US Benefits Manager

📋 Description

• • Own the end-to-end design, implementation, and daily administration of athenahealth’s US benefits portfolio—medical, dental, vision, life, disability, and holistic well-being programs—serving thousands of athenistas and their families across multiple states.
• • Translate complex regulatory language into clear, engaging communications that reach employees, managers, and HR partners through multiple channels; craft year-round campaigns that boost participation, understanding, and appreciation of benefits value.
• • Mine Workday and other data sources to uncover utilization trends, cost drivers, and equity gaps; build executive-ready dashboards that inform annual strategy, vendor negotiations, and multi-year roadmaps aimed at controlling spend while elevating employee experience.
• • Serve as the in-house authority on ERISA, ACA, HIPAA, COBRA, FMLA, ADA, and evolving state mandates; partner with Legal and Compliance to conduct audits, file required notices, and ensure every plan document, SPD, and SBC is accurate and timely.
• • Lead large-scale projects such as annual open enrollment, new vendor implementations, wellness-program launches, and system enhancements; build cross-functional project plans, manage executive steering committees, and deliver on time and under budget.
• • Cultivate strategic relationships with national and regional carriers, third-party administrators, brokers, and wellness vendors; negotiate contracts, monitor SLAs, and drive continuous improvement in service levels, cost containment, and employee satisfaction.
• • Collaborate closely with Payroll, Finance, and HRIS teams to ensure flawless benefits-to-payroll integration, accurate premium reconciliation, and timely funding of HSA, FSA, and 401(k) accounts.
• • Design and deliver targeted wellness and mental-health initiatives that reduce medical trend, increase preventive care, and reinforce athenahealth’s culture of caring; measure impact through biometric screenings, engagement metrics, and ROI studies.
• • Prepare and manage the annual US benefits budget—forecasting claims, premiums, administrative fees, and wellness spend; track actuals monthly, explain variances, and recommend mid-year adjustments to leadership.
• • Provide expert consultation to HR Business Partners and managers on escalated benefits issues, leave-of-absence coordination, and accommodation requests; maintain a reputation for empathy, accuracy, and rapid resolution.
• • Champion diversity, equity, and inclusion in benefits design—ensuring offerings meet the varied needs of a multicultural workforce, including LGBTQ+ inclusive healthcare, fertility and family-forming support, and multilingual resources.
• • Continuously scan the external market for innovative benefits practices—from student-loan repayment to pet insurance—and evaluate feasibility, cost, and alignment with athenahealth’s talent strategy.
• • Leverage Workday’s advanced benefits functionality to streamline life-events processing, automate eligibility rules, and create self-service experiences that delight employees while reducing administrative burden.
• • Mentor junior analysts and coordinators, fostering a culture of curiosity, analytical rigor, and customer obsession within the Total Rewards team.
• • Represent athenahealth at industry conferences, broker summits, and benefits coalitions, building the company’s reputation as a thought leader in progressive, employee-centric rewards.