About Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota

At Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota, we are committed to paving the way for everyone to achieve their healthiest life. We are looking for dedicated and motivated individuals who share our vision of transforming healthcare. As a Blue Cross associate, you are joining a culture that is built on values of succeeding together, finding a better way, and doing the right thing. If you are ready to make a difference, join us.

The Impact You Will Have

As Benefits Manager, you will play a critical role in designing, implementing, and managing U.S. benefit plans including health & welfare, retirement, ancillary benefits, and wellbeing programs within the organization.  This position requires a thorough understanding of benefit design, finance, administration, compliance, and a commitment to ensuring that associates receive a competitive and comprehensive benefit package. The Benefits Manager will work closely with internal departments including HR, Finance, Sourcing, Legal and Communications as well as external vendors and consultants to develop and administer benefits and wellbeing programs that align to the company’s goals and HR/Total Reward guiding principles. This role will be also responsible for identifying opportunities to continuously improve and evolve the Benefits function.

Your Responsibilities

• Strategy:  Develop and implement benefits and wellbeing strategies aligned to the company’s goals and HR/Total Rewards guiding principles and support associate wellbeing.                  
• Administration:  Manage performance and relationships with benefit vendors, providers, brokers, and consultants. Collaborate with benefits providers and brokers on renewals or service bids, utilization experience, cost management, and plan design options; review vendors' performance and recommend changes to management.
• Financial Management:  Analyze benefits spend, approving invoices up to signing authority level; partner with Sourcing to negotiate cost-effective contracts.   Monitor activities to stay within the established budget, working closely with Finance to forecast and monitor budget related to benefits programs.
• Engagement / Communications: Improve associate awareness and utilization of offerings by developing effective communication strategies, campaigns, and educational sessions.
• Analytics: Analyze data to evaluate program effectiveness, identify cost-saving opportunities, and provide insights for decision making; generate reports and key metrics/dashboards. 
• Compliance / Governance:  Ensure compliance with federal, state, and local regulations.  Remain current on industry benefits practices and changing legal issues, assessing, and communicating potential impact on the business, along with providing recommendations/solutions to address any concerns. Review and recommend changes to benefit documentation, including contracts, plan documents and summaries.
• People Leadership: Directly manage a team of benefits professionals creating a high performing department. Grow and develop a team through coaching, goal setting, listening and quality communications.
• Benefits Knowledge: Have a working knowledge of multiple benefit areas including but not limited to medical, dental, vision, life and disability insurance, wellness programs, leave of absence administration and retirement plans.

Required Skills & Experience

• 7-10+ years of related professional experience. All relevant experience including work, education, transferrable skills, and military experience will be considered.
• 5+ years of experience managing individual contributors. 
• Project management skills.
• Financial and analytical skills.
• Strong systems experience (e.g. Microsoft Excel, PowerPoint, Teams).
• Strong HRIS skills (prefer Workday experience). 
• Compliance and operations knowledge across all benefit programs including health and welfare and retirement.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills. Skilled in developing and delivering clear, succinct, persuasive presentations to varying audiences including employees and executive management.
• Ability to think strategically and continually review and improve processes.
• Excellent ability to apply logical reasoning to data analysis and think through details.
• Ability to solve moderate to complex problems.
• Ability to be self‐directed and to handle large, concurrent projects with minimal supervision while adhering to strict guidelines.
• Ability to develop strong relationships with key stakeholders and foster trust in handling confidential situations.
• Relevant certifications (e.g., CEBS) preferred.

Preferred Skills & Experience

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree.

Compensation and Benefits:

Pay Range: $115,000.00 - $155,300.00 - $195,600.00 Annual

Pay is based on several factors which vary based on position, including skills, ability, and knowledge the selected individual is bringing to the specific job.

We offer a comprehensive benefits package which may include:

• Medical, dental, and vision insurance
• Life insurance
• 401k
• Paid Time Off (PTO)
• Volunteer Paid Time Off (VPTO)
• And more

To discover more about what we have to offer, please review our benefits page.

Equal Employment Opportunity Statement

At Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota, we are committed to paving the way for everyone to achieve their healthiest life. Blue Cross of Minnesota is an Equal Opportunity Employer and maintains an Affirmative Action plan, as required by Minnesota law applicable to state contractors. All qualified applications will receive consideration for employment without regard to, and will not be discriminated against based on any legally protected characteristic.

Individuals with a disability who need a reasonable accommodation in order to apply, please contact us at: talent.acquisition@bluecrossmn.com.

Blue Cross® and Blue Shield® of Minnesota and Blue Plus® are nonprofit independent licensees of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association.