What are the responsibilities and job description for the Benefits Specialist position at The State University of New York (SUNY)?
Location: Albany, NY Category: Professional Positions Posted On: Tue Jan 28 2025 Job Description:
The Benefits Specialist is the main day-to-day benefits administrator, interacting directly with Human Resources and Benefits Administrators at our 29 New York State campuses, with our New York State Agency partners (Civil Service, Department of Budget, etc.), and with our benefits providers (The Standard) to administer and maintain the benefits offered to SUNY employees. Additional interactions with our 35 community college campuses, as well as with retirement plan administrators at New York State agencies participating in the NYS Voluntary Defined Contribution program, are also required on an as-needed basis.
This team member will work closely with internal clients to assist in day-to-day operations, including problem resolution. In addition to daily and as needed responsibilities, the Benefits Specialist owns regular project work and performs recurring reporting duties.
Duties and Responsibilities:
Assume role of first and potentially main customer service representative for SUNY campus Benefits Administrators and potentially SUNY employees seeking assistance and issue resolution related to the benefits we sponsor and/or administer.
Assist campuses with health care plan, workers' compensation insurance, and other benefits questions, including tuition assistance, commuter assistance, daycare assistance, flex spending limits, etc.
Assist with union benefit questions, including redirecting inquiries to proper authorities.
Act as day-to-day operational liaison for SUNY vendors/business partners, the University-wide Benefits team, and SUNY Campus Administrators.
Develop and manage strong relationships with administrators at State-wide University Campus, Community Colleges, and NYS agencies.
Assist Benefits Manager in overseeing relationship with our Long-term Disability and Paid Family Leave insurance provider (currently The Standard), with a focus on their custom Ergonomic Assessment Program (EAP) for SUNY M/C and UUP employees.
Owns coordination of The Standard's Ergonomic Assessment program activities with participating campuses and the University-wide Benefits team.
Provide Long-term Disability and Paid Family Leave administration, including reconciling billing, fielding questions, and addressing issues between insurance providers and campuses.
Facilitate regularly scheduled ongoing calls to resolve retirement plan participant issues.
Coordinate and monitor ongoing updates to information.
Assist Benefits Manager with coordinating and project managing the biannual Benefits Administrators Meeting.
Coordinate and schedule bi-monthly calls/virtual video meetings with State Campus Benefits Administrators and the University-wide Benefits team.
Assist Director and Benefits Manager with evaluation of data, identifying trends, and exploring enhancements to programs.
Oversee development of discount programs (maintaining vendors, fielding campus issues and questions).
Assist Retirement Managers with retirement plan arrears calculations (verifying calculations from campuses, double-checking employee eligibility, etc.).
Update benefits documents, announcements, and website pages as needed.
Assist Retirement Managers with data collection and coordination of retirement plan issues and initiatives (forced distributions, look-backs, sponsorship reports, employee enrollment issues, etc.).
Assist in developing educational and training materials with University-wide Benefits teammates, campus administrators, and business partners.
Job Requirements:
Required Qualifications:
Bachelor's degree.
Ability to receive, prioritize, and complete tasks from multiple sources with minimal supervision
Proven customer service skills.
Ability to self-manage in a fast-paced environment and to troubleshoot issues as they arise.
Excellent interpersonal, analytical, and written communication skills.
Ability to think creatively and solve problems and must be able to work effectively and efficiently within strict deadlines as part of a team.
Proficient project/task management skills with the ability to track the collection of data and manage correlating reporting requirements.
Ability to work in a hybrid environment, adept at maintaining work communications, and relationships to fulfill responsibilities in a remote work situation.
Preferred Qualifications:
Three years of relevant work experience is highly preferred, ideally in a customer service focused and/or Human Resources/Benefits/Retirement Plan work environment.
Three years' experience administering employee benefits or insurance benefit information.
A strong knowledge of Excel, including formulas and pivot tables, is highly preferred.
Independent, highly organized worker with proven project management experience is preferred.
Operations management with financial transaction experience preferred.
Experience or familiarity with SUNY Benefit Plans preferred.
Has desire to work in team environment with long-term professional development objectives.
Additional Information:
Salary is dependent on a variety of factors, including but not limited to, experience, education, training, and certifications. The range for this position is $56,000-$64,000 annually.
State Title: Personnel Associate (Grade MP5) and is a Management Confidential position.
Excellent Benefit Package which includes: NYS health insurance, free dental and vision coverage, competitive retirement options, tuition assistance, parental leave at full pay, and generous vacation, sick, and holiday time. 13 days of paid holidays per year; 21 days of vacation, and 21 days of sick time accrued each year. Please see our MC benefits summary for additional information.
Management/Confidential appointments work under the leadership and discretion of the appointing authority and are not represented by a union.
This position will be based in Albany, NY. Limited travel is required to the SUNY Global Center (located in New York City). All travel is coordinated by the Director and Benefits Manager.
This position has an anticipated start date of May 5, 2025.
Applicants must be currently authorized to work in the United States on a full-time basis.
SUNY System Administration Benefits:
SUNY System Administration provides an outstanding and comprehensive benefits package to support you and your family through the many life changes you may experience while you work for SUNY. Our nationally recognized benefits include:
Retirement: The choice between a fully funded pension plan and a self-driven defined contribution plan, along with two supplemental plans to increase your ability to save for retirement.
Health Insurance: Several health insurance options at an affordable cost that provide full coverage without mandatory deductibles.
Time Off: Paid time off with separate vacation and sick leave accruals up to 21 days a year for each category.
Additional paid leave policy options for childbirth, adoption, elder care, and other family care situations.
Flexible Working Arrangements: Flexible working arrangements, including hybrid schedules, are available depending on position.
