Benefits Specialist

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).

• 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

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.

For more information on diversity and inclusion on campus, please visit: Diversity and Inclusion

Required
H.S. Diploma

Required (at time of hire/cannot be trained):
- 3+ years of experience administering a variety of benefit plans (medical, life, retirement, etc)
- 3+ years of providing excellent customer service
- Ability to quickly learn and use new technology
- Takes full responsibility and ownership of all work assignments to meet and/or exceed deadlines
- Demonstrated ability to maintain confidentiality and work with confidential data
- Ability to work up to 4 late nights (approx. 10:30 pm - 2:00 am) per year to support 3rd shift employees
- Ability to use spreadsheets and word processing software (Word, Excel, etc.)

Preferred:
- 3+ years of HR experience
- Experience creating and analyzing reports
- Experience working with a diverse population of employees and job types
- Experience using HRS/PeopleSoft or Workday

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.

Ongoing/Renewable

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.

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.

To begin the application process, click the "apply now" button. Please submit a resume and cover letter referring to your related work experience. Your cover letter should be no longer than one page, and your resume no longer than two pages. Please address the following in your cover letter:
-Experience with retirement plans
-Experience with HR and Benefits Platforms: HRS, PeopleSoft, Workday, Benefitplace
-Customer service experience

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

Benefits Specialist I (Inst)(HR033)

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

Academic Staff-Renewable

310472-AS