Benefits Analyst Principal

ECMC Group is a nonprofit corporation focused on helping students succeed. Headquartered in Minneapolis, ECMC Group and its family of companies provide financial tools and services, as well as funding for innovative programs to help students achieve their academic and professional goals.

Job Summary

Are you a benefits expert who thrives at the intersection of strategy, analytics, compliance, and employee experience? We're looking for a Benefits Analyst Principal to join our Total Rewards team and play a key role in designing, optimizing, and delivering benefit programs that support our employees and advance our business goals.

In this highly visible role, you'll serve as a trusted advisor to leaders, employees, and external partners while helping drive the strategy, administration, and continuous improvement of our health and welfare benefit programs. You'll also collaborate with colleagues across Total Rewards to support well-being, retirement, and leave programs, leveraging your expertise to help enhance the overall employee experience and organizational outcomes. You'll leverage data, technology, compliance expertise, and business insight to enhance the employee experience, ensure operational excellence, and deliver competitive, compliant, and cost-effective benefits solutions.

This is an excellent opportunity for a seasoned benefits professional who enjoys solving complex challenges, influencing stakeholders, improving processes, and making a meaningful impact on employee well-being.

This position is classified as hybrid and requires attendance in office, Monday - Wednesday in Minneapolis, MN.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

Strategic Benefits Leadership:

• Partner with HR leadership, vendors, and business stakeholders to evaluate and enhance health and welfare benefit programs that support attraction, retention, and employee engagement.
• Analyze market trends, utilization data, costs, and employee feedback to recommend program improvements and innovative solutions.
• Support benefit plan design reviews and contribute to long-term Total Rewards strategy.

Benefits Operations & Compliance Excellence

• Ensure accurate administration of employee benefit programs through ongoing auditing, testing, and data validation.
• Lead compliance activities and regulatory reporting, including ACA, COBRA, ERISA, Form 5500 filings, participant disclosures, audits, and related requirements.
• Partner with vendors to resolve complex eligibility, enrollment, billing, and administration issues.

Analytics & Continuous Improvement

• Leverage data to identify trends, uncover opportunities, and provide actionable recommendations to improve program effectiveness and operational efficiency.
• Drive process improvement initiatives, automation opportunities, and Workday enhancements that improve accuracy, scalability, and service delivery.
• Investigate root causes of issues and implement sustainable solutions that improve the employee experience.

Employee & Stakeholder Experience

• Serve as a subject matter expert and trusted resource for employees, leaders, and HR partners.
• Communicate benefit offerings, program changes, and enrollment processes in a clear, engaging, and employee-focused manner.
• Lead annual Open Enrollment planning, testing, execution, and communication efforts.
• Provide consultation and support for leave and accommodations administration as needed.

What Makes You Successful:

• A strategic thinker with strong analytical, problem-solving, and data analysis skills.
• Passionate about creating an exceptional employee experience.
• Comfortable navigating complex compliance and regulatory requirements.
• A collaborative business partner who builds strong relationships across all levels of an organization.
• Curious, adaptable, and continuously looking for ways to improve processes, programs, and outcomes.
• Able to balance strategic initiatives with operational excellence.
• A proactive self-starter who is comfortable taking on new projects, navigating ambiguity, and driving results in evolving environments.

Required Qualifications

• 8+ years progressive experience in a benefits administration role

• Bachelor's Degree or 4 additional years of experience in lieu of degree

• Proficient in the use of Workday Benefits or similar HRIS system

• Expertise in compliance and regulatory requirements of employee benefit programs

• Experience troubleshooting, analyzing data and recommending practical solutions

• Highly adaptable and proven experience thriving in a changing/dynamic environment

• Proficient in Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, Outlook and PowerPoint)

• Experience communicating effectively with business partners and leaders, translating needs into solutions and explaining complex topics clearly.

• Learning agility and a curious mindset

• Ability to appropriately handle working with confidential data

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience managing the leaves and accommodations processes

• Market Pricing, job leveling, incentive compensation experience

• Experience managing retirement benefits

• Payroll experience

• Creative mindset - ability to develop innovative solutions to complex benefit issues

• CEBS or CBP certification

You'll join a collaborative Total Rewards team of experts who are passionate about delivering exceptional benefits programs that make a difference in employees' lives. This role offers the opportunity to influence strategy, partner with senior leaders, lead high-impact initiatives, and play an integral role in shaping the future of our employee experience.

If you're looking for a role where you can combine strategic thinking, compliance expertise, analytics, and employee advocacy, we'd love to hear from you.

The pay range for this position is $120,000 - $140,000. Actual compensation may vary based on factors such as relevant experience, peer and market benchmarks, and geographic location.

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed above are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

ECMC Group also provides a comprehensive benefits package:

• Health & wellness benefits:Medical, dental, and vision insurance plan options, with a generous employer subsidy. Company paid life & disability insurance, pre-tax flexible spending accounts and robust wellness programs.
• Financial benefits:Generous 401(k) plan with a company match up to 6% and additional discretionary contribution potential, holiday time off, paid time off accrual starting at 20 days/year and commuter subsidy.
• Education benefits:Tuition reimbursement up to $10,500/year for approved programs and student loan payment reimbursement up to $4,800/year.Up to $5,250 of qualifying education benefits can be reimbursed pre-tax.