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New Opportunity: Benefits Consultant (Part-Time, Remote, and Flexible Hours)

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Executive Search Boston

Pillar Search & HR Consulting is helping Boston-based Good Measures to find a Benefits Consultant! This is an ideal role for someone looking for a part-time, remote opportunity with flexible hours.

 

Title:  Part-Time Benefits Consultant

Hours:  4-5 hours per week; temp-to-perm possible

Organization:  Good Measures (www.goodmeasures.com)

Location:  Remote until further notice. Once the office reopens, the role may be based in Boston, MA and/or Portsmouth, NH (or may continue as mostly remote, so a local candidate is strongly preferred)

Hours:  Flexible

Reports to:  Chief Administrative Officer

 

About Good Measures:  Good Measures is an exciting startup company that is poised to revolutionize health and nutrition.  Good Measures combines nutrition science, personalized Registered Dietitian coaching, and digital tools to offer people a convenient, effective way to improve their health. We factor in age, gender, medical conditions, medications, physical activity, allergies, and food preferences, to provide individuals with the knowledge and tools to make better eating decisions. Good Measures members can, among other benefits, achieve better nutritional balance, lower their cholesterol levels, lower their blood pressure, lose weight, and better manage their blood glucose levels.

 

About the Opportunity: Good Measures is seeking a part-time Benefits Consultant to join us immediately. The Benefits Consultant will administer a wide variety of benefit programs including medical, dental, life and disability insurance, retirement and leaves of absence, as well as manage benefits-related policies.  Specifically, the Benefits Consultant will be responsible for the following:

  • Partner with Good Measures’ Benefits Broker, insurance companies and vendors
  • Onboard/off-board employees from benefits, including:
    • Present benefits overview/options in new hire orientation sessions
    • Conduct departure meetings with benefits-eligible employees
  • Manage and communicate benefits to all current and potential employees
  • Communicate provisions of all benefit programs to employees.
  • Ensuring compliance with legally required benefit plan documentation and reporting
  • Planning and conducting the annual open enrollment process, which takes place in November/December each year
  • Managing the COBRA process for terminated employees
  • Tracking attendance for an assigned group of employees and responding to questions about time off policies
  • Other projects as assigned

Requirements:

  • Bachelor’s degree preferred
  • 10+ years of experience in benefits management/administration required
  • Advanced Excel skills
  • Strong attention to detail
  • Multi-state and multi-site experience strongly preferred
  • Team player
  • Excellent verbal and written communication skills
  • Proven ability to work in a fast-paced, growing organization
  • Experience with ADP a plus

For Immediate Consideration: Please contact Cindy Joyce of Pillar Search & HR Consultant (Good Measures’ HR Consultant) at cindy.joyce@pillarsearch.com.

Good Measures is an equal opportunity employer that is committed to diversity and inclusion in the workplace. We prohibit discrimination and harassment of any kind based on race, color, sex, religion, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, genetic information, pregnancy, or any other protected characteristic as outlined by federal, state, or local laws. This policy applies to all employment practices within our organization, including hiring, recruiting, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, leave of absence, compensation, benefits, training, and apprenticeship. Good Measures makes hiring decisions based solely on qualifications, merit, and business needs at the time.

A woman-owned business founded in Boston in 2015, Pillar Search & HR Consulting provides executive search/recruiting and human resources consulting expertise to nonprofit and mission-driven organizations, working with senior leaders and boards of directors to hire and develop the very best talent across all functional areas of the organization. 

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They’re Just Not That Into You

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Breaking up is hard to do. The old song is as true for romantic relationships as it is for candidates interviewing for a plum role with a great company. Even if it is a brief courting period/interview process, you have invested time, energy and significant effort. You’ve started getting excited for the future. And then, suddenly, you find that the feelings are not reciprocated.  The hiring manager or recruiter delivers the bad news, with something like “we’re moving in a different direction“, or “we’ve filled the position internally”, otherwise known as “It’s not you, it’s me” message. In rare cases, you’ll actually find out it was you and get some meaningful feedback. Either way, it’s clear, what you thought was the beginning of a meaningful, long term relationship is over, done, caput, finished. Time to take a breath and exit nicely, else you scorch the earth by becoming the stage five clinger* candidate.

I am an Executive Recruiter who works on high level searches for my clients, and have to let candidates know of tough decisions in the recruiting process on a regular basis. Very recently, I have had two candidates in separate searches who handled the news of “the breakup” quite differently.

The first candidate, who we will call Jack**, interviewed with me for a role with Company A. I liked Jack’s skills and experience, and believed that he could be a fit for the role. I presented him to my client, who did a phone interview with him. The feedback was that he had highly relevant experience, but came across as arrogant, talked over the client throughout the interview, and spoke ill of former coworkers (all things he did not display in his interview with me). The client, understandably, felt that this was not the best fit for their culture. When I called Jack to explain, he went ballistic. He told me that the client and I did not know what we were doing, he would find someone more important than us at the organization who would understand how great he was, and that the client did not give him enough time to explain his experience. A few days later, he sent a scathing email to the client. Five paragraphs of how we had made an egregious mistake by not hiring him. Thankfully, my client and I have an open and honest relationship, and she forwarded it to me. How embarrassing for me and how uncomfortable for my client. We decided to go ahead and hire him. I kid! We clearly are moving on to candidates who are a better fit for the job and the organization.

I was then understandably gun shy when I had to share news with a candidate interviewing with another client, Company B. They had decided to move forward with other candidates. This candidate, who we will call Sonny***, interviewed for a role of a similar level as Jack had with my other client. When I called him, he listened, asked for feedback, and though I could hear the surprise in his voice at the news and he was quieter than usual, he thanked me for the consideration. Within an hour, he emailed me to say that he was sorry if he seemed short with me. He had been surprised by the news, but upon reflection understood the client’s decision and wished them well. He further thanked me for the feedback, and said that it was great working with me and he hoped that we would have a chance to work together again.

Regardless of the reasoning, shock and bruised feelings are inevitable when someone finds out that they are not “the one”, and there will be a period of mourning while the dreams and excitement of the future fade away. The difference between Jack and Sonny is obvious. One burned a bridge, and one was a true professional, which left a lasting positive impression. Guess who I will call to play matchmaker for the next time I have a great catch of a job?

 

*Thank you, Wedding Crashers, for this gem!

**Name has been changed to protect the guilty

***Name has been changed to protect the rock star candidate who handled the situation with elegance and grace.

 

Cindy Joyce is the CEO of Pillar Search & HR Consulting. With over 20 years of experience, Pillar provides national retained search services for exceptional non-profits and foundations and early-stage or rapid growth for-profit firms. All share the characteristic of desiring top talent who want an occupassion, not just an occupation.     In addition, Pillar offers human resources consulting services, which was born of clients requesting help on projects beyond executive search, and includes leadership coaching, human resources audits, handbooks, assessing organizational design, training, team building, and employee communications. A woman-owned business, Pillar is based in Boston, MA, and works on both a local and national level. For more information, please visit www.pillarsearch.com.