North and Central America Benefits Manager

Benefits Manager

The Benefits Manager (Americas) leader is responsible for overseeing the strategic and operational management of employee benefits across the United States, Canada and Latin America. This role leads a team of professionals in health & welfare, retirement, leaves of absence, and workplace accommodations, ensuring high-quality service delivery, vendor performance, and compliance. The ideal candidate is a strategic thought leader adept at leveraging data and analytics to drive benefit innovation and employee engagement across all organizational levels.

This is a hybrid role based in Houston, TX, requiring in-office presence 3 days per week. Candidates must be located in the Houston area or willing to relocate. 

Essential Duties & Responsibilities

• Establish and maintain strategic vendor partnerships, ensuring best in class service delivery and operational excellence for all benefits programs in North America, Central and South America.
• Influence and execute local benefit strategies which align with global benefits objectives while meeting employee needs.
• Ensure compliance with federal, state, provincial, and local regulations across the Americas.
• Leverage benefits trends and advanced analytics to support decision-making and continuous improvement.
• Serve as a subject matter expert and advisor to HR, leadership, and employees on complex benefits-related matters.
• Collaborate with internal stakeholders including Total Rewards, Legal, Payroll, Finance and Employee Relations.
• Define the agenda and lead the Healthcare Governance Committee in strategic oversight of healthcare spending and assessing opportunities to mitigate rising cost.
• Drive innovation and thought leadership in benefits design, delivery, and employee experience.
• Communicate effectively with employees at all levels, providing education and support on benefits programs.
• Demonstrate the highest level of discretion and professionalism when handling sensitive employee information.
• Adhere to Canadian provincial and Federal legislation as well as company policies, including collective agreements.
• Involvement in planning, designing, testing and implementing new systems and updates.
• Other duties as assigned.

Supervisory Responsibilities

• Lead, inspire, coach and develop a high-performing team of benefits professionals across health & welfare, retirement, leave of absence, and accommodations.
• Creating and managing team schedules, as well as Training and Coaching team members.
• Implement and assign team goals and KPI's.
• Making day-to-day decisions within or for a group/department.

Skills

• Bi-Lingual English/Spanish verbal skills (required)
• Bi-Lingual English/Spanish written skills (required)
• Bi-Lingual English/French verbal skills (preferred)
• Bi-Lingual English/French written skills (preferred)
• Excellent English verbal skills
• Excellent English writing skills
• Strong analytical skills
• Ability to analyze complex benefits data, trends, and cost drivers to inform strategic decisions,
• Proven ability to build, influence, and maintain effective relationships with internal and external stakeholders,
• Ability to influence at all levels
• Interpersonal skills
• Customer service skills
• Time management skills
• Attention to detail
• Strong organizational skills
• Resourcefulness

Education & Certifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, or related field required; Master’s degree or professional certification (e.g., CEBS) preferred.
• Must possess a minimum of 10 years progressive experience specializing in benefit operations and management, including at least 5 years in a leadership capacity.

Competencies

• Demonstrated expertise in the end-to-end management of employee benefits programs, including strategy development, plan design, regulatory compliance, vendor governance, systems oversight, and operational execution across multi-country and multi-regional environments.
• Proven experience managing or supporting employee benefits programs across North America and Central and/or South America, with working knowledge of regional regulations, local market practices, vendor coordination, and cross-border compliance requirements.
• Demonstrated ability to lead, structure, and support benefits teams serving large, complex employee populations including oversight of multiple benefits functions, geographic dispersion, workload distribution, and performance management across regions.
• Hands-on experience with HRIS platforms, preferably Workday and Success Factors.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office; adept at leveraging AI and emerging technologies to optimize benefits administration.
• Ability to make informed decisions
• Outstanding communication abilities
• Ability to engage with all levels of the organization
• Ability to manage confidential information in a professional manner
• Ability to work under pressure with tight deadlines