Leave & Benefits Administrator (Hybrid)

The Company

At Utica National Insurance Group, 1,400 employees countrywide take our corporate promise to heart every day: To make people feel secure, appreciated, and respected.

Utica National Insurance Group is an "A" rated $2.0B award-winning, nationally recognized property & casualty insurance carrier.

Operating along the Eastern half of the United States, based in our Home Office in Central New York, with Regional Office locations including NYC, Dallas and Charlotte.

Our Mission is to continually meet the needs of our policyholders, agent/customers and employees resulting in sustainable profitable growth in an increasingly competitive marketplace.

We are proud to sell our products through more than 2,200 independent insurance agents around the country as we have been since 1928. These agents provide their clients with valuable insight and resources. And, as the second-largest insurer of Agents’ Errors and Omissions (E&O) business in the United States, we insure many of the agents who work with our policyholders. 

Our purpose is to make people feel secure, appreciated, and respected.  These Values define the character of our employees. They personify Utica National – describing what it means to “be Utica National” and how we approach doing business.  Together, with our agents, we are committed to providing our mutual policyholders with valuable services and products to help them feel secure.

What you will do:

The Leave and Benefits Administrator administers employee leave, accommodation, and benefits programs while serving as a key resource for employees. This role supports daily benefits operations, including leave management, invoice processing, HSA funding, open enrollment activities, and employee communications, ensuring compliance with plan provisions and applicable federal and state regulations.

• Serves as a point of contact for employees on leaves of absence, coordinating leave requests under the FMLA, ADA, and applicable state and local laws, and making employees aware of related benefit programs such as Short-Term Disability, Long-Term Disability, Workers' Compensation, health benefits, and paid time off.
• Documents all leave correspondence, including medical documentation, meetings, and interactions with employees, leaders, and other involved parties, while preserving the confidentiality of employee medical documentation and files.
• Supports HR Business Partners with standard accommodation requests and the return-to-work process; coordinates with leaders, HR Business Partners, and Payroll to ensure employees on leave or in transitional work are paid accurately.
• Processes and reconciles benefits vendor invoices for payment, ensuring accuracy against billing statements and enrollment data, and routes discrepancies to the Senior Benefits Specialist or vendors for resolution.
• Prepares and processes HSA employer contribution funding in accordance with established schedules and plan guidelines, and reconciles funding files with vendor and payroll data.
• Monitors the benefits mailbox daily, responding to employee and vendor inquiries in a timely and professional manner, and escalating complex questions or issues to the Senior Benefits Specialist.
• Participates in user acceptance testing for open enrollment and off-cycle benefit plan changes, documenting test results and reporting issues to confirm annual changes are correctly programmed on vendor websites and reflected in released benefit communications.
• Assists with the delivery and coordination of health and wellness programs and incentives, such as the annual biometric screening and wellness platform management, and coordinates with internal and external health improvement partners.
• Assists with benefits fairs, open enrollment events, and the distribution of benefits and wellness communications through HR communication channels
• Helps research and communicate changes to policies related to leave, accommodation, and benefits laws and regulations.
• Assists with budget preparation and tracking of benefits and wellness program costs.

What you will need:

• Associate's Degree or equivalent business experience required, Bachelor's Degree in Human Resources, Business or a related field required.
• 1-2 years of experience in HR, benefits, leave administration, or a related administrative role required.
• Less than 2 years of experience administering employee wellness programs or supporting leave of absence programs preferred.
• Less than 2 years of experience with benefits invoice processing, HSA administration, or open enrollment support preferred.
• Benefits or HR certification (e.g. CEBS, SHRM-CP, PHR) or HSA/COBRA administration coursework is a plus

Salary: $26.50-$32.50 per hour.

The final salary to be paid and position within the internal salary range is reflective of the employee’s work experience, their geographic location, education, certification(s), scope and responsibilities in the role, and additional qualifications.

Benefits:                              

We believe strongly that talented people are core to our success and are attracted to companies that provide competitive pay, comprehensive benefits packages, career advancement and challenging work opportunities. We offer a Comprehensive Benefits Plan for full time employees that include the following:

• Medical and Prescription Drug Benefit
• Dental Benefit
• Vision Benefit
• Life Insurance and Disability Benefits 
• 401(k) Profit Sharing and Investment Plan (Includes annual Company financial contribution and discretionary Profit Sharing contribution based upon annual company financial results)
• Health Savings Account (HSA) 
• Flexible Spending Accounts 
• Tuition Assistance, Training, and Professional Designations
• Company-Paid Family Leave
• Adoption/Surrogacy Assistance Benefit
• Voluntary Benefits - Group Accident Insurance, Hospital Indemnity, Critical Illness, Legal, ID Theft Protection, Pet Insurance
• Student Loan Refinancing Services
• Care.com Membership with Back-up Care, Senior Solutions
• Business Travel Accident Insurance
• Matching Gifts program
• Paid Volunteer Day
• Employee Referral Award Program
• Wellness programs
• Personal Insurance Discount

Additional Information:

This position is a full time hourly, non exempt (non overtime eligible) position.

As part of our hiring process, candidates who have accepted a formal offer must be willing to undergo a comprehensive background check and drug screen; additional screening for credit or MVR may be required for some positions.

Utica National is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

Apply now and find out what it’s like to be a part of an amazing team, thrive in an exciting environment and work for a company you can be proud of. Once you complete your application, you can monitor your status in the hiring process by logging into your profile. A representative from our Talent Acquisition team will be in touch regarding any change in your candidacy.