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.