Benefits Program Lead (Human Resources Analyst III)

Job Appointment:  Full time, regular

Work Schedule:  Monday – Friday, 8am-5pm.  Alternate schedule may be available.

Work Location:  Hybrid. In-person work to be conducted at The Portland Building, 1120 SW 5th Avenue.  Remote work must be performed within Oregon or Washington. For more information, click here.

Benefits:  Please check our benefit tab for an overview of benefit for this position

Application Material: Please click APPLY to submit your application via the City of Portland’s online portal. You will need respond to the supplemental questions and attach a resume.

Position Summary
The Health & Financial Benefits programs within the Bureau of Human Resources aim to support, retain, and attract City of Portland employees by providing innovative, competitive, and fiscally responsible health and welfare benefits.  The Benefits Program Lead (HR Analyst III) supports the success of these programs by performing a variety of highly professional, technical, and analytical activities.  This position makes independent decisions, within specific procedures and guidelines, and serves as the subject matter expert.

As a Benefits Program Lead, you will:

• Confirm and audit benefits enrollment completion, calculate and validate benefit-related payroll deductions as applicable to benefits-related laws, vendor contracts, and collective bargaining agreements for all benefit eligible employees, and import payroll data into SAP.
• Audit and validate each pay period’s vendor payroll interface file to ensure accurate accounting and processing of benefit-related payroll deductions, track discrepancies, make corrections, and coordinate updates with the external systems vendor.
• Create and maintain an internal benefit-related payroll deductions file for employee and employer costs, audit annual open enrollment records to calculate and apply new payroll deductions, and update the file each pay period to reflect changes. Track and manage benefit financials to ensure correct funding of accounts.
• Audit and validate paid hours for employees on unpaid leave to determine benefit eligibility, compile, and track reports for various types of leave absences, calculate and track arrears, work with employees on repayment plan. Collaborate with Bureau contacts to research discrepancies and educate employees on impact to benefits due to leave of absence.
• Lead ongoing updates of the benefits administrative system, including auditing data, testing system, identifying issues, and recommending changes and process improvements.
• Coordinate planning, developing, and organizing the benefits annual open enrollment process.
• Assist with special projects such as requests for proposals, contracts, systems and program implementations, serve as committee member representing the benefits team for new City initiatives and collective bargaining.
• Train Benefit Team members to accurately calculate benefit premiums, process final paycheck benefit deductions, compliance fees and tax reporting, and vendor payments.
• Collaborate with benefits and payroll staff to prepare payroll and benefits documents in accordance with local, state, and federal regulations such as annual W2s and ACA 1095 forms.

Benefits related payroll deductions are completed in accordance with City, State, and Federal laws, in addition to the City’s HR Administrative Rules and Collective Bargaining Agreements. Not following the appropriate policies and procedures accurately will result in incorrect charges to employees and City Bureaus, increasing the City’s risk of violation of the applicable rule, law, and/or policy. 

Questions?

To Qualify

The following minimum qualifications are required for this position:

1. Experience applying federal, state, and local laws and other rules/regulations (such as collective bargaining agreements) to program administration, preferably employee benefits or other human resources programs.
2. Experience utilizing enterprise specific technology (such as SAP or other HRIS systems) and related skills in the use of computers and general office software, including Outlook, Word, and Excel for complex data management processes.
3. Experience calculating, processing, and reporting accurate healthcare premiums and payments, or other accounting functions.
4. Ability to design, implement and utilize data gathering and reporting procedures, to audit and validate accurate accounting.
5. Ability to research and analyze complex problems, evaluate alternatives and make appropriate recommendations before significant negative impacts are experienced.
6. Ability to prioritize and execute complex and detailed work processes within strict timelines and with complete accuracy.

Although not required, you may have:

• Experience administering employee benefits programs in a public agency.
• Accounting experience in a public agency.
• Benefits administration or Human Resources certification.