Leave of Absence- Benefits Specialist

OUC - The Reliable One, is presently seeking a Leave of Absence- Benefits Specialist to join the Employee Experience division. At OUC, we don’t just work – we’re building a bright future of innovation and transformation for future generations.

We are seeking a knowledgeable and detail-oriented professional to support our employees and retirees by administering benefits, leave of absence, and retirement programs with care, accuracy, and professionalism. In this role, you’ll be the go-to person for employee questions and ensure compliance and timely processing of a wide range of programs, from FMLA, ADA accommodations, and retirement.

OUC is an industry leader and the second largest municipal utility in Florida, committed to innovation, sustainability, and our community. OUC’s mission is to provide exceptional value to our customers and community by delivering sustainable, reliable services and solutions.

Click here to learn more about what we do.

What You Will Do

- Serve as the primary contact for employee and retiree inquiries on benefits, leave, and retirement.

- Administer benefits and leave programs, including FMLA, ADA, STD/LTD, and retirement plan activities.

- Collaborate with internal teams and vendors to ensure accurate processing, reporting, and compliance.

- Support open enrollment, new hire orientations, and day-to-day benefits operations.

- Assist with audits, reconciliations, and continuous process improvements.

- Stay up to date on laws and regulations affecting benefits and leave administration.

The ideal candidate will have:

- Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources, Business, or related field from an accredited college or university. In lieu of a degree, equivalent combination of education and directly related experience may be substitutable on a 1:1 basis.

- 3+ years of experience in benefits, leave administration, accommodations, or retirement programs.

- Knowledge of laws and regulations such as ADA, FMLA, ACA, COBRA, HIPAA, and ERISA.

- Strong communication, organization, and problem-solving skills.

- Comfortable working with HR systems and data reporting tools.

- Experience partnering with third-party vendors, brokers, and insurance carriers to communicate, deliver, administer, and manage benefit, retirement, and leave of absence programs (preferred)

- SHRM or HRCI Certified Professional or similar HR certifications preferred.

OUC offers a very competitive compensation and benefits package. Our Total Rewards package includes to cite a few:

- Competitive compensation

- Low-cost medical, dental, and vision benefits and paid life insurance premiums with no probationary period.

- OUC’s Hybrid Retirement Program includes a fully-funded cash balance account, defined contribution with employer matching along with a health reimbursement account

- Generous paid vacation, holidays, and sick time

- Paid parental leave

- Educational Assistance Program, to include tuition reimbursement, paid memberships in professional associations, paid conference and training opportunities

- Wellness incentives and free access to all on-site OUC fitness facilities

- Access to family-oriented recreational areas

- Paid Conference and Training Opportunities

- Free downtown parking

- Hybrid work schedule

Click here to view our Benefits Summary.

Salary Range: $27.30 - $34.13 per hour- commensurate with experience ( estimated $56,784.00 - $70,990.40 annually)

LOCATION: Reliable Plaza: 100 W. Anderson St., Orlando, FL 32801

Please see below a complete Job description for this position.

Job Purpose:

- Supports OUC’s benefits, leave of absence, and retirement programs by responding to employee and retiree inquiries in a timely and accurate manner, ensuring positive communication and assistance.

- Manages the administration of medical, dental, vision, and other health benefits, including data tracking and reporting. Serves as the primary point of contact for all leave of absence cases (sick time, FMLA, STD, LTD), USERRA, and accommodation requests, ensuring seamless processing and compliance."

- Primary Functions:

- Collaborate with leadership, clients (Business Unit leaders, employees) and appropriate employee experience team members to administer benefits, retirement and leave programs in accordance with the OUC policies and procedures and applicable federal and state laws.

- Support benefits daily operations, processes, and procedures, in partnership with any third-party outsourcing vendors.

- Serve as the first tier of resources to employee and retiree requests for assistance or information on benefits, leave of absence and retirement programs.

- Respond to benefits inquiries on plan provisions and manage all processes including eligibility verification related to benefits enrollments, qualifying status changes, dependent eligibility, leave and disability coverage.

- Handle retirement program enrollments, terminations, changes, beneficiaries, disability, accident and death claims, rollovers, distributions, loans, hardships and compliance testing.

