Project Manager - Benefits and LOA

Job Title: Project Manager - Benefits and LOA
Location: Whippany, NJ 07981
Duration: 12 Months
Job Type: Temporary Assignment
Work Type: Remote

Job Description:

Position Summary:

• The Project Manager - Benefits and LOA will lead and coordinate projects supporting U.S. benefits, retirement, health and welfare, disability, leave of absence, annual enrollment, vendor management, compliance, and process improvement initiatives.
• This role will manage project plans, timelines, deliverables, stakeholders, risks, issues, communications, testing coordination, documentation, and implementation activities.
• The position requires strong project management capability combined with an understanding of employee benefits operations, HR service delivery, vendor oversight, payroll impacts, and regulatory/compliance considerations.

Position Duties & Responsibilities:

• Lead benefits and LOA-related projects from initiation through implementation and closeout, including annual enrollment support, vendor changes, plan design updates, compliance updates, process improvements, and system enhancements.
• Develop and maintain detailed project plans, milestones, timelines, RAID logs, action trackers, decision logs, stakeholder maps, implementation plans, and status reports.
• Coordinate cross-functional project activities with Benefits, LOA, HR Operations, Payroll, Legal, Finance, Procurement, IT, communications teams, external vendors, and call center partners.
• Support project work related to health and welfare plans, disability plans, leave of absence programs, spending accounts, health savings accounts, retirement and savings plans, pension plans, and employee benefit administration processes.
• Partner with subject matter experts to ensure benefit plan rules, standard operating procedures, summary plan documents, regulatory requirements, and internal controls are considered in project planning and execution.
• Manage and monitor project risks, issues, dependencies, decisions, escalations, and change impacts; proactively recommend mitigation plans and drive resolution of open items.
• Facilitate recurring project meetings, working sessions, vendor meetings, and stakeholder reviews; document meeting outcomes, action items, owners, and due dates.
• Prepare clear and concise status updates, leadership summaries, dashboards, project communications, readiness materials, and implementation updates for stakeholders and sponsors.
• Support annual enrollment project activities, including coordination of plan changes, communications, vendor readiness, rate testing, enrollment website testing, issue tracking, and post-enrollment stabilization.
• Coordinate vendor system enhancement testing, interface testing, benefits administration testing, payroll-impact testing, defect tracking, and user acceptance testing with business and technical partners.
• Assist with documenting and improving benefits and LOA processes, standard operating procedures, controls, handoffs, and governance routines to support accurate and compliant administration.
• Support acquisition, divestiture, plan merger, vendor transition, legal compliance, and benefit transformation projects as assigned.
• Help ensure project deliverables support quality customer service for employees and retirees by improving inquiry resolution, communication clarity, vendor performance, and operational efficiency.
• Drive project closeout activities, including lessons learned, final reporting, operational handoff, documentation completion, and confirmation of delivered outcomes.

Requirements/Preferences:

Education Requirements:

• BS/BA degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, Project Management, Operations, or a closely related field required.
• Additional relevant experience above the minimum may be considered in lieu of the required education on a year-for-year basis.
• A minimum of 5 years of progressive project management experience required, preferably supporting employee benefits, HR operations, total rewards, leave of absence, payroll, vendor management, or HR transformation initiatives.
• Demonstrated experience managing project plans, timelines, deliverables, stakeholders, risks, issues, dependencies, testing activities, communications, and implementation readiness.

Skill & Competency Requirements:

• 5+ years of project management experience with proven ability to lead cross-functional HR, benefits, LOA, payroll, operations, vendor, or transformation projects from planning through delivery.
• Working knowledge of employee benefits administration, including health and welfare plans, retirement plans, disability, leave of absence, spending accounts, annual enrollment, vendor administration, or related HR operations processes.
• Strong communication and stakeholder management skills, including ability to translate complex benefits topics into clear project updates, action plans, leadership summaries, and partner communications.
• Strong critical thinking, organization, prioritization, and follow-through skills with ability to manage multiple workstreams, deadlines, dependencies, and escalations in a matrixed environment.
• Customer experience/focus with ability to consider impacts to employees, retirees, HR service delivery teams, call centers, vendors, and internal operations when managing project outcomes.

Preferences:

• PMP, CAPM, Agile, Scrum Master, Lean Six Sigma, PHR, SPHR, SHRM-CP, SHRM-SCP, CEBS, or other related project management, HR, or benefits certification.
• Experience in one or more of the following: benefits administration, employee benefits consulting, total rewards, employee benefit transformation, leave of absence operations, HR operations, payroll, or vendor management.
• Experience with SAP, Workday, ServiceNow, benefits administration platforms, vendor portals, case management tools, MS Project, Smartsheet, SharePoint, Excel, Access, or PowerPoint.
• Experience supporting annual enrollment, benefits plan changes, vendor implementations, plan mergers, acquisitions/divestitures, compliance initiatives, system testing, or communication readiness.
• Ability to review operational data, interface outputs, testing results, inquiry trends, defect logs, or project metrics to identify issues, support decisions, and improve project outcomes.