Director, Employee Benefits

How would you like to work in a place where your contributions and ideas are valued? A place where you can serve with compassion, pursue excellence and honor every voice? At Wellstar, our mission is simple, yet powerful: to enhance the health and well-being of every person we serve. We are proud to have become a shining example of what's possible when the brightest professionals dedicate themselves to making a difference in the healthcare industry, and in people's lives.

Work Shift

Job Summary:

This is a remote leadership role with occasional onsite presence required, typically once or twice per year.

The Director, Benefits works remotely and reports to the Executive Director Benefits and provides operational management for all medical health and welfare benefit programs for employees and retirees of WellStar Health System.

The individual in this role will partner with Total Rewards Executive Leaders to administer, communicate and deliver all benefit plans and programs including health and welfare, retirement, pension, FMLA and all other benefits made available to over 20,000 WellStar employees across 11 Hospitals and more than 100 office locations. As needed, this position provides special guidance and assistance to all locations on various employee benefit plans. This leader will bring subject matter expertise in the areas of ADA and FMLA to enhance and streamline processes at WellStar in the management of these specific areas. He/she will use this subject matter expertise to leader the benefits team and be a resource to the Human Resources leadership and consultants across the System.
During a key time at WellStar, this individual will provide support to the benefits harmonization project as the System aligns benefit plans for consistency and team member value. He/she will utilize strong benefits expertise and extensive benefit plan knowledge to ensure that the project is managed successfully and world-class support is provided during planning, implementation and post-implementation support.

The position is responsible for ensuring compliance with all federal, state and local regulatory bodies and providing technical and administrative expertise in supporting health and welfare plans. The Director will be involved in plan evaluation analysis and routine meetings with third-party administrators to ensure a high-level of plan administration and customer service.

The Director is also accountable for ensuring benefit plan communication and plan documentation is accurate and maintains updates due to plan change of legislative updates. This individual is key to the annual benefit enrollment process as well as ensuring superior ongoing employee support for the WellStar health and welfare plans.

Core Responsibilities and Essential Functions:

Health and Welfare Plan Administration
* Administer employee benefits programs such as retirement plans; medical, dental, vision plans; life insurance plans; and temporary disability programs
* Prepare and execute, with legal consultation, benefits documentation, such as original and amended plan texts, benefit agreements and insurance policies.
* Instruct insurance carriers, trustees and other administrative agencies outside the company to effect changes in benefits program. Ensure prompt and accurate compliance.
* Install approved new plans or changes to existing plans by preparing announcement materials, plan summary documents and other media for communicating plans to employees. Conduct employee meetings and arrange for enrollment.
* Supervise maintenance of enrollment and claims records for all benefits plans.
* Evaluate and compare existing company benefits with those of other employers by analyzing other plans, surveys and other sources of information. Plan, develop and/or participate in area and industry surveys. Analyze results of surveys and develop specific recommendations for review by management.
* Participate in developing specifications for new plans or modify existing plans to:
* Maintain company's competitive position in labor market, and
* Obtain uniform benefits package for all company locations, where possible.
* Develop benefits information and statistical and census data for actuaries, insurance carriers and management.

Plan Interpretation and Support
* Counsel management and employees on existing benefits
* Interpret the benefit plans and ERISA and other governmental regulations affecting the benefit plans to ensure appropriate plan administration and compliance.
* Fulfill the plans related regulatory reporting requirements.
* Handle benefits inquiries and complaints to ensure quick, equitable, courteous resolution. Maintain contact in person, and by phone or mail, with hospitals, physicians, insurance companies, employees, and