Sr Manager, Benefits

Who We Are 

Founded in 1926, the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation is a private, not-for-profit educational, historic, and cultural institution that owns and operates one of the largest and best-known museum complexes in the world. Our mission is “that the future may learn from the past” through preserving and restoring 18th-century Williamsburg, Virginia’s colonial capital. We engage, inform, and inspire people to learn about this historic capital, the events that occurred here, and the diverse peoples who helped shape a new nation.   

Today, Colonial Williamsburg is the largest living history museum in the U.S. The Historic Area is the 301-acre restored colonial capital with 89 original buildings and 525 buildings reconstructed to how they appeared in the 18th century through extensive archaeological, architectural, and documentary research. The Historic Area is staffed by highly trained, historically dressed interpreters and expert tradespeople who bring the 18th century to life. The Foundation also owns and operates two world-class museums, the DeWitt Wallace Decorative Arts Museum, and the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Museum, The Bob and Marion Wilson Teacher Institute, and a renowned research library, the John D Rockefeller Jr Library. 

Additionally, Colonial Williamsburg is home to five world class accommodations at the Williamsburg Inn, Williamsburg Lodge Autograph Collection, the Griffin Hotel, the Williamsburg Woodlands Hotels and Suites and the unique Colonial Houses in the Historical Area. Visitors may also indulge in food and drink at our many on site restaurants and taverns that blend a historically inspired dining experience with today’s evolved tastes. Each year over five million people visit Williamsburg and another 20 million engage with us digitally.

About the Position 

Main Duties: 

Responsibilities include but are not limited to:  

• Lead, manage, and develop the benefits team, including setting priorities, allocating workloads, coaching team members, and supporting professional development.
• Oversee the day-to-day administration of the company’s full portfolio of benefit programs, including medical, dental, vision, life, disability, 401(k), pension, and other employee benefit programs.
• Provide strategic and operational leadership for benefits programs, balancing employee needs, plan competitiveness, cost management, and organizational objectives.
• Oversee the administration of leave programs, including coordination of FMLA, ADA, short- and long-term disability, and other applicable federal, state, and company leave programs.
• Oversee the company’s workers’ compensation program, including claims administration, vendor/carrier relationships, reporting, and coordination with HR and other stakeholders.
• Manage relationships with benefits brokers, carriers, third-party administrators, consultants, and other external partners.
• Lead the annual benefits renewal and open enrollment process, including plan design, vendor negotiations, communications, systems readiness, testing, and employee support.
• Lead the implementation and ongoing optimization of the Workday Benefits module, serving as the benefits subject matter expert and partnering with HRIS, IT, vendors, and cross-functional stakeholders on requirements, plan configuration, integrations, testing, data validation, deployment, and ongoing process improvements.
• Partner with Finance and Payroll to ensure accurate benefits funding, deductions, reconciliations, invoices, and financial reporting.

• Partner with HRIS to ensure benefits and leave programs are accurately configured, maintained, tested, and administered within HR systems.
• Monitor benefits utilization, costs, trends, and vendor performance and develop recommendations to improve plan effectiveness and manage costs.
• Ensure benefits programs and processes comply with applicable federal, state, and local laws and regulations, including ERISA, ACA, COBRA, HIPAA, FMLA, ADA, and other applicable requirements.
• Oversee required benefits compliance, reporting, filings, audits, and documentation.
• Establish and maintain effective benefits policies, procedures, controls, and operational processes.
• Serve as a senior subject matter expert and escalation point for complex employee benefits and leave matters.
• Develop clear and effective employee communications and educational materials to help employees understand and maximize their benefits.
• Use benefits data and analytics to identify trends, risks, and opportunit