Senior Benefits Specialist

Northeastern University•Boston, MA

12d•$67,855 - $95,845•Hybrid

About The Position

The Senior Benefits Specialist is a subject-matter expert responsible for the day-to-day administration, analysis, and continuous improvement of the university's health and welfare and retirement benefit programs. The role serves as an escalation point for complex benefits and retirement inquiries, partners with vendors and carriers to ensure accurate plan administration, and provides analytics to inform program design, compliance, and cost management. It requires a highly organized, detail-oriented professional with strong customer service instincts who can manage competing priorities in a fast-paced, high-volume environment. The position reports to the Associate Director, Benefits, with a dotted-line relationship to the Manager, Benefits for day-to-day benefits operations, retirement administration coordination, and team-level service delivery. It is hybrid, with three days required on campus.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, Finance, or a related field, or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
5–7 years of progressive experience in benefits administration, retirement plan administration, or total rewards analytics, ideally in a large, complex organization.
Expertise administering health and welfare plans, including medical, dental, vision, life, and disability plans, and retirement/403(b)/401(k) programs, including eligibility, enrollment, and vendor file feeds.
Strong analytical skills and demonstrated ability to build reports, dashboards, and data analyses; advanced Excel required.
Exceptional customer service orientation and a track record of building trust and rapport with employees, retirees, and leadership.
Ability to explain complex benefits concepts in clear, accessible guidance.
Working knowledge of ERISA, HIPAA, ACA, COBRA, and IRS retirement plan rules.
Ability to manage multiple priorities, deadlines, and stakeholders in a fast-paced environment, using sound judgment and discretion when handling sensitive employee data.
Excellent verbal and written communication skills, including experience developing employee-facing communications and job aids.

Nice To Haves

Experience with Workday or a similar HRIS is strongly preferred.
Experience in higher education or another academic/nonprofit setting is a plus.
CEBS, CBP, PHR, or SPHR certification preferred.

Responsibilities

Serve as a senior contact for escalated employee and retiree benefits inquiries, resolving complex eligibility, enrollment, billing, and claims issues.
Administer day-to-day health and welfare plan operations, including new-hire enrollment, qualifying life events, open enrollment support, and COBRA coordination.
Work with carriers and vendors to resolve data discrepancies, file-feed errors, and billing reconciliation issues.
Provide proactive, empathetic customer service to employees and retirees.
Administer retirement programs, including enrollment, contribution changes, coordination of loans and withdrawals, and oversight of vendor data feeds.
Support annual retirement plan compliance activities, including nondiscrimination testing coordination, Form 5500 support, and plan audits.
Serve as the primary liaison with retirement plan recordkeepers and investment providers on day-to-day service issues.
Assist employees with retirement planning questions and coordinate financial wellness education sessions.
Build and maintain recurring and ad hoc reports and dashboards on benefits utilization, retirement participation, and plan costs.
Analyze plan performance data to identify trends, anomalies, cost-saving opportunities, and process improvements.
Provide data and analysis to support RFPs, renewals, and executive-level presentations.
Identify and implement process improvements in benefits and retirement administration workflows.
Maintain accurate standard operating procedures and job aids.
Ensure benefits administration practices comply with applicable federal and state regulations.
Collaborate with HRBPs, Payroll, and HR Operations on benefits-related matters.
Support special projects, including open enrollment, vendor transitions, and system implementations.
Manage high transaction volumes and shifting priorities, particularly during open enrollment and other peak periods.