Leave, Benefits, and Payroll Administrator

 At Affinity Plus every employee understands how their work affects our members experience and we strive to provide an experience that can't be found anywhere else. Great service starts with great employees and that is why we focus on providing not only the best place our members will ever bank but the best place our employees will ever work. Between our one of a kind culture, incredible benefits, and work/life balance; we believe you will feel the Affinity Plus difference.

 

Position Summary
The Leave, Benefits, and Payroll Administrator is responsible for administering employee leave programs, benefits operations, and payroll processes with a high degree of accuracy and confidentiality. This role serves as a key resource for employees, managers, vendors, and agency partners on leave administration, benefits enrollment, payroll processing, and compliance.
This position administers leave programs in compliance with federal, state, and local requirements, including, but not limited to, Minnesota Paid Leave, Minnesota Earned Sick and Safe Time (ESST), FMLA, ADA, workers’ compensation, and employer leave policies. This role also supports benefit plan administration, payroll deductions, reconciliations, reporting, and employee communications.

 

Duties & Responsibilities

Leave Administration
• Administer employee leave programs, including state paid leaves, family, medical, personal, military, bereavement, workers’ compensation, and disability-related leaves.
• Coordinate leave cases with vendor partner from intake through return-to-work, including tracking eligibility, required documentation, leave balances, approvals, extensions, and reinstatement.
• Serve as the primary point of contact for employees and managers regarding leave rights, responsibilities, timelines, and required forms.
• Ensure coordination of leave programs with payroll, benefits continuation, timekeeping, disability vendors, and job protection requirements.
• Maintain accurate leave records and ensure confidentiality of medical and personal information.
• Partner with leadership on leave-related accommodations, interactive process support, and return-to-work planning.
• Coordinate pay, benefit premium collection, and arrears tracking during paid and unpaid leave in accordance with plan requirements and organizational practices.

Benefits Administration
• Administer employee benefit programs such as medical, dental, vision, life insurance, disability, retirement plans, FSA/HSA, EAP, wellness, and voluntary benefits.
• Process benefit enrollments, qualifying life event changes, beneficiary updates, and separations in a timely and accurate manner.
• Reconcile benefit invoices and payroll deduction files; research and resolve eligibility, billing, and deduction discrepancies.
• Manage new hire and open enrollment communication, planning, employee education and partner with our HRIS Analyst regarding system setup, testing, and post-enrollment audits.
• Coordinate benefits continuation processes for the FSA, including COBRA or other applicable continuation requirements.
• Serve as a resource for employees regarding plan options, eligibility, payroll deductions, and claim/vendor escalations.
• Maintain plan documents, employee communications, summaries, and administrative procedures.
• Develop and maintain standard operating procedures, reference guides, and employee-facing materials related to benefits and leave administration.

Payroll Administration
• Process organizational payroll, ensuring accuracy, timeliness, and compliance with internal controls and applicable laws.
• Review timekeeping records, earnings, deductions, taxes, garnishments, and benefit deductions, and resolve discrepancies before payroll finalization.
• Audit payroll-related leave transactions to ensure coordination among timekeeping, leave status, benefits deductions, and state or vendor payments.
• Support payroll reporting, reconciliations, year-end activities, and record retention requirements.
• Maintain accurate earnings statements and payroll records.

Compliance, Reporting, and Process Improvement
• Ensure compliance with applicable federal, state, and local laws, policies, and benefit plan requirements.
• Maintain accurate records, metrics, and audit trails for payroll, leave, and benefits administration.
• Prepare recurring and ad hoc reports related to leave utilization, benefits enrollment, premium deductions, payroll activity, and compliance trends.
• Recommend and implement process improvements that improve employee experience, operational efficiency, and compliance.
• Participate in audits, vendor management partnership reviews, year-end processes, and system testing/upgrades related to HRIS, payroll, benefits, and leave administration.
• Monitor legislative, regulatory, and vendor changes affecting leave, benefits, and payroll administration, and recommend updates to processes, communications, and practices as needed.
• Other duties as assigned.

Required Knowledge
• 2+ years of experience in leave administration, benefits administration, payroll, or related HR operations.
• Experience administering multi-type leave programs, payroll deductions, and benefits transactions.
• Knowledge of applicable employment laws and leave regulations, including Minnesota Paid Leave, Minnesota ESST, FMLA, ADA, and wage-and-hour requirements.
• Experience with HRIS, payroll systems, benefits administration platforms, and timekeeping systems.
• Knowledge of leave administration, payroll processing, and benefits operations.

