Specialist, Benefit Programs

The Chronicle Of Higher Education, Inc.; Fort Worth (TX); On-site; USD 45,450 - 55,550; Full time

Job summary

The Chronicle Of Higher Education, Inc. is hiring a Specialist, Benefit Programs to support HR functions including data management, payroll, and benefits administration.

This role serves as a primary contact for faculty and staff, ensuring accurate audits and compliant processes. Based at Trinity River Campus, you will handle benefits workflows, payroll entries, and data reconciliation while delivering excellent service to internal stakeholders and maintaining confidentiality within a clerical

Qualifications

• Associate degree or 60 college credits with 2 years related experience.
• Experience with benefits administration, data reconciliation, reporting, or system-based processing.
• ERP experience in higher education or ERS/TRS environment preferred.

Responsibilities

• Provide direct support to employees on benefit programs and retirement planning.
• Process payroll entries and adjustments with accuracy and timeliness.
• Conduct pre-payroll audits to verify data integrity and resolve discrepancies.
• Enter and update benefits data in HR systems and correct inconsistencies.
• Deliver high-quality customer service to employees and stakeholders about benefits and pay.
• Perform billing reconciliation for optional benefit programs with vendor coordination.
• Coordinate benefit premium communications for leaves of absence with clear documentation.
• Develop and distribute benefits materials and training to support employee understanding.

Skills

Attention to detail

Customer service

Data entry accuracy

Communication skills

Team collaboration

Education

Associate degree or 60 college credit hours

Bachelor’s degree in HR or related field

Tools

Colleague ERP

Banner ERP

Microsoft Office/365

Job description

Title: Specialist, Benefit Programs

Department: DT Human Resources

Campus Location: Trinity River Campus

Employee Classification: CLR - Clerical

Position Type: FT - Regular

Grant Funded: No

Pay Frequency: Monthly

Compensation Details: Starting Pay - 50,500.00; Commensuratewith education and experience

Work Hours: Monday - Friday 8:00am - 5:00pm

Remote Eligible: This position is not eligible for remotework

Job Summary

This role is responsible for supporting key human resourcesfunctions including employee data management, payroll processing,benefits administration, and system updates. This role serves as apoint of contact for faculty and staff, ensures accuracy throughaudits and reconciliations, and provides guidance on related HRpolicies and systems.

Primary Duties and Responsibilities

Essential Performance Requirements

• Provides direct support to employees on benefit programs,retirement planning, and offboarding procedures
• Processes payroll entries, including stipends and adjustments,ensuring accuracy and timely payment
• Conducts pre-payroll audits to verify data integrity and resolvediscrepancies
• Accurately enters and updates benefits-related information in HRsystems; identifies and corrects data inconsistencies
• Delivers responsive, high-quality customer service to employeesand internal stakeholders regarding benefits, pay, and related HRprocesses
• Performs billing reconciliation for optional benefit programs byreviewing vendor invoices, verifying payroll deductions, andresolving discrepancies with Payroll and external partners
• Coordinates communication of benefit premium responsibilities foremployees on approved leaves of absence, ensuring timely and cleardocumentation
• Develops and distributes benefits-related materials, guides, andpresentations to support employee understanding andengagement

Service Excellence

• Participates on behalf of the College in external communityorganizations and associations as assigned to support the essentialperformance requirements
• Attends the workplace regularly, reports to work punctually, andfollows a work schedule to keep up with the demands of theworksite
• Completes all required training and professional development sessions sponsored through Tarrant County College (TCC)
• Supports the mission, values, goals, and principles of theCollege

Supervision

Works under the general supervision of the assigned departmentleader

*Performs Other Related Tasks as Required

The duties listed are intended only as illustrations of thevarious types of work that may be performed. The omission ofspecific statements of duties does not exclude them from theposition if the work is similar, related or a logical assignment tothe position. The job description does not constitute an employmentagreement between the employer and employee and is subjecttochange by the employer as the needs of the employer andrequirements of the job change.

Required Minimum Qualifications

• Associate’s degree or 60 college credit hours and two (2) years’working experience related to the Essential PerformanceRequirements; or any equivalent combination of education andwork-related experience

Preferred Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources or related field
• At least one (1) year of experience supporting Benefitsadministration, including data reconciliation, reporting, orsystem‑based processing
• At least one (1) year of experience within enterprise resourceplanning (ERP) systems, such as Colleague, Banner, or similarsystems
• At least one (1) year’s professional working experience in a higher education environment, or working with Employee RetirementSystem (ERS) or Teacher Retirement System (TRS) institutions

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• Knowledge of employee benefits programs including health, dental,vision, retirement, and supplemental offerings
• Knowledge of payroll processes and the interaction betweenpayroll and benefits
• Skilled with strong attention to detail and accuracy in dataentry, payroll processing, and reconciliation
• Skilled in delivering high-quality customer service and buildingeffective interpersonal relationships, including strong listening,verbal, and written communication skills
• Skilled in using benefit enrollment applications, computerapplications, and enterprise systems, including the MicrosoftOffice suite and the Microsoft 365 platform
• Ability to interpret benefits-related documents and explaincomplex information clearly to employees
• Ability to perform and prioritize multiple tasks seamlesslyensuring accurate and timely completion, while exhibiting strongattention to detail and organization
• Ability to work effectively both independently and as part of ateam in collaborative environments, engaging with faculty, staff,and external stakeholders
• Ability to identify and troubleshoot complex issues and escalatenon-standard problems using established procedures in a fast-pacedwork environment
• Ability to review complex information and follow policies,procedures, and guidelines when completing assigned tasks
• Ability to coordinate assigned work and communicate effectivelywith faculty and staff to support campus and departmentaloperations
• Ability to maintain a high level of diplomacy and tact, ensuringconfidentiality and discretion with sensitive and confidentialinformation

Physical Demands and Work Environment

Physical Demands

The physical demands described here are representative of thosethat must be met by an employee to successfully perform theessential functions of this job. While performing the duties ofthis job, the employee is frequently required to sit; use hands tofinger, handle, or feel objects, tools, or controls; reach withhands and arms; and talk or hear. The employee is occasionallyrequired to stand, walk, and climb or balance. The employee mustoccasionally lift and/or move up to 10 pounds unassisted, or up to25 pounds with the assistance of other employees or equipment asappropriate. Specific vision abilities required by this job includeclose vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision,depth perception, and the ability to adjust focus.

Work Environment

The work environment characteristics described here arerepresentative of those an employee encounters while performing theessential functions of this job. While performing the duties ofthis job, the employee occasionally works near moving mechanicalparts and is occasionally exposed to risk of electrical shock. Thenoise level in the work environment is usually quiet.

Accommodation/EEO Statement

Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals withdisabilities to perform the essential duties andresponsibilities.