Employee Benefits Specialist

HOUSTON GRAND OPERA ASSOCIATION INC • Houston, TX

6d

About The Position

The Employee Benefits Specialist is responsible for the comprehensive administration of the organization's employee benefits programs, retirement plan, and paid time off policy. This role serves as the primary resource for employees navigating benefits questions and enrollment decisions and ensures that all benefit elections are accurately reflected in the payroll system and carrier records. The Benefits Specialist also maintains the integrity of all employee data in the HRIS and payroll systems, reconciles benefit invoices against enrollment and payroll records, and partners with leadership on plan evaluation and the annual open enrollment process. This is a detail-oriented, employee-facing role that requires both strong analytical skills and a genuine commitment to staff support. Join Us! We are looking for talented, passionate, and dedicated people who are eager to make contributions to our community and our mission. If you are excited about this position but your experience does not align perfectly, we encourage you to apply! You may be just the right candidate for this position or another role at HGO. About the Houston Grand Opera The mission of HGO is to enrich our diverse community through the art of opera. We do so by creating, curating, exploring, and producing outstanding experiences centered around the human voice. HGO has received a Tony Award, three Grammy Awards, and three Emmy Awards – we are the only opera company in the world to win all three honors. Our strategic focus is two-fold: creating profoundly enriching experiences for our diverse audiences and clearly defining and positively promoting the HGO brand. We believe every team member enriches our organization by exposing a broad range of ways to understand and engage our community and discover, design, and deliver enriching experiences.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, Accounting, or a related field, or equivalent professional experience.
• Minimum three (3) years of dedicated employee benefits administration experience, including hands-on responsibility for enrollment, invoice reconciliation, and payroll deductions.
• Working knowledge of federal and state laws governing employee benefits, including ERISA, HIPAA, ACA, COBRA, FMLA, and IRS regulations applicable to 403(b) and pre-tax benefit plans.
• Experience administering a defined contribution retirement plan (403(b) or 401(k)), including payroll contribution processing and compliance support.
• Proficiency with HRIS and payroll platforms; demonstrated ability to maintain data integrity and generate reports.
• Strong numeracy and attention to detail, with experience reconciling financial records across multiple systems.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, with the ability to explain complex benefits information clearly to employees at all levels.
• High degree of discretion in handling sensitive employee information.

Nice To Haves

• CEBS (Certified Employee Benefit Specialist), PHR, SHRM-CP, or other relevant professional certification.
• Experience supporting or leading open enrollment for organizations with 50–300 employees.
• Experience in a nonprofit, arts, education, or mission-driven organization.

Responsibilities

• Benefits Education & Enrollment Serve as the primary point of contact for all employee benefits inquiries, providing clear and accurate information about plan options, coverage details, eligibility, costs, and enrollment deadlines.
• Guide newly eligible employees — new hires and those experiencing qualifying life events — through benefits enrollment, ensuring informed decision-making and timely submission of elections.
• Develop and maintain employee-facing benefits communications, including summary guides, comparison tools, FAQs, and instructional resources in accessible, plain-language formats.
• Conduct one-on-one and group benefits education sessions to help employees understand the value of their total compensation package and make selections appropriate to their needs.
• Coordinate with insurance brokers and carriers to resolve employee coverage questions, claims issues, and escalations in a timely manner.
• Open Enrollment Prepare and distribute open enrollment materials, including benefits summary documents, rate sheets, and instructional guides for completing enrollment through the HRIS.
• Plan open enrollment information sessions and provide individualized support to employees with questions or complex situations.
• Process all open enrollment elections in the HRIS and confirm changes are accurately transmitted to carriers and reflected in payroll deductions prior to the new plan year effective date.
• Conduct post-enrollment reconciliation to verify completeness and accuracy of all elections across systems and carriers.
• Benefits Administration — Insured Plans Administer the organization's insured benefits programs, including medical, dental, vision, life insurance, short-term and long-term disability, and any supplemental voluntary offerings.
• Process all enrollment changes, including new hires, terminations, qualifying life events, and dependent additions or removals, ensuring timely and accurate carrier updates.
• Track and enforce benefits eligibility rules, including waiting periods, dependent eligibility requirements, and leave-of-absence provisions.
• Maintain complete and organized benefits enrollment documentation for all employees.
• Invoice Reconciliation & Financial Controls Receive, review, and reconcile monthly carrier invoices against HRIS enrollment records and payroll deduction registers, identifying and resolving discrepancies in a timely manner.
• Process approved invoices for payment in coordination with the finance team, ensuring accurate coding and timely submission within payment terms.
• Maintain an ongoing enrollment-to-invoice audit trail and escalate material variances to the Controller.
• Identify and recover overpayments or credits resulting from enrollment timing discrepancies, retroactive changes, or billing errors.
• Payroll Deductions & System Setup Set up, maintain, and audit all employee benefit deductions in the payroll system, including pre-tax and post-tax elections for medical, dental, vision, FSA/HSA, and other applicable plans.
• Process mid-year deduction changes resulting from qualifying life events, open enrollment, or plan amendments, ensuring effective dates are accurate and compliant.
• Partner with payroll processing staff to verify that deductions are correctly reflected in each pay cycle and reconcile any discrepancies prior to payroll finalization.
• PTO Policy Administration Administer the organization's paid time off policy, including vacation, sick leave, and any additional leave categories in accordance with organizational policy and applicable law.
• Ensure PTO accrual rules, carryover limits, payout provisions, and eligibility tiers are accurately configured in the HRIS and consistently applied across the employee population.
• Serve as the primary resource for employees and managers with questions about PTO balances, accrual calculations, or policy interpretation.
• Monitor PTO usage and balance reporting, flagging anomalies or policy exceptions to HR leadership.
• Track and administer protected leaves of absence (FMLA, state leave, personal leave) in coordination with HR leadership, ensuring accurate payroll treatment and benefit continuation during leave periods.
• 403(b) Retirement Plan Administration Process employee enrollment, contribution elections, and changes in the HRIS and transmit accurate deferral and employer contribution data to the recordkeeper on a per-payroll basis.
• Coordinate plan compliance activities including annual non-discrimination testing, Form 5500 preparation support, plan audits, and required participant notices (Summary Annual Report, Safe Harbor Notice, QDIA, etc.).
• Maintain plan documents, adoption agreements, and amendment records, and distribute required participant disclosures on schedule.
• Assist in responding to employee inquiries related to loans, distributions, rollovers, and beneficiary designations in coordination with the recordkeeper.
• HRIS & Payroll Data Integrity Serve as the functional steward of employee data within the HRIS and payroll systems, ensuring records are complete, accurate, and current at all times.
• Conduct regular audits of employee data fields including job classification, compensation, benefits elections, deductions, tax withholding, and demographic information, resolving discrepancies proactively.

Benefits

• Comprehensive and affordable health benefits.
• Generous paid time off.
• 403b retirement plan with employer match.
• Flexible work schedule.
• Professional development fund and opportunities.
• Discounted parking in the Theater District garage and nearby lots, plus easy access to Metro transportation.
• Free tickets to our mainstage and community productions and events.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level
• Number of Employees: 101-250 employees