Benefits Administrator

Coatesgroup; Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 85,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Annual bonus program

Thrive Program (flexible work options)

Wellbeing days

Give Back Day

Job summary

Coates Group in Chicago is seeking a Benefits Administrator to support North America, including the U.S. and Canada, with primary responsibility for benefits and leave administration, policy governance, and compliance.

This role serves as the primary point of contact for employee benefits, managing enrollments, qualifying life event changes, vendor coordination, employee questions, and data entry across HiBob, ADP, and carrier platforms.

Qualifications

• 7+ years of benefits administration or related HR experience.
• Bachelor’s degree in HR, Business, or related field, or equivalent experience.
• Working knowledge of U.S. and Canadian benefits, leave, employment, safety, and anti‑discrimination requirements.
• Experience supporting employees across U.S. and Canada preferred.
• Ability to manage competing priorities, work independently, and meet deadlines with accuracy.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office and HRIS, payroll, benefits, and carrier systems.
• Ability to work on-site in the Chicago office at least three days per week.

Responsibilities

• Administers U.S. and Canada benefits programs and serves as the primary liaison among employees, benefits brokers, carriers, and vendors.
• Responds to employee questions, resolves benefits issues, escalates complex matters, and ensures timely information.
• Administers leave-of-absence programs across the U.S. and Canada, including communications, documentation, case coordination, tracking and compliance.
• Administers benefits enrollments, qualifying life event changes, terminations of coverage, and other updates across HiBob, ADP, carrier platforms, and related systems.
• Partners with Senior Director, People & Culture, NAM on renewals, plan design changes, communications, and ongoing administration.
• Facilitates onboarding for new hires, coordinating orientation, resources, and onboarding experience.
• Partners with P&C team to support offboarding activities and compliance items.
• Creates, maintains, and updates handbooks, policies, procedures, and documentation for legal and business requirements.
• Drives administration of employee well-being and engagement initiatives for NAM.
• Coordinates payroll-related benefits deductions and updates with payroll and finance; provides backup payroll support.

Skills

Benefits administration

Leave management

Policy governance

Employee relations

Compliance

Education

Bachelor's degree in HR/Business

Tools

Microsoft Office

HRIS

Payroll systems

Carrier systems

Job description

Be Part of Our Next Chapter

For over almost 60 years, our solutions have enabled impactful connections between some of the world’s leading brands and their customers. And while we’ve already done a lot of work we’re proud of, we’re just getting started!

We’re a global technology company focused on creating dynamic, smart, personalized and engaging customer experiences powered by our range of digital hardware, our proprietary content management system and our industry leading signage solutions. (For example: If you’ve ordered in-store or in the drive-thru at McDonald’s somewhere in the world in the last few years, chances are you’ve interacted with our digital solutions.) We work in over 50 global markets and have 9 offices around the world, with a global headquarters proudly located in our founding home of Sydney, Australia.

Coates Group has the values of a family-owned business and the innovative spirit of a start-up, both which fuel our purpose – Creating Connections. Empowering Partnerships. Always Evolving. Through hard work, dedication and creativity, we’ve become industry leaders who have won awards and set records while remaining focused on continual growth and evolution. We are a 2x Australia Good Design Award winner and successfully completed the largest hardware deployment in Quick Service Restaurant history.

We are curious, charismatic, authentic and we value and leverage the diversity of our crew. We are imaginers, kindness enthusiasts, experts, creators, thinkers, challengers, collaborators and over-achievers. And together, as a Crew, we are revolutionizing the way the world’s leading brands leverage technology to drive the best customer experiences.

The Benefits Administrator supports North America (NAM), including the U.S. and Canada, with primary responsibility for benefits and leave administration, policy management, and compliance. This role serves as the primary point of contact for employee benefits, managing enrollments, qualifying life event changes, vendor and broker coordination, employee questions, issue resolution, and benefits-related data entry across HiBob, ADP, carrier platforms, and related systems. The role also administers leaves of absence, coordinates global mobility activities for NAM, and creates, maintains, and administers People & Culture policies and processes. It helps ensure compliance with applicable laws and internal requirements, supports benefits-related payroll changes and variance reporting, and provides backup payroll support as needed. This position plays a key role in strengthening benefits administration, leave management, policy governance, compliance, and the overall employee experience.

