Director Global Benefits in New York at Jobgether

This position is listed on behalf of a partner company, who manages all applications and next steps. Our partner is looking for a Director, Global Benefits based in United States.

This is a senior leadership opportunity to shape a global benefits function as the organization scales rapidly across employees, countries, and increasingly complex needs. You will own the benefits and leave strategy end to end, balancing global consistency with meaningful local relevance. The role combines strategic plan design with hands-on operational leadership across more than 10 international markets and a growing footprint. You will lead a global benefits team while remaining deeply involved in renewals, open enrollment, country launches, vendor management, and employee experience. Success will require close partnership with People Operations, Payroll, Finance, Legal, Recruiting, and other stakeholders. This is a player-coach environment suited to a benefits leader who thrives in ambiguity, builds scalable programs, and uses technology and AI to increase the impact of a lean team.

• Define the global benefits and leave philosophy, establishing clear principles for balancing global consistency with local market relevance as the organization expands.
• Lead benefits plan design and redesign across the United States and international markets, balancing employee experience, market competitiveness, compliance, and cost.
• Develop a strategic roadmap and business cases for benefits, wellness, and leave programs using benchmarking, utilization data, market analysis, employee sentiment, and financial insights.
• Lead, develop, and scale the global benefits team across the United States and EMEA, setting priorities, raising service standards, and creating opportunities for team members to grow.
• Establish high standards for benefits service delivery, including response times, escalation processes, and follow-through on employee questions and issues.
• Leverage AI and automation to streamline benefits administration and reduce operational workload while maintaining a human, accessible employee experience.
• Develop clear, localized benefits communications that help employees understand and effectively use available programs.
• Partner with Recruiting to position benefits as a meaningful differentiator in candidate conversations and the overall employee value proposition.
• Oversee the annual benefits cycle, including renewals, open enrollment, plan changes, carrier transitions, and benefits launches in new countries.
• Lead the global leave of absence program, ensuring consistency, compliance, and a supportive employee experience as program volume grows.
• Manage brokers, carriers, third-party administrators, and other global benefits partners, including RFPs, negotiations, contracting, performance management, and ongoing accountability.
• Ensure benefits programs comply with applicable local regulations and partner with Legal, Security, and Finance on vendor onboarding, data privacy, risk management, and compliance.
• Manage the benefits budget in partnership with Finance, modeling cost scenarios and using utilization, cost, and employee sentiment data to guide program decisions.

• 10+ years of professional experience in benefits, including at least 3 years leading and developing a team, ideally within a high-growth technology environment.
• Deep expertise in United States benefits, including health and welfare plan design, 401(k), leave programs, and applicable compliance requirements such as ERISA, ACA, COBRA, HIPAA, FMLA, and relevant state regulations.
• Demonstrated international benefits experience, particularly across EMEA and/or APAC, with an understanding of how to design programs that go beyond statutory minimum requirements.
• Ability to operate strategically and hands-on, from presenting sophisticated plan-design recommendations to executives to resolving detailed benefits administration or system eligibility issues.
• Strong vendor and broker management experience, including running RFPs, negotiating renewals, managing contracts, and holding global partners accountable for performance.
• Strong financial acumen, with the ability to build and manage benefits budgets, model cost scenarios, and communicate financial tradeoffs clearly.
• Exceptional communication skills and the ability to translate complex benefits, regulatory, and operational topics into clear information for employees, executives, and cross-functional stakeholders.
• Builder mentality, with a demonstrated ability to operate effectively in ambiguous environments and create scalable programs and processes from the ground up.
• Experience using AI tools, automation, or technology to streamline benefits operations and expand the capabilities of a lean team.
• Collaborative leadership style with strong judgment, ownership, decisiveness, and a commitment to continuous improvement.

• Base compensation range of $227,100–$340,700 USD, depending on factors such as location, experience, skills, and qualifications.
• Senior leadership opportunity with broad ownership of a global benefits and leave portfolio.
• Opportunity to shape benefits strategy across the United States and 10+ international markets, with continued global expansion.
• Leadership and team-development opportunities across a growing global benefits function.
• Significant exposure to executive leadership and cross-functional partners across People Operations, Payroll, Finance, Legal, Recruiting, and other teams.
• Opportunity to modernize benefits operations through AI, automation, analytics, and scalable technology.
• High-impact role focused on building programs that directly influence employee experience, retention, and organizational growth.
• Opportunities to lead complex global renewals, new-country launches, vendor negotiations, and benefits program transformation.
• Inclusive workplace committed to equal employment opportunity and reasonable accommodations for applicants with disabilities.