Director of Benefits

Founded in 1917, Providence College (PC) is a premier Catholic liberal arts institution steadfastly committed to academic excellence through a dynamic core curriculum, a distinctive Development of Western Civilization Program, and abundant experiential learning opportunities. The only U.S. higher education institution administered by the Dominican Friars, PC is committed to providing a variety of opportunities for intellectual, social, moral, and spiritual growth in a supportive environment. Providence College believes that cultural and intellectual pluralism is essential to the excellence of its academic programs, and strives to foster an academic culture and campus community reflecting the global environment in which we live and work.

The approximately 105-acre campus is situated in Rhode Island’s capital city and is close to the many cultural and educational offerings of Rhode Island’s “renaissance city.” Additionally, Providence is located an hour from Boston and just a few hours from New York City.

For years, Providence College has been recognized in the U.S. News & World Report “Regional Universities – North Category” and has been commended by several other ranking publications.

Posting Details

Position Information

Position Title Director of Benefits Overview
Oversee, manage, and communicate the College’s employee benefits, benefit programs, worker’s compensation, wellness initiatives, and OSHA reporting, to support diverse faculty and staff and to ensure strict confidentiality. Ensure compliance with all applicable federal and state laws and regulations involving HR responsibilities. Essential Duties:
Oversee, manage, and communicate all College employee benefit programs, including all leave programs. Prepare and manage a benefit budget totaling $21M. Benefit programs include vacation and sick allotment, self-insured medical insurance, dental insurance, COBRA, life insurance, long-term disability, parental leave, employee assistance, flexible spending accounts, tuition remission, tuition assistance, and pension plans. Assure accuracy and credibility of benefit program administration including conducting audits of vendor bills, benefit deductions, develop and maintain productive vendor relations and delivery; evaluate and present credible options to the College for amendment of benefit(s), including carrier(s), plan design, and costing. Coordinate and participate in the Healthcare Advisory Committee. Responsible for compliance with federal and state regulations, including the Family Medical Leave Act and the RI Family Medical Leave Act, ADA, 5500 forms for all welfare benefit and pension plans, and maintaining up-to-date plan documents including issuance of Summary Annual Reports (SAR’s). Provide oversight to administer all leaves of absence in accordance with College policies, labor contracts, insurance policies, and state disability insurance. Oversee the Workers’ Compensation Program in conjunction with the General Counsel’s office. Participate in the consideration, recommendation, development, and management of voluntary benefit plan offerings, such as vision, cancer, and pet insurances. Issue bi-annual benefit statements to faculty and staff. Responsible to ensure quality benefit offerings for related policies and procedures, when warranted, for approval and dissemination. Ensure timely communication of benefit information notifications to faculty and staff along with updates through the PC portal’s HR site, email, and other available technology. Supervise benefit staff to ensure quality daily work and project accomplishments.

Oversee the College’s Wellness Initiative, including development and implementation of wellness programs and the platform, with the goal of inspiring the health and well-being of faculty and staff. Ensure the College’s ability to participate with the state of Rhode Island in broad wellness initiatives. Create a measurement instrument to determine success of individual and global wellness initiatives. Maintain a creative environment around wellness to keep faculty and staff interested and engaged.

Manage and oversee the defined contribution 403B retirement plan, the tax deferred annuity program, the Roth 403B, the 457(b) plan, and the 457(f) plan, including new applications, adjustments, termination, proper application of pension deposits, pension workshops, individual counseling sessions, and plan audits. Coordinate compliance testing to ensure plan viability and ensure College compliance with the Pension Protection Act of 2006. Manage the frozen Defined Benefit Retirement Plan. Participate in the Retirement Plan Oversight Committee meetings and annual audits.

In consultation with the Sr. Associate Vice President, establish policies and procedures and make decisions related to modifying or changing existing general HR policies and procedures related to benefit and wellness management. Assist with projects and labor issues as assigned. In coordination with the Assistant Vice President for Talent Acquisition and Staff Development ( AVPTASD ), ensure the HR web page is up-to-date and viable.

Oversee the implementation and maintenance of the Affordable Care Act provisions as they apply to the medical plans. Manage notifications to employees for medical coverage eligibility consistent with ACHAS ; and oversee the AHCA annual notification forms 1094-C and 195-C filing. Oversee vendor management of FSA, COBRA, retirement plan reporting, and other outsourced services.

Manage the HR department budget allocations for benefits and wellness initiatives. Provide budgetary information and input on an annual basis for the College’s benefits budget to the SAVP for Human Resources. In collaboration with the AVPTASD and the Director of HRIS /Compensation Specialist, propose general office budget numbers for each fiscal year for approval by the Sr. Associate Vice President. Ensure benefit and general funds are allocated to meet the goals and objectives of the HR office in support of the College’s Strategic Plan and the mission.

As requested, assist the Sr. Associate Vice President with high level searches by participating on search committees and fulfilling the HR oversight role. Ensure candidate interview schedules are established with applicable College constituencies including the president, vice presidents, senior management, faculty, and students. Act as the conduit between the search firm and the College on hiring contract terms and conditions as appropriate.

In collaboration with the AVPTASD and with offices across the campus, maintain an orientation program for new hires and create a cohesive program to introduce new employees to the mission, culture, and operations of the College. Participate proactively in HR’s training and development programs as appropriate. Marginal Duties:

1. Represent HR on College-wide committee projects as appropriate.
2. Perform all other duties as may be required.
   
   

Education and Experience Required

• Bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution in related field, Master’s preferred.
• Seven to ten years of benefit management, and/or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills required
• Strong knowledge of HR databases and report writing, demonstrable advanced Microsoft Office skills with an emphasis on excel and work and the ability to learn and use other software related to HR benefits.
• Strong project management and planning skills to design and execute simple and complex projects such as research and implementation of a new plan, policy, or deliverable.
• Excellent leadership and organizational skills
• Extensive experience in the management of benefit programs, including in-depth knowledge of federal and state law requirements and regulations.

Physical Demands
The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this position. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• Sitting in a normal seated position for extended periods of time
• Reaching by extending hand(s) or arm(s) in any direction
• Finger dexterity required to manipulate objects with fingers rather than with whole hand(s) or arm(s), i.e., using a keyboard
• Communication skills using the spoken word
• Ability to see within normal parameters
• Ability to hear within normal range
• Ability to move about

Employee Status Full Time Union Status Non-Union Shift: If other, please enter regular schedule. EEO Statement
Providence College does not discriminate against any person because of race, color, national and ethnicorigin, sex, gender, except where gender is a bona fide occupational qualification, sexual orientation,gender identity, religion, disability, age, veteran status, or genetic information. The College will develop,and from time to time update, an affirmative action program and will insist on a good-faith effort on thepart of its employees to comply with the program. The College will request and expect its agents andthose with whom it conducts its affairs to meet the commitment of this important program.

Posting Detail Information

Requisition Number AS636P Closing Date Open Until Filled Special Instructions to Applicants Supplemental Questions

Required fields are indicated with an asterisk (*).

1. * We require all employees to be vaccinated. Are you vaccinated or have a *valid medical or religious exemption from receiving a COVID-19 vaccine? Applicants requesting an exemption, must complete a Providence College request form. Exemptions are not guaranteed approval. Completion of exemption/vaccination process must be finalized prior to start date.
   • Yes
   • No
   • Will request exemption

Documents Needed To Apply
Required Documents

1. Resume
2. Cover Letter

Optional Documents