Job Listings

Salary Range: $80,000 - $95,000

Salary Determination

Is this a temporary position?

Position Summary

What makes SUNY Cortland a great place to work?

• Our positions provide predictable salary progressions, and many offer permanency.
• Generous benefits include health, dental, and vision insurance, various retirement program options, paid family leave and/or parental leaves, flexible spending and dependent care accounts, long term disability and tuition reimbursement.
• SUNY Cortland prioritizes work-life balance and well-being in all forms. The university's state-of-the-art Student Life Center is free for employees to use, with membership options for families. SUNY Cortland's Child Care Center welcomes the children of employees and community members, as space allows. Alternate work schedules are available with a supervisor's approval.
• Professional development opportunities exist through training, continuing education programs, tuition reimbursement and conference travel, based on funding.
• Cortland County and surrounding areas offer easy access to arts, entertainment, outdoor recreation and much more. Experience Cortland dives deep into the region's offerings

Major Responsibilities

• Manage the administration of health insurance benefits program for NYS (NYSHIP) employees (i.e. new employee on-boarding/enrollments and employee changes/updates based on bargaining unit or employer changes) pursuant to IRS and Civil Service regulations.
• Manage the multiple retirement plans (i.e. ERS, TRS, PFRS) and defined contribution programs (i.e. SUNY ORP Retirement Plan) as well as providing guidance on supplemental retirement savings plans.
• Work closely with SUNY Payroll and the Office of State Comptroller as it pertains to enrollments, reinstatements, prior service credit, and contributions.
• Process and provide individual off-boarding services to retirement eligible NYS employees which requires review of an individual's years of service, specific retirement plan enrollment/tier, health insurance eligibility, including coordination of Medicare enrollment as needed.
• Participate in the promotion and communication of NYS benefits packages through presentations, website notices and updates, seminars, and other outreach.
• Develop, update, and review benefit policies and procedures.

• Oversee the administration of leave programs available to employees and partner with the Benefits and Leaves Specialist to ensure employees are informed of the leave options available to them.
• Ensure compliance of all Federal, NYS and SUNY Leave of Absence policies (i.e. disability, maternity/paternity, workers compensation, family leave, etc.) as they relate to FMLA, and the various CBAs.
• Monitor, track and manage long term leaves of absence and provide adequate outcomes and information to employees related to an individual's entitlement of such benefits such as long-term disability (LTD), disability retirement and other options.
• Assist the university's designee for reasonable accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) as needed by providing consultation and/or information to support pre-and post-employment ADA requests for reasonable accommodation in compliance with Federal, NYS and SUNY policies, requirements and agreements.
• Partner with the Benefits and Leaves Specialist to facilitate internal restricted duty assignments in accordance with university policies, and Collective Bargaining Agreements.

• Provide direction and guidance to the Benefits and Leaves Specialist in the management and administration of RF benefits and leaves programs.
• Serve as The Research Foundation for SUNY secondary benefits administrator.

• Participate in and support employee engagement initiatives related to recognition and reward programs, socialization activities, and employee surveys.
• Collaborate with HR Leadership in the review of employee engagement surveys and make recommendations to address areas of concern.

• Supervise the Benefits and Leaves Specialist providing ongoing training, coaching, and management of performance including ensuring annual performance evaluations are completed in a timely manner.

• Prepare ad hoc reports such as number of annual leave requests for FMLA, PFL, PPL, and worker's compensation and retirement reports.
• Analyze benefits, leave and employee engagement data to identify patterns, positive and negative trends, and provide forecasts based on internal and external data.
• Participate in process improvement initiatives.

• Attend a minimum of three events on campus

Functional and Supervisory Relationships

• Reports to the associate vice president for human resources
• Supervises the benefits and leaves specialist
• Works closely with the director of employee relations, appointment manager, and payroll manager
• Works with employees across all organizational levels

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree required in human resources, business administration, psychology, counseling or a closely related field plus a minimum of 2 years professional work experience in employee benefits; or
• Bachelor's degree and a minimum of 4 years professional work experience in employee benefits

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience administering employee benefits within New York State public employment
• Experience administering benefits in a unionized setting
• Prior supervisory experience

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities

• Excellent communication and presentation skills
• Exceptional attention to detail
• Demonstrated ability to multi-task
• Ability to meet critical deadlines
• Excellent independent judgment including sensitivity to personal information and ability to maintain a high level of confidentiality
• Demonstrated ability to develop collegial working relationships with individuals at all organizational levels
• Ability to work independently and as part of a team
• Superior analytical and decision-making skills and problem-solving techniques
• Ability to be creative, flexible, self-motivated, and customer service oriented

About the University

EEO Statement

Posting Number: S23341

Review Start Date: 06/23/2025