Human Resources Specialist 1 (Benefits) or Trainee 1 / Trainee 2

NOTE: To apply for this job, please email your cover letter, and resume to YourFutureBeginsHere@cs.ny.gov. Please include the Title and Vacancy ID# you are applying for in the subject line of your email. Applicants that do not submit their cover letter and resume to YourFutureBeginsHere@cs.ny.gov will NOT be considered.

Vacancy ID: 190726

Link to Job Description on StateJobs: https://statejobs.ny.gov/public/vacancyDetailsView.cfm?id=190726

Duties Description:

Employee Benefits has the lead role for administering the New York State Health Insurance Program (NYSHIP), one of the largest public employer health insurance programs in the nation covering more than 1.2 million lives. This position will play an important role in ensuring the continued success of the comprehensive health insurance programs. The Human Resources Specialist 1 duties in Employee Benefits will include but are not limited to the following:

• Participating in the administration of the New York State Health Insurance
Program (NYSHIP) by providing guidance, instruction, assistance, and
information to client agencies and enrollees verbally and in written form. This
includes responding to inquiries regarding law, regulations, policy and
administration of NYSHIP, as well as benefit and claims assistance. This
includes being knowledgeable of Division and Department policies and
procedures and being knowledgeable in transactional processing in the New
York State Benefits Eligibility and Accounting System (NYBEAS).

• Answering telephone inquiries from NYSHIP enrollees and Health Benefits
Administrators (HBA); documenting phone calls and responding to tickets
using the ORACLE application.

• Reviewing and preparing NYSHIP plan materials and providing training on this
information. This may include presenting in person or virtually to State
employees and employees of local government agencies that participate in
NYSHIP.

• Using developed metrics and reporting to ensure unit workflow is meeting
minimum standards and developing strategies to improve staff performance
and/or self-performance and assisting management with decision making.

• Testing and providing feedback on NYBEAS changes.

• Conducting regular reconciliations with the NYSHIP vendors; these include, but
are not limited to, the four plan administrators of The Empire Plan, the eight
HMOs, the dental plan, and the vision plan.

• Reviewing and overseeing staff who will be working all reconciliation files.

• Processing any needed changes to the NYBEAS enrollment file and
communicating with HBAs to ensure accuracy.

• Working closely with Vendor Managements to communicate and coordinate
necessary changes between ITS and the Vendors.

Minimum Qualifications

NY HELPS:
This title is part of the New York Hiring for Emergency Limited Placement Statewide Program (NY HELPS). For the duration of the NY HELPS Program, this title may be filled via a non-competitive appointment, which means no examination is required but all candidates must meet the minimum qualifications of the title for which they apply.

At a future date, it is expected employees hired under NY HELPS will have their non-competitive employment status converted to competitive status, without having to compete in an examination. Employees will then be afforded with all of the same rights and privileges of competitive class employees of New York State. While serving permanently in an NY HELPS title, employees may take part in any promotion examination for which they are qualified.

NON-COMPETITIVE MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS (NY HELPS):

Trainee 1:

A bachelor's or higher degree.

Trainee 2:

A bachelor's degree and one year of professional experience planning, coordinating, and managing various employee benefits (such as health, dental, vision, and life insurance; and workers' compensation, income protection, and disability benefits); establishing and applying eligibility requirements; and arranging and communicating to enrollees the details of each benefit.

Full Level:

A bachelor's degree and two years of professional experience planning, coordinating, and managing various employee benefits (such as health, dental, vision, and life insurance; and workers' compensation, income protection, and disability benefits); establishing and applying eligibility requirements; arranging and communicating to enrollees the details of each benefit.

Substitution: a Juris Doctor, master's or higher degree in a related field can substitute for one year of specialized experience.

*Your degree must have been awarded by a college or university accredited by a regional, national, or specialized agency recognized as an accrediting agency by the U.S. Department of Education/U.S. Secretary of Education. If your degree was awarded by an educational institution outside the United States and its territories, you must provide independent verification of equivalency. You can write to the Examination Information Desk of the NYS Department of Civil Service for a list of acceptable companies who provide this service. This information can also be found on the Internet at http://www.cs.ny.gov/jobseeker/degrees.cfm. You must pay the required evaluation fee.