Senior Director, Benefits

Summary

This position reports to the Vice President of Total Rewards and is responsible for the development and implementation of the benefits strategy for 10,000 employees and thousands of retirees and former employees. The goal is to provide a benefits offering that will attract and retain the world’s best talent to support the CHS business.  Incumbent will be directly responsible for leading a team in the design, administration, and compliance of employee benefit programs including but not limited to health and life insurance, wellness, disability, pension, 401K, profit sharing, paid time off, vacation, leave of absence and related programs.  With the guidance of the Pension Committee and the Health and Welfare Committee, makes recommendations for new, revised and improved employee benefit plans and programs aligned to marketplace, legal or regulatory changes.  Negotiates directly with third party vendors and insurance carriers for effective benefit services and manages all associated costs.   Assures compliance with all legal requirements of employee benefit programs and prepares and files required legal reports.

Responsibilities

• Evaluates and analyzes U.S. benefit policies, plans, services and programs in comparison to prevailing practices among similar organizations and options available through insurance and investment companies to determine programs which best meet business needs. 
• Provides input into the design, development, and implementation of a competitive and effective total rewards strategy, inclusive of employee benefits and programs. This work will be done in close partnership with the VP, Total Rewards, company executives and the compensation team. 
• Provides consultation and guidance on benefit policies, plans, services and programs outside the U.S. through the local Human Resources staff in those regions and countries.
• Analyzes benefit experience for cost control and risk assessment factors and recommends and implements competitive and effective benefit programs.
• Identifies and manages all external vendor partners supporting the CHS benefit programs.  This includes the identification of the appropriate vendors, contract and service level agreement negotiations, and on-going assessment of service delivery.  
• Ensures benefit program compliance with all legal requirements and develops and implements modifications of existing benefits programs, utilizing knowledge of employee insurance coverage laws, and agreements with labor unions.  
• Provides benefit expertise and guidance for union negotiations 
• Recommends, develops and implements innovative, effective and efficient benefits services delivery and response methods and processes.
• Develops an organizational structure and selects and develops the necessary team to administer the benefit plans and programs
• Leads a team of benefits professionals to administer all U.S. benefit plans.  Works closely with the Human Resources Center and any outsource partners to respond to employee, retiree and manager questions, ensuring high customer service levels.   
• Responsible for providing a smooth and effective on-boarding of all new or newly eligible employees to benefit plans, processes and enrollment forms.  
• In partnership with the corporate communication team, effectively markets and communicates the benefit offerings available to employees to ensure effective awareness and utilization. 
• Maintains knowledge of and analyzes government regulations, benefit program trends and prevailing practices among similar organizations.  
• Maintains benefits records and required documents.
• Coordinates the transfer of data to external vendors, plan providers, auditors and consultants in compliance with all data handling policies and procedures
• Works closely with corporate finance team to manage overall budget and ensure appropriate accruals are being maintained to cover benefit costs. 
• Coordinates the annual audit of the benefit plans and the filing of the annual 5500’s.
  

Minimum Qualifications (required)

• Successful candidate will have 10+ years of demonstrated benefits experience with 5+ years leading a benefits function and team.
• Highschool/GED or an undergraduate degree in Human Resources or related field or commensurate work experience.
• In-depth knowledge of retirement (Defined Benefits and Defined Contribution) and health and wellness benefits as well as other benefit programs.  Must have the in-depth technical knowledge but also have a strong customer service mindset.   
• Must be able to bring a strategic mindset to benefits programs and offerings with   demonstrated proficiency at building effective benefits administration processes that deliver efficiency and appropriate levels of service and value to employees and retirees.       
• Financial acumen and attention to detail.
  

Additional Qualifications

• CEBS or SPHR credentials and MBA or MAIR.    
• A collaborative workstyle to interact with senior leaders in Human Resources and across the company.
• Strong leadership and interpersonal skills with the proven ability to develop, implement and communicate a strategy and vision. 
• The ability to manage a team, provide clarity of vision, and offer ongoing performance coaching and feedback for strong performance and employee engagement.   
• Some experience with an HR Service Center model to deliver benefits services to a geographically dispersed employee population.  
• Pre-employment screening is based on the job requirements and industry guidelines and may or may not be required for the position. If required, selected candidates must pass pre-employment screenings to include all or a combination of drug, criminal, motor vehicle check, physical requirements and FMSCA Clearinghouse

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