- Assist in reviewing routine claims and auditing employee contributions and related payroll deductions; Prepare reports and support audits related to claims, leave requests, STD/LTD processes managed by third-party vendors.

- Perform moderately complex financial reconciliations, routine retirement and benefits calculations/allocations, and process retirements.

- Generate and provide reports, data, documentation and other administrative and logistical support on an ongoing basis for all benefits, retirement and leave programs; Manage employee benefit files and ensure records are up to date for all employees.

- Review and process all benefits, leave of absence and retirement forms and support documentation ensuring accuracy and compliance with HR policies, as well as following appropriate privacy and record disposition procedures.

- Partner with the benefits and wellness teams to provide front-facing support for annual benefits open enrollment process and benefits orientations for new hires.

- Partner with benefits leadership, HRIS and IT on ACA Reporting and year-round local, state, and federal compliance matters for health plans, including 5500 filings, Non-Discrimination testing and all other compliance related filings.

- Partner with risk management on Worker’s Compensation processes, including navigating employee injuries and return to work processes as it relates to leave and benefits.

- Serve in a cross functional team to support large initiatives in Benefits, Wellness, or other related HR programs.

- Document standard operating procedures.

- Collaborate with internal teams (Payroll, IT, HRIS, etc.) and external vendors to conduct process improvement audits, identify ways to streamline operations, improve the use of technology, reduce redundancies and improve quality, accuracy, and timeliness of information processing.

- Stay informed on changes to laws, regulations and policies regarding benefits administration, leave of absence, disability and retirement programs.

- Perform other duties as assigned.

Technical Requirements:

- Working knowledge of all, but not limited to, the following:

- Benefits, leave of absence and retirement programs.

- Benefits, leave of absence and retirement trends and practices.

- ADA and reasonable accommodation process.

- Project coordination and support methods.

- Data, metrics and reporting.

- Software Applications (i.e. JD Edwards EnterpriseOne, Documentum).

- Familiarity with all, but not limited to, the following:

- General Human Resources practices and processes.

- Related industry, organizational and departmental policies, practices and procedures; legal guidelines, ordinances and laws such as ADA, ACA, COBRA, HIPAA, and ERISA.

- Ability to:

- Communicate clearly, concisely and efficiently both verbally and in writing with employees at all levels of the organization.

- Prioritize and organize assigned work.

- Review data, prepare reports, organize projects, and assignments.

- Gather information, reports and metrics from software systems (i.e., E-1, Documentum, etc.).

- Work in a team-oriented environment and provide support to the department through a strong work ethic, sense of commitment and a strong desire to succeed.

- Make arithmetic computations using whole numbers, fractions and decimals, and compute rates, ratios, and percentages.

- Use Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, etc.) and standard office equipment (telephone, computer, copier, etc.).

Education/ Certification/ Years of Experience Requirements:

- Bachelor’s degree in human resources, Business, or a closely related field from an accredited college or university. In lieu of a degree, equivalent combination of education and directly related experience may be substitutable on a 1:1 basis.

- Minimum of three (3) years of experience with employee benefits, leave of absence, reasonable accommodations or retirement programs (Required).

- Experience partnering with third-party vendors, brokers and insurance carriers to communicate, deliver, administer and manage benefit, retirement and leave of absence programs (Preferred).

- Certifications and/or licenses (Preferred):

- SHRM or HRCI Certified Professional (SPHR/PHR or SHRM-CP/SHRM-SCP), or similar HR certification such as CEBS/CBP.

Working Conditions:

This job is free from disagreeable working conditions and is primarily performed in an office environment.

Physical Requirements:

This job includes very frequent speaking/ hearing, writing/ typing, and detailed inspection. This job requires frequent sitting, standing, and walking. There may be occasional kneeling, bending, reaching overhead, and lifting up to twenty (20) lbs. Also, this job may include occasional driving of a company vehicle.

OUC–The Reliable One is an Equal Opportunity Employer who is committed through responsible management policies to recruit, hire, promote, train, transfer, compensate, and administer all other personnel actions without regard to race, color, ethnicity, national origin, age, religion, disability, marital status, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, genetic information and any other factor prohibited under applicable federal, state, and local civil rights laws, rules, and regulations.

EOE M/F/Vets/Disabled