Benefits and Leave Specialist, HR (Full Time)

Job Description

Job Description

Description:

JOB SUMMARY

Reporting to the Chief Talent Officer, as a member of the Talent Management team, the Benefits & Leave Specialist administers Williamsburg Landing’s health and welfare plans, retirement programs, and leave of absence processes, ensuring accuracy and regulatory compliance. Key duties include managing statutory compliance for FMLA and short-term disability, coordinating the ADA interactive process, administering the workers' compensation program, and executing mandatory regulatory filings. Additionally, the role administers position and compensation workflows, including processing pay and position classification changes in the HRIS. The ideal candidate will combine a strong compliance and analytical focus—including routine internal data audits, strong HRIS database management, and utilization of Excel for premium reconciliation—with a professional, service-oriented approach to supporting team members with their compensation, benefits and leave inquiries.

ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS

• Administers health and welfare plans, including enrollments, changes and terminations; processes required documents through payroll and insurance providers to ensure accurate record-keeping and proper deductions
• Reviews and approves billing statements, notifies carriers of changes, and ensures timely approval of invoices for payment by Finance & Accounting
• Conducts routine internal audits of health and welfare plan enrollments against carrier billing to prevent compliance leakage
• Maintains a thorough understanding of health plan benefits and coverage offerings, deductibles, employer contributions, and employee premiums; explains coverages to team members during new hire orientation and upon request
• Ensures all plan administration strictly aligns with ACA, COBRA, HIPAA, Section 125, and relevant state mandates
• Provides compliance oversight and administration for retirement plans (e.g., 403b), ensuring adherence to ERISA, IRS, and DOL regulations. Manages the execution of mandatory annual filings (Form 5500), non-discrimination testing, required participant disclosures, and serves as the primary point of contact for annual plan audits.
• Manages the end-to-end statutory compliance of FMLA, short-term/long-term disability, and unpaid leaves of absence. Ensures precise tracking of job-protected leave, accurate designation notices, timely medical certifications, and coordinates with TM Business Partners to facilitate the ADA interactive process for return-to-work accommodations.
• Administers the workers' compensation program in strict accordance with state regulations and OSHA recording criteria, mitigating organizational risk by analyzing injury trends, filing timely First Report of Injury (FROI) forms, and managing compliant modified-duty/return-to-work programs
• Leads the workers’ compensation incident review process to identify root causes, improve workplace safety, and prevent future occurrences
• Maintains the OSHA employee injury log with high accuracy to ensure transparent safety tracking; completes and files federal safety and compliance reports annually as assigned
• Establishes new benefit plans in the HRIS each renewal year and coordinates annual benefit enrollment meetings in consultation with insurance broker and third party vendors
• Ensures changes for new hires, terminations, status changes, benefit deductions, and certain bonuses are entered timely and correctly into HRIS
• Verifies eligibility for team members applying to use education and scholarship funds and processes applications for payment to education providers
• Maintains the performance review modules in the HRIS to ensure evaluators complete 90-day and annual performance reviews and Stay Interviews in a timely manner
• Fulfills requests for HRIS reports; teaches users to design reports and obtain data independently.
• Responds to daily team member needs regarding leave, employee benefits, workers compensation, and pay reviews, working closely with the Chief Talent Officer to ensure that inquiries regarding organizational procedures are addressed timely and responded to in compliance with policy and legal requirements. Demonstrates acumen in listening to understand and recommending approaches and solutions that support team members, respect and inclusion, as well as risk mitigation.
• Reviews and recommends policy and procedural updates as needed and requested to include the Employee Handbook, job descriptions, policies, forms, and surveys.
• Upholds Williamsburg Landing’s Corporate Compliance Plan, reporting actual and potential compliance issues to the Compliance Officers and demonstrating ethical conduct to fellow employees and residents
• Performs other duties as assigned. Cross trains and serves as a backup for other Talent Management team member responsibilities.

QUALIFICATIONS

Education & Experience:

• Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, or a related field preferred; or an equivalent combination of education and experience
• Minimum of three (3) years of experience administering health/welfare plans, retirement plans, and complex leaves of absence (FMLA/Short-Term Disability)
• Proven experience participating in or preparing for audits and compliance reporting/filings (e.g., Form 5500 and audits, worker's compensation audits, or retirement plan audits)
• Demonstrated experience managing leaves and the interactive process for ADA accommodations in tandem with leave management

Certifications (Preferred):

• Certified Employee Benefit Specialist (CEBS) or Certified Benefits Professional (CBP)
• SHRM-CP or PHR with a focus on total rewards or employment law compliance

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES

• Working knowledge of human resources management best practices, preferably in senior or healthcare services or nonprofit environments
• Demonstrated knowledge of federal and state labor and benefits laws, including but not limited to ERISA, FMLA, ADA, ACA, COBRA, HIPAA, OSHA, and Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) regulations surrounding wage deductions.
• Advanced proficiency in HRIS benefits modules and report-writing functions.
• Proficiency with Google Suite and Microsoft Office. Intermediate Microsoft Excel skills (must be proficient with VLOOKUPs, pivot tables, and data reconciliation for billing audits).
• Advanced proficiency in utilizing HRIS platforms to generate compliance reports, track leave metrics, and manage automated benefits feeds. Advanced Excel skills (VLOOKUPs, Pivot Tables) required for data reconciliation and reporting
• Demonstrated ability to maintain high confidentiality regarding sensitive medical and financial data, with a proven track record of identifying compliance risks and proactively implementing corrective protocols.
• Exceptional interpersonal approach and oral and written communication skills with team members, managers, residents, and interdisciplinary teams.
• Excellent organizational, analytical, and administrative skills and the ability to handle multiple priorities simultaneously in a fast-paced environment
• Strong leadership and coaching skills with the ability to motivate and support evaluate team members and leaders
• Ability to manage work schedule with attention to responsiveness and optimizing efficiency
• Ability to build and maintain professional working relationships with a strong customer service excellence orientation and work equitably and compliantly with compassion and professionalism with employees, residents, vendors, visitors, and the general public.
• Ability to work as a team or independently and be self-motivated and goal oriented with shared accountability
• Ability to take initiative to solve problems on behalf of team members and leaders and to exercise sound professional judgment appropriately when under pressure or facing opposition or criticism, such as in investigations and emergency situations
• Ability to lift up to 50 lbs. occasionally
• Ability to stand and walk throughout the shift, as well as ability to move about the community to attend meetings, visit team members, and participate in or present at activities as needed.