• Administers U.S. and Canada benefits programs and serves as the primary liaison among employees, benefits brokers, carriers, and vendors.
• Responds to employee questions, resolves benefits issues, escalates complex matters as appropriate, and ensures employees receive timely and accurate information.
• Administers leave-of-absence programs across the U.S. and Canada, including employee communications, documentation, case coordination, tracking, and compliance with applicable requirements.
• Administers benefits enrollments, qualifying life event changes, terminations of coverage, and other benefits‑related updates across HiBob, ADP, carrier platforms, and related systems.
• Partners with the Senior Director, People & Culture, NAM on benefits renewals, plan design changes, employee communications, and ongoing administration to support market competitiveness and responsible stewardship of benefit spend.
• Facilitates People & Culture Onboarding for new hires, coordinating orientation, resources, and helping to support the overall onboarding experience.
• Partners with P&C team to support offboarding activities, including required benefits‑related communications & compliance items.
• Creates, maintains, and updates employee handbooks, policies, procedures, and related documentation to support compliance with applicable legal and business requirements.
• Drives the administration and implementation of employee well‑being and engagement initiatives for NAM.
• Partners closely with payroll and finance to ensure benefits deductions, leave‑related pay changes, and other benefits‑related payroll updates and audits are processed accurately and on time. Provides backup support for NAM payroll processing as needed.
• Responds to employee, manager, vendor, and external inquiries related to People & Culture policies, benefits, leaves of absence, and related processes. Supports People & Culture projects, benefits initiatives, compliance activities, and process improvements aligned with broader NAM, global, and functional priorities. Coordinates global mobility administration, including immigration documentation, case tracking, records maintenance, and timely coordination with Crew, managers, and external immigration partners.

• 7+ years of benefits administration or related Human Resources experience, including ownership of benefits programs for a mid‑sized or larger organization.
• Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources, Business, or a related field, or equivalent experience.
• Working knowledge of U.S. and Canadian benefits, leave, employment, workplace safety, and anti‑discrimination requirements.
• Experience supporting employees and operations across the U.S. and Canada preferred.
• Ability to manage competing priorities, work independently, adapt to changing needs, and meet deadlines with accuracy and accountability.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office and experience with HRIS, payroll, benefits, and carrier systems.
• Ability to work on‑site in the Chicago office at least three days per week.

• Provides responsive, professional support and builds trusted relationships with Crew, leaders, vendors, and People & Culture partners.
• Delivers benefits, leave, onboarding, policy, compliance, and related responsibilities with accuracy, organization, and consistent follow‑through.
• Communicates clearly and empathetically, especially in complex or sensitive situations, while exercising sound judgment and discretion.
• Identifies and implements improvements that strengthen administration, documentation, communication, and operational efficiency.

About Coates

We are industry leaders who have won awards and set records. We are a 2x Australia Good Design Award winner and we successfully completed the largest hardware deployment in Quick Service Restaurant history.

We are led by a forward-thinking CEO who has demonstrated a true passion for people and making Coates a place where people genuinely enjoy working. Our growth plans enable a focus on providing rapid career advancement opportunities for our talent.

Together, we are creators, allowing us to make our purpose a reality – to create immersive brand experiences for everyone.

Join a Crew that Cares

Be part of a global team of talented, ambitious, creative people that value integrity, individuality and inclusivity. (Ask us about our Equality + Empowerment Initiatives).

The benefits include an annual market competitive bonus program and our “Thrive Program” which includes a suite of flexible work options because we’re strong believers that you should never miss an important life or work moment. Thrive also provides dedicated time to prioritize our health and wellbeing (think virtual Yoga or meditation sessions), a Global Wellness paid day off to recharge as well as a “Give Back Day” to allow our Crew an opportunity to make an impact in the community.

Be inspired To Be More

We skip the red tape and aim to always stay nimble. We’re proud of where we’ve been and are energized by where we’re going. We encourage ideas and perspectives because we know the more we have, the better we are. We work hard but have fun along the way. We push the boundaries but keep it real and authentic. We believe in the values that got us here are the ones that will continue to lead us forward. We are excited by what we’ve accomplished, but know the best is yet to come.

Coates Group is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, creed, national or ethnic origin, gender, religion, disability, age, political affiliation or belief, disabled veteran, veteran of the Vietnam Era, or citizenship status (except in those special circumstances permitted or mandated by law).

Fraud Alert: Employment Scam Advisory

It has come to our attention that unauthorised individuals are impersonating our company and reaching out to job seekers through fraudulent emails, falsely claiming to represent Coates. These emails often request personal information and appear to come from domains that are not affiliated with our organisation, such as coatesgroupcareer.com.

If you receive any suspicious communications purporting to be from Coates, we urge you not to respond, do not click any links, and do not provide any personal information. Your safety and trust are of the utmost importance to us. Thank you for your vigilance.

- Coates does not operate or communicate through any domain resembling "@coatesgroupcareer.com"

- We do not contact employment candidates via email to solicit personal or financial information

- All applications for employment must be submitted through our official website https://coatesgroup.com/careers or directly through our LinkedIn profile: Coates Group

- All emails from us will come from our official domain, which is[at]coatesgroup[dot]com or via our Applicant - Tracking System (ATS) email address, which is no-reply[at]hire.lever[dot]co