From the beginning, our goal was to establish an advisory firm that stands apart from the rest – one that is grounded in our Core Values and dedicated to creating a positive experience not just for our clients, but for our people too. We firmly believe in the strength of collaboration, enthusiasm, generosity, and perseverance as the driving forces behind our success. With advisory solutions spanning accounting and risk, technology-enabled transformation, and transactions, we partner with our clients to solve today’s challenges and deliver present and future value. Our commitment to our people has earned us numerous awards including Inc5000's Fastest Growing Companies and Glassdoor's Best Places to Work. Explore what our employees have to say about our unique culture by clicking here. The Senior Benefits and Leave Specialist plays a key role in supporting the administration and delivery of employee benefit and leave of absence programs. This position ensures accurate and timely data flow between internal systems and external benefit partners, assists employees in understanding their benefit and leave options, and helps maintain compliance with organizational policies and regulatory requirements. The role is ideal for someone who is detail‑oriented, comfortable working with data, and motivated to enhance processes that improve the employee experience. WHAT YOU'LL DO: Benefit Administration * Send new hire benefit communications, address questions, and assist with enrollment as necessary. * Maintain updated benefit information on the company SharePoint intranet site and HRIS. * Provide timely and accurate responses to employee benefit questions. * Support the administration and processing of benefit-related events within the HRIS.   Leave Administration * Administer FMLA, ADA, and multi-state leave programs, ensuring compliance with federal, state, and company policies. * Work with employees and the third-party leave administrator to track leave usage, key deadlines, and employee status changes with high accuracy. * Coordinate return‑to‑work and accommodation processes in partnership with HR and management. * Explain complex leave policies in clear, empathetic, and employee‑friendly language. * Partner with payroll to ensure accurate wage replacement and benefits deductions during leave.   401(K) Administration * Manage day-to-day administration of the 401(k) plan, including reviewing weekly HRIS integrations with the recordkeeper to ensure timely enrollment and data integrity between systems. * Audit semi-monthly deferral changes to ensure HRIS/Payroll accurately reflects changes pulled from the recordkeeper’s system. * Monitor employee changes to ensure 401(k) eligibility status is updated in a timely manner, including transfers between US and international company locations. * Ensure compliance with federal regulations, including ERISA, IRS, and DOL requirements as well as non-discrimination testing, annual third-party audits, and Form 5500 filing. * Serve as the primary resource for employee questions regarding the 401(k) plan.   Employee Communication and Education * Work with internal and external teams to organize and execute annual Open Enrollment, including reviewing and testing open enrollment setup in HRIS for accuracy, delivering employee education meetings, developing open enrollment education materials and reminders, and auditing payroll deductions for accuracy. * Organize and deliver employee benefits education sessions to support understanding of medical, retirement, and supplemental benefit programs. * Develop clear, engaging benefits presentations for new hire orientations, open enrollment, and targeted employee education sessions. * Work with the internal communications team and external vendors to coordinate recurring benefit education webinars, promoting value-add benefits such as EAP and financial wellness programs. * Update and manage benefits content on the company intranet, ensuring materials are current, accurate, and easy for employees to navigate.   AI Utilization & Development * Contribute to developing and implementing firm-approved, AI-enabled solutions for clients, in accordance with company policies on data protection, intellectual property, and professional standards. * Stay informed about emerging AI tools and techniques and collaborate with firm leadership to identify compliant opportunities to enhance client solutions and internal processes. WHAT YOU'LL BRING: * 5-7 years of experience in benefits and leave administration required. * Certification, such as PHR, SHRM-CP, or similar, preferred. * Experience working with HRIS systems; Workday experience required. * Experience working with Microsoft Office applications, including SharePoint, OneDrive, Teams, PowerPoint, and Excel. * Strong understanding of multiple state leave laws, including those in CA, NY, MA, and WA state. * Strong Excel skills, including VLOOKUP, pivot tables, and data validation. * High attention to detail and ability to manage recurring deadlines. * Strong communication and customer service skills. * Ability to handle confidential information with professionalism and discretion. * Experience or comfort working in an AI solutions–driven environment preferred. * Comfort with AI: Demonstrated ability to responsibly explore and adopt firm-approved AI tools to enhance productivity and innovation. * Continuous Learning Mindset: Openness to learning and applying emerging technologies including AI and automation in alignment with firm policies and client standards. QUALIFICATIONS: Bachelor’s degree required #LI-hybrid #LI-TK1 Benefits Summary The CrossCountry total rewards package includes comprehensive healthcare options, including medical, dental, and vision coverage; flexible spending accounts; and a 401(k) with company matching. Additionally, employees can take advantage of generous parental and maternity leave policies, technology stipends, and wellness reimbursement programs, all designed to support both professional growth and personal well-being. For detailed information about benefits at CrossCountry, please visit our dedicated benefits site: https://www.crosscountry-consulting.com/careers/benefits/. Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) CrossCountry provides equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants for employment and believes that respect and fair treatment are critical to creating a productive and inclusive workplace.  As an equal opportunity employer, CrossCountry is fully committed to comply with all federal, state, and local laws and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability, pregnancy, genetics, sexual orientation, veteran status, gender identity or expression or any other protected characteristic. The company also complies with pay transparency and labor laws applicable to all terms and conditions of employment.