Benefits Specialist
Denver CO WHQ | Denver CO WHQ
R26_0217
Full time
$83,800.00-$115,200.00 Annual

This is the base salary pay range that an applicant can expect to make upon hire. Pay within this range will vary based upon relevant experience, skills, and education among other factors. In addition, this position is eligible for an incentive bonus.

As a Benefits & Wellness Specialist at Johns Manville, you will be a strategic driver behind programs that directly influence employee experience, operational excellence, and organizational performance. This is a high‑visibility role ideal for someone who thrives on owning processes end‑to‑end, particularly leave administration, and who is motivated by improving systems, elevating service delivery, and making measurable contributions to a best‑in‑class benefits function.

In this role, you’ll lead the execution of national health & welfare plans, champion innovative wellness programs, and serve as the primary architect behind our leave strategies. You’ll partner across HR, Payroll, external vendors, and business leaders to enhance processes, strengthen compliance, improve employee engagement, and deliver seamless support to a diverse workforce.

This position is perfect for someone who loves solving problems, elevating experience, and using data to drive decisions—and who wants the freedom to own, improve, and evolve the leave program with real influence.

Key Responsibilities

Own & Elevate Leave Administration

• Serve as the primary owner of FMLA, disability, personal, and military leave programs, ensuring accuracy, strong compliance, and a smooth employee experience from start to finish.
• Lead return‑to‑work coordination, proactively identifying barriers and opportunities to streamline processes.
• Partner with our benefits administration vendor to drive timely file feeds, troubleshoot issues, and identify improvement opportunities.

Performance‑Driven Program & Vendor Management

• Manage day‑to‑day relationships with vendors across wellness, COBRA, medical, EAP, life insurance, and retiree health programs.
• Monitor performance using SLA metrics, identify gaps, and drive accountability for service delivery.
• Support RFPs and new vendor implementations that enhance value and employee experience.

Benefits Operations & Employee Engagement

• Lead the annual enrollment lifecycle—from testing and communication strategy to process optimization and rollout.
• Create engaging digital and print communications that help employees make informed decisions.
• Drive participation and awareness in well-being programs through creative outreach and programming.

Data, Insights & Continuous Improvement

• Analyze utilization trends, vendor reports, and wellness program data to identify insights and improvement opportunities.
• Deliver reporting that supports strategic decision-making and operational planning.
• Identify, propose, and implement process enhancements across the benefits ecosystem.

Strategic Support & Compliance Leadership

• Contribute to long-term benefits strategy development, bringing insights and recommendations to the team.
• Ensure compliance with ERISA, ACA, HIPAA, FMLA, and multi-state leave laws, staying ahead of regulatory changes and adjusting processes as needed.
• Participate in cross-functional initiatives, including plant contract negotiations, acquisitions, start-ups, and system testing for HRIS/payroll changes.

What Success Looks Like in This Role

You will thrive—and be recognized—if you:

• Own the leave program end-to-end and establish yourself as the go-to expert for employees, HR partners, and leadership.
• Improve cycle times, accuracy, and employee satisfaction for leave and benefits processes.
• Proactively identify issues and implement solutions instead of waiting for direction.
• Build strong, accountability-driven relationships with external vendors.
• Deliver clear, engaging benefits communication that increases understanding and participation.
• Provide data-backed insights that influence benefits strategy and operational decisions.
• Demonstrate exceptional reliability and independence while collaborating effectively across teams.

Requirements

Education & Experience

• Bachelor’s degree with 5+ years of benefits experience (or equivalent combination of education and experience).
• Broad knowledge of U.S. health and welfare plans, including fully insured plans, disability, life insurance, and COBRA.
• Strong experience managing leave administration and compliance; multi-state experience preferred.
• Experience working with outsourced benefits and leave administration (preferred).

Technical Skills

• Deep understanding of ERISA, DOL, IRS requirements, ACA, HIPAA, and FMLA/state leave laws.
• Ability to design and interpret financial spreadsheets and analyze data.
• Experience with Workday and/or ADP a plus.

Professional Skills

• Strong interpersonal, verbal, and written communication skills.
• Strong presentation skills, including experience delivering executive-level presentations.
• Ability to work cross-functionally and interface at all levels of the organization.
• Strong vendor management and problem-solving abilities.
• Ability to work independently while thriving in a collaborative environment.

Other Requirements

• Moderate travel required (11–20 days per year).
• Typical office environment.
• Must be able to perform essential job functions with or without reasonable accommodations.

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Please Keep in Mind

If you do not meet 100% of these requirements, we at JM still want to hear from you. So, if you are interested in the role, we encourage you to apply so we can learn how your skills and talents can contribute to our team.

Benefits

Johns Manville (JM) offers a wide range of benefits to employees. Some are subsidized by the company and others are fully employee-paid. Health benefits include a choice of comprehensive medical plans, a dental plan, vision plan, wellness program and critical illness insurance. JM sponsors a 401(k) plan which includes a sizeable company match. JM offers paid vacation and also provides paid sick and parental leave for eligible employees.

Additionally, Johns Manville provides basic life Insurance, short-term and long-term disability coverage, an employee assistance program, and business travel accident coverage. Supplemental life insurance and accidental death and dismemberment insurance are available as well. The company also offers a variety of tax saving accounts; health spending account, traditional flexible spending account, and a dependent care spending account. JM also offers a tuition reimbursement program for undergraduate and certain graduate programs.

Johns Manville supports employee growth with vast educational opportunities and a company-wide mentoring program. This program pairs employees and leaders to grow skills, build stronger internal networks and strengthen the company’s succession planning process. Johns Manville also offers soft and hard skills training facilitated by internal and external presenters. Our talent management team prioritizes the holistic growth of our workforce.

Diversity & Inclusion

Johns Manville believes diversity and inclusion in our workplace is critical for the long-term success of our company. We are committed to retaining, developing and attracting a diverse workforce that fosters an inclusive work environment in which all employees are treated with dignity and respect. This is the right thing to do for our employees, our company and our communities.

Incumbent must be physically able to perform essential job functions. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential job functions.

We are proud to be an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer. We maintain a drug-free workplace and perform pre-employment substance abuse testing.

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