Benefits Manager

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Job Type

Full-time

Description

The Benefits Manager is responsible for the effective administration, compliance, communication, and continuous improvement of the Firm’s employee benefit and leave programs. Reporting to the Chief Human Resources Officer, this role serves as the primary subject-matter expert for health and welfare benefits, retirement plans, leave administration, and related employee programs across a growing, multi-office law firm. The Benefits Manager partners closely with employees, HR leadership, Payroll, Finance, benefit consultants, carriers, and third-party administrators to ensure programs are administered accurately, consistently, and with a high level of service. This position also evaluates plan performance, strengthens processes and controls, and supports a positive employee experience through clear communication and responsive problem resolution.

Primary Responsibilities:

• Lead the day-to-day administration of the Firm’s health and welfare benefit programs, including medical, dental, vision, life, disability, flexible spending, health savings, voluntary benefits, and employee assistance programs
• Manage the annual benefits lifecycle, including plan renewals, open enrollment, new-hire enrollment, qualifying life events, eligibility changes, terminations, and employee communications
• Oversee administration of the Firm’s retirement plan, including enrollment, contributions, employer match, distributions, loans, beneficiary changes, corrections, audits, testing, and required participant notices
• Administer and coordinate employee leaves of absence and workplace accommodations in partnership with the Firm’s leave administrator and HR leadership, including FMLA, short-term disability, long-term disability, paid parental leave, and applicable state and local leave programs
• Serve as the primary escalation point for complex employee benefit questions, claims issues, coverage discrepancies, leave concerns, and vendor service matters, providing timely and compassionate resolution
• Ensure benefit and leave programs comply with applicable federal, state, and local requirements, including ERISA, ACA, COBRA, HIPAA, FMLA, Section 125, and applicable reporting and disclosure obligations
• Partner with Payroll and Finance to review benefit deductions, retirement contributions, carrier invoices, funding files, adjustments, and reconciliations; investigate and resolve discrepancies promptly
• Manage relationships with benefit brokers, carriers, recordkeepers, third-party administrators, and other vendors; monitor service levels, resolve issues, and hold partners accountable for performance
• Support benefit renewals and strategy by analyzing utilization, employee feedback, market competitiveness, plan costs, and vendor performance; develop recommendations for HR and Firm leadership
• Coordinate plan audits, nondiscrimination testing, Form 5500 preparation, compliance filings, required notices, and corrective actions with internal and external partners
• Develop and deliver clear, engaging benefit education and communications, including enrollment materials, plan summaries, webinars, lunch-and-learns, and targeted employee outreach
• Maintain accurate benefit data in the HRIS, payroll, carrier, and vendor systems; oversee file feeds and system integrations and ensure data integrity through routine audits
• Document and continuously improve benefits and leave procedures, workflows, controls, service standards, and internal resources to support consistency and scalability
• Protect the confidentiality of employee medical, benefit, and personal information and ensure appropriate access, recordkeeping, and retention practices
• Lead, coach, and develop benefits team members, providing clear direction, training, quality review, and performance management
• Partner with HR colleagues on onboarding

Key Competencies:

• Communicating – Service Managers provide the information required by others in a concise, direct, and unambiguous way. They strive to ensure that the receiver clearly understands the specifics of their message and they are able to listen to, receive, and understand messages conveyed by others.
• Team Building – Service Managers enable and encourage group members to work together to complete tasks and accomplish goals that individual members could not accomplish alone.
• Service Focus – Service Managers place great emphasis on creating customer loyalty by ensuring the highest value of service is always provided and by delivering on commitments to the customer.
• Process Management – Service Managers take a systematic approach in contributing to making the company’s workflow more effective, efficient, and capable of adapting to an ever-changing environment.

Other Duties Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities and activities may change at any time with or without notice.

This position may be designated as remote, hybrid, or fully in-office, depending on the needs of the role, office location, and Firm requirements.

Requirements

• 5 or more years of progressive employee benefits experience, including hands-on administration of health and welfare, retirement, and leave programs; law firm or professional services experience preferred
• Prior experience leading or mentoring benefits staff and coordinating work across HR, Payroll, Finance, and external vendors
• Bachelor’s degree required; CEBS, SHRM-CP, SHRM-SCP, PHR, SPHR, or similar benefits or HR certification preferred
• Working knowledge of ERISA, ACA, COBRA, HIPAA, FMLA, Section 125, and other federal, state, and local benefit and leave requirements
• Experience with benefit renewals, open enrollment, retirement plan administration, audits, reconciliations, compliance testing, and employee communications
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to review plan data, identify discrepancies, and translate findings into practical recommendations
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to explain complex information clearly and work effectively with employees at all levels
• High level of integrity, sound judgment, and discretion in handling confidential medical, financial, and personal information
• Strong organizational and project-management skills, with the ability to manage competing priorities and time-sensitive deadlines
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office, particularly Excel, and experience with HRIS, payroll, benefits administration, retirement, and leave-management systems