Human Resources Specialist (Payroll and Benefits)

$60,000 - $75,000/Yr

Florida Education Association - Tallahassee, FL

Full-time - Mid Level

Tallahassee, FL

10,001+ employees

About the position

The Florida Education Association (FEA) is seeking a dedicated and experienced Human Resources Specialist to join its Human Resources Department. This full-time position is based in Tallahassee, FL, and involves limited travel. The HR Specialist will play a crucial role in managing payroll and benefits for FEA's staff, which includes over 120,000 members from various educational backgrounds. The primary responsibilities include processing payroll, producing payroll and leave reports, and managing health and welfare benefit plans. The ideal candidate will be a subject matter expert in health, dental, vision, life, disability, Employee Assistance Programs (EAP), Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA), and retirement plans. This role requires a professional who is committed to confidentiality, enjoys helping others, and thrives in a high-volume work environment. In this position, the HR Specialist will support the Director of Human Resources in ensuring compliance with FEA's policies and collective bargaining agreements regarding compensation and benefits. The role involves managing payroll for staff and service units, monitoring employee leave benefits, and overseeing the enrollment process for various health and welfare benefits. The HR Specialist will also serve as a resource for employees, assisting them with inquiries related to their benefits, particularly during onboarding and complex health issues. Additionally, the specialist will be responsible for creating and disseminating informational materials about benefits, managing the 401(k) retirement plan, and liaising with benefit providers to ensure compliance and address employee concerns. The successful candidate will be expected to maintain strict confidentiality, manage multiple high-priority projects, and collaborate effectively with other HR staff and departments. This position is integral to the FEA's mission of supporting its members and advancing educational policies in Florida.

Responsibilities

• Support the Director of HR with ensuring compliance with FEA's policies and collective bargaining agreement regarding compensation and benefits.
• Manage FEA's staff, service unit, and locals payroll, ensuring timely and accurate biweekly payroll processing.
• Monitor the accrual, use, and payout of employee leave benefits in accordance with FEA's policies and collective bargaining agreement.
• Manage enrollment of employees into FEA's health, dental, vision, life, disability, EAP, and FSA benefits, including annual open enrollment activities.
• Maintain recordkeeping for all payroll and leave information in ADP or other HRIS systems.
• Serve as the subject matter expert and assist employees with questions regarding FEA's health, dental, vision, life, disability, EAP, and FSA benefits.
• Assist with the creation and dissemination of informational materials to employees related to all health and welfare benefits.
• Manage FEA's voluntary 401(k) retirement, NEA pension plan, and FEA United Employee's Retirement Plan.
• Liaison with all benefit providers to ensure plan compliance and timely resolution of claims or employee questions and concerns.
• Assist the HR Director with creating and implementing HR policies and processes to increase efficiencies and employee support.
• Prepare agendas and confidential information for Joint Benefits Committee (JBC) and Labor Management Steering Committee (LMSC) meetings.
• Track follow-up items from the JBC and LMSC meetings.
• Facilitate JBC Committee Meetings as directed or in the absence of the HR Director.
• Gather confidential information needed for disciplinary actions, grievances, and arbitrations.
• Work closely with FEA's finance department to provide financial reports and year-end audit documentation related to payroll and benefits.
• Generate and calculate employee salary information, including 401(k) contributions, pension contributions, and salary step increases for collective bargaining staff.
• Ensure accuracy and prepare all employee benefit invoices for payment.
• Collaborate with other HR staff to ensure efficient HR operations.
• Maintain strict confidentiality of information maintained or accessed in the HR Department.
• Manage and coordinate special projects as assigned.
• Successfully manage multiple high-priority projects.
• Travel as needed to support coordination and management of large staff events and meetings.

Requirements

• At least five years of progressive experience with processing employee payroll.
• Proficiency with reconciling financial data and reports.
• Experience with ADP Workforce Now or other employee payroll systems.
• Expert proficiency in Microsoft Office Outlook, Excel, and Word.
• Ability to consistently display professionalism and provide high-quality employee support/service.
• High-level attention to detail and accuracy.

Nice-to-haves

• At least five years of progressive experience managing employee health benefits.
• A bachelor's degree in human resources, accounting, business management, or a related field.
• Experience with inputting, reconciling, and generating reports into and from Human Resources Information Systems.
• Experience managing and reconciling employee leave benefits and reports.
• Experience with creating employee communications regarding all types of benefits.
• Experience with reviewing and processing health and welfare benefit invoices.
• CPP, PHR, SPHR, SHRM-CP, SHRM-SCP certification(s).
• Considerable knowledge of principles and practices of HR Administration and labor organization.

Benefits

• 401(k)
• 401(k) matching
• Dental insurance
• Disability insurance
• Employee assistance program
• Employee discount
• Flexible schedule
• Flexible spending account
• Health insurance
• Health savings account
• Life insurance
• Paid time off
• Retirement plan
• Vision insurance