Program Specialist – Employee Relations

Job Summary

Performs highly independent, professional, and technical services in the area of benefits, leaves administration, labor relations, and communication for employees and retirees. Working collaboratively with Employee Relation’s team members, this position supports a multi-task oriented Employee Relations office focusing on specialized program areas. The incumbent plays an important role in coordinating information and training sessions, meeting with employees, researching and recommending enhancements to our programs, and serving as a liaison between the county and our many service providers. The incumbent also develops tools and systems for tracking and organizing work across multiple technical programs and platforms.

Job Description

Specific duties for ER Program Specialist vary by assignment of core program areas.
 
Organizes and administers special projects and program activities related to broader Employee Relations' programs and functions.

Works the hours and/or shifts assigned and begins and ends work on time.

Performs other related duties as required or assigned.
 

POSITION SPECIFIC DUTIES:
 
 Incumbent assigned to Employee Benefit Administration is responsible for:
 
Develops, coordinates, and delivers comprehensive benefit programming.

Explains and educates others about various employee benefits, such as self-funded health and dental insurance, basic and supplemental life insurance, long-term disability (LTD) and short-term disability (STD), Public Employees Retirement Association (PERA), flexible spending accounts (FSAs); deferred compensation plans, Health Care Savings Plan (HCSP), Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA), retiree/Medicare insurance plans, and other optional benefits. Maintains and disseminates comprehensive information on all benefit plans and services to new and existing employees.

Coordinates procedures and protocols to initiate timely benefits enrollment; meets with new employees to explain benefit programs and offerings. Partners with other benefit team and payroll team members for the county's annual open enrollment process.
 
Interacts regularly with employees, retirees, COBRA participants, and their families for enrollments, changes, claims processing, and benefit continuation. Troubleshoots questions or problems with outside vendors related to coverage and claims issues. Performs customer service functions answering employee calls and walk-ins in a responsive and professional manner.

Counsels employees on retirement planning. Upon separation, conducts all employee exit interviews to gather information about their employment experience; provides retirement, COBRA, and other benefit paperwork and payroll separation information to them.
 
Administers COBRA and retiree benefit programs to include notifications of benefit changes, payment collection, and maintenance of COBRA and retiree records. Collaborates with Accounting Department for direct debit of insurance premium payments.
 
Creates, manages, and maintains timely and accurate information in the Employee Benefit Hub such as benefit plan documents, summary plan descriptions, benefit change forms, and informational vignettes or videos. Collaborates with benefit vendor for changes required in legal compliance. Updates the county’s intranet with benefit related documents and information.
 
Helps implement new, or enhances current, benefit options; arranges and conducts employee information presentations to help employees obtain information and understand county benefit programs and other Employee Relations' programs. Prepares and implements communication plans to engage with employees.
 
Coordinates and provides administrative and technical support for various meetings, including the Employee Insurance Committee Meeting. Prepares documents and program materials for meeting agendas, notices, brochures, etc., requiring the use of graphics. Participates in committees, task forces, and work groups.
 

Incumbent assigned to Labor Relations and Employee Leaves Administration is responsible for:

Administers and tracks the leaves of absence process. Advises employees and supervisors on various leave options (FMLA, parental, medical, military, personal) and the leave request process. Ensures compliance with union contract provisions, county policies and procedures, and state and federal leave laws (FMLA, ADA).
 
Provides verbal and written communication on employee leave expectations including time entry schedules, required paperwork (FMLA, medical restrictions, return-to-work), and benefit premium payments due. Administers claims for short- and long-term disability and coordinates disability benefits with leave accruals for time entry. 

Partners with Occupational Health and Safety Manager for administrative follow-up required from case management of employee medical leaves and workers compensation. Assists in coordination and tracking of the Emergency Medical Leave Sharing program.   
 
Provides payroll team with employee benefit and leave information for accurate deductions or changes required in the HRIS payroll and time entry systems. Coordinates problem resolution with payroll team for proper administration of employee benefit and leave processing.

Helps ensure compliance with applicable Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA), state, federal, benefit carrier, and county policy and procedure requirements for benefit and leave services. Researches and implements compliance impacts to benefit and leave administration.

Prepares and maintains complete and accurate employee and record retention files adhering to compliance and confidentially of sensitive leave information, protected health, and other high priority documents in both paper and electronic formats.

Uses and maintains automated systems and generates documents and special reports. Assists in obtaining statistics and data for reporting on benefit and leave program usage. Responds to information requests and benefit surveys from various organizations.
 
Assists and partners with the Labor Relations Manager with administering the Labor Relations and Performance Management programs and functions according to federal and state law, county policy, and union contracts applicable to the Scott County workplace.

Assists managers and supervisors in understanding law, policy, and contract provisions by maintaining thorough knowledge of what they contain and how they fit together. Collaborates with the Labor Relations Manager to field questions and provide guidance to questions asked and inquiries made.
 
Provides management support and note-taking for all labor negotiations meetings and sessions and labor management meetings; coordinates multiple meetings with multiple attendees from both inside and outside the organization. Provides detailed tracking and assistance of documents and To Do actions that result from these meetings.

