Senior Benefits Specialist

Your Career. Your Impact. Your Future.  

At Gentherm, we believe the next big breakthrough begins with you. As a global leader in thermal management and pneumatic comfort technologies, we develop advanced systems that deliver meaningful solutions to enhance health, wellness, comfort, and efficiency in everyday life. Our products and innovations are created for you, by you. 

Be part of our team where a human-centric mindset drives everything we do—from the technologies we build to the careers we support. With decades of expertise, we have pioneered advanced solutions that have become a standard expectation for consumers around the world. 

The same thoughtful approach we take in developing our technologies guides how we support your career: purposeful, impactful, and tailored to you. Because when you thrive, innovation thrives. 

Senior HR Specialist, Benefits

Impact and Opportunity

The Senior HR Specialist, Benefits provides independent, end-to-end administration and operational leadership for the Company’s health and welfare, retirement, equity, and executive compensation programs. This role serves as a trusted expert for complex benefit matters, executive and management programs, and regulatory compliance, partnering closely with Finance, Legal, Payroll, HR Business Partners, and external vendors. The position is responsible for managing programs with minimal supervision, ensuring data integrity, compliance, and a high employee experience.

Essential Functions and Responsibilities

Health, Welfare, Equity and Retirement Programs

• Independently administer day-to-day operations for health and welfare and retirement plans, including medical, dental, vision, life, disability, and 401(k) plans.
• Serve as a primary point of contact for escalated or complex employee benefit inquiries, providing accurate guidance and timely resolution.
• Perform routine and ad hoc audits to ensure data accuracy across HRIS, payroll, and vendor systems; proactively resolve discrepancies.
• Coordinate benefits billing reconciliation, identify variances, and work with Finance and vendors to resolve issues.
• Support COBRA administration in partnership with third-party administrators, including monitoring election notices and ensuring regulatory compliance.
• Track employee leave requests, maintain accurate records, and coordinate with Payroll to ensure correct leave coding and pay treatment.
• Independently administer the Company’s Equity Plans (stock and bonus), including stock transactions, equity awards, bonus calculations, participant communications, and program education.
• Serve as the primary administrator for the Deferred Compensation Plan for executive participants, managing open enrollments, company contribution calculations, payroll deferrals, FICA coordination, distributions, participant communications, and census data maintenance.
• Partner closely with Finance and Legal to ensure accurate data exchange, alignment on processes, and adherence to plan documents and regulatory requirements.
• Provide detailed analysis and modeling for complex termination, retirement, and severance scenarios to support executive and management decision-making.
• Support company-wide severance plans and guidelines, partnering with Legal, HRBPs, and Finance on administration and compliance.

 

Program Operations, Compliance, Governance, and Reporting

• Maintain data integrity across multiple systems supporting benefits, equity, and executive compensation programs; produce reports and analysis for senior leadership as needed.
• Monitor and maintain compliance with compensation and benefits regulations, plan documents, and governance requirements related to executive and management programs.
• Maintain audit-ready documentation and respond to internal and external audit inquiries as needed.
• Prepare and deliver benefits onboarding sessions and targeted education for management and executive employees upon hire or promotion.
• Contribute to continuous improvement initiatives by identifying opportunities to streamline processes, enhance controls, and improve the employee experience

Minimum Qualifications

• Minimum four years of increasingly responsible benefits administration, human resources, or Finance/Accounting experience, with demonstrated ownership of programs
• Bachelor’s degree in business administration, or directly related area
• Business fluent English communication skills (written and verbal).
• Curious, self-motivated. Is a skilled problem solver; works to understand the root cause of issues and develops sustainable solutions to overcome them.
• Experience supporting compliance, reporting, and gov