Senior Benefits Analyst (Leave and Disability)

Job Description

The Senior Benefits Analyst plays a crucial role in supporting WGU's total rewards programs. They collaborate with various departments to ensure the smooth delivery of employee benefit plans, programs, and policies. Key responsibilities include:

• Supporting the design, administration, and communication of programs, plans, and policies.
• Providing hands-on project support for insurance renewals, open enrollments, and other special activities.
• Maintaining documentation of critical processes and procedures.
• Conducting data reconciliations, audits, and configuration reviews.
• Performing root cause analysis and recommending process or system improvements.
• Analyzing benefit claims and utilization data for trends, improvements, and efficiencies.
• Tracking the Employee Benefits budget and participating in fiscal year planning.
• Supporting employee benefits education and communication across the organization.
• Assisting with peer and industry benchmark analysis, survey responses, and program design comparisons.
• Executing assigned operational and strategic activities with consultants and advisors.
• Staying informed about current and emerging market trends to identify and address potential opportunities and gaps.

Knowledge, Skills, And Abilities

To succeed in this role, candidates should possess:

• Knowledge of and experience with operational and strategic aspects of employee benefit plans, including insurance renewals, retirement plans, vendor management, government filings, and communications.
• A strong work ethic, collaborative orientation, and eagerness to take on new assignments, with the ability to excel in a fast-paced environment.
• Excellent interpersonal skills, including the ability to interact with all levels of internal and external individuals.
• A keen interest in contributing to team success and individual growth.
• Strong data-driven orientation with the ability to diagnose root causes, identify primary drivers of outcomes, and recommend positive changes.
• Proficiency with MS Office products, particularly Excel, Word, and PowerPoint.
• A solid understanding of HRIS and related processes associated with employee benefits, and the cross-functional impacts with other enterprise systems.
• Experience in designing and managing standard employee benefits programs, including project management, enrollment, vendor management, auditing, filings, training, education, and communication.
• Ability to provide creative and innovative thinking to identify inventive and unique applications of standard/common solutions.
• Ability to leverage concepts from for-profit environments to adapt to the not-for-profit space.
• Effective verbal and written communication skills.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor's Degree in Human Resources or related field.
• 5 years of experience in employee benefits administration and strategy.
• ServiceNow experience.
• Equivalent relevant experience performing the essential functions of this job may substitute for education degree requirements.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in a large, complex organization with 1000+ benefits-eligible employees.
• Strong knowledge and prior experience with HRIS/payroll systems.
• Workday experience.
• Certified Employee Benefits Specialist (CEBS) Certification.