Senior Benefits Administrator

At Mintel, we believe that our people set us apart. Our purpose as an organization is to help people and businesses grow and the Senior Benefits Specialist will do just that by managing the administration of Mintel’s U.S and Canadian benefit plans and programs in accordance with plan documents, insurance contracts, vendor agreements, and applicable federal, state, provincial, and local regulations. 

The Senior Benefits Administrator reports to the SVP of Human Resources.   This position is responsible for administration, compliance, carrier review,  employee communications and applicable annual audits of the North American employee health & welfare plans and 401k for approximately 450 lives and growing.  Accordingly, you will also be responsible for managing third party relationships, brokers and our HRIS partner in supporting our benefit programs.  The role offers the opportunity to work cross-functionally with several key areas of the business such as Finance and Payroll, HR Compliance, Recruitment, Procurement and Office Administration in addition to continuous correspondence with all Mintel employees in the Americas. 

The ideal candidate will have 4 to 7 years of experience in a corporate benefits role developing and administering health/welfare, transit, disability and 401k benefits, in an HRIS environment. You will have demonstrated ability in executing and communicating a benefits strategy and are highly adaptable to changing business conditions and priorities.

What You Will Be Doing:

• Ownership of annual enrollment: Oversee the company’s Annual Open Enrollment process to include coordination with brokers, vendors, and development of written communications (letters, e-mails, presentations) and scheduling of employee information sessions.
• Interpreting benefit and retirement plans to employees:  Support compliance with plans and policies in order to facilitate administration, respond to questions, and interface with vendors independently to resolve issues and address complex problems.
• Administration of disability plans: Reviewing disability status reports and partnering with third party administrators to ensure payments and status updates are timely.  
• Vendor partnership oversight: Act as the conduit between the company and benefit vendors, while holding carriers, brokers and vendors accountable for excellent service performance and achievement of their service level agreements.
• 401K liaison: Act as the main point of contact for the 401k plan including its advisors, TPA and auditor, providing expert advice and direction to the Trustees. 
• Update policies: Ensure benefit policies are up to date and in compliance with all federal, state, and local regulations.
• Conduct audits: Responsible for auditing Mintel and vendor systems to ensure benefit enrollments and payroll deductions are accurate. In addition you will co-manage reconciliation of benefit plan billing with Finance. 
• Federal and State Reporting:  Assist with mandatory federal, state and provincial reports and filings, and their respective required communications (e.g. required DOL and ERISA reporting and communications). Also ensure Affordable Care Act compliance is maintained through proper monitoring and reporting.
• Employee education:  Conduct new employee orientations and enrollment workshops in partnership with our brokers and HR team. Proactively sponsor quarterly education sessions.   
• Regulatory compliance: Maintain current knowledge of regulatory requirements to ensure benefit programs comply with applicable plans, policies, programs, and regulations.
• Data analysis: Prepare ad hoc reporting for executive management. Analyze externally prepared 5500s - health and welfare plan and 401k. 
• Statutory and provincial compliance: Ensure compliance with FMLA, ADA, COBRA, ERISA, and HIPAA requirements. 
• Human Resources Information System (HRIS):   Monitor benefit administration within the HRIS, working with appropriate partners to troubleshoot and make updates as needed. 

What We Are Looking For:

• A People Person: You are able to easily adapt to different personalities and levels within an organization and love working with people to solve their problems and answer their questions.
• A Trustworthy Partner: Your integrity is infallible, working with confidential matters on a continuous basis. You have sound judgement in knowing what and when to escalate to management regarding potential issues.
• A Benefits Expert : You have working knowledge of federal and state benefits regulations and legislation (e.g. PPACA, ERISA, IRC, DOL, FMLA, ADAA, COBRA, HIPAA) and hands-on experience in handling technical aspects of benefits administration such as discrimination testing and government reporting obligations. You take initiative to maintain current knowledge of regulatory requirements to ensure benefit programs comply with applicable plans, policies, programs, and regulations.
• A Negotiator: You have experience in benefits provider negotiations and have comprehensive oversight and a deadline driven capability.
• A Problem Solver: You have superb problem-solving competencies and take pride in your work being accurate and complete within the designated time frames.
• An HRIS Pro: You have worked with an online HRIS system, UltiPro is a plus. 
• An Analytical Mindset: You have strong analytical and quantitative abilities, including cost forecasting. You have a healthy balance of curiosity and scepticism,  and strive to understand the why. 
• A Self-Directed Professional: You take initiative to solve problems and uncover opportunities, and you are eager to take ownership and accountability for the success of our HR initiatives.
• A Great Communicator: You have extremely polished verbal and written communication skills, and can adapt your communication style to suit individual conversations. Portuguese and Spanish languages are a plus, in support of our Latin American teams.
• A True Collaborator: You bring an energy to the table that encourages and develops internal relationships. You seek out opportunities to collaborate with peers in your department and across the organization to ultimately elevate our employee’s experience.
• A Microsoft Suite Power User: You have excellent Microsoft skills and can easily learn and adapt to other tools as needed.

Equal Opportunity Employer: Race/Color/Sex/Sexual Orientation/Gender Identity/Religion/National Origin/Disability/Vets

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