The posting
About the Team
The Global HR Shared Services and Payroll team, a division of the HR Enablement Team, is a centralized hub of HR administration and operational functions supported by a multi-tiered service delivery model. The team manages the myHR portal which serves as a self-service associate platform for HR information such as benefits, payroll, HR policies, other HR programs, and questions. The group is responsible for operational excellence results that improve the associates' experience and efficiency while enabling the HR department to focus on advancing the firm’s strategic initiatives.
Role Summary The successful candidate will be a service-oriented individual who is comfortable working in a fast-paced, team environment with minimal instruction while adjusting priorities often, as well as managing multiple tasks and deadlines simultaneously. As a member of our tier 2 benefits services team, the Benefits Analyst will be responsible for the day-to-day technical administration of U.S., Canadian, and international benefit plans including but not limited to health, dental/vision, disability, time off, and retirement programs for active associates and retirees. Primary duties include conducting employee benefits programs analysis, developing communication materials to educate peers and associates on benefits programs, maintaining and auditing associate data/records to ensure accuracy, conducting research and providing appropriate recommendations to facilitate changes and enhancements to benefits plans and programs, managing vendor relationships with benefit providers, serving as the project lead for U.S. annual open enrollment activities, supporting annual compliance and audit requirements (i.e. Form 5500 filing preparation, ACA, PCORI, Discrimination Testing, etc.), participating in the development and implementation of new and/or enhanced benefit plans and programs, policies and procedures. This role requires a high level of effective and timely communication and interaction with internal and external stakeholders across all levels of the organization including current and former associates, finance, human resources, payroll, and vendors.
Responsibilities
- Contributes to the selection and management of and negotiation with vendors, in collaboration with the vendor management function. May interact with vendors directly to gather information or assist with issue resolution. With minimal supervision and depending on the area of focus, provides guidance to Human Resources and the business on compensation programs and issues. May support more senior professionals by reviewing and analyzing compensation data.
- Provides guidance to managers, Human Resources business partners and employees on benefits questions, issues, and claims escalated through more junior team members. Issues and claims handled are moderately complex and require nonstandard solutions. Forecasts and plans for assigned benefits and compensation projects. Prepares and monitors budgets. Corrects budget and/or timing issues and determines when to escalate issues to more senior professionals. May make tactical recommendations based on expected results, desired outcomes, and success measures. With guidance, may manage a small compensation project that requires a standard solution, including establishing a project plan, coordinating, and managing resources, forecasting and monitoring project budget, etc.
- Conducts research on benefits and compensation programs and gathers competitive intelligence to contribute to the development and implementation of best-in-class programs that align with business needs. Monitors benefits programs and offerings to ensure they align with Total Rewards philosophy and global governance strategy and are culturally/market relevant.
- Supports implementation of wellness activities focused on the long-term health and well-being of employees. Promotes and champions wellness initiatives.
- With minimal guidance, implements strategic benefits plan in partnership with more senior professionals. Supports new benefits technology program implementations in partnership with information technology. Once implemented, responsible for day-to-day management of vendors and programs in conjunction with Human Resources shared services partners. Analyzes jobs through the job evaluation process to ensure internal equity of positions across job families and grade levels. Matches T. Rowe Price positions to external market data, identifies internal comparisons, and recommends grade and salary changes.
- Supports associate understanding of how to best utilize benefits to meet their needs. Recommends educational or communication opportunities for other benefit team members, and implements methods for disseminating clear and concise benefits information to associates.
Qualifications
Required:
- Bachelor's degree or the equivalent combination of education and relevant experience AND
- 2+ years of total relevant work experience
- Experience with Workday or similar HRIS platforms, and case management systems (i.e., Salesforce, ServiceNow)
Preferred:
- Professional certification such as Certified Benefits Professional (CBP) or Certified Employee Benefits Specialist (CEBS).
- Prior experience in benefits administration.
- Basic understanding of health and welfare plan benefits and vendors acquired through 4+ years of experience providing group health and benefits service preferably at a large corporation.
- Expert knowledge of operations, services, and activities of a comprehensive employee benefits program; the full range of employee benefit plans and programs including flexible benefits, workers’ compensation, health plans, leaves of absence, employee assistance and retirement programs.
- Working knowledge of federal, state, and local laws and regulations related to employee benefits, leave of absence, including but not limited to FMLA, ADA, workers' compensation, and other types of leaves such as multi-state paid leave compliance requirements.
- Ability to analyze complex situations (i.e., benefit issues, appeals, member claims, administrative issues), identify workable solutions/alternatives and make appropriate determinations and/or recommendations resulting in minimal risk.
- Perform technical analysis of and troubleshoot benefits file integration errors, when necessary.
- Above average analytical skills, critical thinking, problem solving, time management, and planning/organizational techniques are essential.
- Ability to become proficient in internal analytic systems and vendor online data and reporting tools.
- Proficiency with Microsoft Office products. Expert experience with VLookup, formulas, pivot tables, creating tables, charts, and graphs in Excel a must.
- Excellent oral and written communications skills demonstrating diplomacy, discretion and good judgement when delivering information.
- Ability to handle confidential information in a professional and discreet manner.
- Demonstrated process execution skills with strong attention to detail and judgement when determining customer needs/expectations and escalating.
- Intellectual curiosity with strong desire for continued learning and personal development including staying abreast of regulatory and firm policies and changes.
- Strong teamwork skills embodying the firms’ values including the ability to collaborate with others to deliver results with a focus on continuous improvement.
- Exhibit leadership by taking accountability and personally delivering consistent results setting high standards while demonstrating initiative and adaptability.
FINRA Requirements
FINRA licenses are not required and will not be supported for this role.
Work Flexibility
This role is eligible for hybrid work, with up to two days per week from home:
Scheduled hours are Monday through Friday from 8 am - 5 pm ET. For the first 90 days of employment, the work model will be on site in our Owings Mills office Monday - Thursday, with flexibility to work from home on Fridays. After the first 90 days, there will be flexibility to work from home up to 2 days/week.
