Benefits Administrator

Benefits Administrator

We are the Metropolitan Council, the regional government for the seven-county Twin Cities metropolitan area. We plan 30 years ahead for the future of the metropolitan area and provide regional transportation, wastewater, and housing services. More information about us on our website.

We are committed to supporting a diverse workforce that reflects the communities we serve. Human Resources works with all divisions of the Metropolitan Council to provide proactive solutions for the Council's workforce needs in the areas of recruitment, hiring, labor relations, benefits, training, organizational development, occupational health, and wellness.

How your work would contribute to our organization and the Twin Cities region:

The Benefits Administrator manages tasks associated with employee benefit plans for active/terminated/retired employees of the Metropolitan Council in accordance with policies, contracts, bargaining unit agreements, and federal/state regulations and laws. They ensure accurate processing of status changes, union changes, and new hire benefit enrollments. They also provide guidance to active and inactive employees regarding medical, dental, vision, flexible spending, life insurance, long-term disability (LTD), deferred compensation programs, retiree benefits, and COBRA continuation. In addition, they coordinate the collection of benefits premiums for employees on leave of absence.

Notes: This position is eligible for a hybrid telework arrangement (both remote and on-site). Candidate's permanent residence must be in Minnesota or Wisconsin. This posting will create a six-month eligibility list for current and future openings.

What you would do in this job:

• Explain provisions of the insurance benefit programs for employees and retirees. Provide information about the online enrollment site and answer questions about changes in contracts and coverage, determining if requests meet legal requirements. Perform administrative functions within the third-party online enrollment site.
• Ensure that work status changes and qualified status changes affecting employee insurance coverage are correctly processed.
• Audit to ensure the HRIS system accurately reflects benefit elections as loaded from the system of record (Third Party Benefit Administration platform).
• Participate in open enrollment activities; conduct the benefits segment of New Employee Orientation.
• Act as liaison between employees, retirees, and insurance carriers to ensure proper customer service, research complex discrepancies, and provide information about filing appeals, if necessary.
• Audit various billings for accuracy; research, analyze, and reconcile errors and discrepancies.
• Provide documentation of benefits for all leaves of absence events. Monitor leaves of absence and missing paychecks for benefit impact. Run automated processes or provide a manual process to collect premiums where no payroll deduction has occurred. Coordinate the billing process for premium collection. Monitor leaves of absence for accurate benefit billing. Terminate coverage for non-payment of premiums and maintain documentation of changes.
• Attend and provide documentation of benefits at medical disqualification meetings.
• Administer Qualified Medical Support orders and benefit portions of employment verifications.
• Coordinate life insurance claims for employees and retirees.
• Coordinate long-term disability benefit application and billing process for disabled employees.

What education and experience are required for this job (minimum qualifications):

• Any of the following combinations of education (in Human Resources, Health Administration, or a related field) AND experience in benefits administration in a mid-size (500+ employees) or larger organization:
• High school diploma/GED and at least 5 years of experience.
• Associate's degree and at least 3 years of experience.
• Bachelor's degree and at least 1 year of experience.

What additional skills and experience would be helpful in this job (desired qualifications):

• PeopleSoft and/or Benefitfocus experience.
• Payroll and/or accounting experience.
• Certified Employee Benefits Specialist (CEBS) certification.
• Intermediate Microsoft Excel skills.

Knowledge, skills, and abilities:

• Knowledge of benefits administration processes and legislative requirements.
• Knowledge of policies; procedures; labor agreements; and federal/state laws, regulations, and statutes as they relate to employee benefit plans.
• Basic Microsoft Word skills, intermediate Microsoft Excel skills.
• Ability to read and interpret documents, instructions, and procedure manuals.
• Ability to write routine reports and correspondence.
• Ability to speak effectively before groups of customers.
• Ability to calculate figures and amounts.
• High attention to detail to ensure accuracy.
• Strong analytical and mathematical skills, with the ability to calculate benefit percentages, premiums, and deductions accurately.
• Skill to provide basic client services to the public and other agencies within the organization while exercising tact, courtesy and cooperation when exchanging information.
• Ability to promote an equitable, positive and respectful work environment that values culture and diversity among employees.

What you can expect from us:

• We offer the opportunity to make a difference and positively influence the Twin Cities metropolitan area.
• We encourage our employees to develop their skills through on-site training and tuition reimbursement.
• We provide a competitive salary, excellent benefits and a good work/life balance.

Additional information:

Union/Grade: American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees/Grade E FLSA Status: Non-exempt Safety Sensitive: No Full Salary Range: $33.71- $54.71 hourly/ $70,117 -$113,797 annually Anticipated Hiring Range: $39.21- $44.00 hourly/ $81,557 -$91,520 annually

What your work environment would be: You would perform your work in a standard office setting. Work may sometimes require travel between your primary work site and other sites.

What steps the recruitment process involves:

1. We review your minimum qualifications.
2. We rate your education and experience.
3. We conduct a structured panel interview.
4. We conduct a selection interview.

Once you have successfully completed the steps above, then: If you are new to the Metropolitan Council, you must pass a drug test (safety sensitive positions only) and a background check, which verifies education and employment, covers driving record (if applicable to the job) and any criminal record. If you have a criminal conviction, you do not automatically fail. The Metropolitan Council considers felony, gross misdemeanor and misdemeanor convictions on a case-by-case basis, based on whether they are related to the job and whether the candidate has demonstrated adequate rehabilitation. If you are already an employee of the Metropolitan Council, you must pass a drug test (if moving from a non-safety sensitive position to a safety sensitive position) and criminal background check if the job you're applying for is safety sensitive, is a supervisory or management job, is in the Finance, Information Services or Human Resources departments, or has access to financial records, files/databases, cash, vouchers or transit fare cards. IMPORTANT: If you make a false statement or withhold information, you may be barred from job consideration. The Metropolitan Council is an Equal Opportunity, Affirmative Action, and veteran-friendly employer. The Council is committed to a workforce that reflects the diversity of the region and strongly encourages persons of color, members of the LGBTQ community, individuals with disabilities, women, and veterans to apply. If you have a disability that requires accommodation during the selection process, please email View email address on click.appcast.io

We believe our employees are a key to our agency's success! In order to attract and retain high quality employees, the Council provides a highly competitive benefits package both in choice and coverage levels. Some highlights about our benefits are listed below:

• Guaranteed monthly retirement income through Minnesota State Retirement System pension fund
• Opportunity to save additional funds for retirement on a tax-deferred basis through a voluntary deferred compensation (457) plan
• Two or more medical plans from which to choose, with employer contribution towards premiums over 80%
• Dental insurance, life insurance and vision insurance

The following benefits are provided to all employees as part of working for the Council. You will have access to free:

• View email address on click.appcast.io clinic
• bus/rail pass valued at over $1200 per year
• parking at many job locations
• fitness centers