Manager, Benefits and Disability Management - Sacramento, United States - Sacramento Municipal

Description

Title: Manager, Benefits and Disability Management

Department: Comp, Class & Performance

Location:

Sacramento, CA, US,

Category: Human Resources

Minimum Pay Rate: $142,188.80

Maximum Pay Rate: $188,323.20

Civil Service Status: Non-Civil Service

Posting Type: Open

This position is a non-Civil Service (at-will) position.

SMUDs People Services and Strategies team is seeking a highly engaged, innovative, and experienced Human Resources Professional to oversee our benefits and disability management systems and programs. The Manager of Benefits and Disability Management provides technical direction, strategic leadership, and day-to-day supervision to plan, develop, implement, administer programs in two areas:

Benefits programs, services, systems, policies and procedures

Disability management programs, services, systems, policies and procedures

This high-touch position engages with internal customers at all levels and across all functions of SMUD. The Manager of Benefits and Disability Management reports to the Director of People Services & Strategies and leads two teams, one responsible for benefits administration and the other responsible for disability management administration. As a key member of the customer-centric People Services & Strategies leadership team, this position helps to ensure delivery of the departments vision: We create an environment where people thrive and do their best. As a trusted business partner, together, we make SMUD the best place to work.

The successful candidate will possess:

Extensive expertise in employee benefits (medical insurance, life insurance, pension plans, voluntary 401(k) and 403(b) retirement plans, and disability insurance) and be able to manage multiple high-volume functional areas including demonstrated strong financial acumen.

Experience facilitating discussions with Executives and other senior leaders pertaining to strategic decisions and investments related to employee benefits.

Experience designing and managing benefits administration, open enrollment, and disability management processes.

Experience using systems and technologies pertaining to employee benefits and disability management.

Experience with Disability Management including Workers Compensation.

Purpose

To provide technical direction, leadership, and staff supervision involved in the planning, development, implementation, administration, and ongoing evaluation of SMUDs employee benefits and disability management programs, to ensure SMUD can attract, retain and motivate a highly talented, diverse and qualified workforce. This job class will collaborate with the Director of People Services & Strategies in the development and implementation of tailored, highly effective and efficient human resources (HR) processes that produce a skilled and engaged workforce that supports achievement of desired business operations and outcomes.

Nature and Scope

This position is a second-line unit working manager under limited supervision within a broad framework of policies and procedures. It assists and reports to the Director of People Services & Strategies in the development, implementation, evaluation and management of department goals, objectives, budgets, projects, policies and procedures related to employee and retiree benefits and disability management. This job proactively oversees, directs, and supervises programs, services and staff working in the employee benefits and disability management areas. It is accountable to hire, train, coach, guide, mentor, discipline staff, and complete formal evaluations. This position may utilize staff supervisors and experienced lead employees to assist in directing, training, evaluating and developing staff and to ensure staff safety.

Duties and Responsibilities

Plans, organizes, and directs HR operations staff in development and delivery of benefits and disability management services and programs; schedules and allocates resources to HR projects, teams, and functions; provides ongoing evaluation and audits of programs and services implementing changes to increase process efficiency and effectiveness; interprets and executes HR and SMUD policies and procedures ensuring their compliance to SMUD and governmental policies, procedures, and laws; ensures SMUD compliance by interpreting and acting on regulatory updates.

Develops and administers the benefits and disability management budgets; justifies budget items as needed; authorizes and approves budget expenditures; monitors actual expenditures against plan; identifies and reconciles budget anomalies; monitors and revises schedules, expenditures and assignments as warranted; reviews quarterly and end-of- year budget results; develops budget recommendations for the upcoming fiscal year.

Benefits Administration:

Supervises the development, implementation, maintenance and processing of employee and retiree benefits plans, strategies, and programs to include medical, dental, vision, life insurance, STD/LTD, and retirement plans among other ancillary benefit offerings.

Partners with SMUDs benefits consultants, technology and vendors to ensure a seamless experience to SMUD employees, retirees and their covered dependents.

Manages the overall employee benefits experience, short- and long-term strategic planning, contributing to the design of an inclusive benefits offering and developing new and/or improved policies to enhance our employee value proposition to support our growth with a focus on financial stewardship.

Serves as an escalation point to resolve questions and problems by interpreting benefit policies and regulations.

Partners with the benefits supervisor to develop and execute the annual Benefits Open Enrollment project plan, new hire enrollment and life event changes.

Develops and ensures proactive communication on benefits program analytics to inform key stakeholders of benefit usage, trends and opportunities.

Ensures benefits compliance with federal, state, and local legal requirements.

Additional Duties and Responsibilities

Disability Management Administration:

Partners with the Integrated Disability Management (IDM) supervisor with the design and delivery of training sessions for stakeholders about disability management policies and procedures.

Provides direction to the disability management team responsible for employee, applicant, and pre-hire requests for reasonable accommodations in partnership with various internal and/or external resources.

Ensures accurate and timely claims and case management through all phases of the workers compensation, disability, interactive process in accordance with state and federal law (e.g., the Americans with Disabilities Act, California Fair Employment & Housing Act, and the Civil Rights Act), as well as company policies.

Oversees the management of cases and claims related to work and non-work-related injury or illness.

Serves as a resource to employees and leaders regarding modified duty, disability leave, and workers compensation; assists IDM supervisor in working with insurance companies, providing case chronology for legal review or creating documentation related to disability management.

Administers multiple third-party contracts for medical services in partnerships with Health and Safety among other internal partners.

Partners with Legal for litigation related issues/cases.

