Benefits Specialist (Inst)

University of Wisconsin Madison • Madison, WI

4d • Hybrid

About The Position

Under the direction of the Institution Benefits Director, the Benefits Specialist I (Inst) position in the Office of Human Resources will be responsible for being a subject matter expert in benefits including medical, retirement, disability, and life insurance plans. They will research, analyze, and review employee scenarios to provide accurate guidance with excellent customer service at all times. Our ideal candidate will have excellent communication and customer service skills and experience with retirement plans, large and small group presentation skills (in person and virtual), an ability to learn and adapt in a fast-paced environment, a strong work ethic and drive to succeed, and is a team-player who also works well independently. Also, the ideal candidate has experience with virtual platforms (examples include MS Teams, WebEx, Zoom). This position will be on site a minimum of 3 days per week and the ability to work remote 2 days per week.

Requirements

• 3+ years of experience administering a variety of benefit plans (medical, life, retirement, etc)
• 3+ years of providing excellent customer service
• Ability to quickly learn and use new technology
• Takes full responsibility and ownership of all work assignments to meet and/or exceed deadlines
• Demonstrated ability to maintain confidentiality and work with confidential data
• Ability to work up to 4 late nights (approx. 10:30 pm - 2:00 am) per year to support 3rd shift employees
• Ability to use spreadsheets and word processing software (Word, Excel, etc.)
• High school diploma or equivalent required

Nice To Haves

• 3+ years of HR experience
• Experience creating and analyzing reports
• Experience working with a diverse population of employees (examples include shift employees, union and non-union, employees with differing degrees of education and backgrounds) and job types (such as blue collar to executive, public sector and private sector)
• Experience using Workday

Responsibilities

• Serves as a unit subject matter expert and liaison to internal and external stakeholders providing complex benefit information
• Receives, processes, and audits benefit enrollments and changes according to established policies and procedures
• Identifies opportunities for operational improvements and recommends changes to leadership
• Receives, responds to, and resolves complex employee benefits questions, feedback and problems from employees, HR leadership, and campus partners through various mediums
• Advises current and prospective employees and human resources staff on benefit eligibility, options, and applicable timelines according to established policies and procedures
• Researches eligibility and enrollment rules, plan documents, contract statutes, and administrative codes to provide correct benefit resources and materials to human resources professionals and employees
• Develops and facilitates employee benefit trainings and associated resources and materials

Benefits

• generous paid time off
• competitively priced health/dental/vision/life insurance
• tax-advantaged savings accounts
• participation in the nationally recognized Wisconsin Retirement System (WRS) pension fund

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Entry Level
• Education Level: High school or GED