With a culture of recognition and reputation for excellence, ELS is the ideal organization in which to develop a long and successful career!

ELS is hiring for the position of Benefits Administrator in Chicago, Illinois.

The ideal candidate is a self-starter, great communicator, and enjoys collaborating with people with a diverse set of talents, in a dynamic fast-paced environment.

The Benefits Administrator is responsible for the administration of the organization’s health and welfare programs, voluntary benefits, and defined contribution benefit plan ensuring they are executed within plan design and regulatory constraints. Educates employees in understanding the organizations benefits offerings and acts as a liaison between the organization and third-party benefits providers. Leads benefits orientation and plans open enrollment and develops benefits presentations and communications. Ensures accurate benefit records and prepares documents and reports. Contributes to continual improvements/enhancements to benefit program design to attract and retain talent.

Job responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

• Administers employee benefits including eligibility, elections, qualified life events and premium deductions ensuring they follow plan design.
• Serves as the primary liaison to third party administrators to research and resolve employee issues.
• Direct contact for all employee benefit questions and responds timely to all phone and email inquiries. Continually develops knowledge base of benefits FAQs.
• Ensures file feeds are reviewed weekly and any issues are addressed from Workday to vendor portals for all employee benefit enrollments/changes. Leads system setup for open enrollment and life event modules annually. Performs quality checks of all benefits-related data to include the monthly reconciliation for all benefits.
• Develops benefits communication through videos, emails, presentations, websites, social media and flyers. Conducts benefits orientation and plans and administers the open enrollment process and related events.
• Ensures compliance with all benefits policies and plan documents as well as benefits related federal and state regulations such as HIPAA, COBRA, FMLA, ACA etc. Develops standard operating procedures and recommends and implements process improvements.
• Conducts research and analysis of industry trends, employee surveys, and workplace best practices in order to design benefits packages that are competitive, meet employee needs, and support organizational goals.
• Researches and evaluates third-party benefits vendors and participates in the selection and implementation of providers.

Qualifications

• 2 years experience with benefit administration
• BS degree in HR, Finance, Accounting; commensurate work experience in lieu of degree will be considered
• Prior Workday experience preferred
• Ability to understand system functionality and communicate requirements
• Ability to work well within tight deadlines, can lead a process, and escalate issues early to prevent missed deadlines

Additional skills needed

• Ability to think on your feet and enjoy learning new things quickly.
• Strong organizational skills which include paying attention to all the details.
• Strong knowledge of benefit concepts, practices, controls, and procedures
• Strong written and verbal communication skills with above average ability to effectively communicate with both business and technical personnel
• Ability to perform variety of tasks and proven ability to work with minimal supervision
• Demonstrated resourcefulness; ability to identify, analyze and assess problems for resolution without being easily flustered
• Demonstrated sense-of-urgency and follow-up
• Demonstrated experience handling confidential or sensitive information
• Ability to multitask while still meeting deadlines in a fast-paced environment
• Computer proficiency in Microsoft Office applications

In return for your excellent skills and abilities, we offer a comprehensive benefits package including: medical, dental, and vision plans, a generous 401(k) employer match, and paid vacations, holidays, and sick time.

We invite you to visit our web site at www.equitylifestyleproperties.com for additional information regarding our exceptional resort communities.

As an Equal Opportunity Employer, we welcome and thank all applicants.