Specialist, Pension & Benefits

PURPOSE

The Specialist, Pension & Benefits is accountable to the Vice President, Human Resources for the effective management, coordination and implementation of the company pension and benefits policies and programs, and to ensure provision of high-quality customer service to the organization and maintenance of effective relationships with the company's pension and benefits providers.

1. Oversight- Responsible for ensuring that all pension and benefits related activities are completed accurately and on time in accordance with company policies and procedures and that all legislative requirements are met.
2. Plan Changes, Amendments, Compliance- Identifies, recommends and implements required changes and amendments to all pension and benefits plans to ensure compliance with company policies, as well as legislative and plan provider requirements, for all entities and legacy plans.
3. Communication- Determines content, creates and implements employee communication strategies for all pension and benefits plans, including legacy plans, for all entities. Collaborates with vendors to determine content, and then implements pension benefits education sessions, training courses, Lunch and Learn sessions, Wellness Fair. Oversees and maintains the content of all pension and benefits related policies, forms, booklets and informational brochures to ensure legislative compliance, accuracy and relevance, whether distributed to plan members or housed on AGORA, LMS.
4. Vendor Relationships- Collaborates with pension and benefits plan providers to ensure all pension and benefits plans remain compliant, competitive and relevant. Ensures that any issues are identified, escalated (as required) and resolved.
5. Policies, Procedures- Interprets and applies existing provisions of all pension and benefits plans, and various applicable legislation, to all company employees and recommends policy and/or procedural improvements pertaining to pension and benefit programs to ensure compliance with company policies and procedures and provincial laws and regulations, and to ensure that the pension and benefits programs are designed for maximum cost effectiveness and employee satisfaction.
6. Reconciliations- Oversees the preparation of monthly and year end pension and benefits related reporting for various stakeholders, collaborates with the payroll staff to prepare and reconcile year end pension filing for tax purposes, facilitates the annual pension audit by providing assistance to the external audit team, prepares, reviews for accuracy and oversees the distribution of annual pension plan statements to all plan participants to ensure compliance, accuracy of data and the safeguarding of interests of both the organization and benefits recipients. Reviews all pension related filing requirements to ensure the accuracy, facilitates filing of the required documents by the prescribed due date to ensure legal compliance with government regulations.

Any other job related duties and/or projects that may be assigned.

Minimum Requirements

Skills, Knowledge, Experience and Education

• College Diploma or Bachelors' Degree in a related field (e.g. Human Resources or Business Administration) or equivalent
• Minimum of 5-7 years pension benefits management experience
• Demonstrated experience with defined benefit and defined contribution plans
• Working knowledge of MS Office applications, HRIS and benefits administration platforms.

Core Competencies

• Excellent verbal and written communication skills
• Excellent analytical skills
• Good organizational skills.

Additional Requirements

• CEBS Designation is an asset
• Demonstrated knowledge of Employment Standards Act, Pension Benefits Act, Income Tax Act, Labour Law and provincial Human Rights Codes are an asset.