Benefits Analyst

Melita is an HR, Benefits, and Payroll outsourcing company, serving and building lasting relationships with small and mid-sized employers in the U.S. and abroad. We were founded over 30 years ago on a simple principle: to help our clients succeed by innovating, serving, and supporting their Human Resources, Employee Benefits, and Payroll needs. As a results-driven organization, we hold ourselves accountable for our promises and we celebrate the successes of our clients. We live by a set of shared values that drive everything we do, and we are known for our high-integrity approach to building relationships with our clients and partners. Position Summary: The Benefits Analyst is a hybrid role on Melita's Benefits Analysis (Benefits Marketing) team that combines hands-on client advisory work with the financial and underwriting analysis behind it. You are the person who both builds the numbers and explains them: projecting renewal costs, evaluating carrier proposals, modeling plan and contribution changes, benchmarking against the market, and then presenting clear, well-reasoned recommendations to small and mid-sized business clients. This is not a sales role. It is, however, a critical position in the client relationship, so the ideal candidate pairs strong analytical ability and deep employee benefits knowledge with the interpersonal and relationship-building skills to advise decision-makers with confidence. You will report to the Director of Benefits Analysis. Core Responsibilities: Client Advisory and Presentation Analyze and present proposals for a full range of benefit plans and options, including medical, dental, vision, disability, group life, and voluntary benefits, to small and mid-sized business clients. Advise and guide clients on benefits package design and employee contribution strategy, aligning recommendations with competitive benchmarks and each company's goals, culture, and budget. Lead client renewal presentations and plan-change discussions, translating complex financial and benefits concepts into clear, actionable guidance for non-technical audiences. Benefits Analysis and Underwriting Own the analysis behind each client's renewal: budget and renewal projections, rate development, rate-tier and contribution analysis, and plan-change modeling and pricing. Benchmark plan designs, contributions, and costs against market data to support your recommendations. Produce disruption, network-discount, administration-fee, and fully insured rate analyses when evaluating alternatives. For level-funded and self-funded arrangements where applicable, develop claim projections and IBNR reserve estimates and interpret experience reporting. Maintain clean, well-documented analytical files that another analyst can pick up and understand. RFP and Carrier Marketing Build and run RFPs to insurance carriers and general agency partners, soliciting renewal and alternative quotes for each line of coverage. Review and validate the quotes that come back, then assemble the annual renewal proposal that the client decision rests on. Manage relationships with carrier and GA partners to ensure Melita is well-supported, well-informed, and receiving competitive options for our clients. Renewal-to-Open-Enrollment Handoff Work closely with the internal Benefits Support team to drive timely annual renewal decisions and deliver a clean handoff, giving the support team ample time to execute a flawless Open Enrollment for every client. Tools and Continuous Improvement Work fluently in Microsoft Excel, Salesforce, and Melita's proprietary proposal and analytical tools. Contribute to file-documentation standards, process improvements, and the firm's growing use of AI-enabled automation in analytical work. Qualifications: Required Qualifications 3+ years in a role that involves small group benefits analysis and/or support. Bachelor's degree. Active Life, Accident and Health Producer License, or the willingness and ability to obtain licensing in the relevant states within a defined onboarding period. Solid grounding in benefits financial analysis: budget and claim projection, rate development, contribution analysis, and disruption and discount analysis. Strong proficiency with Microsoft Excel and comfort working in a CRM (Salesforce) and AI-enabled workflows. Strong communication and presentation skills, with the ability to build trusted relationships with client decision-makers. Preferred Qualifications Experience in a brokerage or consulting environment supporting small and mid-sized groups. Hands-on experience across fully insured and level-funded (and ideally self-funded) programs. Established relationships with carriers and general agency partners. Familiarity with ancillary and voluntary benefit product lines. Experience leading, mentoring, or coordinating the work of others, including offshore staff.