BENEFITS ASSOCIATE JOB DESCRIPTION

Employee benefits administration is narrower than HR generalism and more operationally intensive than policy design. A Benefits Associate owns the daily mechanics of plan delivery: reconciling enrollment data against vendor databases, processing leave-of-absence requests in compliance with FMLA and ADA obligations, and keeping payroll deductions accurate week over week. Errors here surface in paychecks. The role sits within corporate HR, typically reporting to a Benefits Manager, and serves as the primary contact employees reach when coverage questions arise during open enrollment or mid-year life events.

As the Benefits Associate, you will manage day-to-day administration of health, welfare, and leave programs, ensuring enrollment accuracy, vendor compliance, and timely payroll integration across the employee population. You will operate within the HR department, supporting the Benefits Manager while partnering with Payroll, HRIS, and external carriers to resolve benefit discrepancies and maintain plan documentation.

Career Impact: Hands-on ownership of FMLA administration, ADA accommodation processing, and carrier reconciliation builds a compliance and operational foundation that distinguishes experienced benefits professionals from generalist HR candidates in the market.

Business Impact: Accurate enrollment reconciliation and payroll deductions directly determine whether employees receive the coverage they elected - errors the Benefits Associate catches prevent financial liability and erode workforce trust when missed.

Growth Opportunity: Proficiency in HRIS platforms and benefits vendor management positions you for senior benefits analyst or Benefits Manager roles as organizations scale their total rewards functions.

• Administer health, welfare, and leave-of-absence programs in accordance with plan documents and applicable federal requirements.
• Reconcile benefits enrollment data between the HRIS and vendor databases to identify and correct discrepancies before payroll processing.
• Serve as the primary contact for employee inquiries regarding coverage elections, plan documents, and leave eligibility.
• Partner with Payroll to ensure benefit deductions are accurately reflected in weekly or biweekly pay cycles.
• Support vendor management activities including invoice review, renewal coordination, and compliance documentation for third-party carriers.
• Conduct benefits orientations for new hires and prepare written procedural guides for self-service enrollment.
• Generate, review, and distribute utilization and financial reports to the Benefits Manager and HR leadership.
• Maintain complete and confidential employee records related to benefits elections, leave status, and accommodation requests.

• Bachelor's degree in Human Resources, Accounting, Business Administration, or equivalent work experience.
• Two or more years of benefits administration or human resources experience, with direct exposure to health and welfare plan management.
• Working knowledge of FMLA, ADA accommodation processes, and employer-sponsored benefits compliance requirements.
• Demonstrated ability to reconcile high-volume enrollment and billing data with attention to accuracy and audit readiness.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite, with intermediate or higher competency in Excel for data analysis and reporting.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to explain plan provisions clearly to employees at all levels.
• Proven ability to manage multiple priorities simultaneously while maintaining confidentiality on sensitive employee matters.

• Experience working within an HRIS platform in a benefits- or payroll-adjacent capacity.
• Familiarity with open enrollment cycle management, including coordination with brokers and benefits carriers.
• Active Life, Accident, and Health Insurance license or willingness to obtain within 90 days of hire.
• Prior exposure to benefits vendor onboarding, risk assessment, or third-party compliance oversight.

• Enrollment reconciliation error rate, measuring data accuracy between HRIS and carrier records each pay cycle.
• Leave-of-absence case closure rate within required FMLA response windows, tracking compliance with timeliness.
• Invoice reconciliation accuracy rate, reflecting how consistently billing discrepancies are identified and resolved before payment.
• Benefits inquiry resolution time, measuring how quickly employee questions are answered or escalated appropriately.
• Open enrollment completion rate, tracking the percentage of eligible employees who finalize elections by the deadline.
• Typical tools: HRIS platforms (commonly Workday or Ceridian Dayforce); benefits administration portals; payroll integration systems.

• Base Salary Range: $48,000-$65,000 annually, depending on experience and location
• Bonus: Discretionary annual bonus, typically 3-6% of base salary
• Equity: Equity uncommon at this level; may be available at select employers
• Health Benefits: Medical, dental, and vision coverage; employer contribution standard
• PTO: 15-20 days annually, plus federal holidays
• Common Perks: Employee assistance program access, professional development stipends, FSA or HSA options

Figures are estimates based on general US market benchmarks and may be outdated. Adjust based on location, company size, and seniority level.

