Begin your career with College of Lake County!

Reporting to the Compensation & Benefits Manager, the Human Resources Benefits Specialist will assist in the development and implementation of benefit plans and processes that support the College’s ability to attract, reward, and retain staff; analyze and perform all duties relating to the collection, analyzing, and reporting of benefits. The individual in this position will also assist in new hire processes and assist with retirement plan enrollment and reporting processes. In addition, the Benefits Specialist will collaborate with peer colleges and regional and national organizations on benefit survey completion.

The College of Lake County (CLC) offers a competitive salary, excellent benefits that currently includes BlueCross/BlueShield of Illinois health, Delta dental and Superior vision insurance plans, tuition support for employees and qualified family members, three retirement plans, disability, group and supplemental life insurance, health and dependent care flexible spending account plans, a four-day work week in the summer (Fridays off!), generous vacation, sick and personal time off and 14 paid holidays each year.

CLC is a comprehensive community college located in northeastern Illinois committed to being an innovative educational institution providing life-changing paths for our students by offering exceptional learning experiences.

CLC is a DiversityJobs.com Top Diversity Employer for 2022. We not only include Diversity in our values but we demonstrate it in our hiring of Staff and Faculty.

The college is widely recognized for student success, business and community partnerships and for the achievements of our faculty, staff and alumni.

1.Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources, Business Management or related field and a minimum of one (1) year of recent work experience.
OR
Associate’s degree and a minimum of two (2) of recent work experience.
2.Demonstrated research, quantitative, and analytical skills, organizational abilities and attention to detail.
3.Strong communication and interpersonal skills. Demonstrated ability to provide excellent customer service and work collaboratively with various employee groups and individuals at all levels.
4.Demonstrated ability to prioritize while handling multiple tasks, ability to exercise judgment, handle confidential information and function with minimal supervision.
5.Intermediate/Advanced Microsoft Excel/spreadsheet skills and strong working knowledge of Microsoft Outlook and Word.
6.Reflect a positive and professional demeanor.
7.Proven ability to work effectively and constructively with persons of diverse cultures, language groups, and abilities; demonstrate sensitivity to and ability to work with the diverse academic, socioeconomic, cultural and ethnic backgrounds of community college students, faculty, and staff, including those with disabilities; establish and maintain effective working relationships with those contacted in the course of work.

1. Applied knowledge of various federal and state regulations related to benefits such as the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), Affordable Care Act (ACA) and the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA).
2. Experience using a HRIS system in compensation and benefits administration.
3. PHR and/or SHRM-CP
4. Higher education experience ideally in a community college setting
5. Bilingual Spanish
6. Benefits Administration in a unionized work environment

Interviews will begin 1/13/2023 and continue until the position is filled.

Monday to Friday 8:00 a.m. to 4:30p.m.

The College of Lake County is an equal opportunity employer and has a strong commitment to diversity. In that spirit, it seeks a broad spectrum of candidates including minorities, women and people with disabilities.

Department Operations & Procedures 70%
1) Provides professional administrative support in the administration of benefit programs.
2) Prepares and processes benefit information for new hires and terminated or retired employees, which may include, medical, dental, vision, life insurance, long-term disability, flexible spending accounts, COBRA and retirement programs. Provides accurate and timely data entry of employee benefit information in College and vendor systems. Assists with the processing and reconciliation of insurance invoices and performs periodic audits.
3) Provides support during the annual open enrollment including system testing, data audits, and process monitoring.
4) Maintains knowledge of collective bargaining agreements, Board policies and College procedures. Maintains current with compliance-related issues. Updates process and procedure guides as required.
5) Collects data and coordinates salary and benefits survey submissions. Provides input and feedback that enhances the delivery of existing benefits programs including research on best practices.
6) Assists with new hire enrollment into the State University Retirement system (SURS) as well as processing requests for retirement, prior service, and separation refunds.
7) Assists with retiree medical reimbursement programs.
8) Establishes and maintains accurate electronic personnel records for pay and benefits documents, actions and related records.
9) Coordinates educational benefits including tuition waive, tuition reimbursement and career development programs. This includes tracking and processing of all tuition reimbursement for eligible coursework at institutions, meet with employees to discuss the tuition process and eligibility requirements, processing payments with accounts payable and electronically.
10) Coordinates and processes all full-time faculty salary changes based on educational milestones outlined in the collective bargaining agreement. Meet with faculty to discuss the process and eligibility requirements, scanning and linking all proper documentation, and emailing the final reimbursement documents to accounts payable for monetary reimbursement.

Student & Customer Service 25%
1) Answers questions and supports employees enrolling in or changing benefit plans through in-person and virtual meetings, by phone or written communication.
2) Provides detailed information, guidance and support to employees on standard benefit issues involving the interpretation and application of benefit policies, guidelines, and procedures.
3) Assists with new hire orientation.
4) Assists with Human Resources office reception as needed.

Other 5%
1) Participate in professional associations/organizations and educational activities that enhance Human Resources competencies, knowledge, business and interpersonal skills. Remain knowledgeable of current state and federal laws, regulations, and trends in the field of Human Resources.
2) Participates and/or supports cross-departmental teams, committees and councils at the request of the Compensation and Benefits Manager such as the Insurance Benefits Committee and Health nd Wellness Council.
3) Performs any and all other assigned duties in support of the mission and vision of the College of Lake County and the CLC Human Resources department