Benefit Plan Coordinator

Benefit Plan Coordinator

• Maintain day-to-day Employer relationship and provide ongoing delivery of service.
• Coordinate with Regional Teams and other MERS departments as necessary
• Act as the liaison between the actuary and appropriate individuals by providing education, collection, coordination, and submission of data and in interpreting and understanding and communicating complex actuarial valuations and projections.
• Assist in defining program requirements and process flow as needed, including internal program administration.
• Reviews, analyzes, and provides information to successfully facilitate benefit and plan changes on behalf of the employer, or its designee, and communicate analysis of these results to the requesting party while ensuring legal compliance.
• Supports and collaborates with Plan Services Manager and other functional areas in developing/reviewing processes and procedures to ensure consistent processing among regions.
• Provides training for new hires and on-going changes as required to ensure understanding and consistent and accurate transactions.
• Serves as resource to staff in a subject matter expert capacity, supporting MERS strategies and goals.
• Maintains annual valuation data spreadsheets and provides review to MERS actuaries.
• Participates in the design, implementation, and administration of various MERS products.
• Partner with Benefit Plan Advisors and prospective customers to review and evaluate customers’ existing plan designs and MERS offerings.
• Identify opportunities for cross-selling products with lead generation to support growth goals.
• Assist in the sales, onboarding and enrollment process for new customers, including facilitation of the actuarial analysis, plan set up across all MERS products, and transition from the former provider to MERS.
• Review non-standard benefit proposals with IT, MERS Legal, Actuaries, and Operational team to determine system and administrative needs, and coordinate implementation of Administrative Services Agreements (ASA) as needed.
• Responsible for handling servicing issues, which include but are not limited to daily inquiries regarding plan design and structure, requests for actuarial analysis, annual valuation inquiries, billing reconciliation and questions, membership and claim problems, participants corrective actions and vendor issues.
• Supports the promotion of MERS products and image through personal contact with governmental agencies and their member associations.
• As a frontline contact representing the organization, this position must remain current regarding laws, compliance issues, and general industry topics/events.
• Review complex issues provided by employers and work to determine agreeable solutions that meet customers’ needs and align with MERS Vision and compliance requirements.
• Understand industry products and municipal challenges so effective needs analysis may be conducted and provide information and education to Employers on potential solutions.
• Continually update direct supervisor concerning all plans, activities, projects, and other work-related activities
• Participate in special projects, attend onsite employer meetings as required, attends MERS Annual Conference and other vendor conferences as needed, and other duties as assigned.
• Utilize customer relationship management software (CRM)
• Maintains and updates Customer Contacts data through all dependent systems for existing and new municipalities.
• Coordinates and prepares all processed employer files for OpenText.

Process Analyst

• Work collaboratively with Business Process Owners and other functional teams to develop and implement new or improved processes and procedures.
• Collaborate with the other departments to ensure proactive identification of quality assurance, process, and resource related items in advance of go-live dates to ensure successful adoption of project outcomes by operational teams.
• Exercise discretion and judgment in identifying areas of potential improvements for functional teams, and working with Business Process Owners to provide resolution recommendations (refresher training, etc.)

Minimum Required Qualifications

Education:

A high school diploma or equivalent

Experience:

• Demonstrated advanced knowledge of MERS products and processes.
• Experience working within a team environment.
• A combination of education and/or experience.

Preferred Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in benefit or business administration
• Experience working in employee benefit plans

Expertise

Knowledge of:

• SharePoint and Customer Relationship Management systems

Skill in:

• Oral and written communication, including interpersonal.
• Active listening
• Presenting
• Organization and prioritizing
• Customer service
• Providing constructive feedback to others with professionalism

Ability to:

• Be flexible and quickly adapt to changing business needs and processes.
• Always maintain a high level of confidentiality.
• Perform comfortably in a fast-paced, deadline-oriented work environment.
• Work in an atmosphere of frequent interruption
• Work successfully as part of a cross-functional team utilizing a high level of communication and collaboration, as well as work independently.
• Pay attention to detail.
• Analyze and synthesize large volumes of data.
• Comprehend contractual language and identify implementation steps.
• Be self-motivated.
• Be punctual and maintain deadlines.

Physical Requirements

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job.  Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• While performing the duties of this job, the employee is occasionally required to stand; walk; sit; use hands to handle, or feel objects, tools, or controls; reach with hands and arms; climb stairs; balance; stoop, kneel, crouch or crawl; talk or hear.
• The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 25 pounds.
• Specific vision abilities required by the job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception and the ability to focus.

Working Conditions

work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job.  Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. 

• Travel: Will occur on occasion.
• Location: All work of this position will be performed on site at MERS main office or remote work location.
• Weather: While performing the duties of this job, the employee is not exposed to weather conditions.
• Noise: The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate.