Benefits & wellness analyst

Cherokee Federal is seeking an Employee Benefits & Wellness Analyst to serve as a trusted resource for employees, HR Business Partners, and business leaders. This employee-facing role helps employees navigate benefits, leave, disability, accommodations, workers’ compensation, and wellness programs while coordinating complex cases through resolution with Cherokee Nation Businesses and third-party administrators. You will support a geographically diverse workforce, including employees working OCONUS, lead annual open enrollment, and use data to strengthen service delivery and the employee experience.

Compensation & Benefits:

Estimated Starting Salary Range for Employee Benefits & Wellness Analyst: [Enter$]

Pay commensurate with experience.

Full time benefits include Medical, Dental, Vision, 401K, and other possible benefits as provided. Benefits are subject to change with or without notice.

Employee Benefits & Wellness Analyst Responsibilities Include:

• Serve as Cherokee Federal’s primary benefits subject-matter expert and escalation point for employees, HR Business Partners, and business leaders.
• Guide employees through benefit enrollment, eligibility, coverage, payroll deductions, retirement plans, COBRA, qualifying life events, and dependent eligibility.
• Coordinate employee benefit questions and complex cases with Cherokee Nation Businesses, third-party administrators, shared-service partners, Payroll, Legal, and other stakeholders.
• Track benefit cases through resolution, communicate status updates, and ensure employees receive timely, practical support.
• Identify recurring employee issues, coverage gaps, administrative breakdowns, and service risks; recommend effective solutions.
• Support benefits administration for a large, geographically distributed OCONUS workforce.
• Help resolve international benefits issues involving medical coverage, country-specific requirements, medical evacuation and repatriation, assignment transitions, and access to benefit resources.
• Translate project, contract, location, and workforce requirements into clear benefit-related guidance for employees and administrative partners.
• Plan, coordinate, and execute Cherokee Federal’s annual open enrollment process.
• Develop open-enrollment communications, presentations, benefits education sessions, benefits fairs, employee resources, and orientation materials.
• Coordinate enrollment troubleshooting, missing-election reconciliation, employee follow-up, and administrative issue resolution.
• Serve as the primary coordination and escalation resource for leave cases administered through third-party partners.
• Support FMLA, short-term disability, long-term disability, military leave, workers’ compensation, and other applicable federal, state, and local leave programs.
• Help employees and managers understand leave processes, responsibilities, documentation requirements, deadlines, and return-to-work expectations.
• Monitor leave case status, return-to-work activity, work restrictions, required handoffs, and deadlines.
• Process short-term disability payroll files using established data-file upload procedures.
• Coordinate workers’ compensation claim handoffs to the appropriate administrator and support follow-up activities.
• Coordinate workplace accommodation cases with third-party administrators, employees, managers, HR Business Partners, and Legal.
• Track accommodation cases, facilitate timely implementation, protect confidential medical information, and escalate complex or high-risk matters appropriately.
• Develop and administer Cherokee Federal’s employee wellness strategy, programming calendar, and budget.
• Coordinate wellness campaigns, employee challenges, health fairs, education events, and initiatives supporting physical, mental, financial, and preventive health.
• Promote employee assistance, preventive care, and available wellness resources across domestic and OCONUS workforces.
• Track benefits, leave, accommodation, workers’ compensation, and wellness activity.
• Create reports and dashboards on case volume, resolution time, recurring issues, service performance, wellness participation, utilization, and emerging trends.
• Use employee feedback and data to identify service gaps, reduce administrative risk, improve processes, and strengthen the employee experience.
• Maintain accurate process documentation, employee resources, escalation procedures, and confidential employee, benefits, medical, and payroll records.
• Performs other job-related duties as assigned.

Employee Benefits & Wellness Analyst Experience, Education, Skills, Abilities requested:

• Bachelor’s degree in human resources, business administration, benefits administration, or a related field required; equivalent combinations of education and experience will be considered.
• Three to five years of relevant experience in employee benefits, leave administration, accommodations, disability, workers’ compensation, HR operations, or a related employee-service function required.
• Working knowledge of applicable benefits, leave, and privacy requirements, including:
• Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)
• Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
• Affordable Care Act (ACA)
• Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA)
• Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA)
• Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)
• Military leave protections, including USERRA
• Experience coordinating employee cases with third-party administrators, shared-service teams, payroll teams, benefits partners, or other administrative stakeholders.
• Strong employee-service mindset and the ability to handle sensitive issues with empathy, discretion, professionalism, and reliable follow-through.
• Ability to interpret complex benefits, leave, contract, location, and policy requirements and explain them in plain, practical language.
• Strong written communication, presentation, facilitation, customer service, and problem-solving skills.
• Excellent organizational skills, attention to detail, and ability to manage multiple cases, deadlines, and competing priorities.
• Ability to analyze service data, recognize trends, identify risks or process gaps, and recommend improvements.
• Proficiency with HR information systems, Microsoft Excel, and standard Microsoft Office applications.
• Ability to work across organizational boundaries, build trusted relationships, and influence outcomes without direct authority.
• Ability to travel occasionally based on business need.
• Preferred experience supporting international, OCONUS, government-contract, project-based, or geographically dispersed employee populations.
• Preferred experience with Sedgwick or another leave, disability, accommodations, or workers’ compensation administrator.
• Preferred experience leading open enrollment, benefits education, employee communications, or wellness programming and budgets.
• Preferred experience with Oracle HCM and high-volume data-file processing.
• Preferred professional credentials include SHRM-CP, PHR, CEBS, or a related benefits, leave, or HR certification.

Must pass pre-employment qualifications of Cherokee Federal.

Company Information:

Cherokee Federal is a division of tribally owned federal contracting companies owned by Cherokee Nation Businesses. As a trusted partner for more than 60 federal clients, Cherokee Federal LLCs are focused on building a brighter future, solving complex challenges, and serving the government’s mission with compassion and heart. To learn more about CFED, visit cherokee-federal.com.

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Cherokee Federal is a military friendly employer. Veterans and active military transitioning to civilian status are encouraged to apply.