Benefits Manager

Overview Armor Health is seeking an experienced Benefits and Compensation Manager to serve as the organization's subject-matter expert for employee benefits and compensation. Supporting approximately 1,000 employees today with growth expected in the coming months, this role will independently own the administration, execution, communication, compliance, analysis, and continuous improvement of Armor Health's benefits and compensation programs. This is a highly hands-on role for a deeply knowledgeable benefits professional who can quickly establish credibility, operate independently, and serve as a trusted resource to employees, leaders, HR partners, Payroll, Finance, and operational teams. The successful candidate will bring deep benefits expertise, practical compensation knowledge, strong analytical skills, and the ability to translate complex information into clear guidance and effective solutions. This individual will ensure benefits and compensation programs are accurate, compliant, competitive, financially responsible, scalable, and aligned with the needs of a growing, multi-site healthcare organization. While every organization has unique processes, systems, and plan designs, the expectation is that the successful candidate will leverage substantial existing expertise to quickly assume ownership of the function. Responsibilities Essential Duties and Responsibilities Benefits Program Ownership Serve as Armor Health's primary subject-matter expert and owner of employee benefits programs. Independently manage the day-to-day and annual administration of all employee benefit programs, including medical, prescription drug, supplemental medical GAP, dental, vision, HSA/FSA, life and AD&D, disability, voluntary benefits, EAP, legal, pet, retirement, tuition/CME reimbursement, nurse loan reimbursement, and other employee programs. Maintain a comprehensive understanding of Armor Health's benefit plans, eligibility provisions, employee contributions, vendor relationships, systems, and administrative processes. Provide accurate, timely, and confident guidance to employees, HR partners, leaders, Payroll, and operational teams. Serve as the primary escalation point for complex benefit issues, eligibility disputes, carrier discrepancies, claims escalations, enrollment errors, and employee benefit questions. Maintain current knowledge of applicable benefits regulations, including ERISA, ACA, COBRA, HIPAA, Section 125, HSA requirements, FMLA, ADA, and other applicable federal and state requirements. Enrollment Management & New-Site Support Manage benefits enrollment activities for new hires, qualifying life events, new-site implementations, organizational growth initiatives, and other employee status changes. Ensure benefit elections, eligibility, system access, and required documentation are accurately completed within established timelines and prior to applicable effective dates. Partner with site leaders, HR, Payroll, and Operations before critical deadlines to identify and resolve issues before they impact employees. Support benefits implementation associated with new contracts, acquisitions, expansions, and new facilities. Investigate enrollment and eligibility issues, determine root cause and impact, establish resolution timelines, and implement preventative solutions. Maintain accountability with vendors and internal partners to ensure timely resolution of enrollment and eligibility challenges. Build processes that support accurate and scalable benefits administration as Armor Health continues to grow. Open Enrollment & Benefits Renewal Lead the annual Open Enrollment process from planning through implementation and post-enrollment audit. Coordinate plan configuration, eligibility rules, employee contributions, enrollment materials, carrier feeds, system testing, communications, employee education, and reconciliation. Partner with HR leadership, brokers, carriers, Payroll, Finance, and benefits administration vendors to execute successful renewals and Open Enrollment. Analyze renewal proposals, plan utilization, claims experience, enrollment trends, contribution structures, and other relevant data to support recommendations. Identify opportunities for plan improvement, cost containment, administrative efficiency, and improved employee understanding. Establish and manage clear milestones, responsibilities, and deadlines throughout the process. Compensation Management Administer and maintain Armor Health's compensation programs in partnership with HR leadership and operational leaders. Maintain salary ranges and compensation structures and recommend updates based on market data, internal equity, organizational needs, and business growth. Analyze compensation data to identify compression, inversion, internal-equity, or market-competitiveness concerns and provide recommendations. Support compensation planning associated with new contracts, acquisitions, expansions, new facilities, and entry into new markets. Maintain accurate compensation data and reporting within applicable HRIS and payroll systems. Monitor applicable federal, state, and local compensation requirements, including minimum wage, exempt salary thresholds, pay transparency, salary-history restrictions, and equal-pay requirements. Compliance, Leave & Governance Maintain benefits programs and administrative processes in accordance with applicable