Benefits Specialist - Hybrid

Summit LLC•Warrenville, IL

1d•$50,000 - $60,000•Hybrid

About The Position

The Benefits Specialist is responsible for the accurate, timely, and compliant administration of employee benefit programs across the organization. This position serves as a primary resource for employees, managers, payroll partners, vendors, and benefit carriers regarding eligibility, enrollment, claims, contributions, appeals, and other benefit-related matters. The Benefits Specialist maintains employee benefit records, conducts recurring audits and reconciliations, supports benefit communications and education, and helps improve processes through documentation and automation. The position also assists the Benefits Director with plan renewals, implementations, plan changes, and the continued development of competitive and effective benefit programs.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree, preferably in Human Resources, Business Administration, or a related field, or an equivalent combination of education and relevant professional experience.
Three to five years of experience administering group employee benefits.
Experience working with medical, dental, vision, life insurance, disability, FSA, and related benefit plans.
Experience administering or supporting a company-sponsored 401(k) plan.
Working knowledge of COBRA, FMLA, ERISA, HIPAA, and other applicable benefit-plan regulations.
Strong proficiency with Microsoft Office, including Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, and Access.
Excellent written, verbal, presentation, and interpersonal communication skills.
Demonstrated ability to prioritize multiple responsibilities and work effectively with limited direction.
Strong attention to detail and a record of maintaining accurate employee and benefit data.
Ability to consistently meet daily, weekly, monthly, and annual deadlines.
Demonstrated discretion and sound judgment when handling confidential employee information.
Strong analytical, problem-solving, reconciliation, and customer-service skills.

Nice To Haves

Experience supporting employees across multiple locations in North America.
Experience administering both United States and Canadian benefit programs.
Experience supporting union benefit plans and conducting union-related audits.
Experience administering wellness programs.
Experience using Oracle, ADP, or comparable HR, payroll, and benefit-administration systems.
Experience developing employee benefit communications and conducting webinars.
Experience documenting standard operating procedures and automating manual workflows.

Responsibilities

Administer employee benefit programs, including medical, dental, vision, life insurance, disability, flexible spending accounts, health savings accounts, wellness programs, and other company-sponsored plans.
Maintain accurate employee benefit records within employee files, HR information systems, benefit administration platforms, and related databases.
Monitor and process employee and employer HSA contributions, identifying and resolving discrepancies as needed.
Administer the company-sponsored 401(k) plan and support related employee, payroll, vendor, and compliance activities.
Serve as the primary owner of the benefits email inbox and voicemail queue, ensuring questions and requests are acknowledged and resolved promptly.
Use strong customer-service and analytical skills to investigate and resolve escalated benefit inquiries, enrollment problems, eligibility discrepancies, claims issues, and employee appeals.
Coordinate with benefit carriers, third-party administrators, payroll partners, and internal stakeholders to resolve complex employee benefit matters.
Process and administer Qualified Medical Child Support Orders, or QMCSOs, in accordance with applicable requirements.
Manage and reconcile monthly benefit opt-outs, waivers, or comparable enrollment exceptions.
Protect confidential employee, medical, financial, and benefit information at all times.
Conduct weekly payroll-register audits to verify benefit deductions, contributions, eligibility, and enrollment accuracy.
Complete and reconcile the weekly ADP bridge process between benefit and payroll systems.
Audit demographic and eligibility files for errors, missing information, inconsistencies, and data-integrity concerns.
Research discrepancies and coordinate corrections with payroll, HR, employees, benefit carriers, and system vendors.
Perform union benefit audits and develop, maintain, and update the union benefit matrix.
Maintain accurate supporting documentation and audit trails for benefit transactions, adjustments, and corrections.
Consistently meet daily, weekly, monthly, and annual benefit-administration deadlines.
Develop and distribute a monthly benefits newsletter containing benefit updates, reminders, deadlines, educational information, and wellness resources.
Create clear employee communications, guides, presentations, and educational materials covering all benefit plan offerings.
Conduct benefit webinars and orientation sessions for newly hired employees.
Support employee education during open enrollment, new-plan implementations, qualifying life events, and benefit-plan changes.
Communicate complex benefit information in an accurate, understandable, and employee-friendly manner.
Develop, document, maintain, and update standard operating procedures for recurring benefit-administration activities.
Identify opportunities to automate manual processes, reduce errors, strengthen controls, and improve the employee experience.
Assist with testing, validating, and implementing benefit-system enhancements and workflow improvements.
Support the Benefits Director in evaluating and improving existing benefit plans, administrative procedures, and service-delivery practices.
Recommend practical improvements based on audit findings, employee inquiries, recurring errors, and operational trends.
Assist the Benefits Director with annual plan renewals, plan implementations, system setups, vendor transitions, and plan changes.
Support benefit administration for employees located across multiple locations in the United States and Canada.
Help ensure benefit plans are administered consistently with plan documents, company policies, collective bargaining requirements, and applicable laws.
Maintain working knowledge of federal and state benefit regulations, including COBRA, FMLA, ERISA, HIPAA, and related requirements.
Support required benefit notices, reporting, audits, recordkeeping, and compliance activities.
Perform other benefit-related duties and projects as assigned.