Summary:

Our People ARE the ASPCA. The People Team (HR) at the ASPCA enables the organization to thrive by empowering and valuing every team member and providing an exceptional workplace across our varied disciplines. To make the greatest impact on animals, we must support the people who do the work, so our staff feel investment from the organization and can effectively prioritize and engage with our mission, work together, and develop the skills and capabilities necessary to achieve our goals. With engaged and committed staff, we can successfully serve the ASPCA’s guiding vision that the United States is a humane community in which all animals are treated with respect and kindness.

With a complex workforce of over 1,200 employees pursuing challenging work across the US, the ASPCA’s Benefits Team, a sub-team of our People Team, ensures our people have thoughtfully-designed, comprehensive employee benefit plans and time off policies, and skillfully administers requests for leaves of absence and workplace accommodations. The Benefits Manager supports these efforts by engaging directly with staff and family members to answer questions, resolve issues, and assist with claims inquiries, incorporating research and application of plan terms and legal requirements; supporting staff engagement efforts and compliance projects; and administering leave of absence and workplace accommodation requests.

This person will need to apply research, engage in critical thinking, deploy emotional intelligence, and exercise sound judgment in a complex, fast-paced environment, frequently shifting between data and process management for the organization as a whole and one-on-one interactions with employees struggling with difficult personal circumstances; always balancing empathy, confidentiality, professionalism, objectivity, and discretion.

This remote-based position (which requires travel, as described below) is open to all eligible candidates based within the United States.

Responsibilities:

Responsibilities will include but not be limited to:

Benefits Administration and Participant Outreach and Support (40%)

• Engage directly with employees on benefits questions and issues, mainly through the Benefits Team Outlook mailbox, managing a high volume of daily emails on various topics, researching and providing timely responses, and re-directing questions to other resources as needed
• Assist employees and family members with complex benefit enrollment and claims issues, working with broker and carrier contacts as needed
• Work with employees and vendor contacts to resolve issues with flexible spending account claims, deadlines, and substantiation requirements, applying and explaining IRS rules to employees as needed
• Review employee requests for mid-year election changes, correctly applying plan provisions and IRS requirements, and work with employees to implement changes as permitted
• Review requests for written benefits eligibility and coverage documentation from employees and former employees, including requests from social services organizations/government assistance programs, and provide appropriate documentation
• Plan, coordinate, and promote engagement opportunities and events with teams to educate staff and encourage utilization of supportive benefits and resources
• Support benefit plan compliance projects as needed
• Administer workers’ compensation cases, including review of incident reports, end-to-end claims administration, and collaboration with the Sr. Manager, Benefits on follow-up for difficult claims and incident tracking/OSHA log recording
• Support annual benefits open enrollment process, including responding to employee mailbox questions, hosting information sessions and office hours, and other employee outreach efforts; Workday testing; reviewing carrier materials; and executing post-enrollment follow-up
• Complete industry surveys and review survey reports to identify and summarize relevant benchmarking data
• Back-up the other Benefits Manager as needed

Disability and Absence Management (40%)

• Administer employee requests for leaves of absence and workplace accommodations, including correctly identifying and applying applicable federal, state, and local laws to each request; providing required forms and notices; maintaining timely and accurate communication with employee and manager; and ensuring complete and accurate documentation of the interactive process
• Work with employees to identify and connect to helpful resources; educate managers about resources to share with team members who might need support
• Manage claims for disability and family/medical leave benefits under the ASPCA’s welfare benefits plan and state-based disability and Paid Family and Medical Leave (PFML) programs
• Manage continuous and intermittent leaves and related wage replacement functions in Workday and accurately document pay information for Payroll team
• Maintain discretion, confidentiality, and professionalism with respect to all employee and manager interactions; demonstrate strong understanding of how to balance legal requirements, employee support, operational needs, and other relevant considerations to administer each step of the interactive process
• Administer leaves of absence and other workplace accommodations related to workplace injuries, working with claims adjusters and brokers as needed to resolve issues and move complex cases toward return to work or settlement
• Review and respond to mailbox questions from staff and managers related to time off policies, workplace injuries, and potential leave of absence or workplace accommodation requests; enter new leave and accommodation requests into tracker for assignment to a team member
• Provide guidance on remaining COVID-19 safety protocols and administer New York quarantine leave law requests

Participation as a Member of the People Team (20%)

• Engage in regular full-People Team, cross-functional, and Benefits Sub-team meetings and activities
• Support People Team and cross-functional projects that impact or implicate employee benefits administration or communications, absence management, or require plan design considerations
• Develop proficiency in instructional design and adult learning principles and apply those concepts to develop training modules and educational materials that proactively train employees and managers on benefit programs, absence management, and related topics
• Support the development of a healthy, positive, inclusive culture where employees can thrive
• Commit to continued growth and development by embracing the ASPCA’s behavioral competencies
• Work on special projects as assigned by the Sr. Director and VP, People

Exemplifies the ASPCA’s Core Values:

