1332 Senior Benefits Specialist

POSITION IDENTIFICATION

TITLE Senior Benefits Specialist

CLASSIFICATION NUMBER 1332

GRADE 43

CLASSIFICATION Exempt

IMMEDIATE SUPERVISOR Assistant Director of Human Resources, Benefits

GENERAL FUNCTION

The Senior Benefits Specialist manages the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA), Worker’s Compensation, the University’s tuition fee waiver benefit, leaving accounting, shared leave, and catastrophic leave for the University. The Senior Benefits Specialist serves as the primary contact for employees regarding benefits and works with the Benefit Specialist to answer employee questions and provide information regarding all benefits, including the state retirement systems, medical and dental insurance, life insurance, long-term disability insurance, and voluntary benefits.  The Senior Benefits Specialist provides day-to–day direction and guidance to the Benefits Specialist.

MINIMUM ACCEPTABLE QUALIFICATIONS

Education: A Bachelor’s degree is required. 

Experience: At least two years of progressively responsible administrative experience in Human Resources is required.  Experience with benefits administration, FMLA, Worker’s Compensation, and/or leave administration is preferred.

Skills: Effective verbal and written communication skills are required. Effective interpersonal skills are required. Proficiency with Microsoft Office applications is required.  The ability to learn and use an administrative business system, such as Banner, is required. Must have knowledge of or have the ability to acquire knowledge of relevant employment laws, including but not limited to the Family Medical and Leave Act (FMLA) and Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Must be detail-oriented, highly organized, and have the ability to work independently. 

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

1. Ensures that faculty and staff are given accurate information and appropriate assistance regarding benefits and leave by providing requested information.

2. Assures compliance with applicable laws, regulations, and/or policies, particularly regarding FMLA, Workers Compensation, University leave administration, shared leave, catastrophic leave, and the tuition fee waiver.

3. Works with employees regarding FMLA leave by providing information about the leave, responding appropriately within time frames required by law when such leave is requested, determining eligibility for leave based on current regulations, providing the appropriate forms within the required time frames, and tracking ongoing FMLA leave usage.

4. Provides information to the employee’s department about FMLA leave and the job protections extended by law to employees covered by the leave.

5. Coordinates with Payroll regarding leave without pay and deductions for intermittent leave for faculty and exempt staff.

6. Refers employees to the Office of Legal Affairs and Compliance for Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) accommodations when appropriate.

7. Prepares worker’s compensation accident reports and transmits to CARO within required time frames and works with injured employees and their departments to implement CARO’s Early Return to Work program by facilitating agreement on modified job duties.

8. Works with the department to return employees with disability ratings to work, refers the situation to the Office of Legal Affairs and Compliance for possible accommodations, or discusses the use of any remaining paid leave and begins the application process for long-term disability.

9. Coordinates with Payroll to make deductions from pay to offset temporary total disability payments received by employees and calculates and processes leave adjustments to offset the portion of pay that is not compensated by temporary total disability payments.

10. Tracks and reports the number and type of Worker’s Compensation injuries to the Office of Legal Affairs and Compliance.

11. Administers the credit course fee waiver program by providing information to employees, determining eligibility according to program guidelines, processing requests and payments, monitoring program use and remaining balances, and providing amounts of taxable benefits to payroll.

12. Provides information about leave to employees, monitors leave accrual for accuracy, makes accrual or use adjustments when needed, monitors leave usage for compliance with Employee Handbook policies, and calculates or reviews unused vacation and sick leave payouts as appropriate.

13. Provides information about catastrophic and shared leave to involved parties, processes catastrophic and shared leave requests, and coordinates with Payroll regarding payment of catastrophic and shared leave.

14. Remains competent and current through self-directed professional reading, developing professional contacts with colleagues, attending professional development courses, and attending training and/or courses as directed.

15. Helps to assure the overall success of the Office of Human Resources by performing all other duties as assigned by the Assistant Director of Human Resources-Benefits

SUPERVISION

The Benefits Specialist is supervised by the Assistant Director of Human Resources, Benefits and provides day-to-day direction and guidance to the Benefits Specialist.

OFFICE OF HUMAN RESOURCES

REVISED JANUARY 2025

JOB FAMILY 4

Factor 1: Professional Knowledge, Skill, and Technical Mastery

Level 3.0 - 1500 Points: Entry-level knowledge of the principles, concepts, practices, and methods of an administrative, managerial, technical, or professional specialty. Knowledge permits employee to carry out basic recurring tasks and routine portions of assignments or to carry out less demanding professional elements of assignments in professional or technical areas including accounting or auditing, financial management, business administration, human resources, law, engineering, science, or medicine, while gaining familiarity with the University's policies and goals, business practices, and/or accounting systems. This level of knowledge permits the employee to schedule and carry out the steps of a limited operation or project, or to complete stages of a multi-phase project. Alternatively, knowledge at this level might also permit the employee to carry out recurring tasks and routine assignments requiring moderate experience in specific areas within higher education. Knowledge at this level is typically acquired through a combination of formal education and/or training and experience that includes a requirement for a college degree in a specific technical or professional specialty. Knowledge requirements may also include a limited amount of related work experience. Alternatively, equivalent knowledge requirements at this level include a non-technical or general Bachelor's degree requirement with a moderate level of additional related work experience or a non-specific Master's degree requirement with some related work experience.

Factor 2: Supervisory Responsibility

Level 2.0 - 130 Points: Regular, but limited, supervision, training, or directing the work assignments of (a) small numbers of student, part-time or temporary workers, or (b) one or more permanent, full-time employees. The nature of supervision is largely confined to scheduling work and assigning tasks. Supervision at this level typically does not include a full range of supervisory responsibilities, and supervisory duties typically do not consume a large portion of the work day.

Factor 3: Interactions with Others

Level 4.0 - 500 Points: Interactions with others are somewhat unstructured. The purpose may be to influence or motivate others, to obtain information, or to control situations and resolve problems. Interactions may be with individuals or groups of co-workers, students, or the general public, may be moderately unstructured, and may involve persons who hold differing goals and objectives. Individuals at this level often act as a liaison between groups with a focus on solving particular unstructured problems. Interactions at this level require considerable interpersonal skill and the ability to resolve conflict.

Factor 4: Job Controls and Guidelines

Level 3.0 - 500 Points: The employee operates under general supervision expressed in terms of program goals and objectives, priorities, and deadlines. Administrative supervision is given through statements of overall program or project objectives and available resources. Administrative guidelines are relatively comprehensive and the employee need only to fill in gaps in interpretation and adapt established methods to perform recurring activities. In unforeseen situations, the employee must interpret inadequate or incomplete guidelines, develop plans, and initiate new methods to complete assignments based on those interpretations. Assignments are normally related in function, but the work requires many different processes and methods applied to an established administrative or professional field. Problems are typically the result of unusual circumstances, variations in approach, or incomplete or conflicting data. The employee must interpret and refine methods to complete assignments. Characteristic jobs at this level may involve directing single-purpose programs or performing complex, but precedented, technical or professional work.

Factor 5: Managerial Responsibility

Level 3.0 - 850 Points: Work involves providing significant support services to others both within and outside of the department that substantially influences decision-making processes. Work activities are complex and others rely on the accuracy and reliability of the information, analysis, or advice to make decisions. Work activities have a direct, but shared, impact on further processes or services, affect the overall efficiency and image of the department, and may have material impact on costs or service quality within the cost center. Incumbents may be responsible for identifying areas of need and for developing proposals that request funding to fulfill those needs.