Explore our full benefits offerings here: www.suny.edu/benefits
The Benefits Specialist is the main day-to-day benefits administrator, interacting directly with Human Resources and Benefits Administrators at our 29 New York State campuses, with our New York State Agency partners (Civil Service, Department of Budget, etc.), and with our benefits providers (The Standard) to administer and maintain the benefits offered to SUNY employees. Additional interactions with our 35 community college campuses, as well as with retirement plan administrators at New York State agencies participating in the NYS Voluntary Defined Contribution program, are also required on an as-needed basis.
This team member will work closely with internal clients to assist in day-to-day operations, including problem resolution. In addition to daily and as needed responsibilities, the Benefits Specialist owns regular project work and performs recurring reporting duties.
Duties and Responsibilities:
Assume role of first and potentially main customer service representative for SUNY campus Benefits Administrators and potentially SUNY employees seeking assistance and issue resolution related to the benefits we sponsor and/or administer.
Assist campuses with health care plan, workers' compensation insurance, and other benefits questions, including tuition assistance, commuter assistance, daycare assistance, flex spending limits, etc.
Assist with union benefit questions, including redirecting inquiries to proper authorities.
Act as day-to-day operational liaison for SUNY vendors/business partners, the University-wide Benefits team, and SUNY Campus Administrators.
Develop and manage strong relationships with administrators at State-wide University Campus, Community Colleges, and NYS agencies.
Assist Benefits Manager in overseeing relationship with our Long-term Disability and Paid Family Leave insurance provider (currently The Standard), with a focus on their custom Ergonomic Assessment Program (EAP) for SUNY M/C and UUP employees.
Owns coordination of The Standard's Ergonomic Assessment program activities with participating campuses and the University-wide Benefits team.
Provide Long-term Disability and Paid Family Leave administration, including reconciling billing, fielding questions, and addressing issues between insurance providers and campuses.
Facilitate regularly scheduled ongoing calls to resolve retirement plan participant issues.
Coordinate and monitor ongoing updates to information.
Assist Benefits Manager with coordinating and project managing the biannual Benefits Administrators Meeting.
Coordinate and schedule bi-monthly calls/virtual video meetings with State Campus Benefits Administrators and the University-wide Benefits team.
Assist Director and Benefits Manager with evaluation of data, identifying trends, and exploring enhancements to programs.
Oversee development of discount programs (maintaining vendors, fielding campus issues and questions).
Assist Retirement Managers with retirement plan arrears calculations (verifying calculations from campuses, double-checking employee eligibility, etc.).
Update benefits documents, announcements, and website pages as needed.
Assist Retirement Managers with data collection and coordination of retirement plan issues and initiatives (forced distributions, look-backs, sponsorship reports, employee enrollment issues, etc.).
Assist in developing educational and training materials with University-wide Benefits teammates, campus administrators, and business partners.
Job Requirements:
Required Qualifications:
Bachelor's degree.
Ability to receive, prioritize, and complete tasks from multiple sources with minimal supervision
Proven customer service skills.
Ability to self-manage in a fast-paced environment and to troubleshoot issues as they arise.
Excellent interpersonal, analytical, and written communication skills.
Ability to think creatively and solve problems and must be able to work effectively and efficiently within strict deadlines as part of a team.
Proficient project/task management skills with the ability to track the collection of data and manage correlating reporting requirements.
Ability to work in a hybrid environment, adept at maintaining work communications, and relationships to fulfill responsibilities in a remote work situation.
Preferred Qualifications:
Three years of relevant work experience is highly preferred, ideally in a customer service focused and/or Human Resources/Benefits/Retirement Plan work environment.
Three years' experience administering employee benefits or insurance benefit information.
A strong knowledge of Excel, including formulas and pivot tables, is highly preferred.
Independent, highly organized worker with proven project management experience is preferred.
Operations management with financial transaction experience preferred.
Experience or familiarity with SUNY Benefit Plans preferred.
Has desire to work in team environment with long-term professional development objectives.
Additional Information:
Salary is dependent on a variety of factors, including but not limited to, experience, education, training, and certifications. The range for this position is $56,000-$64,000 annually.
State Title: Personnel Associate (Grade MP5) and is a Management Confidential position.
Excellent Benefit Package which includes: NYS health insurance, free dental and vision coverage, competitive retirement options, tuition assistance, parental leave at full pay, and generous vacation, sick, and holiday time. 13 days of paid holidays per year; 21 days of vacation, and 21 days of sick time accrued each year. Please see our MC benefits summary for additional information.
Management/Confidential appointments work under the leadership and discretion of the appointing authority and are not represented by a union.
This position will be based in Albany, NY. Limited travel is required to the SUNY Global Center (located in New York City). All travel is coordinated by the Director and Benefits Manager.
This position has an anticipated start date of May 5, 2025.
Applicants must be currently authorized to work in the United States on a full-time basis.
SUNY System Administration Benefits:
SUNY System Administration provides an outstanding and comprehensive benefits package to support you and your family through the many life changes you may experience while you work for SUNY. Our nationally recognized benefits include:
Retirement: The choice between a fully funded pension plan and a self-driven defined contribution plan, along with two supplemental plans to increase your ability to save for retirement.
Health Insurance: Several health insurance options at an affordable cost that provide full coverage without mandatory deductibles.
Time Off: Paid time off with separate vacation and sick leave accruals up to 21 days a year for each category.
Additional paid leave policy options for childbirth, adoption, elder care, and other family care situations.
Flexible Working Arrangements: Flexible working arrangements, including hybrid schedules, are available depending on position.
Explore our full benefits offerings here: www.suny.edu/benefits
Salary : $56,000 - $64,000
