Benefits Specialist

Great schools begin with great people who believe every day is an opportunity to make a difference. At YES Prep, you have an opportunity to join a family of diverse educators who are leveling the playing field by providing opportunities for a high-quality, college-forward curriculum while also ensuring our students feel supported through their academic journey and empowered to lead choice-filled lives. YES Prep is more than a family of public charter schools, it’s the future of public education—it’s an opportunity to say, “Yes, you can!”

• 17,000 Students
• 1,800 Team Members
• 19 Secondary Campuses
• 6 Elementary Campuses
• 91% Students Who Qualify for Free/Reduced-Price Lunch
• 94% Hispanic & African-American Students
• 90% Students Who Are Accepted to a 4-Year University
• 88% First-Generation College Students
• Top 100 High Schools in the Nation, U.S. News & World Report

We serve the students of Houston, Texas, the 4th largest city across the United States. There are over 20 public-school districts and other great public charter school options, like KIPP Texas-Houston and IDEA Public Schools, within Houston’s city limits serving our increasing population. We are a rapidly growing organization, committed to creating life-changing opportunities for over 23,000 students by 2025.

• Ensuring the effective administration of our benefits programming by completing monthly reconciliations, processing benefit payments, benefit updates and; contributions, data audits, and others as actions concurrent with benefits offerings
• Project planning and co-leading the execution of Annual Enrollment every plan year including communications campaign, resource creation/compilation, staff training, etc.;
• Thought partnering and executing on wellness programming by supporting new collaborations, ideas, and marketing initiatives to current employees;

• Maintaining accurate staff benefits data within the human resource information system and benefits admin system related to new, current, and former YES Prep staff members, and using such data for ACA and other applicable federal and state benefit reporting;

• Developing a communications voice and strategy to support benefits marketing internally and the day-to-day functions of a benefits life cycle, that is tailored to the appropriate audiences;
• Maintenance of accurate and relevant benefits resources in a visually appealing and useful manner in SharePoint, enrollment platform, and total leave sites;
• Monitoring plan utilization data to identify opportunities for improving access to care and claims data that results in cost control and sustainable staff wellness;
• Managing the planning and execution of various work projects and processes to meet department and organizational goals;
• Educating self and training others on federal and state regulations concerning benefits protections and tax implications for employees;
• Responding to inquiries from a variety of constituents, including current employees, managers, new hires, former employees, external entities, etc. with strong customer service in a timely fashion;
• Creating and sustaining productive and collaborative relationships with internal teams, along with all benefit carriers and constituents, to ensure accountability for and execution of service agreements;
• Upholding leave processing standards by auditing leave decisions for accuracy, working with the Total Leave management provider to correct errors and meet service level agreements for staff and organization, and submitting paid leave approval data to payroll for processing;
• Conducting external market research to identify relevant trends and areas of opportunity to increase the organizations competitiveness;
• Additional duties as assigned

• Bachelor’s Degree from an accredited four-year educational institution
• 3-5 years of professional experience in a human resource, administrative, or operations -focused role
• Obsessive attention to detail
• Ability to learn new systems and programs quickly and efficiently
• Organized to the point where juggling multiple tasks and projects, on a daily basis, is a walk in the park
• Works through difficulty and embodies a “Whatever It Takes” attitude
• Can lead and support, proactively
• Doesn’t spill the beans on the highest level of confidential matters
• A sense of humor with an ability to appreciate levity

• Belief in and commitment to the mission and core value of YES Prep Public Schools
• Openness to giving and receiving frequent feedback
• Ability to maintain emotional control under stress
• Ability to work urgently in a fast-paced and results-oriented environment
• Ability to juggle multiple tasks and initiatives at once
• Demonstrated ability to work on a team
• A dedication to learn, grow, and develop as a professional

• Belief in and commitment to the mission and core values of YES Prep Public Schools
• Desire to disrupt systemic status quos in education
• Willingness to go above and beyond to disrupt said status quos
• Passion to develop resiliency through a relentless pursuit of jaw-dropping results
• Conviction that high expectations high accountability = high performance and high growth

• Compensation – This position is an exempt, salaried position; offers commensurate with experience.

• Health and Supplemental Insurance – A $0 monthly medical option that includes $600 towards a Health Savings Account, in addition to a variety of supplemental benefits including Dental, Vision, Disability, Life, etc. Employees must work 20 hours a week to be eligible for a full spectrum of benefits, and 10 hours a week minimum for medical benefits.

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  Retirement Plans – Participation in Teacher Retirement System of Texas and a 457b Retirement Plan.

• Paid Time Off – Employees working 20 hours a week receive 15 days of Paid Time Off in addition to the system closures during the Academic Calendar.

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  Paid Leave Programming – In the event you need to be out due to medical needs (including maternity and paternity leave), YES Prep offers paid leave, paid out at 100%, based on eligibility and tenure.

• Professional Development - YES Prep values longevity and performance over time. We invest in developing leaders through high-quality programs, effective coaching, and ongoing professional development.

• Award Winning Culture – The strong cultures of our campuses and Home Office are just one of many reasons we were named Houston’s Best Place to Work in 2018, 2019, and 2021. We won the 2012 Broad Prize for Excellence in Urban Education and were a 2016 finalist as well.