Connecticut College is conducting a national search for a meticulous and personable employee benefits professional to serve as the Director of Employee Benefits.  Connecticut College is a vibrant educational community employing over 800 staff and faculty. The Director of Employee Benefits, reporting to the Vice President for Human Resources & Organizational Development, will consistently and thoughtfully administer the College’s robust benefit programs, ensuring eligible employees and retirees understand and access the benefits available to them.

The Opportunity:

The position calls for a capable professional who understands benefit plans, leave policies and compliance requirements to lead the Technical and Benefits Compliance Specialist (1.0 FTE) and the Coordinator of Employee Leave and Benefits (.6 FTE) in delivering a comprehensive benefit program. This skilled and experienced individual will utilize current technologies and methods to effectively manage and communicate the College’s benefit programs to a wide range of employees and retirees.  They will also advise College leaders of changes in the benefit market and strategies to ensure the College’s offerings keep pace with the peer employers and comply with state and federal laws.

• Clearly communicate and distribute critical information to current and prospective plan participants through well-written correspondence, engaging multimedia recordings, and in-person meetings and workshops. 
• Create and maintain a comfortable, confidential environment for employees and retirees, and assist them in enrolling in and accessing their benefits, and support enrolled participants in resolving concerns and adjudicate any disputes with benefit providers.
• Administer the College’s leave programs (including CT and federal FMLA), worker’s compensation, and the interactive ADA process.  Educate supervisors and department chairs on their responsibilities for these programs. Obtain all necessary documentation from employees, communicating program status to employees and their supervisors in a timely manner, record and track leaves, update the HRIS to ensure accurate compensation, maintaining files, and preparing reports as needed.  Document procedures and train direct reports. Ensure compliance with federal and state regulations, and confer with providers and claims management vendor(s).
• Implementing a comprehensive wellness program for faculty, staff and their dependents that includes training and educational programs and activities that promote healthy habits and prevention of illness.
• Evaluate benefit plans and leave policies, maintain policies and plan documents, administer plans in accordance with plan documents and College policies, and ensure compliance with state and federal laws.
• Manage benefits administration system (BenefitFocus) and human resource information system (elucian Banner) as it pertains to benefits tracking, enrollment, employee deductions, and various regulations and laws. Establish, document, and execute procedures that ensure accurate and timely transactions. Review, re-engineer, and implement business processes that leverage available technology. Work collaboratively with campus partners to upgrade current systems and implement new ones.
• Develop constructive and effective relationships with brokers, consultants and vendors; negotiate competitive contracts; ensure quality service delivery, fulfillment of contractual obligations, and prompt resolution of problems.
• Prepare and analyze benefit plan utilization and financial reports. Work collaboratively with the Vice President of Human Resources and Organizational Development and the Vice President of Finance and Administration to develop long and short-term budget plans and financial forecasts. Implement plan changes and new programs to ensure the College’s benefit offerings are competitive, compliant and meet the College financial goals.

The successful candidate for this position will be an individual with proven experience in administering and managing a robust benefit offering. The Director will also have the following experiences and capabilities: 

• Excellent oral and written communications and presentation skills
• Proven quantitative and analytical skills
• Excellent interpersonal skills with proven ability to build and sustain key relationships with all levels
• Keen knowledge of labor and benefit laws including, but not limited to ERISA, ADA, ACA and FMLA
• Thorough knowledge of HRIS and benefit administration systems, preferably ellucian’s Banner application and BenefitFocus.
• Ability to review, re-engineer, and implement new business processes for current and future technologies and web based applications
• Excellent organization skills, ability to set priorities and adhere to deadlines
• Proven ability to use sound judgment and high integrity in handling confidential information

Candidates should have at least 7 years of experience with progressively increasing employee benefits management responsibility; experience in a higher education environment is preferred. An earned bachelor’s degree is required; an advanced degree in business or management is preferred.   Ability to travel occasionally is also required.

Required Documents:

3 Professional Reference Letters, Cover Letter, Resume

Applicant
Credentialing:

Thorough applicant credentialing, including criminal records check, will be conducted on the selected candidate.

As part of the College’s commitment to keep our campus community safe, all members living, learning, teaching and working on campus participate in free, weekly, on-campus COVID-19 testing.