Benefits Manager — ESOP & Well-Being Lead

Border States Industries, Inc.; Fargo (ND); On-site; USD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health benefits

ESOP

401(k) plan

Paid holidays

Professional development

Job summary

Border States Industries, Inc. in Fargo, ND, seeks a Manager of Benefits to lead health, retirement, ESOP, and related programs, ensuring compliance, cost management, and excellent service.

You will partner with brokers, payroll, finance, and HR leadership to evaluate performance, drive improvements, and support employee-owner culture; the role includes overseeing benefits, open enrollment, audits, and vendor contracts.

Qualifications

• Excellent interpersonal, written, and verbal communication skills.
• Maintains confidentiality of HR information and records.
• Ability to effectively plan, organize and use independent judgement.
• Attention to detail and organizational skills.
• Excellent customer service skills include being competent, accurate, responsive, and engaged.

Responsibilities

• Provides leadership and oversight for the administration, support, and communication of all company benefit plans.
• Provides strategic partnership with the benefits broker and Director to evaluate plan utilization, costs, market trends, and regulatory developments, and identifies opportunities for plan enhancements.
• Leads the annual review of benefit programs and is accountable for recommending plan design changes that balance employee-owner experience, market competitiveness, cost effectiveness, and regulatory requirements.
• Provides leadership and oversight for the administration of the Company's ESOP and 401(k) plans, ensuring compliance, operational excellence, accurate reporting, and effective participant education and support.
• Responsible for ensuring all ESOP tasks are completed accurately and on time.
• Provides auditor with information necessary to complete our annual 401k and ESOP audits.
• Ensure 5500s are accurate and filed in a timely manner.
• Manages the annual open enrollment process, including open enrollment signatures and tasks.
• Oversees leave administration and ensure compliance with FMLA, company policies, and applicable federal and state regulations.
• Partners with the HRIS team to optimize systems, improve operational efficiency, and support effective administration of benefits and HR processes.
• Provides strategic partnership to Payroll to ensure accurate benefit-related payroll processing, regulatory compliance, and efficient execution of employee-owner programs.
• Ensures benefits processes comply with ERISA, ACA, COBRA, HIPAA, and other applicable regulations.
• Identifies opportunities to streamline processes, enhance compliance, and improve employee experience.
• Provides oversight of HR operations to ensure consistent processes, regulatory compliance, and data integrity.
• Directly supervises and develops the Benefits team including recruiting, onboarding, coaching, performance management, and professional development.
• Establishes departmental objectives, service standards, and key performance indicators.
• Leads annual benefits renewal strategy and executive recommendations.
• Oversees enterprise retirement plan governance, fiduciary coordination, and investment review support.
• Reviews major vendor contracts, performance guarantees, and service agreements.
• Develops workforce well-being strategies and population health initiatives.
• Provides executive reporting related to benefit costs, trends, compliance, and employee-owner engagement.
• Identifies benefits-related risks and develops mitigation strategies.
• Partners with HR leadership on talent attraction, retention, and total rewards strategy.

Skills

Interpersonal communication

Confidentiality

Planning & organization

Attention to detail

Customer service

Education

4-year business or HR degree or related experience

10+ years benefits/wellness experience preferred

MS Office proficiency

Tools

None

Job description

Border States Industries, Inc. in Fargo, ND, seeks a Manager of Benefits to lead health, retirement, ESOP, and related programs, ensuring compliance, cost management, and excellent service.

You will partner with brokers, payroll, finance, and HR leadership to evaluate performance, drive improvements, and support employee-owner culture; the role includes overseeing benefits, open enrollment, audits, and vendor contracts.