Senior Benefits Specialist

Senior Benefits Specialist   Who We Are   Solera is a global leader in data and software services that strives to transform every touchpoint of the vehicle lifecycle into a connected digital experience. In addition, we provide products and services to protect digital transactions annually for approximately 235,000 partners and customers in more than 90 countries. Our 6,500 team members foster an uncommon, innovative culture and are dedicated to successfully bringing the future to bear today through cognitive answers, algorithms, and automation. For more information, please visit solera.com.   The Role   The Senior Benefits Specialist is responsible for driving the day-to-day administration of employee benefit, leave, and HR-side immigration support programs for the United States and Canada. This role serves as the primary operational point of contact for employees, HR partners, payroll, and external vendors, ensuring benefit, leave, and immigration-related processes are completed accurately, timely, and in alignment with company policy and applicable requirements. The Specialist is expected to independently manage recurring processes, identify and resolve routine issues, and escalate complex, high-risk, or policy-sensitive matters to the Benefits Manager. This role requires strong attention to detail, sound judgment, vendor coordination skills, and the ability to manage sensitive employee matters with professionalism and discretion.  What You'll Do   Serve as the primary day-to-day point of contact for US and Canada benefit and leave administration questions from employees, HR partners, payroll, and internal stakeholders, including monitoring and responding to requests submitted through the Jira ticketing system and the shared benefits inbox  Drive day-to-day administration of FMLA, ADA, state leave, company leave, and Canada leave processes in partnership with the third-party administrator, HR, payroll, and the Benefits Manager  Work with employees and the third-party leave administrator to track leave usage, key deadlines, return-to-work timing, accommodation status, and employee status changes with high accuracy  Coordinate return-to-work and accommodation processes in partnership with HR, management, the third-party administrator, and the Benefits Manager  Explain complex leave policies in clear, empathetic, and employee-friendly language while escalating complex, high-risk, or policy-sensitive matters appropriately  Prepare and validate payroll inputs related to benefits and leave, including calculating and tracking paid parental leave payments (US and Canada), short-term disability payments (Canada), spousal incentive HRA reimbursements, and required benefit deduction adjustments  Partner with payroll to ensure accurate wage replacement, benefit deductions, and employee status updates during leave  Own day-to-day operational administration of the 401(k) plan, including monitoring HRIS integrations, reviewing recordkeeper data, validating enrollment and eligibility updates, and coordinating issue resolution with payroll, HRIS, and the recordkeeper  Audit semi-monthly deferral changes to ensure HRIS and payroll accurately reflect changes from the recordkeeper’s system  Monitor employee changes to ensure 401(k) eligibility status is updated timely, including transfers between US and international company locations  Support compliance-related activities for the 401(k) plan, including data preparation, vendor coordination, audit support, non-discrimination testing support, and Form 5500 process coordination  Review and submit funding files, investigate and resolve demographic or data file issues, and respond to recordkeeper service requests, escalating risks or unresolved issues as needed  Serve as the primary day-to-day resource for employee 401(k) questions, escalating complex plan interpretation or compliance matters as appropriate  Drive operational execution of annual Open Enrollment for the US and Canada, including coordinating with vendors and internal stakeholders, supporting HRIS set up and testing, preparing and drafting employee communications, delivering or coordinating employee education sessions, responding to Tier 1 and Tier 2 inquiries, troubleshooting enrollment issues, and auditing payroll deductions  Liaise with benefit, leave, retirement, and wellness vendors to coordinate recurring administration, resolve routine issues, track deliverables, and escalate service concerns  Create, review, and submit benefit vendor invoices for processing, ensuring appropriate documentation, timely submission, and follow-up to resolve discrepancies  Review and submit HSA funding and contribution files, ensuring data accuracy, timeliness, and reconciliation with payroll and HRIS records  Provide HR-side immigration administration support, including coordinating H‑1B lottery submissions, sponsorship request intake and tracking, PERM application support, EAD validation and renewal follow-up, and immigration status updates in partnership with employees, HR, legal, recruiters, and external counsel  Send new hire benefit communications, address questions, and assist with enrollment as necessary  Maintain updated benefit information on SharePoint and HRIS, ensuring materials are current, accurate, and accessible  Organize and deliver employee benefits education sessions and develop presentations for new hire orientation, open enrollment, and targeted communications  Coordinate recurring benefit education webinars with internal communications teams and external vendors  Identify process gaps, data issues, employee-impacting risks, and vendor delays; recommend solutions and escalate appropriately  Contribute to development and implementation of internal process improvements and approved automation solutions in line with company policies  Stay informed on emerging tools and collaborate with leadership to identify compliant opportunit