Compensation & Benefits Specialist

Description:

Position Summary: The Compensation & Benefits Specialist is responsible for administering and maintaining competitive compensation and benefits programs that support organizational goals and ensure compliance with regulatory requirements. This role also serves as backup support for payroll processing and manages vendor relationships to ensure effective delivery of compensation and benefits services. The position plays a key part in salary planning, including annual and quarterly bonus programs, benefits administration, and employee support, while ensuring accuracy, consistency, and market competitiveness.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

Benefits Administration

• Perform weekly and monthly benefits reconciliations to ensure accuracy of enrollments and vendor billing.
• Manage 401(k) funding processes, including timely contributions and coordination with payroll and vendors.
• Oversee the workers compensation program, including vendor partnerships, claims oversight, cost containment strategies, and return-to-work programs.
• Oversee short-term disability, long-term disability, and absence programs ensuring compliant administration of statutory and company sponsored policies.
• Lead the administration and continuous improvement of leave and absence programs, including FMLA, ADA, state and local paid leave programs, and company leaves.
• Partner with third-party administrators to ensure accurate and compliant program administration with evolving regulatory requirements.
• Analyze utilization trends and program costs to support design, optimization and strategic improvements.
• Lead return-to-work and accommodation strategies, partnering with business leaders to reduce lost time, enable safe transitional work, and support sustainable reintegration into the workforce.
• Ensure full regulatory compliance with federal, state, and local requirements (e.g., Workers Compensation statutes, ADA, FMLA coordination, state disability laws), including audits, reporting, and documentation standards.
• Serve as the escalation point for complex, high-risk, or sensitive cases involving serious injuries, prolonged disability, and return-to-work challenges.
• Serve as the subject matter expert for leave, disability, workers compensation and absence-related compliance.
• Identify opportunities to improve processes, systems integration, and employee experience.
• Conduct regular audits of 401(k) and other benefit plans to ensure compliance and accuracy.
• Serve as a point of contact for employee benefits inquiries and issue resolution.

Compensation Administration

• Administer annual salary programs, including salary structure creation, maintenance, and updates.
• Manage and support annual and quarterly bonus programs, including planning, calculations, tracking, and payouts.
• Support development and execution of merit increase cycles and incentive compensation programs.
• Assist in creating and managing salary increase and bonus budgets.
• Conduct market benchmarking and compensation analysis to ensure competitive pay practices.
• Partner with HR and leadership to provide insights and recommendations on compensation strategies.
• Maintain compensation data integrity and generate reports as needed.

Vendor Management

• Manage relationships with external vendors, including benefits providers, brokers, and payroll partners.
• Act as the primary liaison for vendor communications, issue resolution, and service delivery.
• Monitor vendor performance against service level agreements (SLAs) and contractual obligations.
• Coordinate vendor renewals, implementations, and open enrollment support.
• Partner with vendors to identify process improvements and cost-saving opportunities.

Payroll Support (Backup)

• Serve as backup for payroll processing, ensuring timely and accurate payroll execution.
• Review and validate payroll data, including earnings, deductions, and taxes.
• Assist with payroll audits, reconciliations, and reporting.
• Partner with payroll, HR, and finance teams to resolve discrepancies and ensure compliance with applicable laws.
• Maintain confidentiality and accuracy of payroll records.
• Maintain records that are in compliance with Customer, FAA, and DOT regulations.

Collaboration & Reporting

• Work cross-functionally with payroll, finance, and HR teams to ensure alignment and data accuracy.
• Prepare reports and analytics related to compensation and benefits for leadership review.
• Assist with internal and external audits related to compensation, benefits, and payroll programs.

Education/Experience:

• Bachelors degree in human resources, Business Administration, Finance, or related field.
• 35 years of experience in compensation, benefits, payroll, and/or vendor management.
• Strong knowledge of compensation structures, benchmarking, salary planning, and bonus administration.
• Experience with benefits administration, including 401(k), health plans, and compliance programs.
• Familiarity with payroll processes and systems
• Knowledge of FMLA, ADA, and workers compensation processes
• Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Excel (e.g., pivot tables, VLOOKUP/XLOOKUP, data analysis, reporting)
• Strong analytical, organizational, and problem-solving skills

Preferred Qualifications:

• Certified Compensation Professional (CCP) or Certified Employee Benefits Specialist (CEBS)
• Experience in a manufacturing or aerospace environment

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