Benefits Specialist

Job Summary:

The UW-Madison Benefits team serves employees, departments, and divisions by providing comprehensive benefits processing, consultation, and education. This unit manages eligibility and enrollments and offers individual and group benefit counseling and training sessions. These sessions cover all aspects of benefits for new hires, career changes, and retirement.

Under the direction of the UW-Madison Director of Benefits Services, the Benefits Specialist I (Inst) position in the Office of Human Resources will be responsible for being a subject matter expert in benefits including medical, retirement, disability, and life insurance plans. They will research, analyze, and review employee scenarios to provide accurate guidance with excellent customer service at all times. Our ideal candidate will have excellent communication and customer service skills, experience with retirement plans, large and small group presentation skills (in person and virtual), an ability to learn and adapt in a fast-paced environment, a strong work ethic and drive to succeed, and is a team-player who also works well independently. Also, the ideal candidate has experience with virtual platforms (examples include MS Teams, WebEx, Zoom).

Responsibilities:

Provides accurate, timely, and comprehensive benefit information and counseling to institutional human resources professionals and employees to assist audiences in understanding benefits eligibility, selection, and enrollment rules. Completes and processes benefit enrollments and changes to ensure up-to-date benefits data.

• 30% Receives, responds to, and resolves complex employee benefits questions, feedback and problems from employees, HR leadership, and campus partners through various mediums
• 15% Advises current and prospective employees and human resources staff on benefit eligibility, options, and applicable timelines according to established policies and procedures
• 15% Researches eligibility and enrollment rules, plan documents, contract statutes, and administrative codes to provide correct benefit resources and materials to human resources professionals and employees
• 5% Develops and facilitates employee benefit trainings and associated resources and materials
• 20% Serves as a unit subject matter expert and liaison to internal and external stakeholders providing complex benefit information
• 15% Receives, processes, and audits benefit enrollments and changes according to established policies and procedures

Institutional Statement on Diversity:

Diversity is a source of strength, creativity, and innovation for UW-Madison. We value the contributions of each person and respect the profound ways their identity, culture, background, experience, status, abilities, and opinion enrich the university community. We commit ourselves to the pursuit of excellence in teaching, research, outreach, and diversity as inextricably linked goals.

The University of Wisconsin-Madison fulfills its public mission by creating a welcoming and inclusive community for people from every background - people who as students, faculty, and staff serve Wisconsin and the world.

Education:

Required
H.S. Diploma

Qualifications:

Work Type:

Full Time: 100%

This position may require some work to be performed in-person, onsite, at a designated campus work location. Some work may be performed remotely, at an offsite, non-campus work location.

Appointment Type, Duration:

Ongoing/Renewable

Salary:

Minimum $48,107 ANNUAL (12 months)
Depending on Qualifications
Actual pay is determined at hire and is based on experience and qualifications.

This position offers a comprehensive benefits package, including generous paid time off, competitively priced health/dental/vision/life insurance, tax-advantaged savings accounts, and participation in the nationally recognized Wisconsin Retirement System (WRS) pension fund. For a summary of benefits, please see https://www.wisconsin.edu/ohrwd/benefits/download/fasl.pdf.

Additional Information:

Please note that successful applicants are responsible for ensuring their eligibility to work in the United States (i.e. a citizen or national of the United States, a lawful permanent resident, a foreign national authorized to work in the United States without need of employer sponsorship) on or before the effective date of appointment.

How to Apply:

Contact:

Emma Voight
emma.sippel@wisc.edu
608-262-8152
Relay Access (WTRS): 7-1-1. See RELAY_SERVICE for further information.

Official Title:

Benefits Specialist I (Inst)(HR033)

Department(s):

A02-GENERAL SERVICES/OFFICE OF HUMAN RESOURCES/BEN SERVICES

Employment Class:

Academic Staff-Renewable

Job Number:

310472-AS

The University of Wisconsin-Madison is an Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action Employer.

Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to, including but not limited to, race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, pregnancy, disability, or status as a protected veteran and other bases as defined by federal regulations and UW System policies. We promote excellence through diversity and encourage all qualified individuals to apply.

Employment may require a criminal background check. It may also require you and your references to answer questions regarding sexual violence and sexual harassment.

The University of Wisconsin System will not reveal the identities of applicants who request confidentiality in writing, except that the identity of the successful candidate will be released. See Wis. Stat. sec. 19.36(7).

The Annual Security and Fire Safety Report contains current campus safety and disciplinary policies, crime statistics for the previous 3 calendar years, and on-campus student housing fire safety policies and fire statistics for the previous 3 calendar years. UW-Madison will provide a paper copy upon request; please contact the University of Wisconsin Police Department.