Director, Benefits

Forbes believes in the power of entrepreneurial capitalism and uses it on various platforms to ignite the conversations that drive systemic change in business, culture and society. We celebrate success and are committed to using our megaphone to drive diversity, equity and inclusion.

Forbes is seeking a Director, Benefits to be an integral part of our Human Resources team. This role will report into the VP, Benefits/HRIS, collaborating closely to ensure Forbes is offering competitive, cost effective benefits that meet the needs of our employee population and aligns with the goals of the business.  This is a hands-on role with one direct report, tasked with successful and efficient administration of all our benefit programs.  You will lead our communication strategy to educate employees about their benefits, how to use them effectively and understand the value they bring to their lives both professionally and personally.  You’ll work on initiatives and projects to modernize benefits, enhance and update policies to ensure alignment across HR and compliance with regulations, and enhance the overall employee experience at Forbes.

Responsibilities:

• In partnership with VP of Benefits/HRIS, participate in the design, development, and implementation of all US health and welfare benefits, retirement programs, and leave of absence benefits
• Stay up to date with benefit trends and best practices to support our goal of offering competitive benefits that meet employees’ needs and align and support broader business goals
• Ensure all benefit programs are compliant with applicable local, state, and federal laws.  Stay abreast of emerging legislation (i.e. changes to paid family leave & sick leave laws) to recommend adjustments as needed including developing a plan for implementation and managing execution.  
• Direct the day to day administration of all benefit plans including overseeing and participating in the completion of all compliance reporting, filings, and notices
• Develop and implement an employee communication strategy, including education opportunities and events, to drive employee understanding and satisfaction of benefit offerings on a regular cadence throughout the year
• Regularly monitor and update benefits documents, summary plan descriptions, benefits orientation deck information, employee handbook, and internal company website to clarify and make benefits information more accessible to employees in a self-serve capacity
• Lead a team of 1 benefits professional, providing direction, coaching and development to ensure the delivery of exceptional service to employees while also creating an inclusive work environment
• Oversee all components of leave of absence programs to ensure a smooth partnership with our leave management partner and a positive experience for employees on leave
• Partner with Payroll to ensure benefit processing through payroll runs smoothly, according to benefit program rules, and applicable regulations
• Develop and maintain  relationships with our benefit vendor partners for additional resources to enhance communications, optimization of benefits utilization,  increased efficiencies in benefits administration, and problem solving of any issues that may arise 
• Lead and participate in open enrollment, the annual benefits fair, other wellness initiatives, and time off year-end processes to ensure successful transition to the new year
• Responsible for the success of the benefit enrollment system setup and maintenance to efficiently and effectively administer our benefit programs. Partner with HRIS team as needed to optimize our use of HR technology to support benefits administration.
• Provide ongoing reporting and aggregated vendor utilization data to HR Tech & People Analytics Manager to update Benefits Utilization & Demographics Dashboards in PowerBI semi-annually.  Monitor utilization and engagement to support communication strategy and overall development of the benefits strategy in partnership with VP, Benefits/HRIS
• Manage monthly self-insured health plan reporting and update financial totals and membership count to enable ongoing monitoring and oversight of the plan
• Act as an escalation point for any complex issues for leaves of absence, benefits inquiries or administration and seeing issues through to resolution, while also updating processes, communications, etc. as needed to mitigate the issue in the future
• Act as subject matter expert in benefits and collaborate closely with legal, finance, HR, and external vendors to optimize benefit programs and ensure efficiencies in administration across teams to ensure alignment with business objectives
• Lead and/or assist with ad hoc projects and research as needed

The ideal candidate:

• Minimum of 7 - 10 years of pro