Work authorization in the United States is required for this position. Employment is contingent on the successful completion of a background check, which may include verification of prior employment and education credentials. Reasonable accommodations are available to qualified individuals with disabilities throughout the application and employment process - please notify the hiring team to initiate a request. All applicants are considered without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, or local law.

Reporting to the Benefits Manager, the Benefits Associate shapes full-scale benefits administration and HRIS reporting for a commercial construction firm headquartered in Falls Church, VA. Partnering with Payroll, vendors, and team members across the organization, the role delivers accurate enrollment reconciliation, leave administration, and health and wellness program coordination that supports the needs of HITT team members.

Primary Duties

• Serve as the daily point of contact for benefits and leave-related questions for new and existing team members.
• Present benefits information during new team member orientations.
• Reconcile large volumes of benefits enrollment data between employer and vendor databases.
• Assist the Benefits Manager with workers' compensation claims, ensuring compliance and communication with team members.
• Partner with Payroll to ensure benefit plan changes are accurately reflected in employee paychecks.
• Report and reconcile HRIS data and assist in developing management reports.
• Collaborate with vendors to manage all aspects of health and wellness programs, including design, communications, and service delivery.
• Assist in developing the HRIS function and support special projects as assigned.

Education & Experience

• Bachelor's degree from an accredited university strongly preferred.
• One to two years of benefits-related experience required.
• Experience with HRIS systems such as Workday, UltiPro, Ceridian Dayforce, or Deltek Costpoint.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills with a high standard of professionalism.
• Ability to maintain confidentiality and sensitivity regarding team member issues.
• Ability to categorize sensitive issues and escalate appropriately while managing multiple priorities.
• Critical observation skills to identify gaps and red flags in plan elections.

Embedded within a benefits consulting team, the Employee Benefits Associate delivers compliance, benchmarking, renewal and marketing, and reporting and analytics functions while supporting new client onboarding and daily service requests. Working closely with Consultants and clients, the role builds and maintains benefit guides and financial reports that keep client programs current, efficient, and effective.

Core Functions

• Perform compliance, benchmarking, renewal and marketing, and reporting and analytics functions with minimal guidance.
• Assist with onboarding new clients and provide daily service support for ad hoc requests.
• Create, review, and edit employee benefit guides, benefit manuals, and other client materials.
• Prepare and submit client utilization and financial reporting to Consultants and clients.
• Review insurance circulars and bulletins to stay current on industry changes.
• Confer with team to identify and develop methods to improve efficiency and effectiveness of benefit programs.

Qualifications & Experience

• High school degree or equivalent required, college degree preferred.
• Active Texas Life, Accident, and Health Insurance License or ability to obtain within 90 days.
• One or more years of employee benefits experience.
• Proficiency with MS Office Suite.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills with strong organizational skills and attention to detail.

Sitting at the intersection of benefits administration and payroll operations, the Benefits Associate supports ALDI's Human Resources Department by managing leave of absence requests, reconciling billing for health and welfare plans, and maintaining benefits systems and documentation. Operating across divisional benefits contacts, corporate staff, and external parties, the role enables ALDI to preserve the operational accuracy and cultural integrity its workforce depends on.

Duties

• Act as a department resource for divisional benefits and payroll contacts as well as corporate staff when questions arise.
• Provide support for reasonable accommodation requests and administer leave of absence requests.
• Maintain benefits documents and coordinate the mailing of benefit materials.
• Generate, review, and distribute reports and perform benefits systems maintenance.
• Administer billing for health and welfare benefits, including reconciling errors and ensuring timely payment.
• Maintain files related to employee leave of absences and accommodations.
• Uphold the security and confidentiality of documents and data within area of responsibility.

Skills & Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Human Resources, or a related field, or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Minimum of two years of relevant experience.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite, including data entry, typing, and reporting.
• Ability to prepare written materials, conduct group meetings, and maintain positive relationships with internal and external parties.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills with attention to detail and problem-solving ability.
• Ability to identify and use IT solutions to increase project efficiencies and document technical issues.
• Ability to organize, multi-task, manage time effectively, and work collaboratively within a team.

A key member of the Benefits and Human Resources function, the Benefits Associate leads day-to-day program administration, vendor management, and renewal coordination across a complex, multi-partner benefits environment. Collaborating across internal departments including SCM, TPRM, and EIS teams, the role builds and maintains the operational policies, processes, and partnerships that ensure accurate and compliant delivery of benefits programs.

