The Transit Employee’s Health & Welfare Plan is seeking an experienced employee-benefits professional with a track record of building effective and influential relationships to lead the organization as Executive Director.
About the Transit Employees’ Health & Welfare Plan
The Transit Employees’ Health and Welfare Plan (the Plan) was created in 1954. Today, the organization is 16,000 members vital, comprised of plan participants, retirees, surviving spouses, and their family members who are both employees of Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority and members of the Local ATU 689 union.
As a governmental health plan, the Plan provides a comprehensive package of benefits that includes medical, prescription drug, dental, vision, life and accident coverage, and long-term and short-term disability insurance. The Plan’s wellness program, 689 Moving Metro, utilizes a holistic approach to empower members with the awareness, knowledge, and resources to increase intentions and actions towards healthy behaviors for members and their families to live well-balanced lives. The Plan reduces per-participant administrative costs, making it competitive with private insurers while offering quality health benefits and eligibility information to plan participants and their families.
Transit Employees’ Health and Welfare Plan is governed by a Board of Trustees representing the employer, Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority and ATU Local 689, according to the terms of the collective bargaining agreement. The Board oversees the Plan’s assets and makes plan design recommendations and decisions about the benefits offered.
Position Overview
Reporting to the Board of Trustees, the Executive Director serves as a strategic benefits advisor and brings thought leadership to the table on important employee benefits topics that are of particular interest to the Board. The Executive Director develops and/or maintains a Health & Welfare mission and vision that supports the future goals of the Plan.
On a day-to-day basis, the Executive Director manages a significant employee health & welfare benefits portfolio for a collectively bargained public employee health and welfare plan. In addition, the Executive Director is responsible for developing a sustainable, effective customer service delivery model with the appropriate benefits systems/tools and administrative business processes of the Funds in accordance with any Plan documents, legal compliance, policies and procedures adopted by the Trustees.
The Executive Director creates strategic partnerships with senior managers in other departments – particularly HR, Finance, Payroll, and Occupational Health & Wellness – and stays abreast of Authority-wide policies or programs that may affect the administration of union employee benefits.
Key Responsibilities
The Executive Director has a wide purview across three administrative areas of the organizations:
Organizational/Operational
- Oversees the daily operations of the Plan’s functions to ensure financial and operational accuracy and compliance and provides guidance and leadership to the staff
- Supervises and directs Plan personnel to ensure policies, procedures and standards of operation are met and adhered to
- Conducts regular staff meetings to keep apprised of day-to-day operational and staff issues
- Actively participates with the Board of Trustees in the business planning process and implementation of the short – and long-term goals and objectives of the Plan
- Develops sophisticated strategies to enhance Plan operations and services
- Coordinates and receives appeals with the Board of Trustees
- Serves s a liaison between the Plan, the Union and contributing employers on issues related to the operation and management of the Plan
- Assumes the role of Privacy Officer and ensures compliance with HIPAA regulations
- Involved in the development of educational materials, newsletters and other publications
- Prepares reports for and participates in Board of Trustees meetings
- Manages and cultivates relationships with benefit service providers
Financial
- Develops and monitors annual budget
- Negotiates with vendors on fee arrangements
- Works closely with the Plan Auditors and Accounting staff on annual financial audits
- Works with Plan Auditor and Accounting to establish procedures to ensure sound internal controls
- Brings non-routine expenses to Board of Trustees for approval
- Actively manages cash and investments to optimize returns within the confines of the investment policy
- Adheres to strict control procedures to ensure adequacy of cash flow and timely investment of monies
- Uses best-practice bank fraud prevention services to minimize any fraud or misuse of funds
- Conducts ongoing advanced financial analysis of provider contracts to ensure the Plan is maximizing the utility of expenses outlaid and ensures the providers are deploying their services based on the terms and conditions of each contract
Regulatory Compliance
- Ensures compliance with government regulations and consults with outside professionals as needed
- Ensures Plan benefits are paid in accordance to plan documents
- Monitors and ensures all government filings/reports are completed as required and documents and notices are distributed timely to Plan participants
- Establishes procedures to properly train Plan employees on privacy regulations
- Reports directly to Board of Trustees on issues requiring administrative interpretation, legal interpretation or general guidance
- Represents the Board of Trustees, in conjunction with legal counsel, in contacts with governmental agencies
Position Qualifications
The qualified applicant will have a Bachelor’s degree. A relevant advanced degree and/or Certified Employee Benefit Specialist (CEBS) designation is preferred. The qualified applicant will also have a minimum of ten (10) years experience in benefit plan administration or related matters. At least five (5) years of senior-level management experience is required, including direct experience with executive-level decision making and interaction with Board members. Also required, ten (10) or more years experience in a Taft-Hartley or collectively bargained environment; a minimum of ten (10) years of people management experience, including developing, coaching, training and assessing performance; and five (5) years of project management leadership experience of a cross-functional nature.
The exceptionally qualified applicant will demonstrate experience in and knowledge of the following areas:
- Change management techniques
- Organizational re-structure/realignment
- Preparing and presenting executive level presentations and/or recommendations
- Benefits cost/savings analyses, employee benefits utilization analyses and benefits plan design
- Employee benefits plans, including development of wellness programs
- Vendor management experience
- Working with contracted benefits consultants, accountants, financial advisors, actuaries, etc.
- COBRA and HIPAA requirements
- ACA rules and regulations
The exceptionally qualified applicant will also be proficient in the following areas:
- Current technology relating to benefits administration systems and Microsoft Office
- Building and maintaining effective and influential relationships with a diverse audience through the use of interpersonal and communication (oral/written) skills. Being multilingual is a plus.
To Apply
The Transit Employees’ Health & Welfare Plan is partnering with PoliHire in the search for the next Executive Director. If you are interested in this position, please send a letter of interest and resume outlining your experience to transit_executivedirector@polihire.com.