Plan Manager (Employee Benefits Administration)

The Position

Reporting to the Senior Vice President of Plan Management, the Plan Manager, with the support of an Assistant Plan Manager, serves as the face of the organization to clients and maintains responsibility for the administration of various employee benefit plans (Health & Welfare, Pension, etc.). This role is a hybrid structure, out of the company’s Troy, MI office and serves clients locally and throughout the Midwest. Key responsibilities include, but are not limited to, the following.

Board of Trustees Meetings

• Attending quarterly, monthly, and ad hoc Board of Trustees meetings
• Maintaining quality of the meeting booklet
• Presenting reports to Trustees
• Reporting regularly to the Board of Trustees of the Funds, including but not limited to: applications for ratification, appeals, payments for ratifications, financials, eligibility issues, etc.
• Writing minutes and recording actions taken at the meetings
• Directing departments to implement direction by the Trustees
• Following up with Plan Professionals and company department staff to ensure completion of action items from the post-meeting task list
• Collaborating with Service Providers to ensure efficient Trust meetings and operations of the Trust Funds
• Consulting on all administrative practices to bring added value to the Board of Trustees
• Reviewing and analyzing monthly financial statements, income and expense fluctuations, and work hour reports and participant counts

Contract Management

• Monitoring and reporting on service level agreements and overall company performance
• Maintaining responsibility for company contract renewals, project billing, and revenue collection
• Maintaining responsibility for communications between the company and the client

Intraorganizational and Interorganizational Communications

• Developing and maintaining inter-department relationships to ensure client-specific procedures, in and between Contribution Entry, Vacation, Claims, Member Services, Reciprocity, Eligibility, Pension and Accounting are routinely practiced and enforced
• Responding to coordinators/department questions with regards to Plan benefits, contributions, eligibility, Plan provisions, or ability to research inquiries before forwarding to legal counsel for interpretation
• Monitoring inter-department compliance with ERISA, legislative, IRS, and Department of Labor requirements
• Analyzing, documenting, and assisting with system problems and modification
• Providing specific direction to Programming regarding benefit changes

Day-to-day Operations

• Reviewing and maintaining knowledge of all client vendors - including billing practices, services being performed for each Fund, frequency of presentations to the Board of Trustees
• Drafting and coordinating all employer and participant mailings, to notify of rate changes, benefits changes, Summary Material Modifications, Summary Annual Reports, etc. timely
• Obtaining and utilizing claim, eligibility, income and expenses to prepare annual (or as requested) benefit studies, recommendations on rate increases, self-pay rates, etc. as needed
• Maintaining proficiency in the employee benefits regulatory environment
• Ensuring Trust Fund general files are properly maintained
• Communicating application of provisions of Plan/Trust Documents with Amendments, Summary Plan Descriptions, and/or the ability to research within these documents to respond to inquiries
• Handling escalated calls, requests or situations, both internally and externally, including Trustees, participants, vendors and internal departments as needed
• Relying upon sound, independent judgment to answer questions from vendors, professionals and legal counsel, assisting coordinators in resolving participant issues, determining the priority of received requests and materials
• Maintaining working knowledge of all administrative systems
• Maintain tasks assigned in those systems
• Ensuring government compliance items assigned to Plan Management are completed
• Representing Trust Funds in general audits and investigations by the Internal Revenue Service, the Department of Labor, or other agencies
• Performing other duties as needed

The Successful Candidate

The Plan Manager is a consummate professional, demonstrating the knowledge, skills, and ability to effectively manage relationships and obligations to multiple key clients. Required and desired competencies include, but are not limited to, the following.

• Bachelor’s degree in business, marketing, or related field preferred
• CEBS or similar certification preferred
• Willingness to travel as necessary to meet strategic objectives and fulfill commitments to clients, prospective clients, and other stakeholders
• Exceptional written and verbal communications skills, able to communicate effectively with people at all levels of the organization
• Working knowledge of Customer Relationship Management software
• Ability to effectively mentor junior colleagues, helping to nurture and develop talent within the team
• Strong decision making and organizational skills, with the ability to optimize use of all available resources and deliver on multiple priorities
• Strong negotiation skills with ability and confidence to navigate challenging conversations to achieve diplomatic resolution of conflict and mutually beneficial outcomes
• Highly developed sense of professionalism, maturity, integrity, and commitment to customer satisfaction
• Exceptional team player with the confidence and integrity to earn client and internal team confidence quickly
• Strong knowledge of provisions and implications of Taft-Hartley plans
• In-depth understanding of Labor Unions and possession of the knowledge and experience necessary to effectively navigate these complex business landscapes
• 5+ years of progressive sales or client services enterprise leadership in a business-to-business environment, with direct exposure or within health plans, TPAs, or related markets, with exposure to Taft-Hartley plans (preferred)
• Understanding of benefits operations and processes (health and welfare & retirement), including payment of claims, interpretation of contracts, and communication of benefits
• Exceptional work ethic
• Proficiency with MS Office and common web applications
• Self-motivated, self-starting personality

Compensation

The Plan Manager will receive a highly competitive compensation package, including, but not limited to, the following:

• Competitive salary
• Medical, dental, and vision insurance
• Flexible spending account
• Life Insurance / AD&D
• Short and long-term disability
• Employee Assistance Plan (EAP)
• 401k plan with generous employee match
• PTO
• Paid holidays
• Opportunity for professional growth