Description
At Pacific Seafood, we do more than just provide the world with the healthiest proteins on the planet. We are a family-owned, excellence-driven organization committed to being the brand of choice in the marketplace and the employer of choice in the community. We believe in servant leadership, investing in our team members’ personal and professional growth, and rewarding performance. We live by the core values of our Diamond Philosophy: Teamwork, Productivity, Quality, and Excellence—which means consistently doing your best and always striving to do better.
Our Benefits & Compensation team is an integral part of ensuring compliance, reducing risk, and supporting team member well-being. We consistently do our best and always strive to be better so that we can mitigate risks and create a safe working environment for all team members.
As the Workers’ Compensation Program Specialist, you will lead, administer, and continuously improve Pacific Seafood’s enterprise-wide workers’ compensation program. This role expands beyond claim-level processing and assumes responsibility for the full program lifecycle—including prevention support, compliance, analytics, reporting, vendor partnership management, and cost-containment strategies., You will work closely with HR, Safety, Operations, Finance, and external partners to ensure prompt reporting, accurate documentation, consistent practices across locations, and proactive strategies to reduce both frequency and severity of claims. Your expertise will directly influence program costs, risk exposure, and team member outcomes.
Key Responsibilities
1. Program Leadership & Strategy
- Lead and administer the full lifecycle of the company’s workers’ compensation program across all Pacific Seafood locations.
- Develop, implement, and evaluate enterprise-wide WC policies, processes, and best practices.
- Serve as the program’s subject-matter expert, supporting senior management with recommendations that improve safety culture, reduce claim costs, and enhance return-to-work outcomes.
- Partner with HR, Safety, and Operations to identify and address program gaps, inefficiencies, and opportunities for improvement.
- Support strategic alignment between HR and Safety teams to reduce injuries, lower claim severity, and prevent recurrence.
2. Claims Oversight & Case Management
- Oversee and coordinate all claim activities from initial report to closure, ensuring accuracy, timeliness, and regulatory compliance.
- Validate claim details, investigate discrepancies, and communicate with internal leadership and external partners to ensure appropriate handling.
- Manage complex, high-impact, or litigated claims with heightened oversight and proactive follow-up.
- Support transitional duty and return-to-work practices by partnering with HR and Operations to identify appropriate placements and ensure compliance with restrictions.
3. Data, Analytics & Reporting
- Analyze claims data, identify trends, and generate actionable insights to reduce WC exposure.
- Monitor key performance indicators such as claim frequency, severity, mod factors, time-loss days, and cost drivers.
- Prepare monthly, quarterly, and annual WC program reports for HR, Safety, and senior leadership.
- Support annual budgeting and forecasting for workers’ compensation costs.
4. Compliance, Documentation & Regulatory Requirements
- Maintain required OSHA logs, WC records, permits, and regulatory documentation in accordance with federal, state, and company requirements.
- Track changes in laws, regulations, and industry standards; update policies and communicate impacts to HR and Safety teams.
- Ensure adherence to reporting timelines and documentation standards across all divisions.
5. Cross-Functional Coordination & Partnership
- Maintain consistent communication with divisional HR partners to support timely reporting, proper investigations, and coordinated follow-up.
- Partner with Safety leadership to review incident trends, root causes, and injury-prevention strategies.
- Collaborate with Finance and external auditors to support annual WC audits, financial accruals, and insurance renewal processes.
- Serve as the primary liaison to insurance carriers, TPAs, medical providers, and legal counsel.
6. Program Development & Continuous Improvement
- Recommend enhancements to workflows, systems, training, and cross-functional processes to strengthen program performance.
- Support the development of educational materials and training to ensure HR and Operations understand reporting expectations, process requirements, and injury management protocols.
- Research and implement innovative WC practices, technologies, or tools that improve outcomes and reduce costs.
- Identify opportunities to maximize premium savings, rebates, safety incentives, or other cost-mitigation programs.
7. Additional Responsibilities
- Assist the HR Director in fulfilling leadership responsibilities and informing executive-level decision-making.
- Perform other duties as assigned to support the company’s safety, HR, and risk-management objectives
- Additional responsibilities may be assigned as deemed necessary to support the overall goals and objectives of the position.
Requirements
What you bring to Pacific Seafood
Required
- Bachelor’s degree in business, HR, risk management or other relevant fields or,
- A minimum of 3 years’ experience managing workers compensation claims, oversight, risk management, or related experience or,
- A minimum of 3 years’ experience working with insurance carriers, TPAs or regulatory agencies
- Strong understanding of federal, state and local WC regulations
- Strong computer skills in MS Office, with proven ability to prepare reports and presentations.
- Ability to analyze data, identify trends, and communicate insights
Preferred
- Prior experience working in manufacturing, distribution, food processing, or similar operational environments.
- Experience working with and leading cross-site and multi-functional teams.
- Background in risk management or HR compliance
