Employee Benefits and Wellness Manager (Vacancy)

City of Columbus•Varies by position, OH

About The Position

The Employee Benefits and Wellness Manager is a strategic leader and subject matter expert responsible for designing, executing, and ensuring the compliance and financial sustainability of the City’s health, welfare, and wellness programs. The role combines long-term planning with high-volume operations, using data analytics to optimize plan performance, control costs, and maintain competitive offerings for the City workforce. The Manager oversees vendor partnerships and the end-to-end RFP process, contributes to labor relations negotiations, and leads a team of benefits professionals. The position also serves as the designated HIPAA Privacy Officer and Plan Administrator. The Manager develops benefits strategy and cost-control approaches; oversees budget management, regulatory reporting, testing, audits, and compliance; negotiates vendor and third-party administrator contracts; and monitors plan performance, market trends, claims data, and service levels. The role resolves complex administrative and system issues, develops procedures and audit routines, and manages high-volume processes such as open enrollment and life events. The Manager oversees employee benefits service and communications, including year-round engagement, open enrollment and education campaigns, decision-support resources, and outreach to diverse employee populations. The position coaches and mentors benefits professionals and promotes service excellence, accountability, and continuous improvement. Minimum qualifications include a bachelor’s degree and five years of experience in employee benefits administration, liability insurance, public finance, or employee safety and health programs. A qualifying master’s degree may substitute for one year of required experience. A valid driver’s license is required.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree.
Five years of experience in the administration of employee benefits, liability insurance, public finance, or employee safety and health programs.
Valid driver’s license.
A master’s degree in business administration, public administration, finance, public finance, economics, or a related field may substitute for one year of the required experience.

Nice To Haves

Seven to ten or more years of progressive benefits administration experience, including three to five years in a leadership or management role.
Experience with self-funded medical plans, pharmacy, and plan financing.
Knowledge of public-sector benefits.
Experience supporting unionized workforces or collective bargaining.
Working knowledge of ACA, HIPAA, COBRA, FMLA, Section 125, Medicare coordination, nondiscrimination testing, and relevant state requirements.
Experience with RFPs, procurement, and vendor management.
Experience with benefits administration systems and payroll integration.
Ability to explain technical benefits issues to executives, employees, and labor stakeholders.
Core competencies in strategic plan design, financial acumen, vendor management and negotiation, compliance and risk management, people development, cross-functional collaboration, data-driven decision-making, communication, and change management.

Responsibilities

Develop and execute a long-term benefits strategy using data to inform recommendations and keep programs competitive and aligned with City needs.
Design and implement strategies to limit plan cost increases while maintaining high-quality coverage for employees and dependents.
Advise on benefits strategy, plan administration, and cost implications for collective bargaining, labor relations, and management decisions.
Oversee budget management, ACA and state reporting, nondiscrimination testing, regulatory compliance, dependent verification, and audits.
Serve as the designated HIPAA Privacy Officer and primary authority on benefits-related public records requests.
Lead the end-to-end RFP process for health and welfare benefits, from initial scoping through vendor selection.
Oversee partnerships with third-party advisors, consultants, and benefit providers, and negotiate contracts with third-party administrators and vendors.
Establish and monitor KPIs for plan performance, vendor service, employee engagement, affordability, and operational accuracy.
Monitor market trends, claims data, and benchmarking to inform planning.
Resolve complex benefits administration issues, legacy errors, and system configuration challenges.
Develop and maintain standard operating procedures, data validation routines, and audit trails.
Manage high-volume benefits processes, including open enrollment and life events.
Oversee the employee benefits service model to ensure timely resolution, quality customer service, and user-friendly processes.
Develop and execute year-round benefits communications and engagement, including enrollment and education campaigns, decision-support resources, and targeted outreach.
Develop, coach, and mentor benefits professionals, fostering service excellence, accountability, and continuous improvement.