Sr Specialist - Benefits

When our square shaped burgers made their first sizzle on the scene more than 50 years ago, people knew our approach wasn’t like any other. Same goes for the way we support our employees. Our culture of openness, flexibility, and inclusiveness allows everybody to flourish in their own way. If you’re looking for a career where you can be part of the action as we continue to grow our iconic brand – We got you! 

The Senior Benefits Specialist will provide professional support and analytical skills to maintain and administer U.S. and international health and welfare and retirement benefit plans and policies for Wendy’s International, LLC. The Senior Benefits Specialist will address employee, Human Resources (HR) and outside vendor inquiries and issues, reviewing and resolving issues while providing superior customer service through strong communication and time management skills. A strong understanding of benefit plan documents will be vital in the review of eligibility inquiries to maintain benefits compliance in the decision-making process. This role will create strong vendor relationships by offering process improvements and ideas to improve efficiencies for all areas of accountability. The Senior Benefits Specialist will be responsible for the integrity of benefits data in the Human Resource Information System (HRIS) via reporting to ensure compliance with relevant legislations and supporting inbound and outbound vendor data files. 

• Advocate for the employee experience by serving as a primary contact for employee, HR and vendor inquiries regarding eligibility, enrollment and benefits deductions related to the U.S. and international health, disability, life, dental, vision and retirement plans, and providing resolution. Identify issues and recommend level one issue escalation to all external vendors. Resolving these inquiries will require the review and interpretation of plan materials such as Summary Plan Description and Wrap Document to ensure integrity and compliance with the benefit plans.
• Maintain the integrity of the benefits enrollment and benefit deductions data and identify process improvements to ensure consistent administration and accuracy of employee data.
• Interface with retirement plan administrators, legal counsel and international consultant to ensure retirement plans are administered in accordance with relevant guidelines and regulations. Maintain knowledge of regulatory changes, trends and other developments affecting retirement benefits.
• Lead the leave of absence process for Short-Term Disability (STD), Family Medical Leave (FML) and Long-Term Disability (LTD) through our third party leave of absence administrator. This includes, but is not limited to, the processing of daily leave updates, employee and HR inquires, and biweekly status update calls with third party leave of absence administrator.
• Vital partner in the Annual Enrollment planning and implementation process by managing key deliverables.
• Manage vendor performance by coordinating status update calls, manage issues logs, identify common issues and develop issue resolution action plans.

• Education - Bachelors Degree is required
• CEBS or equivalent designation is preferred
• 3-4 years in employee benefits related experience in group insurance, disability and benefits related administration, and regulation including but not limited to ERISA, IRC, PPACA, USERRA, HIPAA and COBRA
• Proficiency in Microsoft Word and Power Point, and strong Excel skills
• Must work independently with a strong sense of discretion, confidentiality and empathy
• Comfortable communicating and working with all levels of senior management
• Exemplary planning, organization, project management, critical thinking and time management skills
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills
• International benefits and retirement plan experience is preferred
  

Expected Work Location (In Office): It is expected that you will primarily perform work at the Wendy's Restaurant Support Center (RSC) (1 Dave Thomas Blvd, Dublin, OH 43017), or at other location(s) as designated by the Company. You are required to work in the office at least 4 days a week. Changes to work location arrangements are subject to managerial approval and business needs. #LI-Onsite 

Wendy’s was built on the premise, "Quality is our Recipe®," which remains the guidepost of the Wendy's system. Today, Wendy's and its franchisees employ hundreds of thousands of people across more than 7,000 restaurants worldwide with a vision of becoming the world's most thriving and beloved restaurant brand. 

The base pay range for this position is listed below. The base pay actually offered will take into account internal equity and budget for the open position and also may vary depending on the candidate’s job-related knowledge, skills, and experience, among other relevant factors. This range does not include an estimated value for any benefits, bonus, or other incentives that may be applicable based on position. The target annual bonus for this role is 10% of annualized base salary, based on actual company and personal performance. 

Our square burgers make us different and so do our benefits! Our restaurant support roles are eligible for a wide array of benefits, including things such as parental leave, free EAP sessions, company 401k match and other great offerings. For more details about our benefits, including an overview of eligibility and terms for certain benefits, please visit our benefits website, www.wendysbenefits.com. 

NOTE: Wendy’s benefits, bonus, and other incentives are governed by the applicable legal plans and policies and, where appropriate, may be subject to Board approval an individual award agreement terms. Those documents supersede all other information regarding Wendy’s benefits, bonus, and other incentives. Wendy’s retains the right to amend or terminate its plans and policies at its sole discretion, in accordance with applicable plans, policies and laws.