Manager, Benefits Operations and Compliance

• Own the annual operating cycle for assigned benefits programs (e.g., medical, dental, vision, life, disability, and retirement), including contract renewals, plan changes, and vendor coordination
• Conduct benefits analyses (cost, utilization, engagement/satisfaction, and competitive benchmarking) to identify opportunities for plan improvements, cost containment, and employee experience enhancements, present findings and recommendations to stakeholders
• Coordinate vendor selection activities and ongoing vendor management for assigned programs (RFP support, contract renewals support, service issue resolution, and performance monitoring)
• Support compliance for benefit programs by maintaining documentation, tracking regulatory changes (ERISA, ACA, HIPAA, COBRA), and partnering with Legal/HR on implementation of required updates
• Support internal and external audits by preparing materials, responding to requests, and tracking remediation actions to closure
• Build and maintain dashboards and recurring reports for benefits KPIs (participation, utilization, claims trends where available, vendor performance, and employee feedback) and provide insights to inform decisions
• Lead discrete benefits projects end-to-end (e.g., vendor transitions, process improvements, communications refreshes, or system enhancements), including timelines, risks, testing, and change communications
• Directly responsible for assigned benefits programs, driving decision-ready recommendations on plan design tradeoffs, vendor performance actions, and cost/experience improvements
• Lead cross-functional workstreams (HR, Legal, Finance, People Ops, and vendors) through renewals and open enrollment milestones, ensuring dependencies, risks, and decisions are surfaced and closed on time
• Develop and maintain vendor scorecards (SLAs, responsiveness, quality, participant experience) and run recurring performance reviews to drive measurable improvements
• Mentor and guide less-experienced team members and partners on benefits operations practices, compliance requirements, and vendor management routines
• Own and maintain a compliance and audit readiness calendar for assigned programs (documentation, controls, testing evidence), coordinating inputs and follow-through across stakeholders

• 5+ years of experience in benefits, total rewards, or HR operations, including hands-on program administration and vendor partnership
• Bachelor's degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, Finance, or a related field (or equivalent practical experience)
• Strong experience in benefits administration and plan operations, including renewals, open enrollment support, and vendor coordination
• Working knowledge of key benefits regulations and compliance practices (ERISA, ACA, HIPAA, COBRA) and ability to partner effectively with Legal and HR on compliance execution
• Proficiency with benefits administration systems and HRIS platforms (e.g., Workday, Benefitsolver, or similar), including requirements gathering and UAT/testing support
• Strong analytical skills and comfort working with data (Excel
• experience with AI and Tableau/Power BI a plus) to develop insights and recommendations
• Clear communication skills for both technical and non-technical audiences
• ability to translate benefits concepts into employee-friendly and stakeholder-ready outputs
• Strong project management fundamentals (planning, prioritization, risk tracking) with ability to execute independently and escalate appropriately
• Demonstrated ability to influence stakeholders using data-driven insights, translating analyses into clear recommendations and action plans
• Benefits program administration and renewals
• Vendor management and issue resolution
• Benefits compliance support and audit readiness
• Benefits systems configuration support and UAT/testing
• Data analysis, KPI reporting, and benchmarking
• Stakeholder management and cross-functional collaboration
• Project management and change communications
• Experience with automation and/or AI tools such as chatGPT, Gemini, etc
• Must have legal right to work in the U.S.

Experience with automation and/or AI tools such as chatGPT, Gemini, etc