• Has Commitment and dedication to improving the lives of animals
• Demonstrates Ownership and feels responsible for outcomes
• Believes in Team – that we are stronger together
• Seeks to Elevate others and reimagine what is possible
• Focuses on Impact, specifically making change for animals

Qualifications:

• Strong working knowledge of benefits administration and understanding of benefits laws and regulations, including but not limited to Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) and Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA)
• Demonstrated advanced proficiency with disability and absence management, specifically administration of workplace accommodations and leaves of absence, including but not limited to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA), Providing Urgent Maternal Protections (PUMP) Act, Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), New York Paid Family Leave (NYPFL), workers’ compensation, and other federal, state, and local laws
• Excellent interpersonal skills - must be approachable and comfortable interacting with all levels of employee population, maintain strict confidentiality of sensitive employee situations and confidential data, and balance empathy for people with objectivity and professionalism
• Strong customer service skills, ability to present a welcoming and approachable demeanor and use an assertive yet respectful and tactful approach in difficult situations
• Effective communication and presentation skills, both written and oral; ability to explain complex, technical information to various audiences in an accessible way
• Well-developed critical thinking skills, professional judgment, and ability to synthesize feedback from multiple parties and integrate research and evidence into problem-solving
• Strong organization and time management skills; ability to manage multiple projects and deadlines in a fast-paced work environment, while maintaining attention to detail
• Motivation to be part of a change effort and be adept at navigating shifting priorities, while maintaining a primarily behind-the-scenes role
• Ability to work both independently with minimal supervision and as part of a collaborative team
• Ability and willingness to learn and use technology to streamline processes and automate tasks
• Must be available to work Monday-Friday, generally from 9am-5pm (Eastern Time preferred), with a 9am ET start time on Mondays required given time sensitive weekly tasks at the start of each week. Ability to occasionally work flexible hours as needed
• Ability and willingness to travel to multiple locations within the U.S. (up to 5%) as needed (roughly 1-2 trips per year)

Language:

• English required

Education and Work Experience:

• B.A./B.S. degree or equivalent professional experience required, benefits and/or absence management certifications preferred
• At least 3 years of benefits and/or absence management experience required
• Working knowledge of group health, welfare, retirement benefits programs, as well as leave of absence and workplace accommodation administration required; at least 3 years of experience strongly preferred
• Proficient in Microsoft Office Suite including Word, PowerPoint, and Excel
• Human Resources Information System (HRIS) systems experience (ideally Workday) preferred but not required

Compensation and Benefits:

The applicable target hiring range for this remote role is based on where the employee works, which for remote roles is the employee’s primary location of residence, and its respective cost of labor. We have organized the U.S. varying costs of labor index into three geographic zones. As a point of reference, below, we have included our ASPCA locations by geographic zone to illustrate what the hiring range would be in each of the following areas.

Starting pay for the successful applicant will depend on a variety of factors, including but not limited to education, training, experience, location, business needs, internal equity, market demands or budgeted amount for the role. The target hiring range is for new hire offers only, and staff compensation may increase beyond the maximum hiring range based on performance over time. The maximum of the hiring range is reserved for candidates with the highest qualifications and relevant experience. The expected hiring salary ranges for this role are set forth below and may be modified in the future. 

• Zone 1 (For example, Asheville, NC; Champaign, IL; Columbus, OH; Gainesville, FL; Miami, FL; Oklahoma City, OK; Overland, KS; Union, MO; Weaverville, NC): $67,000 - $72,000
• Zone 2 (For example Los Angeles, CA): $74,000 - $79,000
• Zone 3 (For example, Washington D.C, New York, NY): $81,000 - $87,000
   

For remote positions, you can view which zone applies to you based on your location. For questions regarding other locations not found on the list, please send an email to [email protected] for more information.    

For more information on our benefits offerings, visit our website.

Qualifications:

See above for qualifications details.

  

Language:

English (Required)

Education and Work Experience:

High School Diploma (Required)

  

Our EEO Policy:

The ASPCA is an Equal Employment Opportunity employer.  All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, creed, religion, sex, national origin, ancestry, gender, gender identity or expression, age, marital or domestic partner status, citizenship status, sexual orientation, disability, genetic information, military or veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state or local laws, regulations or ordinances.

Applicants with disabilities may be entitled to a reasonable accommodation under the terms of the Americans with Disabilities Act and certain state or local laws.  A reasonable accommodation is a change in the ASPCA’s standard application process, which will ensure an equal employment opportunity without imposing undue hardship on the ASPCA.  Please inform the ASPCA’s People Team if you need an accommodation in order to complete any forms or to otherwise participate in the application process.

Individuals seeking employment are considered without regards to race, color, creed, religion, sex, national origin, ancestry, gender, gender identity or expression, age, marital or domestic partner status, citizenship status, sexual orientation, disability, genetic information, military or veteran status,  or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state or local laws, regulations or ordinances.

ASPCA is an Equal Opportunity Employer (M/F/D/V).