Benefits Manager

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota • Eagan, MN

298d • $115,000 - $195,600

About The Position

As Benefits Manager, you will play a critical role in designing, implementing, and managing U.S. benefit plans including health & welfare, retirement, ancillary benefits, and wellbeing programs within the organization. This position requires a thorough understanding of benefit design, finance, administration, compliance, and a commitment to ensuring that associates receive a competitive and comprehensive benefit package. The Benefits Manager will work closely with internal departments including HR, Finance, Sourcing, Legal and Communications as well as external vendors and consultants to develop and administer benefits and wellbeing programs that align to the company’s goals and HR/Total Reward guiding principles. This role will be also responsible for identifying opportunities to continuously improve and evolve the Benefits function.

Requirements

• 7-10+ years of related professional experience.
• 5+ years of experience managing individual contributors.
• Project management skills.
• Financial and analytical skills.
• Strong systems experience (e.g. Microsoft Excel, PowerPoint, Teams).
• Strong HRIS skills (prefer Workday experience).
• Compliance and operations knowledge across all benefit programs including health and welfare and retirement.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Skilled in developing and delivering clear, succinct, persuasive presentations to varying audiences including employees and executive management.
• Ability to think strategically and continually review and improve processes.
• Excellent ability to apply logical reasoning to data analysis and think through details.
• Ability to solve moderate to complex problems.
• Ability to be self‐directed and to handle large, concurrent projects with minimal supervision while adhering to strict guidelines.
• Ability to develop strong relationships with key stakeholders and foster trust in handling confidential situations.

Nice To Haves

• Relevant certifications (e.g., CEBS) preferred.
• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree.

Responsibilities

• Develop and implement benefits and wellbeing strategies aligned to the company’s goals and HR/Total Rewards guiding principles and support associate wellbeing.
• Manage performance and relationships with benefit vendors, providers, brokers, and consultants.
• Collaborate with benefits providers and brokers on renewals or service bids, utilization experience, cost management, and plan design options; review vendors' performance and recommend changes to management.
• Analyze benefits spend, approving invoices up to signing authority level; partner with Sourcing to negotiate cost-effective contracts.
• Monitor activities to stay within the established budget, working closely with Finance to forecast and monitor budget related to benefits programs.
• Improve associate awareness and utilization of offerings by developing effective communication strategies, campaigns, and educational sessions.
• Analyze data to evaluate program effectiveness, identify cost-saving opportunities, and provide insights for decision making; generate reports and key metrics/dashboards.
• Ensure compliance with federal, state, and local regulations.
• Remain current on industry benefits practices and changing legal issues, assessing, and communicating potential impact on the business, along with providing recommendations/solutions to address any concerns.
• Review and recommend changes to benefit documentation, including contracts, plan documents and summaries.
• Directly manage a team of benefits professionals creating a high performing department.
• Grow and develop a team through coaching, goal setting, listening and quality communications.

Benefits

• Medical, dental, and vision insurance
• Life insurance
• 401k
• Paid Time Off (PTO)
• Volunteer Paid Time Off (VPTO)
• And more

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level
• Education Level: Bachelor's degree
• Number of Employees: 1,001-5,000 employees