Employee Benefits Leader, Human Resources
- Saint Louis, MO
- Permanent
- Full-time
- Proactively, independently and collaboratively envision, design, evaluate, recommend and refine employee benefits programs, including health insurance, wellness programs, leave policies, and other perks
- Align benefits strategies with the company’s mission, values, business strategy, and with the unique needs of NISA’s employees
- Lead market analysis to ensure competitive benefit offerings by benchmarking within the industry and market
- Establish and monitor metrics and KPI to ensure optimal design, utilization and business value
- Take end-to-end ownership to independently, yet transparently and collaboratively, manage daily operations of employee benefits, including enrollment, claims resolution, vendor management, and employee communication
- Partner with HR, accounting, payroll, finance, and legal teams to ensure smooth and effective program delivery, including understanding payroll deadlines and impacts of all aspects of benefits on payroll and accounting teams and processes
- Regularly assess cost-effectiveness while maximizing value for both employees and the organization
- Provide high-quality business cases as needed, including analytics, quantitative analysis, and qualitative summaries that clearly and precisely assess risk and impact
- Ensure compliance with all applicable federal, state, and local regulations (e.g., ACA, ERISA, HIPAA, COBRA, FMLA)
- Oversee filings such as Form 5500, ensuring accuracy and timeliness
- Monitor changes in benefits laws and regulations, providing updates and recommendations for adjustments when required
- Develop and implement communication strategies to improve employee understanding, perceived value and utilization of benefits
- Develop and present business cases to senior leadership that include robust analysis and clear resulting recommendations
- Establish the supporting mechanisms to serve employees, providing guidance on benefit offerings, supporting day-to-day inquiries, and maturing our practices during enrollment and life event changes
- Routinely evaluate employee needs, generally and by various segments, and leverage learnings to identify opportunities for improvement or innovation
- Build strong relationships with benefits vendors, brokers, and consultants, including leveraging them as an “extension of staff” to our team
- Take ownership over the renewal process, including contracting, negotiating, evaluating and recommending, to ensure optimal value
- Collaborate with external partners to resolve escalated issues and optimize service delivery
- Streamline administration and eliminate waste by implementing improved processes and tools Qualifications:
- Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, or related field
- Minimum of 10 years of professional human resources experience, with at least 5 in a similar role
- Experience in a small to mid-sized, growing organization with similar employee populations
- Proven track record of success in previous roles, including managing to specific KPI that demonstrate business value
- Deep understanding of employee benefits and the broader benefits landscape, including regulations, compliance, tax implications, best practices and trends
- Strong analytical skills with the ability to interpret data, leverage excel, communicate with highly analytical decision-makers and recommend actionable strategies
- High level of proficiency with HRIS systems and benefits administration software (ServiceNow, ADP’s Workforce Now, API integrations)
- Strong project and program management skills; from needs analysis through requirement writing, development of deliverables, implementation and change management