Employee Benefits Manager (#RM0250)
$55.14-$67.02 Hourly / $9,557.62-$11,617.35 Monthly / $114,691.49-$139,408.22 Yearly

Under general direction, manages the County’s employee benefits programs; and does related or other work as required in accordance with Rule 3, Section 3 of the Civil Service Rules.

An incumbent in this single position class is responsible for the management of all phases of various employee benefits programs for active and retired employees including, but not limited to: the County’s self-insured health plan(s); Health Maintenance Organizations; dental plans; vision plans; life insurance programs; voluntary benefits programs; deferred compensation programs; and other employee benefit programs. Direction is received from the Director of Human Resources.

• Manages the County’s self-insured health plan(s); reviews plan usage and benefit trends for purposes of cost containment and benefit enhancement; oversees implementation of other health plans offered by the County; ensures that all plans comply with state and federal laws, regulations and requirements; works with employee organizations and brokers to modify plans as needed.
• Negotiates and evaluates benefit policy contracts and proposals for efficiency, service and cost effectiveness; evaluates employee organization contracts, local insurance activities, and new legislation to determine impact on County benefit programs.
• Plans, supervises, and participates in the administration of the enrollment of County employees for health, dental, vision, life, retirement and deferred compensation plans; manages and administers annual renewal and open enrollment processes.
• Coordinates with the Auditor’s Office and other County departments to insure the proper deductions, payment of insurance premiums, and other administrative record keeping.
• Recommends policies and procedures affecting employee group insurance.
• Selects, assigns, trains, and evaluates clerical, technical and professional staff who support various benefit program activities.
• Explains and interprets County employee benefit programs to departments, employees, employee organizations, suppliers of health services, and to the Director of Human Resources; responds to questions and complaints regarding County benefit programs.
• Manages the County’s Deferred Compensation programs to insure proper collection, crediting and payment of funds; negotiates rates and deposit incentives with various institutions; coordinates day-to-day administration of the deferred compensation plan with the record keeper.
• Develops and implements a comprehensive health and productivity program for County employees.
• Prepares a variety of correspondence and reports; prepares annual health plan budgets and conducts periodic analyses and reports based on actual performance.

License: Possession of a valid California driver’s license.

Education: Graduation from an accredited four-year college or university with a major in public or business administration, insurance, finance, or a closely related field.

Experience: Five years of responsible analytical or management experience, including three years managing and administering comprehensive employee benefit plans. Supervisory experience is preferred.

Substitution: Additional qualifying experience in the management and administration of benefit plans may be substituted for the education on a year-for-year basis to a maximum of two years.

Principles and practices of public administration, management and supervision; standard health, dental and life insurance programs; deferred compensation and other public agency benefit programs; claim processing procedures; relationship between benefit programs and other functions including personnel/payroll record-keeping, employee organizations’ contracts, retirement regulations, and accounting procedures; State and Federal legislation impacting employee benefit programs; data analysis as it relates to benefit program management.

Direct and coordinate benefit programs; analyze and evaluate cost/benefits losses of group insurance programs; develop and recommend new and improved benefit programs; work effectively with employees, employee organizations, employee dependents, attorneys, insurance brokers, suppliers of health services and other benefit program providers; advise management of benefit trends; read, understand and explain health, dental and life insurance policies, deferred compensation contracts, and other benefit agreements; analyze problems, use independent judgment and make appropriate decisions; speak effectively to large groups; prepare correspondence and complex reports; evaluate proposed legislation affecting County benefit programs.

Mobility—frequent operation of a keyboard, sitting for long periods, walking; occasional standing, pushing, pulling, bending, squatting, driving, climbing; Lifting—frequently 5 pounds or less; occasionally 5 to 30 pounds; Visual—constant good overall vision and reading/close-up work; frequent color perception and eye/hand coordination; occasional depth perception and peripheral vision; Hearing/Talking—frequent hearing normal speech, hearing/talking on the telephone, talking in person; Emotional/Psychological—frequent decision making, concentration, and public contact; occasional travel, working weekends/nights; Environmental—occasional exposure to varied weather conditions.