Job Summary
Location: Sunnyvale, CA, United States
Work Environment: In-person
Expected pay: 45.00 - 60.00 USD Per Hour
Schedule: Part time (usually 10+ hours/week
We are seeking a dynamic and detail-oriented Benefits Specialist to join our Human Resources team. In this vital role, you will oversee the administration and management of employee benefits programs, ensuring compliance with employment and labor laws, HR legal standards, and regulatory requirements. Your expertise will help foster a positive employee experience by providing accurate information, efficient benefits processing, and exceptional support to our workforce. This position offers an exciting opportunity to contribute to the overall well-being of employees while maintaining the integrity of our benefits systems and processes.
Responsibilities
- Administer employee benefits programs including health insurance, workers' compensation, FMLA (Family and Medical Leave Act), and other leave policies using HR systems such as Workday, UltiPro, or Oracle HCM.
- Ensure compliance with HR legal standards, employment laws, and regulatory reporting requirements by staying current on updates in employment & labor law and HR compliance regulations.
- Manage benefits enrollment, updates, and terminations accurately within payroll systems like Lawson or SAP SuccessFactors.
- Provide clear communication and guidance to employees regarding benefits options, eligibility, and claims processes through various channels.
- Conduct data collection and analysis related to benefits utilization, employee evaluations, and HR metrics to support decision-making and continuous improvement efforts.
- Handle confidential information with utmost discretion while supporting employee orientation, training & development initiatives related to benefits programs.
- Collaborate with external vendors and internal departments to resolve issues related to payroll management, health insurance claims, or benefit discrepancies.
Requirements
- Proven experience in benefits administration with a strong understanding of health insurance knowledge, workers' compensation procedures, FMLA regulations, and HR legal compliance standards.
- Proficiency in HR systems such as Workday, Oracle HCM, UltiPro, SAP SuccessFactors or Lawson; familiarity with payroll systems like ADP or equivalent is highly desirable.
- Strong data analysis skills for interpreting benefits data and generating reports that support regulatory reporting obligations.
- Excellent communication skills to effectively explain complex benefit plans and legal requirements to diverse audiences.
- Knowledge of employment & labor law as well as HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) regulations related to confidential health information handling.
- Ability to manage multiple priorities efficiently while maintaining attention to detail in a fast-paced environment.
- Demonstrated negotiation skills for vendor management and resolving employee benefit concerns effectively.
Benefits Consultant to serve as the directly responsible individual (DRI) for its upcoming Open Enrollment cycle.
In this role, you'll own open enrollment from planning through post-enrollment validation, partnering across HR, payroll, finance, IT, and external benefits partners to keep the process on schedule. You'll also support benefits renewal analysis, evaluate potential funding strategies, lead employee communications, and improve existing benefits administration and reconciliation processes.
The ideal candidate is hands-on and execution-focused, with demonstrated experience independently leading Open Enrollment end-to-end in Workday. You are highly organized, analytical, and able to step into a fast-moving environment with minimal ramp-up or oversight.
This is a part-time position with the potential to convert to full-time for the right candidate based on business needs and performance!
As a Benefits Consultant, you'll:
- Own the Open Enrollment plan, timeline, milestones, and cross-functional coordination across HR, Payroll, Finance, and IT, proactively driving decisions, escalating risks, and keeping the project on schedule.
- Partner with People Operations to evaluate renewal options across medical, dental, vision, and ancillary benefits, model cost impacts, and develop recommendations for leadership.
- Assess the feasibility of transitioning to a self-funded or level-funded model, including stop-loss considerations, cash flow impact, and risk modeling, and develop documentation to support future decision-making.
- Develop and execute the employee communication strategy for plan and carrier changes, including the communications calendar, employee-facing materials, and FAQs.
- Lead Workday Benefits Open Enrollment requirements, configuration coordination, and end-to-end testing, including unit, integration, and user acceptance testing (UAT), through go-live and post-enrollment validation.
- Evaluate and improve benefits invoicing and reconciliation processes by documenting current workflows, identifying gaps, and implementing more accurate, auditable, and scalable processes.
Qualifications: Prior experience at a high-growth technology company. Experience evaluating or executing a transition to self-funding. Familiarity with benefits administration vendors, brokers, and carrier feed management. Multi-state benefits compliance knowledge (ACA, ERISA, COBRA, state-specific requirements).Daily tasksCore Responsibilities Open Enrollment project lead (DRI). Own the OE plan, timeline, milestones, and cross-functional coordination across HR, Payroll, Finance, and IT. Drive decisions, escalate risks, and keep the project on schedule. Renewal analysis. Assess renewal options across medical, dental, vision, and ancillary lines. Model cost impact and present recommendations to leadership.
This will be in partnership with the Head of People Operations, as this work has started. Self-funding evaluation. Analyze the feasibility of moving to a self-funded or level-funded arrangement, including stop-loss considerations, cash flow impact, and risk modeling. (directly responsible individual) for our upcoming Open Enrollment cycle. This is a hands-on, execution-focused role for someone who has personally run OE end-to-end in Workday and can operate independently with minimal ramp-up.
Join us in creating a supportive environment where employees feel valued through comprehensive benefits administration!
Pay: $45.00 - $60.00 per hour
Work Location: Hybrid remote in Sunnyvale, CA 94089
