Benefits, Senior

Freddie Mac•McLean, VA

19h

About The Position

The Health and Welfare, Benefits Senior serves as a subject matter expert in the design, administration, and continuous improvement of the company’s health & welfare benefits programs. This role is responsible for day-to-day administration and plays a key role in developing innovative strategies for benefits design, communications, compliance, and employee education. This position requires strong proficiency in benefits administration to ensure our programs effectively support our employee’s needs, meet corporate strategic plans and objectives, and comply with regulatory requirements.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Human Resource Management, Business, Finance, Accounting, Mathematics or related discipline or an equivalent combination of education and experience from which comparable knowledge and skills may be acquired.
5-7 years of experience in Human Resources
Strong project management skills.
Ability to handle multiple tasks/duties and prioritize assignments, on an ongoing basis, and under various deadlines.
Detail-oriented and organized with strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
Ability to work independently with minimal direction
Strong interpersonal and communication skills to foster excellent relationship management with employees and benefit providers
Ability to deal with complex employee benefit issues
Experience with Workday
Proficiency in Microsoft software (Word, Excel, and PowerPoint)

Responsibilities

Responsible for administration of health & welfare benefit programs, including medical, dental, and vision insurance; and other programs.
Ensure the programs and tools are competitive, cost effective, support business strategy, and foster employee engagement.
Lead benefits annual enrollment, which includes implementation of benefit design changes with third party vendors, accuracy of benefit enrollments, eligibility information, and premium rates via customer acceptance testing.
Conduct and use data analysis and reporting to monitor the effectiveness of benefit programs, identify trends, and make data-driven decisions to improve offerings and control costs.
Act as the subject matter expert for the identification, research, and recommended resolution of issues with either 3rd party vendor administration or escalated employee claims.
Develops the strategy and design of communications conveys information to employees through various channels, including new hire and annual enrollment periods, email communication, and benefit summaries.
Responsible for frontline benefit support by addressing escalated employee questions.
Deliver excellent customer service and resolve employee benefits-related issues by researching benefit policies and procedures, enhancing data accuracy in applicable systems and integrations, and coordinating with internal and external parties.
Maintain up-to-date knowledge of federal and state regulations (e.g., ERISA, ACA, HIPAA, FMLA, COBRA, etc.) and ensure compliance across all applicable health & welfare offerings.
Responsible for identifying opportunities for efficiency and cost-savings while preserving the employee experience. This includes continuously assessing status of the various health & welfare benefits, programs, processes, tools, in-source/outsource strategies and communication, including initiatives to determine market competitiveness, ease of administration, cost management and alignment with business strategy.
Engage in new initiatives to define opportunities; contribute ideas and lessons learned in prior experience; and keep abreast of market trends and issues.
Support plan design changes by coordinating with insurance carriers, managing open enrollment and wellness events, verifying system changes, and updating employee communication materials.
Maintain strong relationships with third-party vendors, collaborate on plan design, claims administration, data integrity, and manage escalated support needs.
Conduct annual benefits review with the health and welfare vendors and recommend improvements to benefits programs and benefits delivery.
Ensure all employee related benefit claim submission/issues are handled/resolved in a timely manner; benefit programs are being executed in the manner stated within the summary plan document; and compliance requirements are being achieved.
Additional responsibilities include the selection, supervision, and negotiation of agreements with insurance carriers, claims administrators, consultants, and vendors for the various health and welfare plans and programs, including requests for proposals for benefit carriers and services.
Partner with procurement, legal and vendor risk management on review of third-party contracts, amendments, updates, payments, purchase orders, risk assessments, business continuity planning, compliance and more to ensure suppliers are meeting all of the company’s requirements and risk and cost are managed effectively.
Participate in projects related to benefits, wellness and engagement.
Ensure compliance with federal, state, and local legal requirements for health & welfare plans by monitoring regulatory changes, obtaining legal opinions, preparing and submitting legally required filings, coordinating plan amendments, and distributing legally required notices.
Develop, review and provide feedback on benefit presentations, employee communications, and knowledge articles. Also includes, digital and print, letters, articles, brochures, postcard and more.