Human Resources Benefits Manager

UCP of Central Florida•Orlando, FL

4d•$65,000 - $70,000•Onsite

About The Position

The HR Operations & Benefits Manager provides strategic and operational leadership for UCP's employee benefits and assigned Human Resources operations. The Manager is responsible not only for accurate administration, but also for analyzing costs, utilization, vendor performance, employee needs, and operational data to recommend strategies that improve employee value, manage organizational cost, strengthen compliance, and improve the effectiveness of HR systems and processes. The Manager owns benefits, leave administration, workers' compensation coordination, HRIS functions within assigned areas, vendor management, and the administrative infrastructure supporting UCP's performance evaluation cycle. Routine administrative work should be appropriately delegated to the HR Clerk or other assigned support staff, allowing the Manager to focus on analysis, problem-solving, process improvement, vendor accountability, and strategic recommendations. The Manager also coordinates ACA reporting, unemployment claims, retirement contribution reviews, and related compliance processes. The Manager establishes and enforces effective verification, reconciliation, and audit controls to protect team members from coverage or deduction errors and to reduce financial and compliance risk. The Manager remains accountable for quality assurance even when processing is delegated to HR support staff.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, Benefits Administration, Finance, or related field preferred; equivalent combination of education and relevant experience may be considered.
Minimum three to five years of progressively responsible Human Resources, benefits, or HR operations experience, including demonstrated responsibility for benefits administration and HR systems.
Working knowledge of applicable benefits and employment requirements, including FMLA, ADA, ERISA, COBRA, workers' compensation, and related compliance areas.
Strong analytical, financial, problem-solving, communication, vendor-management, and HRIS skills.
Experience with Paycom or comparable HRIS preferred.

Nice To Haves

Ability to translate benefits and operational data into practical recommendations and to lead through delegation rather than personally performing all transactional work.

