Benefits Director

Reporting to the leader of Benefits, this role will provide support for Advocate Health with innovative, strategic leadership and expertise in the development, implementation, and sustainability of a comprehensive, meaningful, compliant, impactful and market competitive benefits program, including health & welfare and absence management (Disability, FMLA, etc.).

• Develops and executes strategies within the functional unit to achieve key business objectives of the COE and site operational teams; optimizing attraction, engagement and retention initiatives.
• Create a cohesive, holistic and comprehensive benefits strategy that delivers plans that are innovative, aligned with external market trends, cost competitive and meet the current and future needs of our teammates.
• Leads the development of the teams, tools and metrics to facilitate proactive management of benefits costs and efficiency in order to prepare the organization for the financial challenges of the future.
• In collaboration with HR Business Partners and other internal partners, develop and implement ongoing communications strategy regarding benefit programs and services to support leaders, employees and the HR community in alignment with employee value proposition.
• Evaluates and monitors benefits practices to ensure market competitiveness, and consistency with our total rewards philosophy, recommending changes where appropriate.
• Keeps well-informed of innovative solutions and programs in the market and develop a process to evaluate where appropriate.
• Participates in developing recommendations and roadmaps for transitioning plans and programs of newly acquired affiliates
• Establishes and maintains strong relationships and a culture of engagement for the benefits team fostering high performance, continuous improvement, open communication, career development and feedback.
• Performs human resources responsibilities for staff which include interviewing and selection of new employees, promotions, staff development, performance evaluations, compensation changes, resolution of employee concerns, corrective actions, terminations, and overall employee morale.
• Creates and maintains strong partnerships with other departments and key stakeholders regarding oversight and administration of benefits plan (Legal, Finance, Accounting, HR Operations, Compensation, HR Business Partners, HRIS, Enterprise Population Health, etc.)
• Leads the analysis, design development, communication and administration of the Health & Welfare and Absence Management plans.
• Oversees the preparation of policies, procedures, and other forms of written communications to support the administration and compliance of the benefit programs, ensuring all documentation is up to date and meets organizational and regulatory requirements.
• Leads the annual and ongoing enrollment process. This includes development, testing, and execution of the Health & Welfare plan design changes, as well as the development, planning and implementation of various communications and training materials for all stakeholders across multiple channels. Extensive project management skills are required.
• Stay abreast of all legal issues surrounding benefit plans and ensure that Advocate Health programs are in compliance with local, state, and federal laws.
• Conduct on-going research in the Benefits area to keep abreast of best-in-class practices and emerging trends. Works closely with internal legal and finance partners.
• Provides robust communication and marketing of Advocate Health benefit programs to facilitate team member engagement and understanding of their total rewards.
• Presents timely data and dashboards that provide management with critical information on benefit utilization, market comparability, cost and budgets. Utilize analytics to support plan design enhancements. Analyzes existing benefit programs of proposed and newly acquired affiliates, providing insight on comparability and transitional implications.
• Responsible for executing all compliance requirements for Health & Welfare and Absence Management benefits. Includes analysis, benchmarking and recommendations for teammate benefit plans to ensure compliance with all regulatory statutes, provide plan improvements based on market analysis and to ensure a cost-effective benefits platform.
• Ensures compliance with federal and state teammate benefit regulations (ie: ERISA, COBRA, HIPAA, ACA,) prepare government and participant reporting, maintain knowledge of evolving benefits law and recommends changes to programs and plans to manage risk. Supervises preparation of reports required by law to be filed with federal and state agencies. Ensures teammates receive federally required benefit plan information. Monitors changes to federal and state benefit laws and work with team members to prepare appropriate responses. Oversees the ERISA Claim appeal process, where applicable.
• Responsible for developing and recommending budgets and manages spend within approved parameters.
• Oversees plans' financial performance by leading carrier and benefits consultant periodic financial reviews, planning and problem solving to ensure our benefit programs deliver expected returns-on-investment and remain within approved annual operating budgets; delivers periodic plan-specific financial reporting to leadership.
• Manages contracts, performance guarantees and relationships with benefit vendors, legal counsel, internal and external parties to ensure expectations are met/exceeded for consistent administration of programs and service levels.
• In the event of service performance issues, partners with vendor to manage expectations and service recovery strategies. This includes external and internal relationships that execute functions on behalf of the plan. Must be able to manage at minimum twenty-five vendor relationships and more. Lead vendor RFP processes in conjunction with internal and external partners, including transition of vendors if required.

Requirements:

• Bachelors Degree in Business, Human Resource discipline or related field or equivalent knowledge.
• Typically requires 7 years of experience in benefits/total rewards function and 2 years of people management experience.

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities Required:

• Deep expertise in benefit administration and design with a proven track record of successful implementation and results, including knowledge of relevant Federal, State, and local laws/regulations relating to employee benefit plans.
• Ability to influence, without direct report authority, across various levels within an organization and with external partners.
• Unyielding passion and drive for supporting and advocating for teammates.
• Excellent project management skills, ability to multi-task, work independently, balance competing priorities and work to deadlines in a fast-paced environment.
• Ability to listen effectively and express thoughts and opinions clearly and concisely.
• Ability to translate data into impactful insights that drive solutions to complex problems across the organization.
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills (verbal, written and presentation) including the ability to communicate and present complex ideas in a clear & simple way, with the ability to resonate with a diverse audience.
• Demonstrate flexibility and work collaboratively across all levels in the organization.
• Strong technology skills including Excel, PowerPoint; strong analytic abilities required.
• Demonstrates a focus on continuous improvement, advancement and innovation within the function.
• Excellent analytical, quantitative, and qualitative skills to facilitate effective decision-making.