Collects data and creates reports, charts, and costing schedules for presentation by the Employee Relations Director and/or Labor Relations Manager with regard to the formulation and presentation of contract unit bargaining positions before the County Administrator and the County Board in labor relations sessions. Attends and takes notes at negotiation meetings.
Updates the county’s intranet with labor and leave related documents and information.



Incumbent assigned to Communication is responsible for:
 
Processes time sensitive incoming Personnel Action Forms (PAFs) utilizing MS Access to determine pay adjustments earned. Ensures correct information on forms before forwarding them to Payroll. Creates County Board documents, maintains logs, and initiates off-boarding activity as a result of PAFs received.
 
Serves as Employee Relations SharePoint Systems Administrator. Manages, administers, updates, and ensures appropriate placement of documents on the county's intranet (e.g., policies, labor relations and contract information, forms, etc.).  Responsible for program, process, and service improvements.

Creates additional tip sheets, brochures, electronic notices, documents/forms, and tools others may use or reference to be informed about department related topics. Creates workflows for processes.

Maintains and authorizes permissions for other users of systems. Troubleshoots a variety of computer/software problems for other Employee Relations staff.
 
Composes and coordinates bi-monthly Request for Board Actions (RBA's) and Resolutions and checks documents into county intranet in a deadline-driven environment. Responsible for tracking and generating Appointed Officials Board paperwork in compliance with statutory provisions.
 
Provides assistance to the Employee Relations Director in preparation and implementation of annual budgets/Performance Based Budgeting (PBB), Delivering What Matters (DWM) analytics, work plans, and strategic plans; reviews and interprets operating statements.

Creatively prepares documents and electronic notices using a variety of programs to create charts and graphics.

Minimum Qualifications
Requires equivalency of an Associate's Degree and three years of related experience and independent program support within a human resources office. This experience should include direct experience in the specific areas listed in job posting, including administration of employee and retiree benefits and/or leaves of absence programs, labor relations, and communications.   Experience working directly for public entity human resources office in Minnesota is highly desirable. One must have intermediate expertise in MS Office programs. Experience with MS SharePoint, Infor, and Office 365 are a plus. The incumbent must be multi-task oriented, self-driven, have a high attention to detail, excel in written and verbal communications, and be able to prioritize and be flexible in changing priorities. A reliable means of transportation is required for the performance of work responsibilities.

Supervisory Controls
The employee is under general guidance and direction from a manager in Employee Relations. With considerable allowance for independent judgment, work is performed according to established procedures and supervisor consultation for difficult or unusual problems as they occur. Work is reviewed for accuracy and quality through observation, examination of records and reports generated, and meetings.

Core Competencies and Abilities
Customer Service - Delivers government services in a respectful, responsive, and solution-oriented manner.

Communication - Is always clear about what we're doing and why we're doing it.

Collaboration - Works with partners – communities, schools, faith groups, private business, and non-profit agencies – to see that services are not duplicated but rather are complimentary, aligned, and provided by the partners who can deliver the service most effectively.

Stewardship - Works proactively to make investments, guided by resident input, which will transform lives, communities, and government.

Empowerment - Works with individuals and families to affirm strengths, develop skills, restore hope, and promote self-reliance.

Resiliency - Fosters public preparedness and responds when families and communities face health and safety emergencies.

Innovation - Takes informed risks to deliver services more effectively and learns from successes and failures.

Knowledge – Knowledge of Human Resource Information System (HRIS), MS SharePoint, and Office 365.

Knowledge of full benefit and leave of absence program content, eligibility criteria, and applicability to varying employee groups.

 Knowledge of insurance coverage and claims administration for active employees, retirees, and COBRA participants.

Knowledge of various types of employee leaves (i.e. medical, FMLA, personal, parental).

Knowledge of Employee Relations policies and procedures as they relate to processing Employee Relations transactions and maintaining records.

Knowledge of HIPAA and confidentiality requirements related to protected medical and personal data.

Knowledge of county policies, procedures, and labor agreements.

Abilities – Ability to review complex information and prepare reports from such information.

Ability to analyze and make recommendations.

Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with county officials, employees, and providers/vendors.

Ability to make independent decisions concerning choice of procedures to follow; ability to work without close supervision.

Ability to make difficult computations accurately in a timely manner.

Ability to communicate effectively both orally and in writing.

Ability to speak, present, and interact in public arenas with composure, professionalism, and discretion.

Ability to use Office 365 software for the performance of essential duties.

Ability to implement and coordinate various programs and activities.

Ability to analyze facts and exercise good judgment in arriving at decisions.

Ability to use appropriate discretion in dealing with matters of a confidential nature.

Work Environment and Physical Demands
Typical characteristics of the regular, ongoing work environment of this position requires inside work, typically in an office setting.
Physical activities include sedentary to light work: Reaching, sitting, standing, walking, pushing, lifting, pulling, fingering, grasping, feeling, stooping, talking, hearing, seeing, and repetitive motions. Lifts and/or navigates up to 35 pounds on a routine basis in handling files and equipment necessary for performing the essential duties of the job.