Total Rewards Specialist - Benefits/Payroll

At WorkWave, we build innovative software and fintech solutions for the people who keep our world safe, clean, and beautiful. We are seeking a highly detailed, compliance-minded, and empathetic Total Rewards Specialist to join our small but dynamic HR team. This is a 100% remote role within the United States.

What You'll Do

Benefits & Leave Administration

• Daily Administration: Manage day-to-day administration of group benefits programs (medical, dental, vision, 401k, life, and disability insurance).
• Leave of Absence (LOA) Management: Serve as the primary point of contact for multi-state leaves of absence, ensuring strict compliance with FMLA, ADA, and evolving state-specific paid family leave and disability legislations.
• Employee Support: Act as the first line of contact for employee inquiries regarding benefit plans, claim escalations, and leave requests, providing empathetic and clear guidance.
• Open Enrollment: Play a key role in the annual Open Enrollment process, including collaborating on strategy, managing communications, and executing benefit system configuration changes.

Auditing, Compliance & Financials

• Invoice Reconciliation: Own the monthly reconciliation of all group benefit invoices, identifying discrepancies, and working with vendors to resolve billing issues.
• Compliance & Reporting: Ensure all benefit and leave programs remain compliant with federal and state regulations (ACA, COBRA, ERISA, HIPAA). Assist with required filings and testing (5500s, non-discrimination testing).
• Data Auditing: Conduct regular audits of HRIS data, benefit deductions, and leave tracking to ensure 100% accuracy between HR systems and third-party vendors.

Payroll Backup & Special Projects

• Payroll Auditing & Backup: Partner closely with the payroll team to audit payroll cycles prior to finalization. Train on end-to-end payroll processing to serve as the seamless primary backup when needed.
• Special Projects: Contribute to broader HR initiatives, system migrations, total rewards statements, and wellness program implementations.

What You'll Bring

• Experience: 3 to 5 years of dedicated experience in HR, specifically focusing on benefits administration and leave of absence management.
• Multi-State Expertise: Proven experience managing leaves and benefits across multiple states, with a solid understanding of varying state-specific disability and paid family leave regulations.
• Payroll Exposure: Prior experience with payroll processing or payroll auditing is highly preferred (or a strong aptitude and eagerness to learn).
• Technical Savvy: Hands-on experience working within HRIS/Benefits administration systems. Comfort with system backend configuration (especially for Open Enrollment) is a major plus. Experience with Dayforce is also a plus.
• Employee-Centric Communication: Ability to translate complex benefit and compliance jargon into warm, easily understood language for employees.
• Adaptability: Eagerness to contribute broadly to a small team and pivot between analytical data work and employee-facing conversations.

About WorkWave

We are a remote-first global company that values diversity, trust, and collaboration. We offer a robust benefits package, including health/dental insurance, 401k with match, flexible time off, paid bonding leave, tuition reimbursement, and more.

WorkWave is an equal opportunity employer. We encourage you to apply even if you don't meet every single qualification.