Founded in 1979, Christian Care Companies is Arizona's largest nonprofit provider of senior housing and services. We serve approximately 2,200 residents across six campuses through a continuum that includes independent living, assisted living, memory care, skilled nursing, home health, and HUD-supported housing. The organization operates 17 legal entities with approximately $85 million in annual revenue.
The Benefits & Leave Specialist runs the day-to-day benefits, leave, retirement plan, unemployment, and workers' compensation claim work for the corporate office and every campus, serving approximately 750 employees. When a caregiver has a baby, a cook is hurt at work, or a nurse has a question about coverage for a sick child, this is the person they talk to. The position reports to the Director of Benefits & Compliance.
This role is the first point of contact for employees and campus HR Managers. It follows set rules and deadlines, keeps accurate records, and prepares the decisions that the Director approves. Much of the work carries deadlines measured in hours and days, and much of it is tied to every pay period.
We are hiring for strong administration skills and for genuine care for people. Accurate, on-time case work is the baseline. The larger goal is a specialist who makes employees feel supported during some of the hardest weeks of their lives, and who helps campus HR Managers get it right the first time.
Benefits and leave work in nonprofit senior living is a layered environment multiple campuses, a large hourly workforce, federal and state leave rules, a 403(b) plan, and workers' compensation in a physical care setting. It suits people who are organized, calm under pressure, and willing to ask rather than guess.
- Administer leaves of absence within required timelines. Review leave requests for eligibility and send the correct paperwork within 5 business days. Review medical certifications within 5 business days and follow up with the employee or provider for missing information.
- Issue FMLA decisions and prepare higher-risk letters. Issue FMLA approval and pending letters within 5 business days. Prepare FMLA denials, FMLA exhaustion letters, and 60-day leave termination letters for the Director’s review before they are sent.
- Coordinate the accommodation process. Gather information with the campus HR Manager and supervisor for ADA and pregnancy-related accommodation requests, research options through the Job Accommodation Network, and prepare each case for the Director’s decision. Follow up on return-to-work accommodations.
- Coordinate disability claims and benefit payments during leave. Submit short-term and long-term disability claims to the carrier. Send benefit payment request letters to employees on unpaid leave. Process benefit terminations and collections after Director approval.
- Keep leave records and leave payroll accurate every pay period. Maintain the leave tracker, leave status in ADP, intermittent FMLA totals, and employee leave files. Apply leave codes, prepare no-hours reports, add PSL and PTO for corporate employees on leave, and review leave timecards 1 to 2 days before payroll.
- Serve as the first point of contact for benefit questions. Answer employee and HR Manager questions about benefits. Escalate eligibility disputes, appeals, and denials to the Director.
- Administer enrollments and eligibility. Review and approve ADP benefit tasks daily according to plan rules, including new hire enrollments, life event changes, and over-age dependents. Review the new hire report each pay period for location and ACA status errors, and send status change reminders to HR Managers. Process COBRA enrollments.
- Support open enrollment and year-end reporting. Support employees through open enrollment with communication, enrollment help, and follow-up. Run the 1095-C process in ADP for Director review. Send required annual notices, including FSA remaining funds, Medicare HSA, Medicare Part D creditable coverage, and HSA re-enrollment letters.
- Process benefit vendor invoices. Track and process benefit vendor invoices, submit invoice requests to Accounting, and escalate disputes and amounts above the set dollar limit.
- Administer the 403(b) plan each pay period. Verify and correct 403(b) payroll updates in ADP. Approve loans within plan rules. Prepare distribution requests for Director approval. Maintain loan and deferral change records, and send ACH and confirmation details to Accounting.
- Produce 403(b) reports. Prepare the quarterly required minimum distribution and loan reports and the annual 403(b) census for the Director’s review and signature.
- Report and manage workers' compensation claims on time. Investigate corporate injuries and submit claims to the carrier within 24 hours. Submit Form 101 to the Industrial Commission of Arizona within 10 days of notice. Review campus claims, enter claims in ADP, keep the claim tracker and files current, and follow up on work status and return to work.
- Act immediately on serious injuries. When a work-related fatality or severe injury occurs, gather the facts and alert the Director at once. If neither the Director nor the Vice President of Human Resources can be reached within the OSHA reporting window, make the report.
- Prepare OSHA records. Prepare the OSHA 300 and 301 records and the 300A summary in January for review and certification. Remind campuses to post the 300A from February 1 to April 30. Pull monthly loss runs, prepare claim files for the quarterly claim review, and track campus progress on random drug screening.
- Respond to unemployment claims on time. Respond to unemployment claims within 10 business days and examiner inquiries within 2 business days. Keep unemployment tracking and files current, and prepare hearing files for the Director.
- Maintain labor law compliance postings. Coordinate annual labor law posters for all campuses, keep the poster contact list current, and support the poster contract renewal every 3 years.
- Compile executive reporting. Update the monthly C-suite executive reporting spreadsheet for the Director.
- Escalate rather than resolve alone. Report any possible error, missed deadline, serious injury, privacy concern, or legal concern to the Director on the day it is identified.
- Protect confidential information. Safeguard medical, leave, benefit, retirement, and employee information. Keep medical information separate from personnel files. Follow all organizational policies on data handling, records retention, and information security.
- Support the organization. Complete all required training. Perform other reasonable, related duties as assigned by the Director of Benefits & Compliance.
- Bachelor's degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, or a related field preferred. An equivalent combination of education and directly applicable experience will be considered.
- Three or more years of experience in benefits administration, leave administration, or both.
- Working knowledge of FMLA, the ADA, the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, COBRA, and Affordable Care Act basics.
- Experience with ADP or a comparable human resources information system, including payroll-related entries and reconciliation.
- Strong organization, with the ability to track many cases and deadlines at the same time and meet deadlines measured in hours and days.
- Intermediate Microsoft Excel skills.
- Ability to explain benefits and leave rules clearly and kindly, in writing and on the phone, to employees who may be under stress.
- Humility, resilience, and sound judgment under deadline pressure, with the willingness to ask a question rather than guess.
- Ability to hold confidential medical, employee, and financial information with discretion.