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Port of Houston Recruitment

Leave and Benefits Coordinator

Port of Houston Recruitment, Houston, Texas, United States, 77246


Leave and Benefits Coordinator

Are you ready to think about the future and dream big? At Port Houston, we're seeking individuals who are eager to tackle the most significant challenges of their careers. For over a century, we've been driven by vision and scale, delivering impactful initiatives that shape Houston and the region. Our sustainability and success hinge on attracting, retaining, and nurturing exceptional talent.

When you join Port Houston, you're embarking on a journey towards a fulfilling career path. Take the first step in the right direction-are you READY?

Position Summary: Responsible for overseeing and administering the day-to-day case management for qualified employee leaves of absence under the Family/Medical Leave Act (FML), Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Paid Parental Leave (PPL), short-term and long-term disability programs, and Return to Work requests. Coordinates the leave process and advises employees throughout their leave, applies appropriate benefits, responds to questions, and evaluates and ensures records, documentation, and systems comply with established laws and regulations while providing training and guidance.

Responsibilities/Duties:

Serves as a subject matter expert to interpret and guide employees and management on compliance and administration of leave program and practices. Administer and ensure compliance with all applicable federal and state employment laws and regulations (FMLA, ADA, USERRA, Pregnancy Discrimination Act, etc.) as well as company programs such as personal leaves of absence, disabilities, return to work, and Parental Leave requests. Coordinates and administers all aspects of leave programs. Provides extensive case management handling the administrative aspects of the cases and claims, including tracking of FML hours, documentation and communications. Open, manage, and create follow-up tasks for new leave of absence claims. Confirms eligibility of absence as a qualifying event and provides formal notification to affected parties. Ensures documentation is completed and in compliance with federal timelines. Assists with resolving misunderstandings regarding leave issues. Independently approves and/or denies leave cases based on relevant medical information. Coordinates and organizes all medical information and ensures that HIPAA and Employee Privacy guidelines are closely monitored and effectively executed. Ensures adherence to the claim process by employee and management. Works with Payroll to ensure employee benefits and hours are processed correctly and under guidelines or regulations. Completes return to work process to ensure employee's timely and successful return to work and closes the case. Provides return to work status information to supervisors. • Notifies employees regarding applicable policies and procedures and prepares employees for leave of absence and maintains open communications for the duration of the leave. Communicates employee work status with management. Escalates complex or challenging cases to senior management and/or legal. Transition cases to ADA in situations of FML exhaustion or when an employee does not meet eligibility requirements. Manages the STD/LTD programs while serving as a liaison to the third-party administrator for the employee when needed. Assist employee in resolving claim issues. Ensures concurrent claims with FML or PPL when needed. Produces and manages reporting metrics and analytics for all leave cases. Partners closely with HRBPs to review claim status and develop strategy when needed. Evaluate and revise internal processes to reduce costs and increase efficiency. Document and maintain administrative procedures for all leave processes. Develop communication tools to enhance understanding of the company's leave programs. Design and distribute materials for employee education sessions and mass distribution as required. Provide training and support to all employees and managers where needed. Serve as the back up to the Benefits Administrator for the coordination of daily benefits processing, enrollments, COBRA, beneficiaries, disability, retirements, accident and death claims, rollovers, QDROs, QMCSOs, and compliance testing. Assist with the maintenance of employee benefits files, maintain group benefits data base and update employee payroll records. Assist when needed for the processing and reconciliation of monthly billings and the preparation of vouchers for payments and administrative fees for all group plans Assist with PH Wellness Program in conjunction with HR Services Team to include program participation events, wellness credit, and budgeting. Act in accordance with Port Houston core values (respect, excellence, accountability, diligence, and you) Perform other duties as required Education/Experience: Bachelor's degree in human resources, Business Administration or related major obtained through a formal 4-year degree from an accredited public or private academic college, or university preferred 3-5 years of related leave and benefits administration experience required SPHR/PHR, SHRM-SCP/SHRM-CP, or CBP (Certified Benefits Professional) certification preferred CEBS certification preferred Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

Computer proficiency and technical aptitude with the ability to use Microsoft products, including PPT, experience with HRIS and benefits databases. Project and team management/leadership skills and experience. Proven ability to work effectively in a team environment with associates. Capability of effective planning and priority setting. Ability to manage several complex projects simultaneously while working under pressure to meet deadlines. Strong analytical skills and a thorough knowledge of plan designs. Ability to understand, evaluate and make judgment on the request for proposals (RFPs). Knowledge of all pertinent federal and state regulations, filing and compliance requirements, both adopted and pending, affecting employee benefits programs, including COBRA, FMLA, ADA, Section 125, workers' compensation, Medicare, OBRA, and Social Security and DOL requirements. Excellent communication and organization skills. Key Competencies Required:

Critical Evaluation Communication Relationship Management Strategic Decision Making

Work Environment: The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate, but due to open office environment noise level may occasionally be high. To apply, please go to porthouston.com/careers. Only applications submitted through the Port Houston Careers website will be acknowledged. Port Houston is an equal opportunity employer and participates in the E-Verify program supervised by the U.S. Government.

Thank you for choosing Port Houston in your career search.

Disclaimer: The above information on this description has been designed to indicate the general nature and level of work performed by employees within this job. It is not designed to contain or be interpreted as a comprehensive inventory of all duties, responsibilities, and qualifications required of employees assigned to this job.