Employee Benefits Consultant

Southern Company•Atlanta, GA

About The Position

The Health & Welfare Benefits Consultant supports the day-to-day operations of the Health & Welfare (H&W) team by providing ongoing administration and oversight of group benefit programs and vendors and serving as a primary contact for vendors and internal HR partners. The successful candidate has experience in benefit plan administration and vendor management, along with strong analytical and problem-solving skills. The role should be a confident communicator with a customer service focused mindset and the ability to work effectively and efficiently both independently and in a team environment. This position will be filled as a grade level 5 or 6 depending on relevant experience. This role will work under the direction of the Supervisor, Health & Welfare to achieve the goals of the H&W team and support alignment with broader Total Rewards priorities, including high-value benefit programs, employee experience, operational efficiency, governance, and data-informed decision making.

Requirements

Minimum of 4 years of progressive experience in employee benefit plan administration, vendor management, or related benefits operations required.
Bachelor’s degree in HR, business, finance, or related field preferred or equivalent combination of education and experience
Effective critical thinking and problem-solving skills: skilled at relating and comparing data from different sources, identifying issues, securing relevant information, critically evaluating situations, and presenting sound factual reports
Confident and skilled to work independently as well as in a team environment
Flexible and adaptable – able to learn new technologies and applications quickly
Demonstrates effective project management skills – able to multi-task seamlessly
Exhibits the highest level of customer service focused on ownership, speed, responsiveness, and accuracy
Demonstrates strong communication skills – ensures key stakeholders are updated and informed; experience developing successful working relationships to drive effectiveness
Demonstrates behaviors consistent with the Southern Company culture: Safety First, Intentional Inclusion, Act with Integrity, Superior Performance

Responsibilities

Facilitate implementation of new benefit plan design features and update plan documentation, procedures, and related materials to reflect plan design changes
Support compliance with legal, regulatory, and contractual requirements related to benefit plans and vendor administration
Partner with H&W leadership to develop and deliver benefit-related communications
Provide support for complex benefit-related inquiries and escalated participant issues, as needed
Maintain effective communication with internal stakeholders on benefits-related matters or requests for benefits and/or vendor support (e.g. presenting at business meetings)
Coordinate resolution of member claims, appeals and escalated cases – partner with internal and external resources for timely execution
Manage day-to-day relationships with vendors, monitoring trends, issues, and customer service levels, raising appropriate risks, opportunities, and enhancements to leadership
Analyze vendor-related issues and recommend solutions
Monitor vendor service delivery and data interfaces; identify opportunities to improve operating efficiency using data and trends to inform recommendations
Develop and maintain plan and vendor summaries
Coordinate plan and vendor audits, identify trends or issues affecting participants and processes, and recommend or implement appropriate follow-up actions
Actively monitor, evaluate and report on plan and vendor performance using established key performance indicators
Support new vendor selection and current vendor renewal activities
Coordinate with vendors, as needed, to support Annual Enrollment processes
Support or lead assigned projects to improve customer experience, vendor efficiency, and cost effectiveness
Support vendor invoice review and coordination, as needed
Support execution of broader Total Rewards priorities by helping ensure Health & Welfare programs are competitive, sustainable, and aligned with business and workforce needs.
Bring an enterprise Total Rewards perspective to day-to-day work by connecting Health & Welfare activities to employee experience, operational effectiveness, and long-term program success and value.
Collaborate across Total Rewards, HR, vendors, and internal stakeholders to support integrated solutions and a consistent employee experience across rewards programs.
Contribute to a One Team approach by collaborating on initiatives that integrate Health & Welfare, wellbeing, retirement, and other rewards programs where appropriate.