Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy Visa Sponsorship Jobs USA

Join AURA and help administer the benefits programs that support our employees. This is an opportunity to apply your benefits expertise, analytical skills, and process-improvement mindset while collaborating with HR Operations, Finance, vendors, carriers, and other teams. You will play an important role in open enrollment, employee communications, compliance, reporting, vendor management, and the continued improvement of AURA’s benefits processes.

General Description of Position

The Benefits Administrator Specialist, working with the Compensation and Benefits Manager, administers and implements U.S. Health and Welfare, Retirement, and wellness programs, including medical, dental, vision, life, prescription, disability, employee assistance, flexible spending, and health accounts. This role supports strategic benefits initiatives and helps maintain forward-looking benefits processes. The position manages key aspects of AURA’s NSF-funded employee benefits programs, including eligibility, carrier and vendor files and integrations, program design, open enrollment, communications, process improvement, reporting, and billing. The role requires strong analytical and organizational skills, accurate plan and policy administration, program compliance, and collaboration with stakeholders, HR Operations, Finance, vendors, carriers, and other teams.

Essential Functions:

• Administer AURA’s NSF-funded employee benefits programs to ensure operational effectiveness, including eligibility, carrier/vendor files and integrations, plan design, open enrollment, communications, process improvement, reporting, and billing.
• Serve as a benefits subject matter expert, providing analysis, guidance, and recommendations on administration, processes, procedures, requirements, and applicable regulations.
• Oversee end-to-end benefits administration, including eligibility, enrollment, payroll deductions, funding, reconciliations, corrections, participant escalations, nondiscrimination testing, operational controls, documentation, required communications, and cross-functional coordination to ensure timely, accurate execution.
• Interpret benefits-related legal and regulatory documents, including Summary Plan Descriptions, insurance policies, collective bargaining agreements, and other plan materials; support compliance audits and filings as assigned.
• Collaborate with benefits brokers on competitive, cost-effective programs, including RFI/RFP processes, vendor evaluations, implementations, service management, and issue resolution.
• With the Compensation and Benefits Manager, manage carrier and vendor relationships to support smooth plan administration and benefit-change execution.
• Develop, revise, and improve multi-channel employee benefits communications and content.
• Support the administration of employee retirement plans, resolve issues, and conduct analysis related to deferrals and distribution requests.
• Lead open enrollment planning and execution, including education, communications, implementation, organization, and timeline management.
• Ensure compliance with ERISA, ACA, HIPAA, and other relevant regulations and requirements.
• Track Health and Welfare programs and budgets; reconcile enrollment, eligibility, premium, financial, and other data; identify and correct errors; and complete billing and benefits reporting.
• Maintain accurate, confidential, and compliant records, data, and documentation, including procedures in Confluence and case management tracking in JIRA.
• Identify and implement process improvements to increase the efficiency and accuracy of benefits administration.
• Perform other special projects as assigned, including Total Rewards Statements, global mobility, and wellness programs.
• All AURA employees are responsible for the proper management and control of all AURA property within their work area, whether assigned to them or someone else. This responsibility includes reporting any known missing, stolen, or non-working property in their work area to their supervisor or the AURA Property Officer.
• Responsible for ensuring compliance with government award terms and conditions assigned to this position or subordinates of this position.

Other Functions:

• Other duties as assigned

Required Education/Experience/Skills/Abilities:

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience.
• 5+ years of directly-related benefits experience
• Meaningful experience in benefits administration or benefits analyst or benefits broker, including but not limited understanding of Health and Welfare plan designs, retirement plans, and knowledge of state and federal laws and regulations pertaining to benefits
• Excellent written and oral communications, including group presentations.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite, with advanced proficiency in Excel and PowerPoint.
• Strong analytical skills with the ability to identify process gaps and recommend solutions.
• Strong ability to organize, manage multiple priorities, meet deadlines, and thrive in a collaborative fast-paced environment.
• Must be proactive, self-motivated and capable of independent work, and sound judgment and decision-making within the scope of the role.
• Familiarity and practical experience with HRIS systems, benefits configuration, vendor feeds and data quality audits
• Minimal travel may be required for employee benefit presentations and training or conferences

Preferred Education/Experience/Skills/Abilities:

• Certified Employee Benefits Specialist (CEBS®), Certified Benefits Professional (CBP®), Group Benefits Associate (GBA®) or progress toward certification
• Interest in or exposure to multi-channel communications, digital tools and AI enabled communication approaches
• UKG HRIS experience

Work Environment:

This position operates in a professional office environment and routinely utilizes standard office equipment, including computers, phones, and copiers. The work environment is generally quiet and may involve working in close proximity to others, depending on the needs of the specific function.

Physical Demands:

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• Must be able to remain in a stationary position at least 50% of the time.
• Occasional need to move about inside the office environment to access files, office tools, attendance in a meeting room, etc.
• Constantly operates a computer and other office productivity tools that require fine motor skills, such as a calculator, copy machine, computer printer, etc.
• May occasionally need to position self to maintain computer and related tools.
• Seldomly needed to move objects up to 10 pounds.
• Constant communication with other individuals. Must be able to discern and exchange information as appropriate to the situation.
• Constant need to distinguish, discern, and identify a variety of objects and fine details with accuracy.
• Some travel may be necessary in or outside the contiguous United States including travel to the various observatory sites (Arizona, Chile and Hawai`i).
• Occasional work at high elevation summit sites may be required (summit elevations range from 6,800 feet to 14,000 feet).

Salary Range: $71,000 – $86,000 per year. The final salary will depend on skills, qualifications and experience.

Apply by September 7, 2026, for priority consideration. This position will remain open until it is filled. Please submit a cover letter and a CV or resume, PDF files preferred.

Individuals needing assistance with the employment process can request assistance here.

The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by individuals assigned to this position. They are not intended to be an exhaustive list of all duties, responsibilities and skills required by personnel so classified. This Institute promotes Equal Employment Opportunity workplace that includes reasonable accommodations to otherwise qualified, disabled applicants and employees.

Equal Opportunity Employer

This employer is required to notify all applicants of their rights pursuant to federal employment laws. For further information, please review the Know Your Rights notice from the Department of Labor.