Identifies and monitors relevant KPIs/metrics related to FMLA/LOA data and apply insights regarding trends to inform program design.

Acquires working knowledge of integration and alignment with other benefits programs.

Serves as SMUDs HIPPA Officer.

Performs other related duties as needed to include working outside of typical business hours when necessary.

Required Education

Bachelor's degree in Business or Public Administration, Human Resources Management, or related field from an accredited college or university, or equivalent experience

Required Experience Qualifications

At least five (5+) years of progressively responsible supervisory and relevant work experience in benefits administration and/or disability management, (including case management for leaves of absence). Relevant experience managing employee requests for reasonable accommodations with ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act), ADAAA, workers compensation, LOA, and FMLA (Family and Medical Leave Act), including current experience in statutes, regulations and guidance issued by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) pertaining to ADA accommodations.

Knowledge Of

Fundamentals and industry best practices related to functional area; fundamentals and techniques of supervision and management; strategic business planning methods and techniques; employee benefits, deferred compensation, disability management, workers compensation, and record keeping systems; budgeting and financial evaluation methods; project management techniques; contract administration; negotiation techniques and procedures; labor agreements and other special agreements; extensive knowledge and proficient application of state and federal laws and regulations regarding privacy, reasonable accommodations based on disability, workers compensation, medical condition, including HIPAA requirements and intersection of laws, polices and compliance.

Skills To

Manage and supervise staff; develop and implement policies, programs and procedures; conduct budget preparation and expenditure control; apply strong organizational, negotiation, analytical, and customer service skills; manage contracts and projects/schedules; interpret and comply with labor agreements and government rules and regulations; prepare comprehensive and complex reports; develop and deliver presentations to diverse groups; apply fundamentals of critical thinking to define problems, collect data (including research and benchmarking), establish facts, and propose solutions to complex problems; create and maintain professional relationships and effectively collaborate with stakeholders at all levels of the organization using strong verbal and written communication skills; perform in a fast-paced, deadline-intensive environment and effectively manage a high volume of work with strong attention to detail; utilize computer systems and software relevant to the job including Microsoft Excel and other Microsoft Office programs.

Desirable Qualifications

Experience applying Civil Service rules to benefits and/or disability management programs in a public sector/government organization.

Professional Certification in Disability Management, Benefits or other related HR certification, and/or advanced degree in Human Resource Management.

Public sector experience administering CalPERS retirement plans.

Physical Requirements

Applicants must be able to perform the essential job functions with or without a reasonable accommodation.

Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) - Who We Are

As the nation's sixth-largest community-owned electric service provider, we're proud of our reputation as one of the best places to work in Sacramento. Our employees tell us in our engagement surveys they're "Happy, satisfied and engaged" which helps create a workplace that best serves our customers. Sacramento was named as the 2nd happiest place to work in America by Forbes Magazine. Lake Tahoe, San Francisco and the world-renowned Napa Valley are within easy driving distance of our locations.

Our Commitment to Diversity & Inclusion

SMUD celebrates diversity, and inspires an inclusive culture based on trust and respect to create belonging and connection among our employees, customers, and communities. By working together, we are powering positive, equitable opportunities for all. We aspire to be a workplace where you can be yourself, achieve your best, and thrive together.

An example of our commitment to Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging is when SMUD signed the California Equal Pay Pledge in 2020. This requires equal pay for employees who perform substantially similar work, when viewed as a composite of skill, effort, and responsibility at the time those employees started within that classification. As such, initial hiring salary range is not subject to negotiation and salaries will vary over time based on performance.

SMUD is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We do not discriminate in employment decisions on the basis of race, color, religion, gender (including pregnancy), national origin, political affiliation, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital status, disability, genetic information, age, veteran status, or any other applicable legally protected characteristic. All employment decisions are made on the basis of individual qualifications, merit, and business needs and interests.

Why Sacramento, California?

The capitol of California, Sacramento is the state's sixth-largest city, and the 35th largest in the U.S. Local universities include California State University, University of the Pacific's McGeorge School of Law, and the University of California, Davis and several competitive community colleges. The UC Davis Medical Center, a world-renowned research hospital, is one of more than a dozen hospitals and shared services centers in the Sacramento region. Part of the agriculturally-rich Central Valley, Sacramento is at the forefront of the farm-to-fork food movement. Northern California is home to some of the country's top technology companies, including Google and LinkedIn, and a multitude of startups in many industries. Sacramento is home to the NBA Kings, the River Cats (AAA baseball), the Republic FC (soccer) and the San Francisco Giants, NBA Warriors and NFL 49er's aren't far away. Sacramento offers an affluent liberal arts community with Broadway, Mondavi Center, Crocker Museum and summer musical theater to name a few.

Remote Work

This position may be eligible for SMUD's remote work employee benefit, the schedule of which will be determined by the successful candidate and the Hiring Manager. SMUD takes pride in powering the Sacramento region community where we live and work. We value the strong working relationships we develop with our colleagues. Our approach to remote work will continue to evolve. Please be aware that should SMUDs business needs change, emergencies occur, or various other reasons arise, you may be required to report onsite on a part-time or full-time basis.

SMUD provides equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, marital status, amnesty, or status as a covered veteran in accordance with applicable federal, state and local laws. SMUD complies with applicable state and local laws governing non-discrimination in employment in every location in which the company has facilities. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including, but not limited to, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation, and training.

SMUD expressly prohibits any form of unlawful employee harassment based on race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, age, genetic information, disability, or veteran status. Improper interference with the ability of SMUD employees to perform their expected job duties is absolutely not tolerated.

Req ID: 1349