Benefits Manager

Benefits ManagerThe purpose of this position is to design, oversee, manage and administer the city's benefits program including health insurance, supplemental insurance and retirement plans.Essential Job Functions:Supervises, directs, and evaluates assigned staff; processes employee concerns and problems, directs work; counsels, disciplines, and completes employee performance appraisals.Administer and oversee the city's benefits program. Evaluate and develop benefits packages that are competitive, cost effective and aligned with the city's goals.Manage a variety of group benefit plans including medical, dental, vision, life, disability, and voluntary benefits.Design benefits programs that include the best options in health insurance, retirement plans, dental and vision coverage, life insurance, and disability insurance. Develop benefit plans and strategies that focus on cost containment including plan design, vendor negotiations, and utilization management.Maintain a knowledge of the best insurance plans on the market suited to our employees' needs.Design and execute employee and/or retiree communications relating to benefits.Design, oversee and provide training for new employees to understand their benefits.Ensure compliance with federal, state and local laws including the Affordable Care Act (ACA), Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA), and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).Serve as the main point of contact for employees and retirees with questions about benefits and maintain a knowledge of resources they can access.Track, trend and report benefit-related data to senior leadership.Understand the cost of benefits and communicate it.Serve as an advocate for employee benefits while promoting city goals and priorities.Select benefit vendors, manage open enrollment and manage vendor renewals.Ensure that plans and benefits administration adhere to federal and state regulations including COBRA and the ACA. Maintains awareness of new government regulations, products, methods, trends, techniques, and advances in profession.Participate, administer and oversee the day-to-day benefits operations including enrollment, systems entries, invoice reconciliations, and benefit plan audits.Research benefit related questions and resolves problems.Maintains the integrity of benefits/payroll data in automated human resources information systems; coordinates transfer of data to external vendors, plan providers, and payroll; and oversee invoice reconciliation and payments to venders.Serves as a supplement and backup to the Benefits Specialist.May assist with annual open enrollment, employee benefits meetings, and new-hire benefits orientations; provide benefits information, including changes, to eligible employees.Prepares, completes, and produces a variety of benefits, compensation, and human resources forms, reports, correspondence, invoices, policies and procedures manuals, brochures, pamphlets, reference materials or other documents; reviews, completes, processes, forwards, or retains as appropriate.Operates a personal computer, general office equipment, or other equipment as necessary to complete essential functions, to include the use of word processing, spreadsheet, database, or other system software.Additional Functions:Performs other related duties as required, requested, and assigned.Minimum QualificationsEducation and Experience:Requires a bachelor's degree in business administration, human resources, or a related field. Five (5) years of related experience in benefits administration and insurance preferably life and health insurance. Three (3) years of supervisory experience required.Licenses or Certifications:Certified Employee Benefits Specialist (CEBS) and/or Professional in Human Resources (PHR) preferred.Special Requirements:None.Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:Knowledge of benefits administration.Knowledge of customer service principles.Skill in figuring out the processes necessary to get things done;Skill in organizing.Skill in persuading.Skill in managing time.Skill in performing addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division; calculating decimals, percentages; and fractions; and interpreting graphs.Skill in coordinating activities of a project, program, or designated area of responsibility.Ability to establish effective work relationships.Ability to listen.Ability to build rapport.Ability to get more out of fewer resources.Ability to meet deadlines.Ability to evaluate, audit, deduce, and/or assess data using established criteria.Ability to operate, maneuver and/or control the actions of equipment, machinery, tools, and/or materials used in performing essential functions.Ability to utilize a wide variety of references, descriptive, and/or advisory data and information.Ability to interpret instructions furnished in written, oral, diagrammatic, or schedule form.Ability to exercise independent judgment to adopt or modify methods and standards to meet variations in assigned objectives.Ability to exercise judgment, decisiveness and creativity in situations involving evaluation of information against measurable or verifiable criteria.Physical Demands:The work is sedentary work. The employee is occasionally required to exert up to 10 pounds of force to move objects. Additionally, requires feeling, handling, hearing voices, manual dexterity, mental acuity, pulling, pushing, repetitive motion, speaking, standing, expressing ideas by the spoken word, visual acuity in data/color, and walking. Tasks may require the ability to: sit for extended periods of time at a keyboard or workstation.Work Environment:Work is performed primarily indoors where essential functions are regularly performed without exposure to adverse environmental conditions. Work is performed in a relatively safe, secure, and stable work environment.The City of Myrtle Beach has the right to revise this job description at any time. This description does not represent in any way a contract of employment.Supplemental InformationCity of Myrtle Beach Benefits No Cost Health, Dental & Vision Insurance for Fulltime Employees 401K & 457 Plans Available State Retirement Employee Wellness Clinic Flex Spending Account Employee Assistance And much moreEqual Opportunity EmployerThe City of Myrtle Beach commits to a policy of equal employment opportunity for applicants and employees, complying with local, state and federal laws. The City's policy is to employ qualified persons without discrimination on the basis of any protected characteristic, including race, color, religion, national origin, citizenship, sex, political affiliation, veteran's status, age, genetic information, sexual orientation, gender identity, to include transgender status, disability or status in any other group protected by federal/state/local law.