The Leave and Benefit Specialist assists in administering leave and benefit programs for all employees, coordinating and managing the process from initiation to closure. This includes managing all relevant communications and updates to employees' HR records. In this role, you will be responsible for communicating with employees and medical professionals regarding leave matters. You will provide guidance and interpretation of our benefit plans, helping employees navigate the process of filing for or claiming benefits.

Additionally, you will play a crucial role in benefit administration, offering guidance, counseling, and support to employees in understanding their benefit and leave plans. This encompasses assisting new employees with benefit enrollment. You will also be involved in introductory vendor management and employee program oversight.

Your responsibilities as a Leave and Benefit Specialist are essential to ensuring that our employees receive the support and information they need for their leave and benefit programs. Your expertise will contribute to a seamless and efficient process that aligns with our commitment to employee well-being and satisfaction.

Job Model:  Hybrid

All fully remote positions will require you to travel on site 2-4 times per month depending upon business needs at your own expense.

Hybrid positions will require employees to work both on-site and remote each week under a schedule that has been determined and agreed upon by you and your manager.

On-Site positions will require employees to work on-site for each of their scheduled shifts.

Leave Management

• • Communicate effectively with employees, medical providers, and managers to gather information regarding leave eligibility and benefit authorization.

• • Assess, adjudicate, track, and monitor all leave of absence requests to ensure compliance with company policy and applicable laws (FMLA, ADA, state leave programs).

• • Serve as the primary contact for leave-related inquiries from employees and supervisors, providing clear guidance and support throughout the leave process.

• • Review employee claims for eligibility, accuracy, and completeness; document all leave activities in the leave management system.

• • Authorize and coordinate return-to-work arrangements based on physician documentation, job requirements, and departmental capabilities.

• • Track weekly benefit deductions for employees on unpaid leave and follow up on outstanding balances.

• • Maintain strict confidentiality and ensure protection of sensitive employee information in all leave-related activities.

Benefits Administration

• • Provide guidance and assistance to employees regarding their benefit plans, including new hire enrollment, life event changes, and terminations.

• • Serve as the primary contact for benefits-related inquiries from employees and supervisors, ensuring accurate and timely responses.

• • Develop and deliver training to drive employee awareness and understanding of benefit programs, including leave and wellness initiatives.

• • Conduct regular audits of benefit enrollment data in HRIS and vendor systems to ensure accuracy of deductions, eligibility, and enrollment records.

• • Assist in administering annual open enrollment and ongoing benefits processes; support the Benefits Manager with projects as needed.

• • Ensure compliance with all applicable regulatory requirements for benefits and leave programs.

• • Provide superior customer service by rendering benefit determinations within expected timeframes and maintaining proactive communication with employees.

General HR Support

• • Log all interactions and maintain detailed case documentation in HRIS and leave management systems.

• • Support employee well-being by assisting with return-to-work planning and ensuring employees receive appropriate benefits in accordance with company policies and legal requirements.

• • Provide general administrative and project support to the HR department as assigned.

• Works under supervision. Will receive guidance from supervisors in regard to claims decision-making process

• Ability to deal with problems involving several concrete variables in standardized situations.

• Contacts are both internal and external across all employee levels within the organization.

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• Strong organizational skills and attention to detail. Requires strong communication skills, good writing skills, strong customer service and analytical skills.

• Adept user of Microsoft office suite, especially excel.

• Ability to effectively communicate in potentially stressful situations.

• Demonstrated ability to gather and analyze information, determine a course of action and implement the selected course of action.

• Ability to quickly learn company policies, procedures and benefit offerings.

• Bachelor’s degree preferred.

• 2-4 years’ experience working in benefits administration, data analysis, or related HR or administrative field.

• Experience and knowledge of short-term disability and FMLA claim processes is a plus

• Strong interpersonal, written and verbal communication skills.

• Able to communicate effectively via phone.

• Strong presentation skills.

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Employees assigned to certain tasks within this job may be required to participate in our Medical Surveillance Program.

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is occasionally required to stand, walk, sit, talk or hear and reach with hands and arms. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision. Moderate noise (i.e.; computer printers, traffic) exists daily in the work environment.