[Hiring] Senior Benefits Analyst @PETCO Animal Supplies Stores, Inc.

Role Description

The Senior Benefits Analyst plays a critical role in the strategic administration and oversight of Petco’s retirement programs (401k) and the operational success of the health and welfare plans. This role acts as the primary liaison for benefit vendors, ensuring high-level service delivery, plan compliance, and seamless execution of health and welfare initiatives. The ideal candidate is a proactive project manager who can navigate complex vendor relationships and ensure Petco’s retirement and enrollment strategies are executed with precision.

Essential Job Functions

• Serve as the primary point of contact for health, welfare, and retirement vendors to ensure performance meets established SLAs and stay abreast of the benefits market to proactively suggest new vendor features or digital tools that could improve the Petco partner experience.
• Lead the vendor implementation process for new carriers, ensuring systems are integrated and data flows are accurate. Establish and monitor a detailed implementation project plan with clear "Go/No-Go" milestones to ensure the vendor meets all Petco-defined expectations prior to launch.
• Partner with the vendor to customize and review all employee-facing communications, ensuring the tone, branding, and plan details are accurate and easy for partners to understand.
• Conduct regular vendor performance reviews to identify service gaps and drive resolution or process improvements.
• Act as the project lead for the annual Open Enrollment rollout, creating comprehensive project plans, timelines, and responsibility matrices. Partner with internal communications to develop and review legally required participant materials and marketing for OE.
• Lead the UAT (User Acceptance Testing) for OE system configurations within enrollment platform to ensure a frictionless partner experience.
• Lead the end-to-end execution of the annual 401k and VEBA audits, serving as the primary liaison between internal stakeholders (Payroll, HRIS, Legal) and external independent auditors.
• Build strong relationships and collaborate with all levels of the organization to ensure support in change management.
• Play a key and influential role working with others, in groups, in cross-functional settings, and with diverse stakeholders internally and externally.
• Partner with cross-functional teams to create and document efficient and streamlined processes and procedures in the established format.
• Align benefit strategies with overall Total Rewards, HR, and business strategy and objectives.
• Manage meetings where you describe, explain, and respond to questions concerning the financial performance and utilization of Petco’s benefit programs.
• Stay current on changing Federal and State regulations and legislation that may affect employee benefits (e.g., ERISA, ACA, COBRA, HIPAA, FMLA).

Other Duties and Responsibilities

• Participates in the process during selection of vendors related to all Health & Welfare, Retirement and Recognition programs.
• Analyze the business and employee benefits market to keep abreast of changes and trends. Make appropriate recommendations for change.
• Play a key role in strategic discussions. Drive discussions to resolution or consensus.
• Build partnerships with key stakeholders.
• Project credibility, professionalism, and assertiveness to drive projects.
• Express confidence and gain respect as the technical subject matter expert among peers, subordinates, and superiors, both within and outside HR.
• Maintain focus at the strategic level and leverage resources, vendors, brokers, and others appropriately to accomplish strategic and tactical goals. Provide leadership and direction, as well as oversight to vendors and other service providers.
• Effectively apply skills, knowledge, experience, and core competencies across the organization at all levels.
• Assist other Total Rewards functions in the completion of special projects or during peak periods.
• Perform other duties as assigned or required.
• Assists with the execution of system changes (e.g., testing updates, new configurations), identify reoccurring issues and partner with colleagues to implement customer service oriented solutions.

Supervisory Responsibility

While this position does not directly supervise other employees, it has functional supervisory responsibilities for the accomplishment of assigned projects when designated as the primary lead.

Qualifications

• 7-10 years of direct employee benefits department or human resources experience.
• College degree required.
• Demonstrated and advanced knowledge of Microsoft Excel and previous experience working with accounting and finance partners.
• Has a demonstrated ability to analyze and evaluate complex sets of data and make strong business decisions based on evaluations.
• Requires strong problem solving, effective time management, and decision-making skills and the ability to handle confidential information.
• Must be proficient utilizing various Microsoft Office applications (e.g., Word, Excel and PowerPoint).
• Requires strong analytical and communication (verbal & written) skills.
• Must be able to effectively operate in dynamic, fast paced environment with compressed timelines.
• Must be results-oriented, with an ability to prioritize, plan accordingly, and handle multiple projects simultaneously.
• Alteryx & Workday experience a plus.