Benefits Manager

City of McKinney • Full-time • McKinney, Texas, United States • $96.17k - $139.45k / year • 1m ago

SUMMARY OF POSITION

Under general supervision of the Director of Human Resources, this position is responsible for the leadership, management, administration, and maintenance of the employee benefits and wellbeing programs.

Essential Functions/Knowledge, Skills, & Abilities

GENERAL EXPECTATIONS FOR ALL EMPLOYEES

In order for us to continue to achieve our primary function of making McKinney a better place to live, work, and raise a family, we hold these expectations for all employees.

Learn and demonstrate an understanding of how team, department, and City goals are interconnected.
Contribute to a positive work culture.
Maintain regular and reliable attendance.
Ability to assess his/her work performance or the work performance of the team.
Contribute to the development of others and/or the working unit or overall organization.
Ability and willingness to work as part of a team, to demonstrate team skills, and to perform a fair share of team responsibilities.
Ability to continuously learn and develop through a mix of internal and external training opportunities, and if applicable, encourage subordinates to do the same.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Monitors benefit programs cost and trends and recommends appropriate actions to mitigate cost and trend impacts; analyzes quarterly and annual program performance reports; ensures development of comprehensive claims data to monitor trends and performance; oversees, reviews and recommends premium rates, stop loss levels, and reserve changes; monitors the financial status of the City of McKinney insurance fund to ensure fund viability.
Coordinates the selection process for outside consultants; collaborates with outside consultants that may be employed to assist with the development of strategic alternatives that complement employee needs pertaining to benefit programs.
Facilitates the annual renewal and/or bid process for employee insurance and fringe benefits; assists in the development and review of RFPs.
Installs new plans, changes, and program providers according to contractual agreements; confirms accurate and timely implementation.
Ensures that benefit plan vendors administer plans according to design and that escalated issues are resolved in a timely fashion.
Maintains accurate written benefit summaries, Summary Plan Descriptions and other benefit related documents; ensures employees have access to current information.
Collaborates with benefit vendors and benefit consultants to solicit, review and assess quotes, manage accounts, address issues and conduct census and cost analysis.
Partners with HR Director to develop strategy in managing self-funded health claims fund to ensure well-balanced, cost-effective benefits programs.
Evaluates and supervises assigned staff.
Maintains, evaluates and redesigns current wellness initiatives, develops and implements new initiatives.
Analyzes wellness activity expenses and determines any return on investments; researches, evaluates, and leads the selection of new wellness initiatives and vendors.
Develops and conducts training/communication sessions for employees on policies, practices and processes related to the management of benefit and wellness programs; assists employees and management with questions, issues, qualifications, requirements and procedures related to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA), Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), and long-term disability, Affordable Care Act (ACA) and other laws, rules and regulations related to benefits, wellness and human resources administrations.
Ensures ongoing compliance with all applicable state and federal regulations by monitoring and evaluating state and federal legislative trends and regulations and making appropriate recommendations to ensure risk and cost mitigation; prepares and submits all necessary annual reporting and fillings.
Facilitates the preparation and distribution of written and verbal information designed to inform employees of benefit programs and their cost.
Evaluates benefits plans and recommends alternatives and enhancements to meet the changing needs of the City’s workforce and eligible dependents.
Manages enrollment and orientation of new employees signing up for benefits; leads annual open enrollment process; ensures smooth transition for employees for benefit changes; processes enrollment forms.
Advises, counsels and assists employees on benefits administration and issue resolutions.
Administers the retirement and deferred compensation programs.
Provides policy and procedure interpretations to employees and supervisors; provides assistance with employee relations issues.

OTHER JOB FUNCTIONS:

Perform other duties as assigned or directed.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, ABILITIES, AND BEHAVIORS

Ability to embrace and embody the City’s core values of Respect, Integrity, Service, and Excellence (R.I.S.E.).
Ability to communicate effectively with peers, supervisors, directors, employees, , and people to whom service is provided.
Ability to meet deadlines and produce desired work outcomes, including quality, quantity, and timeliness.
Ability to plan and organize work, time, and resources, of benefit staff members .
Ability to lead, collaborate and coordinate with committees and work teams.
Knowledge of employee benefits program applications, methods and techniques.
Knowledge of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA), Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), Affordable Care Act (ACA), and other applicable Federal, state, and city rules, regulations, guidelines, policies and procedures related to health, welfare and wellness programs.
Knowledge of common terminology related to benefit and wellness program management.
Knowledge of business process analysis and project management practices, principles, and techniques.
Knowledge of city policies and procedures.
Knowledge of customer service and public relations practices and methods.
Skill in resolving benefits issues, internally and externally.
Skill in communicating effectively, including written, oral and group presentation.
Skill in establishing and maintaining effective working relationships, both internal and external.
Skill in handling information restricted to specific persons and confidentially of information.
Skill in interpreting insurance and benefit policies and using that information to assist others.
Skill in reading and understanding technical manuals, policies and procedures, legislative and system documentation, etc.
Skill in preparing clear and concise reports and memos in non-technical terminology to brief managers, supervisors and employees.
Skill in performing mathematical calculations to make projections and/or forecasts.
Skill in analyzing and interpreting complex documents.

Required Qualifications

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

Any work related experience resulting in acceptable proficiency levels in the below Minimum Qualifications may be an acceptable substitute.

Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university with major coursework in Human Resources, Public or Business Administration or a related field. Five (5) years of full-time work experience in benefit administration. Two (2) years of the required experience must have been in a lead capacity.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS