Benefits Coordinator

About the Role

The Benefits Coordinator is responsible for operational and transactional tasks associated with benefits management, including day-to-day maintenance and support of employee benefit records for School, City, and Retired employees.

Responsibilities

• Collect, organize, enroll, and electronically enter Health, Dental, Vision, Flexible Spending, Long Term Disability, and Life insurance paperwork submitted daily.
• Respond to the benefits phone line and ad hoc walk-ins daily.
• Process invoice payments for Dental, Vision, Flexible Spending, and Benefits Broker.
• Maintain an electronic spreadsheet of changes and their statuses.
• Communicate benefit changes to payroll and employees via HRIS system and written correspondence.
• Track changes for new hires, leaves, and terminations to ensure applicable changes are processed in the system, including sending welcome emails to new hires and end-of-employment benefits emails to terminations.
• Submit enrollments to benefit vendors for all eligibility changes via email, electronic file transfer, paper mail, and online.
• Maintain employee files while ensuring accuracy and confidentiality.
• Respond to walk-in benefits inquiries, benefits email, and benefits phone line.
• Guide employees through filling out benefits paperwork as needed.
• Administer Dental/Vision COBRA.
• Process Benefit Calculation Spreadsheets and enter changes into HRIS system within applicable payroll deadlines.
• Assist employees with enrolling in medical, dental, and vision insurance plans.
• Resolve employee issues with insurance providers and other benefits administrators.
• Consult with employees about eligibility and other issues.
• Review payroll deductions to ensure entries have been processed.
• Maintain a tracking sheet of all actions to ensure everything is processed.
• Process benefit enrollments, changes, and cancellations quickly and accurately.
• Establish documented guidelines and procedures for job functions.
• Participate in RFP processes.
• Review and pay monthly invoices for Dental, Vision, Life, Benefits Broker, and Flex Spending.
• Maintain electronic HIRD files.

Requirements

Three (3) years’ experience with benefits administration and HRIS systems or any equivalent combination of education, training, and experience which provides the required knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform the essential functions of the job.

Skills

• Understanding of Employee Benefits Administration.
• Proficient in Excel (e.g., VLOOKUPS, pivot tables, concatenate, writing formulas).
• Ability to handle problems and emergencies effectively.
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills, both oral and written.
• Ability to operate a personal computer and maintain confidential information.
• Ability to maintain, manage, and organize records.
• Ability to deal appropriately with City employees, City officials, and members of the general public.
• Exceptional Microsoft Office skills.
• Strong attention to detail and customer service orientation.
• Ability to stay organized while maintaining confidentiality.

Work Environment

The work environment involves everyday discomforts typical of offices, with occasional exposure to outside elements. Noise or physical surroundings may be distracting, but conditions are generally not unpleasant. The employee may be required to work beyond normal business hours to attend evening meetings or complete work assignments.

Physical and Mental Requirements

The physical demands described 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 position’s essential functions.

• Physical Skills: Few physical demands are required. Work effort principally involves sitting, with intermittent periods of stooping, walking, and standing. Occasional lifting of objects such as office equipment and computer paper (up to 30 lbs).
• Motor Skills: Duties are largely mental rather than physical but may occasionally require minimal motor skills for activities such as moving objects, operating a telephone, personal computer, and other office equipment.
• Visual Skills: Visual demands require constantly reading documents for general understanding and analytical purposes.

Pay

$75,000–$78,000 annualized.

Schedule

Full-time, City Hall hours. In-person position.

Benefits

• 4 weeks annual vacation for non-union positions (union positions vary by contract).
• Medical insurance through the Group Insurance Commission (GIC) – 80% of premium costs paid by City.
• Dental coverage (low and high plans) through Cigna.
• Vision care through Vision Service Plan (VSP).
• Long-term disability through Sun Life.
• Group and voluntary life insurance through Boston Mutual.
• Health Care and Dependent Care flexible spending through Benefit Strategies.
• Deferred compensation plans through a choice of three vendors.
• Free, confidential services through the Employee Assistance Program (EAP) provided by E4Health.
• Annual cancer screening & wellness release.
• Somerville Retirement Pension System.
• Tuition reimbursement.
• MBTA pass program.
• Free Blue Bikes membership.
• Eligible employer for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program (PSLF).