Benefits and HRIS Specialist - Christensen Farms

Christensen Farms is one of the largest, family-owned pork producers in the United States, marketing approximately 3 million hogs per year. Headquartered in Sleepy Eye, Minnesota, the company operates throughout the Midwest with facilities in Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska, Illinois and South Dakota. Christensen Farms owns four feed mills, manages 145,000 sows on 44 farms, and oversees more than 350 nurseries and grow-finish sites. The company employees nearly 1,000 people and maintains 1,500 contract partnerships.

The company is vertically integrated with a strong presence across the pork value chain - from farm to fork. Christensen Farms is the largest shareholder of Triumph Foods LLC, a producer-owned primary pork processing plant in St. Joseph, Missouri. In turn, Triumph Foods members own 50 percent of Daily's Premium Meats, a specialty pork processor of bacon and other premium pork products. Triumph Foods also holds a 50 percent partnership in Seaboard Triumph Foods, LLC of Sioux City, Iowa, a primary pork processing plant.

Position Overview & Responsibilities:

The Benefits & Wellness Specialist is responsible for the implementation, communication and administration of Christensen Farm's employee benefits and wellness programs. Leads efforts to ensure employee understanding and election of benefit program offerings as well as creates plans to support employee wellness that improves employee engagement, productivity and improves organizational costs of insurance offerings. The Benefits & Wellness Specialist must be exceedingly well organized, flexible, resourceful, and personable and enjoy the administrative challenges of supporting employees with a wide variety of understanding of benefit and wellness programs.

Major Areas of Accountability:

• Oversees the administration of employee benefits plans, enrollment of new hires; document management; compliance; enrolling and terminating with carriers; and reconciliation of invoices. Calculates employee benefit coverage for retirement savings plans, disability plans, group, medical, dental, and/or life insurance as well as other employee benefit programs.
• Manages the annual and ongoing enrollment process which includes developing, planning, and implementing various communications, plan descriptions, handbooks, and training programs to provide human resources, management and employees with information necessary to understand their benefit programs.
• Supports the analysis employee benefit plans to ensure compliance with federal and state regulations
• Implements opportunities for plan improvements based on market analysis to ensure a competitive benefit package.
• May conduct or participates in local and national benefit surveys as needed and appropriate.
• Works with vendors to plan and manage the implementation, communication and administration of system wide employee benefit programs.
• Leverages vendor relationships and ensures adherence to contractual provisions, high level of customer service/ issue resolution and enhancements to contractual arrangements.
• Leads various benefit and wellness projects to enhance the effectiveness of the program, control costs, and ensure adherence to legal and regulatory standards.
• Recommends and implements new administrative procedures to streamline and automate the employee benefit function.
• Participates in other HR activities, including committees and other special projects as assigned
• Develops, implements and communicates wellness programs that increase employee engagement, productivity and health that also drives outcomes that improve utilization of benefit offerings and manage cost for the organization.

Education, Training, and Experience Requirements:

• Education: Professional, two or four-year degree, or equivalent experience
• 5+ years of experience in benefits administration that includes experience in managing the administration of employee benefits programs, developing plan materials, identifying/implementing opportunities to improve benefit plans and related costs and leading complex benefits related projects
• Individual must demonstrate strong communication and presentation skills to engage stakeholders, ensuring comprehension and ultimately influencing behaviors
• Demonstrated understanding of the laws and regulations that impact employee benefits (i.e., ERISA, COBRA, FMLA, Affordable Care Act, IRS and DOL requirements).
• Demonstrated ability to develop accurate and clear communications that appropriately communicates programs and projects to all levels from executives to employees.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills and the ability to communicate effectively with all levels of employees
• Individual must possess personal organization and time management skills with the ability to adapt and function effectively in a fast paced, changing environment.
• Other Technical Skills required: Basic understanding of Microsoft Office programs, including Outlook, Excel, and Word

Christensen Farms is an equal opportunity employer. It is our policy to select the most qualified person for each position in the organization. No employee of CF will discriminate against any applicant for employment or a fellow employee because of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, citizenship status, genetic information, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, military status, veteran status or any other prohibited basis under applicable local, state, or federal law.