Functions

• Participate in benefits program implementation, monitoring, and compensation-related ad hoc projects.
• Review individual needs and resolve problems based on company policy, plan documents, and related procedures.
• Administer day-to-day management of benefits programs with efficiency and accuracy.
• Support vendor management activities including onboarding, offboarding, risk assessment, and compliance oversight in coordination with SCM, TPRM, and EIS teams.
• Review benefits vendor invoices and assist with the payment process.
• Build and maintain benefits operational policies, processes, and procedures.
• Develop and maintain partnerships with internal departments to ensure necessary flow of information.
• Support benefit system implementation and upgrade projects, including requirements gathering, UAT, and employee demonstrations.
• Coordinate renewal exercises, track regional contracts and policies, and follow up with vendors on renewal terms.
• Coordinate benefits-related activities and events and assist in drafting employee communications.

Requirements

• Experience in Benefits, Human Resources, or Operations gained through work experience, training, military service, or education.
• Demonstrated experience in sourcing, negotiation, and management of complex vendor contracts and engagements.
• Demonstrated ability to manage multiple internal partner and supplier relationships.
• Analytical skills to extract data from varied sources and translate findings into clear actions.
• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills with strong accountability and sound personal judgment.
• Strong problem-solving ability with the capacity to work independently in a dynamic and ambiguous environment.

The Benefits Associate owns day-to-day procedural guidance for proprietary office software applications and leads system testing, requirements documentation, and business solution development across computer science and accounting functions. Working alongside application programmers and business users, the role delivers accurate, fully verified system enhancements that protect workflow integrity and support operational reporting needs.

Key Responsibilities

• Provide day-to-day procedural guidance for proprietary office software applications, as well as implementation support for new software applications.
• Assist with the oversight of software utilization requirements and the development, testing, and implementation of new features.
• Gather data, analyze requirements, and document specifications for new system processes and enhancements.
• Identify and research system problems for root cause and collaborate with team to recommend sound business solutions.
• Provide support with defining future system needs that satisfy the requirements of customers, business users, and application programmers.
• Build thorough test plans and conduct system tests to verify that the system and screens contain accurate information.
• Review and analyze user requests for business system enhancements and determine the long- and short-term impact on workflow and reporting.
• Act as a resource to provide guidance to system users and application programmers.
• Train users in proper utilization of business systems, including providing written procedures.
• Work directly with application programmers to define the steps required to develop or modify system applications.

Required Qualifications

• Associate's degree or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Up to four years of related work experience in Computer Science, Accounting, or Auditing.
• Insurance industry experience preferred.
• Transaction and account balance analysis skills.
• Intermediate to advanced Excel skills and proficiency in Microsoft Office products.
• Knowledge of database design preferred.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills with attention to detail.
• Ability to create spreadsheets and multi-task within a fast-paced team environment.

Accurate client plan implementations and renewals depend on the Benefits Associate, who leads health plan onboarding, builds benefit materials including SBCs and SPDs, and owns end-to-end renewal processes within Collective Health's Plan Launch team. Based within the Member Services arm of Customer Experience and collaborating cross-functionally with Finance, Legal, Product, and Clinical teams, the role shapes plan design quality and member-facing content at scale.

Accountabilities

• Lead client implementations onto the platform, coordinating with internal and external teams on plan design and data collection.
• Perform quality checks on internal and member-facing materials throughout the implementation process.
• Manage the end-to-end renewal process, including updating plan benefit matrices and resolving complex plan design questions.
• Build new benefits and generate key materials such as SBCs, SPDs, Open Enrollment materials, and Member Portals.
• Own and scale key Plan Launch areas including data gathering workflows, feedback management, and plan design analytics.
• Apply plan design expertise to triage client inquiries, complete sales scoping requests, and improve member-facing content templates.
• Collaborate cross-functionally with Member Services, Product, Legal, Clinical, and Client Success teams.

Experience & Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree required.
• Three or more years of experience in health benefits, ideally from a benefit consulting firm, brokerage, or health underwriting or actuarial function.
• Strong knowledge of health plan design, benefit matrices, and key plan documents including SBCs and SPDs.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office or Google Suite, particularly Excel or Google Sheets and PowerPoint or Slides.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills with the ability to tailor messaging to varied audiences.
• Strong critical thinking and attention to detail.
• Ability to collaborate across teams to deliver project objectives.
• Self-motivated with the ability to adapt, take ownership, and thrive in a changing environment.