Senior Benefits & Leave Specialist

Department: HR

Employment Type: Full Time

Location: World Headquarters

Compensation: $97,000 - $115,000 / year

Description

Department: Human Resources Location:  On-Site Shift:  Monday-Friday; Full-Time Wage: $97,000 - $115,000 annually, based on experience
Company Overview: At Bob’s Red Mill, we inspire joy with wholesome foods. Since 1978, we have been leading the natural foods industry by providing our customers with good food that makes them feel great. Wholesome means ensuring our food is of the highest quality, empowering and supporting our diverse group of employee owners, respecting our planet, and bettering our communities. We believe that joy is for everyone.   Position Overview: The Senior Benefits and Leave Specialist is responsible for delivering positive, employee-centered experiences through administering benefit and wellness programs that support the health and overall well-being of our employee owners. The role primarily responsibility for the administration of company sponsored benefit and wellness programs.  Additionally, this position oversees and manages leave of absence and accommodation process through a third-party administrator, ensuring compliance, and a seamless employee experience.  

Key Responsibilities

Essential Job Functions:

Benefits and Wellness Administration 

• Serve as the primary owner and administrator of all employee benefit programs, with full responsibility for annual renewals, vendor strategy, and ongoing administration across medical, dental, vision, life, disability, and voluntary benefits  
• Lead the end-to-end benefits renewal process, including data preparation, market reviews, plan design analysis, vendor negotiations, cost modeling, and final recommendations in partnership with HR leadership and Finance. 
• Manage the entire open enrollment process, from owning all phases from planning through execution and post-enrollment reconciliation. 
• Serves as the primary point of contact for employee benefit related questions and concerns and resolves issues. 
• Evaluates, recommends, and implements benefit programs and strategies through research and analysis of benefit trends for potential changes, improvements, and enhancements of current programs. 
• Manages benefit vendor relationships, sets expectations, monitors deliverables, and ensures proper administration and compliance. 
• Provides training and advice to managers on benefit offerings to optimize employee usage during open enrollment and new employee onboarding. 
• Develops benefit education materials and communicates plan services to employees. 
• Oversees interactions with various internal departments including payroll, accounting, legal, finance, and leadership to ensure proper plan functioning.   
• Maintains benefit enrollment information in HRIS system and uses data to perform in-depth analysis of HR employee data and metrics. 
• Ensures compliance with all applicable federal, state, and local regulations, including ACA reporting, Form 5500 support, and other required filings. 
• Oversees benefit billing, reconciliations, audits, and carrier invoices to ensure accuracy and financial integrity. 
• Manages the company wellness program and creates events, communications, and program strategy. 
• Maintains knowledge of current and emerging issues and trends in the industry as it pertains to benefits and regulations. 

Leave Management 

• Serves as the internal lead and primary point of contact for leave of absence programs administered by a third-party administrator (TPA), including FMLA, OFLA, and Paid Leave Oregon (PLO) 
• Provides oversight of the leave administration process managed by the TPA, from employee’s initial notice for leave through return to work, ensuring timely, accurate, and compliant handling of leave requests and documentation. 
• Partners with the TPA to review complex or escalated leave cases, including intermittent and reduced schedule leaves, discrepancies in documentation, or employee disputes 
• Support the administration of attendance and timekeeping to identify trends and ensure employee well-being and compliance with applicable laws. 
• Supports employee and managers as a subject-matter resource for leave and accommodation questions. 
• Communicates with employees throughout the leave lifecycle, assisting them in understanding their responsibilities, timelines, required documentation, and return-to-work expectations. 
• Collaborates with Payroll, HRIS, and TPA to ensure accurate implementation and ongoing administration of the Pai