-solving and analytical skills.
Excellent oral and written communication skills.
Must be able to deal with conflicting points of view and demonstrate integrity and fair-mindedness.
Requires strong organizational skills and the ability to work in a fast-paced team environment. High attention to detail is a must.
Demonstrates an ability to manage workload and meet deadlines on a consistent basis.
Ability to be flexible and to adjust thinking and behavior to changes in the work environment.
Ability to work collaboratively and effectively with individuals at all levels within the organization.
Strong interpersonal, relationship building and active listening skills that foster teamwork, commitment, and collaboration.
Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources, or related discipline or equivalent work experience.
3+ years’ related experience. Leave & benefits administration experience required.

Nice To Haves

PHR/SHRM-CP Certification preferred.

Responsibilities

Administers all ARAG benefit programs, including health and welfare plans, worker’s compensation, and STD/LTD. Inputs all benefit changes, including new hire, termination, status changes, address changes, etc. in the HRIS system to ensure accurate record keeping and proper deductions.
Collaborates with brokers and carriers to ensure the accuracy of plan administration, carrier portals, and HRIS connections, while addressing changes, issues, and updates in a timely manner.
Provides timely and accurate responses to inquiries from both new and existing team members. Facilitates communication and education regarding available benefits and any changes to those benefits.
Monitors qualifying events and processes necessary system changes in adherence to benefit compliance and plan design.
Proactively monitors the Company intranet and other team member communications to ensure all benefit communication and documents are accurate and up to date.
Creates campaigns to educate team members on the benefit package to drive engagement and utilization.
Leads the Open Enrollment process for the organization, partners with broker and coordinates benefit meeting logistics. Ensures HRIS is updated appropriately, processes all benefit elections, and submits to carriers.
Partners with COBRA vendor to ensure COBRA requirements are met for terminated team members.
Monitors benefit industry trends and participates in relevant data collection surveys. Provides recommendations to Culture & People leadership on new benefits or benefit changes.
Monitors broker and vendor partnerships to ensure our partners are providing high quality service and expertise, information on current benefit plan trends, industry trends, legal & compliance resources and actively works on our behalf.
Proactively provides input to Culture & People leadership on benefit questions, issues, revisions, updates, and administration.
Collects and tracks College Savings forms, Health Club & Fitness Equipment Reimbursement, Wellness Activity Reimbursement, Tuition Reimbursement and ARAG Cares offerings.
Serves as the Culture & People representative on the corporate Wellness Committee.
Partners with Leave Management vendor to administer the leave process for the organization, including ADA, FMLA, Short-Term Disability, Parental Leave, Caregiver Leave, etc. and provides updates to Senior Manager, Culture & People.
Communicates leave policies, procedures and entitlements to team members and leaders.
Responsible for educating leaders on ADA, FMLA, STD/LTD processes and provides formal training, as needed.
Monitors return-to-work statuses, coordinates with appropriate parties on accommodation or modifications, as needed.
Supports and facilitates the ADA interactive process, including evaluating requests for reasonable accommodations and collaborating with team members and leaders to identify and implement appropriate solutions in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
Updates HRIS records to accurately reflect leave status and proactively communicates updates with Payroll team.
Reports leave trends and metrics to Culture & People leadership for workforce planning purposes.
Collaborates with external compensation consultant and Senior Manager, Culture & People to establish market pricing for new and revised job descriptions.
Maintains compensation data and ensures alignment with internal equity and market benchmarks.
Participates in compensation surveys.
Supports the annual merit increase process including data preparation, analysis, and communication.
Partners with Culture & People leadership to draft and edit variable compensation plan documents and administers variable compensation programs.
Responsible for the ongoing maintenance of the HRIS system, works with vendors when issues arise, and partners with Finance on maintaining system integrity.
Assists managers and team members on the use of the system, helps, and trains new hires in how to utilize the system.
Serves as primary resource for running reports from the HRIS systems and reviews reports ran for accuracy.
Compiles reports and completes annual ACA reporting including partnering with vendor on the monthly review of 1095 statements.
Proactively performs quality assurance audits on HRIS inputs including but not limited to new hires, time off policy assignments, merit increase data, etc.
Maintains personnel records and monitors department recordkeeping practices to ensure legal compliance.
Maintains compliance with federal, state, and local employment laws and regulations, and recommended best practices.
Works closely with Culture & People leadership on the implementation and administration of policies and processes including making recommendations for modifications and updates.
Ensures appropriate employment and worksite posters are posted per requirements by state and federal regulations.
Monitors the department e-mail inbox, forwards to appropriate Culture & People contact and/or responds to requests timely and accurately.
Compiles exit packets and completes various department checklists.
Compiles monthly service awards for the organization and communicates with appropriate Payroll and Marketing personnel.
Assists with department projects, year-end duties, and initiatives, as requested.
Maintains a positive environment by actively supporting and promoting department and company objectives.
Serves as a positive role model by representing ARAG at its Best. Perform other duties and special projects as assigned.