Human Resources Specialist

About the Role

The Human Resources Specialist - Benefits & Leave Operations provides national operational, transactional, and employee-service support for UG2's benefit and leave programs. This position owns recurring benefits administration and assigned leave transactions. It offers an exciting opportunity for a recent college graduate to launch their career in Human Resources and gain valuable hands-on experience.

Key Responsibilities

Benefits Administration

• Review new hire benefit elections for accuracy, completeness, and eligibility; ensure elections are correctly reflected in ADP and applicable carrier systems.
• Process approved benefit corrections and qualified life event changes, obtain required supporting documentation, and confirm completion within plan and regulatory deadlines.
• Verify employee and dependent eligibility, monitor overage dependents, and coordinate required coverage updates and employee notifications.
• Support COBRA administration by maintaining accurate termination and eligibility data, updating the applicable portal, and resolving routine discrepancies.
• Respond to routine employee and manager questions regarding benefit eligibility, enrollment, coverage, and available resources; escalate plan interpretation, exception, and appeal matters to the Benefits Manager.
• Support annual Open Enrollment planning and execution, including communications, materials, employee assistance, data validation, and post-enrollment reconciliation.
• Conduct benefit data audits and reconcile discrepancies among ADP, carrier records, payroll deductions, enrollment files, and vendor systems.
• Track benefit corrections, employee inquiries, and outstanding transactions through resolution while meeting established service and response standards.

Vendor, Invoice, and Payroll Coordination

• Review benefit vendor invoices for accuracy, validate supporting data, prepare invoices for payment, and submit complete documentation to Accounts Payable.
• Research and resolve discrepancies with benefit vendors, Payroll, Finance, Human Resources, and other internal partners.
• Prepare and process approved Integrated Pay or PTO supplementation documentation during leaves based on authorized instructions and communicate accurate payment information to Payroll.
• Support payroll deduction reviews and corrections related to benefit elections, approved leave status, and authorized employee changes.

Benefit-Related Court Orders and Compliance Administration

• Process Qualified Medical Child Support Orders, National Medical Support Notices, and other benefit-related court or agency orders within established deadlines.
• Coordinate required updates with employees, carriers, COBRA administrators, Payroll, and other stakeholders, and maintain complete supporting records.
• Escalate unclear, contested, or high-risk orders to the Benefits Manager, HR leadership, or Legal before action is taken.

Leave of Absence Transaction and Vendor Support

• Perform routine leave intake and administrative case setup assigned by the Leave of Absence Specialist II, including creating case records, organizing source documents, and confirming required employee and employment data availability.
• Enter new leaves, approved extensions, confirmed status changes, and confirmed return-to-work dates in ADP and other approved systems based on written direction or authorized vendor notification.
• Complete routine employer information requests from Unum or other approved leave vendors and submit schedules, hours worked, payroll records, hire dates, job information, and other requested employment data within required timeframes.
• Review and respond to routine Unum notifications and information requests; promptly route denials, discrepancies, exceptions, complex accommodations, disputed facts, or unclear determinations to the Leave of Absence Specialist II.
• Record completed transactions and current approved dates in designated systems or trackers to support accurate case visibility; escalate inconsistencies rather than independently changing case determinations.
• Prepare standard documentation packages after content has been approved, create FedEx or certified-mail labels, and retain mailing and delivery confirmation.
• Process approved leave-related Change of Status forms and other standardized HRIS transactions after confirming required documentation and approvals are complete.
• Maintain organized electronic records for assigned leave transactions and securely store supporting employment documentation in the appropriate employee or case file.
• Provide transactional backup coverage for routine leave administration during peak periods or absences.

Reasonable Accommodation Administrative Support

• Receive and route accommodation requests and provide approved interactive-process materials, capabilities assessment forms, and documentation instructions at the direction of the Leave of Absence Specialist II or responsible HR decision-maker.
• Coordinate scheduling and meeting logistics for interactive-process discussions.
• Collect and securely file accommodation documentation, identify missing administrative components, and route information for substantive review.
• Prepare draft accommodation correspondence using approved templates after the decision and required terms have been provided.
• Record approved implementation details in designated systems and support administrative coordination; escalate potential undue hardship, legal questions, disputed restrictions, approval or denial decisions, and follow-up case management.

Training, Communications, and Employee Support

• Provide timely, respectful, and solution-oriented support regarding benefit enrollment, routine leave processes, claim initiation, documentation submission, and available resources.
• Support and co-facilitate manager and employee training related to benefits, leave administration procedures, system transactions, documentation standards, and confidentiality requirements.
• Maintain process guides, standard communications, templates, frequently asked questions, and job aids.
• Identify recurring questions, transaction delays, service gaps, and training needs and recommend practical process improvements.

Recordkeeping, Reporting, and Compliance

• Maintain complete, accurate, secure, and confidential records in ADP Vantage, approved vendor portals, case-management tools, and secure HR repositories.
• Ensure benefit, leave, medical, and accommodation records are stored in accordance with company policy, privacy requirements, retention standards, separation requirements, and access controls.
• Reconcile assigned benefit and leave transactions against source documentation, system records, vendor data, and payroll information and coordinate correction of identified discrepancies.
• Prepare routine operational metrics regarding benefit corrections, vendor requests, transaction volume, turnaround time, document processing, mailings, and system updates; provide data support for leave reports.
• Support internal and external audits, data requests, compliance reviews, and reporting requirements.
• Perform periodic quality reviews of assigned work to identify missing documents, inaccurate coding, duplicate records, or unresolved transactions and coordinate corrective action.
• Participate in cross-training and provide dependable backup coverage across Benefits and Leave Operations.
• Perform other related duties and special projects as assigned.

Key Interactions

• Benefits Manager
• Leave of Absence Specialist II
• Vice President of People and Human Resources Leadership
• Human Resources Business Partners and Corporate HR Team
• Payroll, Employee Lifecycle Services, Talent Acquisition, and Onboarding
• Finance and Accounts Payable
• Operations leaders and managers
• Unum and other leave administration vendors
• COBRA administrator, benefit carriers, brokers, and benefit vendors
• Learning & Development and Compliance partners
• Legal Counsel, as needed
• Employees and dependents

Supervisory Responsibilities

• Individual contributor. No direct reports. May provide process guidance and cross-training.

Requirements & Tech Stack

• 0 to 1 year of experience in employee benefits, leave administration support, HR operations, or a closely related Human Resources function.
• Bachelor's degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, or a related field with at least 3 years of relevant experience; OR a minimum of 5 years of directly relevant experience in the absence of a degree.
• Working knowledge of employee benefit administration, COBRA, FMLA, ADA and PWFA accommodation processes, and applicable state leave requirements.
• Experience working with an HRIS such as ADP Vantage and with benefit, COBRA, or leave administration vendor systems; experience with Unum is preferred.
• Demonstrated ability to manage high-volume, deadline-driven transactional work while maintaining accuracy, follow-through, confidentiality, and service standards.
• Strong data reconciliation, audit, reporting, document-management, and recordkeeping skills.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Excel, Outlook, Word, and Teams.
• Ability to read and apply plan documents, standard operating procedures, policies, vendor instructions, and regulatory guidance.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Demonstrated customer-service orientation, sound judgment, professionalism, and discretion.
• Ability to work independently, manage competing priorities, and collaborate effectively in a national, multi-state environment.
• Bilingual English and Spanish capability is preferred.
• Professional certification such as SHRM-CP, PHR, CEBS, or a leave- or benefits-related certification is preferred but not required.