Sr Analyst, Health & Welfare Strategy and Compliance

Hearst•Charlotte, NC

9d•Hybrid

About The Position

Join the Hearst Employee Benefits Team! At the core of Hearst's culture is a shared belief that the best work comes from fostering an environment of inclusion and diversity, and we are committed to doing everything we can to make all of our colleagues, and their loved ones feel included and supported — especially in the benefits we offer. We are proud to offer a comprehensive benefits program designed with our colleagues’ and their families’ needs in mind to help safeguard their physical, financial emotional and family wellbeing. Job Overview: As a critical member of the Hearst Benefits team and a key implementer of this vision, your role as a Senior Analyst on the Health & Welfare team is pivotal in crafting and delivering benefits solutions that profoundly impact our diverse U.S.-based employee population, including 14,000+ benefits-eligible colleagues across multiple geographies, time zones and business units, such as Hearst’s television, newspapers, magazine, health and financial services divisions. The Senior Analyst, Health & Welfare Strategy and Compliance, plays a key role in supporting benefit plans and the broader benefits team by partnering across vendors, operations and internal and external stakeholders. The position focuses on delivering a high-quality employee experience through strong data integrity, effective vendor management, and reliable financial and operational processes, including billing and reporting. The role also supports compliance by ensuring benefit plans are administered accurately and consistently in alignment with regulatory requirements. Responsibilities span a range of programs, including, but not limited to, Medical, Dental, Vision, Flexible Spending Accounts, Health Savings Accounts, and Life Insurance. This role has primary responsibility for managing Health & Welfare data for both active and retiree populations to ensure quality service delivery and accuracy of administration and reporting. In addition, the role assists with any standard or custom reporting that is needed for key stakeholders including all Affordable Care Act (ACA) Reporting, 5500 filings, and other compliance related activities. This is a hybrid role that requires three days in the office each week.

Requirements

Perform job functions adhering to service principles with customer service focus of innovation, service excellence and teamwork to provide the highest quality service to employees, dependents, co-workers and others
Possess excellent verbal, written, interpersonal, public speaking and presentation communication skills to interact effectively with and establish rapport with all levels of management and employees
Ability to maintain a high level of integrity and confidentiality relating to employee and business unit information
Ability to manage and prioritize multiple projects and work effectively with minimal direction and supervision and thrive in an environment with shifting priorities
Strong organizational skills, including the ability to effectively prioritize workload
In-depth knowledge of data-analysis and problem-solving skills with strong attention to detail
Ability to think creatively when reviewing processes and workflows
Strong project management and interpersonal skills allowing the individual to bring projects to completion with input from manager
Proactive team player who likes to work collaboratively
Ability to travel as needed
Bachelor’s Degree or higher in business administration, human resources or related field required (or equivalent work experience)
Minimum of four years of experience in a benefits-related field, preferably in an analyst capacity
Experience in human resources, including benefits, payroll, benefits strategy and vendor management
Knowledge of project management and quality improvement principles
Knowledge of basic financial principles
Strong practical knowledge of employee benefits programs and related regulatory statutes (ERISA, federal and state regulations), to maintain compliance and provide guidance to the Benefits Team
Advanced proficiency in the Microsoft suite, including Outlook, Word, Excel and PowerPoint
Advanced Excel skills including, but not limited to, VLookup, HLookup, pivot tables and concatenate functions
Strong knowledge of human capital and benefits management systems and report generation

Responsibilities

Assist in managing vendor relationships for Health & Welfare programs, including issue resolution, data exchange coordination, and service delivery oversight
Review, reconcile, and validate benefits data across vendor files, eligibility systems, and payroll to ensure accuracy in administration, invoicing, billing, and reporting
Ensure benefit plans are administered in compliance with plan provisions and applicable state and federal regulations through accurate data handling and reporting
Prepare and assist with standard and ad hoc reporting, including ACA reporting, Form 5500 filings, and other compliance-related deliverables
Assist with internal and external audits, providing accurate data and documentation as needed
Stay informed on changes to state and federal benefits regulations and communicate operational or reporting impacts to team
Ability to leverage AI tools to improve efficiency of current processes
Perform invoicing and billing reconciliation by auditing vendor invoices against eligibility, payroll, and enrollment data; resolve discrepancies and ensure accurate payments and cost tracking
Assure processes and procedures are in place to capture and maintain consistent and accurate benefits-related data
Support Annual Enrollment process as needed, including delivering benefit presentations to employees
Create and follow processes to keep data confidential
Perform system testing and quality assurance of new products and benefit programs, including Annual Enrollment testing
Support other projects at the discretion of both the Health & Welfare Director and Manager