federal and state requirements. Provide expertise and guidance regarding FMLA and ADA administration and related employee processes. Manage leave-related workflows with an understanding of compliance requirements and operational impact. Coordinate required benefits notices, disclosures, reporting, plan documentation, audits, and regulatory processes with brokers, carriers, vendors, and HR leadership. Support ACA reporting, Form 5500 preparation, nondiscrimination testing, plan audits, and other required compliance activities. Maintain accurate documentation of benefit plan decisions, compensation decisions, administrative procedures, employee communications, and compliance activities. Protect the confidentiality and appropriate handling of employee health, benefits, compensation, and personally identifiable information. Financial Management, Audits & Reconciliation Establish controls to ensure accurate benefit elections, payroll deductions, employer contributions, carrier eligibility, and benefit invoices. Conduct regular enrollment-to-payroll-to-carrier reconciliations and resolve discrepancies promptly. Review benefit invoices for accuracy and coordinate corrections with vendors, Payroll, Finance, and carriers. Monitor benefit costs, enrollment, participation, utilization, claims trends, and other relevant financial data. Support annual benefits budgeting and forecasting. Analyze claims experience and utilization trends and provide data-driven recommendations to HR leadership. Support compensation budgeting and analysis, including merit planning and market adjustments. Identify financial, operational, or compliance risks and develop action plans to address them. Prepare reporting and recommendations regarding benefits costs, enrollment, utilization, claims trends, compensation positioning, and other total-rewards metrics. Benefits Communication & Employee Education Develop and execute proactive benefits communication plans with clear timelines, milestones, and stakeholder responsibilities. Create employee-friendly communications that simplify complex benefits and compensation information. Lead benefits education sessions, employee meetings, onboarding discussions, Open Enrollment presentations, webinars, and manager training. Clearly explain benefit provisions, eligibility requirements, enrollment processes, compensation practices, and employee resources. Identify recurring employee questions and use those trends to improve communications, processes, and employee education. Process Improvement & Operational Excellence Evaluate benefits and compensation processes and identify opportunities to improve efficiency, accuracy, compliance, scalability, and employee experience. Develop standard operating procedures, documentation, controls, and workflows that support consistent administration. Investigate issues thoroughly by understanding root cause rather than relying solely on HRIS messages, vendor responses, or system notifications. Provide solutions, recommendations, and action plans—not simply status updates or escalations. Take ownership of issues from identification through resolution. Use data and reporting to identify trends, audit processes, reconcile discrepancies, and support decision-making. Identify opportunities to reduce manual work, recurring errors, unnecessary handoffs, and administrative risk. Vendor & Partner Management Serve as a primary relationship manager for brokers, consultants, insurance carriers, third-party administrators, benefits administration vendors, retirement-plan providers, compensation data providers, and other external partners. Hold vendors accountable for service delivery, issue resolution, accuracy, and communication. Evaluate vendor performance against contractual expectations, service standards, and employee experience. Participate in benefits renewal negotiations and vendor discussions with brokers and leadership. Partner effectively across HR, Payroll, Finance, IT, and Operations to deliver a seamless benefits and compensation experience. Escalate vendor performance concerns appropriately and maintain documentation of unresolved issues and corrective actions. Systems, Data & Technology Maintain the integrity of benefits and compensation data across HRIS, payroll, benefits administration, and carrier systems. Manage or oversee benefits eligibility rules, plan configuration, payroll deduction setup, carrier interfaces, enrollment processes, and annual testing. Utilize bswift or comparable benefits administration technology to manage enrollment, eligibility, reporting, and administrative processes. Conduct system testing and validation before Open Enrollment, plan changes, new-site implementations, and other major system updates. Develop recurring audits and controls to identify data discrepancies and prevent downstream errors. Use advanced Excel skills to analyze benefits, enrollment, payroll, claims, compensation, and financial data, including VLOOKUP/XLOOKUP, PivotTables, data reconciliation, and reporting. What Success Looks Like Becomes Armor Health's trusted benefits and compensation expert within the first 90 days. Independently owns the function and requires minimal day-to-day supervision. Maintains accurate enrollment, payroll, carrier, compensation, and invoice data. Successfully manages Open Enrollment, renewals, new-site implementations, and other critical benefits