Benefits Manager

Benefits Manager:

• California, San Francisco, CA, US New York, New York, NY, US Remote, Remote, Remote, 
• US Salary Range:$100,000 - 110,000 

Organization Description: 

Tides Advocacy is a team of political, legal, and financial experts that identify, connect, and fuel movements for social justice and the health of our democracy. We leverage our 25-year progressive network, navigate the rules, and solve problems in order to make advocacy accessible to social change innovators in all sectors. Tides Advocacy has over 85 partners who represent activists, donors, movement leaders, lawyers, researchers, and journalists who are promoting equity, justice, and dignity for all. They are engaged in ballot, electoral, and legislative campaigns as well as public education and charitable activities. From funder advised funds to fiscal sponsorship, grants management to risk management and more, Tides Advocacy gives members of the nonprofit and philanthropic community freedom to focus on the change they want to see. For more information, please visit tidesadvocacy.org. Position Summary: The Benefits Manager is responsible for the implementation and administration of Tides Advocacy Health and Welfare (H&W) benefits, as well as ensuring the daily operation of all benefit programs in compliance with plan documents. The successful candidate will work as part of the People & Culture department partnering directly with Tides Center to oversee relationships with brokers, insurance carriers, and third-party administrators to ensure compliance with all regulatory obligations (5500 filings, ACA reporting, state, and local specific requirements). Additionally, this position will the responsibility of working with the Executive Leadership Team, to review current market trends and benchmarking, benefits strategies, and people demographic reviews to ensure benefits and wellness plans are aligned to the overall employee population for Tides Advocacy. The Benefits Manager is an exempt level position. 

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

• Act as a strategic partner to the Director of People and Culture to develop and implement strategies and initiatives related to employee benefits
• Develop strong working relationships with employee/partner groups, as well as internal colleagues across Tides Center to accomplish key health and welfare benefits objectives and compliance. 
• Maintain strong relationships with vendors, brokers, and carriers for seamless administration. 
• Manage the day-to-day administration of health and core benefit programs including retirement, medical, dental, spending accounts, life, disability, and other ancillary benefit plans, and policies for union and non-union employees. 
• Oversee benefit plan compliance by partnering with the Tides Benefit Manager and our benefits brokers to ensure all benefit plans meet federal and state requirements including, but not limited to Plan Audits, 5500 filings, Discrimination Testing, OSHA reporting, ACA reporting and HIPAA required notices. 
• Working directly with Tides Center to ensure all sponsored benefit plans are administered in compliance with all federal and state laws and regulations including, but not limited to ACA, ERISA, HIPAA, COBRA, ADA and FMLA. 
• Serve as resource for our internal staff and our partners in their efforts to continuously improve their processes and drive efficiencies, eliminate manual processes and improve the overall employee experience. 
• Maintain knowledge of best practices and new technologies in benefits administration 
• Develop benefits onboarding (design, deliver and maintain accurate benefits materials and orientations) 
• Manage enrollments (setting up and managing U.S. Open Enrollment, creating OE guides, running reports to insure timely and complete enrollment, auditing and comparing vendor billing and enrollment records, and analyzing processes for efficiency and compliance). 
• Train frontline staff and serve as escalation point in responding to daily benefits questions and claims issues. 
• Oversee the functionality of feeds in Ceridian for U.S. health and welfare vendors, ensure accuracy and completeness. 
• 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 training/seminars and arrange for enrollment. Advice and counsel management and employees on existing benefits. 
• Approve Tides Advocacy billing and assist in projecting cost for U.S. benefits. 
• Proactive management and day-to-day administrative oversight over all employee leave of absence programs. 
• Partner with People & Culture and Communication to develop strategic communications designed to educate employees on benefit options, drive engagement on wellness initiatives.
• Oversee the development of wellness program plan design and initiatives for Tides Advocacy. 
• Develop initial budgetary recommendations and document spend. Monitor and operate within the parameters of the approved US health and welfare budget with respect to daily operations, seeking approval for escalated expense and initiatives. 
• Analyze processes to ensure efficiency; make suggestions for improvements. 
• Ensure that all information available to Tides Advocacy employees (inclusive of legal documentation/notices, links, benefit offerings and programs) is up to date. 

Skills and Abilities: 

• Demonstrated success in designing and implementing innovative programs tailored to unique business challenges. 
• Ability to understand and articulate various benefit terms and programs. 
• Disciplined problem-solving skills and ability to execute solutions, who is proactive, able to connect the dots and willing to take initiative. 
• Strong employee service focus, demonstrating the ability to prioritize quality and employee experience. 
• Strong analytical and database management skills. 
• Proven ability to manage tasks with competing priorities and deadlines, independently determining order of priority and self-initiating other value-added tasks. 
• Excellent interpersonal and collaborative skills, with a professional demeanor and the ability to interact with all levels of management, colleagues, and vendors. 
• Strong problem-solving skills with the ability to deal with and resolve ambiguous, confidential, and sensitive situations and issues of a complex nature while providing flexible solutions. 
• Critical thinking skills including, logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems. 
• Organized, with a sense of urgency and the ability to multitask, prioritize, and manage shifting responsibilities in a dynamic, cross-functional teamwork environment. 
• Understanding of local, multi-state and federal employment regulations, laws and best practices. 
• Demonstrated commitment to meeting the needs of internal and external partners; strives for a high level of client satisfaction. 
• Strong ability to cooperate and work collaboratively cross functionally 
• Strong project management skills with the ability to balance competing demands and satisfy conflicting needs with tact and diplomacy. 
• Demonstrated critical thinking and problem-solving skills 
• Ability to handle confidential and sensitive information with extreme discretion 

Education & Experience: 

• Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources/Related field or work experience equivalent to 6 years in health and welfare benefits management and retirement plan, implementation and administration 
• Experience managing multi-state LOA administration on a day-to-day basis 
• Experience managing OSHA compliance reporting and documentation 
• SHRM, CEBS or CLMS certification preferred, but not required 
• Proficiency with Microsoft Suite including Excel, Word, and PowerPoint and Google Suites. 
• Proficiency with Ceridian Dayforce, ADP Workforce Now and Salesforce a plus. 

Equal Employment Opportunity: 

Tides Advocacy is an equal opportunity employer. We strongly encourage and seek applications from women, people of color, and bilingual and bicultural individuals, as well as members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender communities. Applicants shall not be discriminated against because of race, religion, sex, national origin, ethnicity, age, disability, political affiliation, sexual orientation, gender identity, color, marital status, or medical condition including acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) and AIDS-related conditions