Benefits Manager

Kin Insurance

11d

About The Position

Kin is redesigning insurance to be smarter, faster, and centered on the customer. We use intelligent pricing, offer seamless bundling, and make every step (from purchasing, servicing to claims) simple and friction-free, especially in the places traditional insurers often ignore.
We empower people to protect what matters most, starting with their homes and expanding to all they value, in a world where climate risks, rising costs, and outdated systems leave too many behind. Our approach has fostered amazing growth, attracted marquee investors, and earned us accolades, including being named to:
Built In Chicago's Best Places to Work, Midsize Companies (2021-2025).
Forbes' America's Best Startup Employers (2021- 2024, Ranked #37 in 2024).
Inc. 5000 Fastest-Growing Private Companies.
Forbes’ Fintech 50.
Simply put, our people are what make us great – we need forward-thinking, inspired game-changers like you to join us in our mission.
So, what’s the role?
Kin is seeking a Benefits Manager to play a key role developing and overseeing benefits, enhancing the employee experience in our growing company. Reporting to the VP, Total Rewards & People Operations, you will manage the Benefits function, including evaluating the effectiveness of our benefits offerings, recommending enhancements, handling plan administration and escalations, billing and invoice review, open enrollment, claims review and trend analysis, communications, compliance, and building relationships with external vendors and internal partners.

Requirements

• 5+ years of experience in Benefits & Leave Administration roles, including 401(k) plans. Experience supporting or managing self-funded health plans is required.
• Experience in a distributed, multi-state company is required.
• Strong understanding and experience managing FMLA, disability programs, parental leave programs, etc.
• Demonstrated ability to drive results and outcomes in cross-functional teams. Prefer working in fast-paced environments, with multiple concurrent projects.
• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience.
• Intermediate proficiency in Excel (Vlookups, IF formulas, etc.).
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Demonstrated track record of being detail-oriented and organized.
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills. Demonstrated partnership across various internal teams - including HR, legal, accounting, IT, etc.
• Strong customer service orientation with prompt follow-up and high degree of confidentiality.

Nice To Haves

• Experience utilizing the Workday benefits module and as an HRIS platform is strongly preferred. Ability to configure, build, and correct business processes within the system is a plus.
• Certified Benefits Professional or related certification is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Be an expert in our benefit programs, employee resources, and outside support partnering with our brokers and other service providers. Stay abreast of benefits trends, compliance changes, and best practices in the marketplace.
• Manage operations and administration of self-insured health plans & other programs, including medical, dental, vision, ancillary coverages, FSA, HSA, COBRA, etc.
• Manage operations and administration of the 401(k) plan including but not limited to ensuring accurate employee enrollments, deferral rates, and payroll contributions, performing compliance related tasks and audits, and resolving employee issues.
• Administer the annual open enrollment cycle by partnering with carriers to ensure enrollments are ready for the new plan year, answering employee questions, and supporting the creation of communication materials. Provide reporting and input into benefit plan selections.
• Partner with benefits broker to understand trends and monitor plan utilization, claims data, and contribute to setting the overall benefits strategy and renewal conversations.
• In partnership with the HR business partner team, manage the company's leave of absence programs (FMLA, ADA accommodations, state-specific leaves, parental leave, etc.), ensuring compliance with federal, state, and local regulations.
• Complete various compliance related tasks such as CMS reporting, Non-Discrimination Testing, HCSO Calculations, ACA reporting, etc.
• Partner with an outside audit firm to successfully complete annual 401(k) audits.
• Create employee-facing communications to drive increased understanding of our benefit plans. Meet with employees to answer questions or handle escalation issues. Create benefits content for open enrollment, new hire orientation, and other communications throughout the year. Develop and run the company’s annual benefits survey, including summary of results and recommendations.
• Develop and document internal benefits processes to ensure consistency for benefits operations.
• Provide guidance to internal partners and employees related to day to day benefits administration. Partner closely with the HRBP team on employee issues and with accounting and finance teams on plan expenses.
• Ensure benefits collateral and new hire guides are kept up to date with the correct plan information including the benefits guide, plan summaries, etc.
• Partner with the internal Workday team to configure open enrollment workflows, create more efficient processes, fix system issues, and update information during yearly renewals.
• Provide ad-hoc reporting, project support, or data analysis as needed.

Benefits

• Medical, Dental, Vision, Life Insurance, Short and Long Term Disability Insurance options, Employee Assistance Program, as well as elective voluntary benefits such as accident insurance, hospital indemnity, critical illness, legal assistance and pet insurance. Kinfolk become eligible for benefits on the first day of the month following their start date.
• Competitive salary and company equity through Restricted Stock Units (RSUs), granted as part of our standard compensation package and based on role and level.
• 401K with company match of up to 4% of eligible earnings
• Flexible PTO for exempt employees (employees typically take 15-20 days annually), along with 8 company-observed holidays
• A paid parental leave program that provides 100% salary continuation of up to 14 weeks for birthing parents and 8 weeks for non birthing parents
• Continuing education and professional development opportunities

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level
• Number of Employees: 501-1,000 employees