projects. Takes issues from identification through resolution and provides leadership with the root cause, impact, action plan, owner, and expected resolution date. Anticipates issues before they affect employees, Payroll, vendors, or operations. Maintains compensation practices that are internally equitable, market-informed, and aligned with approved organizational practices. Builds scalable processes that reduce recurring errors, manual work, and administrative risk. Communicates complex benefits and compensation information clearly and confidently. Uses data to identify trends, risks, and opportunities and makes well-supported recommendations. Measures of Success Success In This Position Will Be Reflected In Accurate and timely benefit administration Clean enrollment, payroll, and carrier reconciliations Successful Open Enrollment and benefits renewals Reduced enrollment and eligibility errors Timely resolution of employee and vendor issues Strong vendor performance and accountability Timely regulatory compliance Accurate benefit invoices and financial reporting Effective benefits cost management Competitive and internally equitable compensation practices Reliable compensation benchmarking and salary-range maintenance Improved employee understanding of benefits and compensation programs Scalable, documented benefits and compensation processes Reliable reporting and data integrity Ability to support Armor Health's continued growth without a corresponding increase in administrative complexity Qualifications Minimum Qualifications Bachelor's degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, Finance, or a related field, or equivalent combination of education and relevant professional experience. 8+ years of progressive employee benefits experience, with significant hands-on responsibility for benefits administration. Demonstrated experience independently managing benefits programs in a multi-site, multi-state, or geographically dispersed organization. Experience supporting a workforce of approximately 1,000 employees or more strongly preferred. Demonstrated expertise in health and welfare benefits administration, including medical, prescription drug, dental, vision, life, disability, HSA/FSA, voluntary benefits, and retirement programs. Demonstrated experience managing Open Enrollment from planning through implementation and post-enrollment reconciliation. Experience administering or providing subject-matter expertise regarding FMLA and ADA processes. Strong working knowledge of ERISA, ACA, COBRA, HIPAA, Section 125, HSA requirements, and other applicable benefits regulations. Demonstrated experience with compensation administration, market analysis, salary benchmarking, or compensation planning. Experience with benefits enrollment systems and HRIS/payroll systems. Advanced Excel and analytical skills, including VLOOKUP/XLOOKUP, PivotTables, data reconciliation, auditing, and reporting. Demonstrated ability to independently investigate problems, identify root causes, and develop solutions. Strong project-management and organizational skills with the ability to manage multiple priorities and firm deadlines with minimal supervision. Excellent written and verbal communication skills. Preferred Qualifications Experience with bswift or a comparable benefits administration platform. Experience administering or supporting medical GAP plans. Healthcare, correctional healthcare, healthcare services, or other highly regulated industry experience. Experience supporting rapid organizational growth, acquisitions, new contracts, or new-site implementations. Experience with self-funded or alternative-funded medical arrangements, claims analysis, renewals, and benefits cost-containment strategies. Experience managing complex benefits programs across multiple states and employee populations. Experience with Paylocity or another integrated HRIS/payroll platform. Experience with compensation benchmarking and salary structures. Experience conducting compensation or pay-equity analyses across multiple states and job families. CEBS, CCP, PHR/SPHR, SHRM-CP/SHRM-SCP, or comparable professional certification. Key Competencies Benefits Expertise — Deep technical knowledge and the ability to serve as the organization's trusted benefits resource. Compensation Knowledge — Practical understanding of compensation benchmarking, salary structures, market positioning, and internal equity. Operational Ownership — Takes responsibility for outcomes and follows issues through completion. Analytical Judgment — Investigates discrepancies, evaluates data, identifies root causes, and makes sound recommendations. Problem Solving — Develops solutions rather than simply escalating problems. Communication & Education — Explains complex benefits and compensation concepts clearly to employees, leaders, and HR partners. Vendor Accountability — Challenges incomplete or inaccurate responses and drives vendors toward resolution. Financial Acumen — Understands benefit costs, claims trends, invoices, contributions, compensation costs, and financial implications. Process Improvement — Builds scalable processes that improve accuracy, efficiency, compliance, and employee experience. Adaptability & Professional Judgment — Performs effectively in a growing environment, manages competing priorities, and handles confidential information appropriately. #J-18808-Ljbffr