Responsibilities

Develop and implement benefits strategies that balance employee value, workforce needs, competitiveness, and responsible stewardship of organizational resources.
Analyze benefit utilization, claims trends, participation, costs, renewal information, and available market data to identify opportunities to manage UCP's overall benefit costs while maintaining competitive offerings.
Partner with the Vice President of Human Resources, Director of Human Resources, Finance, benefits brokers, carriers, and other partners to evaluate plan design, funding approaches, vendor performance, and cost-containment opportunities.
Develop recommendations for annual benefit strategy and renewal decisions, including analysis of financial impact, employee impact, risks, and alternatives.
Strategically manage carrier wellness funds, credits, incentives, and other available resources to achieve defined employee-health, engagement, utilization, or cost-management outcomes; establish measures to evaluate results.
Identify strategies to increase appropriate use of preventive care, wellness resources, and cost-effective benefits and communicate recommendations to leadership.
Own the administration and continuous improvement of UCP's health, dental, vision, life, disability, flexible spending, retirement, and other employee benefit programs.
Manage ongoing employee benefit enrollments and changes, including accurate eligibility and deductions, and ensure team members receive clear guidance on benefit options.
Ensure timely and accurate monthly benefit invoice reconciliation, investigation and resolution of billing discrepancies, and coordination of payments with Finance.
Coordinate COBRA administration and required notices in accordance with applicable plan requirements.
Oversee 403(b) enrollment, payroll-contribution reviews, required reporting, and plan audits in coordination with Finance and plan partners.
Coordinate life-insurance death claims with brokers and carriers, ensuring timely, sensitive communication and accurate documentation.
Verify that life-insurance elections, coverage limits, dependent eligibility, carrier enrollment, and payroll deductions match, and resolve discrepancies before a claim whenever possible; coordinate timely escalation of disputed or denied claims.
Lead annual open enrollment, including planning, system readiness, employee communication, vendor coordination, issue resolution, and post-enrollment review.
Manage relationships and day-to-day performance with benefit brokers, carriers, and other HR vendors; identify service, cost, and performance concerns and recommend corrective action or alternatives.
Ensure benefit billing, eligibility, deductions, enrollments, and vendor records are accurate and reconciled; delegate routine processing and reconciliation work to the HR Clerk or other assigned support staff as appropriate and provide quality review.
Establish and document verification controls for initial elections, qualifying-life-event changes, dependent and spouse coverage, life-insurance coverage amounts and codes, payroll deductions, and carrier confirmations; verify that the employee election, HRIS record, payroll deduction, and carrier record agree.
Conduct and document periodic risk-based audits and reconciliations, including independent or secondary review of high-impact coverage changes; promptly investigate exceptions, correct errors, communicate with affected team members, and escalate unresolved discrepancies or potential coverage losses.
Coordinate required retirement-plan administration and audits within the role's assigned responsibilities.
Oversee administration of FMLA, ADA-related leave processes, short- and long-term disability, and other applicable leave programs, ensuring timely communication, documentation, consistency, and compliance.
Oversee workers' compensation administration from initial reporting through return-to-work and claim resolution, partnering with Risk Management, campus/program leadership, carriers, and other stakeholders as appropriate.
Analyze leave, disability, and workers' compensation trends to identify root causes, recurring risks, cost drivers, and opportunities for prevention or improved return-to-work outcomes.
Ensure required OSHA and workers' compensation reporting assigned to Human Resources is accurate and timely.
Coordinate unemployment claims, including timely responses, supporting documentation, protests, appeals, and participation in hearings as appropriate.
Ensure assigned Affordable Care Act (ACA) data, reporting, and required notices are accurate, timely, and appropriately coordinated with payroll and benefits partners.
Coordinate workers’ compensation wage statements, medical documentation, work restrictions, transitional duty, and return-to-work communications with relevant partners.
Serve as a functional owner for benefits and assigned HR operations within the HRIS, ensuring accurate configuration, data integrity, workflows, reporting, and effective use of system capabilities.
Maintain accurate, confidential benefits, leave, and workers’ compensation records, with documentation and retention practices that support audits, claims, and regulatory requirements.
Coordinate the HRIS administration of UCP's performance evaluation cycle under the direction of the Director of Human Resources, including system setup, assignment of evaluations, workflow monitoring, reporting, troubleshooting, and completion tracking.
Delegate appropriate routine performance-evaluation administration and follow-up tasks to the HR Clerk while retaining accountability for accurate system setup, workflow, reporting, and timely completion.
Oversee assigned employee transactions, records, benefit changes, and HR operational processes; delegate routine administrative work appropriately while retaining accountability for accuracy, timeliness, and controls.
Develop and maintain efficient, documented HR workflows and service standards that reduce errors, unnecessary manual work, and employee or manager confusion.
Maintain clear ownership, checklists, review evidence, exception logs, and corrective-action follow-through for high-risk benefits transactions; ensure appropriate separation of processing and verification duties when staffing permits.
Use operational data to identify recurring issues, recommend process improvements, and strengthen the employee experience.
Develop clear, timely, and accessible communication that helps team members understand and effectively use UCP's benefits and related HR programs.
Serve as an escalation resource for complex benefits, leave, workers' compensation, and assigned HR operations questions while ensuring routine inquiries are handled efficiently at the appropriate level.
Partner with the Director of Human Resources and other HR team members to provide coordinated, responsive service and cross-functional coverage as needed.
Monitor benefit and HR operational expenditures within assigned areas and partner with Finance to support accurate budgeting, forecasting, reconciliation, and cost analysis.
Ensure assigned benefit, leave, retirement, workers' compensation, and HR operations comply with applicable laws, plan requirements, policies, and documentation standards.
Regularly evaluate processes, vendors, programs, and employee feedback; bring forward data-based recommendations rather than simply maintaining existing practices.
Remain current on benefits and HR operations trends and identify practices or technologies that could improve cost, service, compliance, or employee value.