Benefits Manager

Benefits, Leave and Claims Manager

The Dobbs Truck Group is a growth company that successfully expands our operations and customer base through a high-quality team of employees.

Dobbs Truck Group operates 25 commercial truck dealerships through two operating companies – Dobbs Peterbilt and Western Truck Center. These dealerships represent some of the best commercial truck brands including Peterbilt, Volvo, Mack, Autocar, and Hino and include locations in Arkansas, California, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oregon, Tennessee, and Washington.

We offer a competitive benefits package including medical, dental, vision, long-term disability, life insurance, and 401(k), as well as paid vacation and sick leave. Our Company is looking for long-term employees that we can invest in and grow with as we pursue our mission of being the premier commercial truck dealer group.

General Job Description

The Benefits, Leave and Claims Manager leads the administration and continuous improvement of the Company's employee benefits, leave of absence, workplace accommodation, and workers' compensation programs. This position provides hands-on oversight of daily operations, supervises one employee, serves as the primary subject matter expert for complex and escalated matters, and ensures programs are administered accurately, consistently, timely, and in accordance with applicable federal and state requirements. The position partners closely with employees, managers, HR Business Partners, Payroll, Finance, brokers, carriers, third-party administrators, medical providers, safety partners, and legal counsel.

The duties listed below are intended only as illustrations of the various types of work that may be performed. The omission of specific statements of duties does not exclude them from the position if the work is similar, related, or a logical assignment to the position.

Responsibilities

Leadership and Team Management

• Lead the benefits, leave, workplace accommodation, and workers' compensation function by establishing priorities, service standards, procedures, controls, and accountability for timely and accurate execution.
• Supervise, coach, develop, and evaluate one direct report; assign work, monitor quality and deadlines, provide guidance on complex matters, and ensure appropriate cross-training and coverage.
• Serve as the escalation point and subject matter expert for complex employee, manager, claim, eligibility, vendor, and compliance matters.

Benefits Administration

• Manage the administration of health and welfare, retirement, wellness, and related benefit programs, including eligibility, enrollment, life events, terminations, deductions, billing, and employee inquiries.
• Lead annual open enrollment, including planning, system configuration and testing, employee communications, education, issue resolution, and post-enrollment audits.
• Partner with brokers, carriers, vendors, Payroll, Finance, and HRIS administrators to resolve discrepancies and ensure benefit elections, payroll deductions, invoices, and eligibility files are accurate and reconciled.
• Support benefit renewals, plan design reviews, vendor evaluations, implementation projects, and employee education by analyzing utilization, cost, service, and market information.
• Oversee required notices, plan documents, audits, testing, reporting, and records associated with benefit programs, including COBRA, ERISA, HIPAA, ACA, and other applicable requirements.

Leave Administration and Accommodations

• Oversee the full leave lifecycle, including intake, eligibility determination, required notices, certification, designation, payroll and benefit coordination, status tracking, return-to-work planning, and case closure.
• Administer federal, state, and local leave programs and company-provided leaves consistently across the organization, including FMLA and applicable state paid and protected leave programs.
• Lead the interactive process for disability, pregnancy, religious, and other workplace accommodation requests in partnership with employees, managers, HR Business Partners, and legal counsel as appropriate.
• Review complex or overlapping leave and accommodation matters, evaluate documentation, identify compliance risks, and guide leaders on appropriate and consistent next steps.

Workers' Compensation

• Manage workers' compensation claims from initial report through closure, ensuring prompt reporting, appropriate investigation, accurate documentation, employee communication, and coordination with carriers, third-party administrators, medical providers, managers, and safety partners.
• Monitor claim activity, reserves, treatment progress, work status, litigation, and costs; conduct regular claim reviews and escalate significant exposure, delays, or concerns.
• Coordinate transitional duty and return-to-work efforts, including review of restrictions, identification of appropriate temporary assignments, and ongoing communication with the employee and management.
• Partner with Safety and operational leaders to identify injury trends, support root-cause reviews, strengthen prevention efforts, and reduce claim frequency, duration, and cost.

Compliance, Systems and Reporting

• Monitor changes in laws, regulations, and administrative guidance affecting benefits, leave, accommodations, and workers' compensation; recommend and implement necessary policy, process, system, and communication updates.
• Protect the confidentiality of medical, benefit, and employee information and maintain complete records in accordance with legal requirements and Company retention practices.
• Use HRIS, benefits administration, leave, and claims systems effectively; test system changes, identify data issues, and improve workflows, reporting, controls, and the employee experience.
• Develop and monitor key performance measures, identify trends and risks, and provide meaningful reporting and recommendations to HR leadership.
• Train HR team members and managers on program requirements, roles, escalation expectations, and practical administration procedures.
• Perform other duties and special projects as assigned.

Minimum Job Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, or a related field, or an equivalent combination of education and relevant experience.
• 7+ years of progressive experience administering employee benefits, leaves of absence, workplace accommodations, and workers' compensation, including experience handling complex cases in a multistate environment.
• California and Washington experience is required. Candidates must have direct experience administering employee benefits, leaves of absence, workplace accommodations, and workers' compensation in both states, including applying state-specific requirements and coordinating complex or overlapping cases.
• 2+ years of leadership, supervisory, or formal team-lead experience.
• Working knowledge of federal, California, and Washington requirements governing employee benefits, protected leave, workplace accommodations, wage-replacement programs, and workers' compensation, including FMLA, ADA, PWFA, COBRA, ERISA, HIPAA, and ACA; California CFRA, PDL, FEHA, Paid Sick Leave, SDI, and PFL; and Washington PFML, Paid Sick Leave, Family Care Act, pregnancy and disability accommodation requirements, and the Washington Law Against Discrimination (WLAD).
• Demonstrated ability to manage sensitive and complex matters with discretion, sound judgment, consistency, and a strong service orientation.
• Strong analytical, organizational, project management, and written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to manage competing priorities and meet critical deadlines.
• Proficiency with HRIS, benefits administration, leave, and claims-management systems, as well as Microsoft Office applications, particularly Excel.

Desired Job Qualifications

• Professional certification such as CEBS, CBP, PHR, SPHR, SHRM-CP, or SHRM-SCP.
• Experience supporting a geographically dispersed workforce with hourly and salaried employees in an operational, transportation, distribution, manufacturing, retail, or service environment.
• Experience with Paylocity, PlanSource, or comparable HRIS and benefits administration platforms.

Mental Capability Requirements

• Comprehension: Ability to interpret complex benefit, leave, accommodation, and claim information; understand differing viewpoints; and apply requirements to specific circumstances.
• Organization: Ability to organize and prioritize individual and team workloads, manage concurrent deadlines, and maintain accurate case and program records.
• Reasoning & Decision Making: Ability to evaluate risk, exercise sound judgment, and make consistent decisions that affect employees, compliance, cost, and departmental credibility.
• Communication: Ability to explain complex and sensitive information clearly, prepare comprehensive written materials, and communicate effectively with employees, leaders, vendors, and professional advisors.
• Mathematics & Data Analysis: Ability to reconcile data, analyze costs and trends, interpret reports, identify discrepancies, and develop meaningful metrics and recommendations.

Physical Demands and Work Environment

The physical demands and work environment characteristics described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

While performing the duties of this job, the employee