 

Qualifications and Skills
Decision Making/Problem Solving/Advising
• Ability to analyze information to solve issues and make informed, sound decisions, within established policies and procedures
• Skilled in assessing needs, offering solutions, and building trust through effective consultation.
• Ability to recognize operational inefficiencies and identify improvement opportunities.
• Ability to interpret plan documents, policies, regulations, and payroll/benefits data.

Collaboration/Building Relationships
• Proven ability to build and maintain positive working relationships with members and internal stakeholders by demonstrating professionalism, reliability, and responsiveness in daily interactions.
• Ability to collaborate effectively within and across teams.

Accountability
• Ability to take accountability of responsibilities, commitments, and outcomes.
• Communication
• Strong ability to communicate clearly, effectively and professionally.

Learning
• Ability to actively pursue opportunities to expand knowledge and skills; applying learning to improve performance.
• Willingness to learn new skills, processes, and technologies with support and training.

Adaptability
• Demonstrated adaptability and willingness to take on new responsibilities.
• Demonstrated ability to show resilience and adaptability in the face of challenges or changes.
• Technology Experience
• Intermediate computer and technology skills and knowledge, with the ability to navigate between multiple systems with ease. 

Other Skills
• Time Management skills and the ability to prioritize workload based on department and member needs.
• Ability to complete tasks with accuracy and thoroughness.
• Demonstrated reliability, integrity, and ability to maintain confidentiality.

 

Preferred
• Associate’s or Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources, Business, Accounting, Finance, or related field; or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Professional certification such as PHR, SHRM-CP, or FMLA/leave certification.
• Experience with payroll reconciliations, benefit invoice audits, and leave vendor coordination.
• Experience implementing or administering Minnesota Paid Leave and/or Minnesota ESST processes.

 

Work Environment

Physical Requirements
• Sitting 90-95% and standing 5-10%.
• Working at a computer 98% of the day.
• Repetitive movements, including but not limited to typing, mousing, phones, etc.
• May require to lift, carry, push or pull up to 30 pounds.
• Bending, twisting, kneeling, stooping, or crouching on occasion.

Requires onsite presence based on coordination of work with other employees and/or departments. May require travel to attend on-site meetings/events for collaboration, connection, project work, All-Employee Day, etc.

Location

This position is virtual first with onsite expectations typically 1-2 times per month in or near St. Paul, MN for team meetings and additionally for project work as needed. Applicants should live within a reasonable commuting distance to the metro area.

 

Required Work Schedule
Standard Monday through Friday business hours with a willingness to work a flexible schedule as needed. Consistent and reliable attendance is a required essential function of this role to meet the needs of the department/team and organization.

 

Compensation

This position has a starting pay range of $24.28 — $30.96 per hour. 

In alignment with our commitment to pay transparency, we are providing a good-faith estimate of the pay range for this position. This range reflects what we anticipate offering a successful candidate based on factors such as the role’s responsibilities, required qualifications, and relevant experience. The actual pay may vary depending on the selected candidate’s skills, experience, and other qualifications.

Total Rewards

Affinity Plus offers a comprehensive Total Rewards package that goes beyond base pay. In partnership with the State of MN Employer Group, Affinity Plus provides low-cost medical, dental and vision insurance coverage options. Additionally, Affinity Plus frontloads all sick time hours and a portion of vacation hours for all new employees, offers a variety of paid leave options, a monthly wellness benefit, and immediate 401K matching up to 5%. Our Total Rewards philosophy is designed to support your well-being and growth while fostering a fair and inclusive workplace.

 

Disclaimer

Applicants may be subject to a background and credit check. Employees in this position must be able to satisfactorily perform the essential functions of the position. If requested, Affinity Plus Federal Credit Union will make every effort to provide reasonable accommodations to enable employees with disabilities to perform the position’s essential job duties. As markets change and the Organization grows, job descriptions may change over time as requirements and employee skill levels evolve. With this understanding, Affinity Plus Federal Credit Union retains the right to change or assign other duties to this position.

Application Deadline

Affinity Plus Federal Credit Union accepts applications on a rolling basis.