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Benefits Director Job Description

Publish: April 17, 2021

Author: StrongerTeams Editorial

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Benefits Director Job Description

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A Benefits Director is strategically and operationally responsible for the entire benefits program of an organization.

The role is highly strategic but includes leadership of the benefits team and management of daily functions.

Successful Benefits Directors are experts in the importance of a well-designed benefits program and work closely with HR and senior management to improve the hiring and retention of the best staff.

Similar Job Titles:

Compensation and Benefits Manager, Director of Compensation and Benefits

What Does a Benefits Director Typically Do?

A Benefits Director plans, develops, and oversees an organization’s benefits system.

The role’s specific tasks include:

Benchmarking current benefits against competitors
Liaising with employee representatives to understand benefits requirements
Developing a benefits strategy
Implementing the benefits program
Advising senior managers on benefits issues and opportunities
Ensuring benefits records are up to date
Negotiating with benefits providers
Leading and managing the benefits team
Acting as a pension fund trustee

Benchmarking Current Benefits Against Competitors

Most organizations want to attract and retain the best employees, and benefits schemes play a significant role in this.

A Benefits Director reviews the benefits packages offered by competitors and other similar-sized employers in the area to determine how competitive the organization is.

These insights are benchmarked against the organization’s recruitment policy to determine what benefits offering the organization should aim for. To be competitive in attracting and retaining valuable employees, the organization should aim at least for parity with its closest competitors.

Liaising With Employee Representatives To Understand Benefits Requirements

In the next stage of benchmarking the organization’s benefits offering, a Benefits Director consults with employee representatives to understand their benefits wishes and requirements.

Once these consultations are concluded, a Benefits Director assesses what benefits schemes are feasible both financially and administratively.

The results, combined with the competitive analysis, form the basis of the organization’s benefits policy.

Developing a Benefits Strategy

The organization’s benefits strategy sets out what benefits schemes are offered at which levels of the hierarchy and whether the chosen providers should represent quality or value for money.

A Benefits Director compiles a benefits strategy and proposed budget and presents it to senior management for approval.

Implementing the Benefits Program

Following the benefits strategy, a Benefits Director approaches suppliers and negotiates agreements for the provision of benefits packages for the organization.

The negotiations are initially top-to-top but are handed over to benefits team members to agree on operational and administrative details.

Once all the necessary suppliers are in place, a Benefits Director oversees the launch of the organization’s benefits program, ensuring that the chosen suppliers assist with training, support material, and enrollment processes.

Advising Senior Managers on Benefits Issues and Opportunities

The benefits team constantly works with providers to offer faultless benefits coverage to the employees, but ongoing or long-term issues must be reported to senior management and rectified.

A Benefits Director recommends a course of action to senior management and implements it upon approval. The action may involve working with the provider to change processes, renegotiating the provider contract, or terminating the relationship with the provider.

In each case, a Benefits Director ensures the issue is resolved as quickly and efficiently as possible.

Ensuring Benefits Records Are Up To Date

Benefits records encompass a vast array of data and are linked to remuneration information in the Human Resources Information System (HRIS). Errors in the data can have massive repercussions, so a Benefits Director ensures the benefits team checks and maintains the benefits records assiduously.

The team must update records immediately to reflect any changes, such as enrollments, changes to personal details, and claims made against any schemes.

Regular verification of the data ensures that updates have been captured correctly, and a Benefits Director is responsible for the completeness and correctness of all the employee benefits records.

Negotiating With Benefits Providers

Benefits providers update their pricing and package details regularly, requiring periodic renegotiation of the agreement between each provider and the organization. A Benefits Director leads these negotiations to maximize services and minimize the cost to the organization.

This task demands advanced negotiation skills to reach a win-win outcome, and a Benefits Director weighs the importance of the supplier relationship against the necessity to achieve discounts or added-value services.

Leading and Managing the Benefits Team

The team may consist of analysts, enrollers, supervisors, and administrative staff, all of whom should have clear standards of performance against which a Benefits Director manages them. All the benefits team’s tasks must be performed faultlessly, and the responsibility for ensuring this is achieved lies with a Benefits Director.

Coaching and mentoring also play a vital role in a Benefits Director’s job, helping the team deliver a service to the organization’s employees.

Acting as Pension Fund Trustee

A Benefits Director may act as a trustee of the organization’s pension fund. Trusteeship requires expert knowledge of the relevant duties, legislation, and expectations of the role.

This task demands the complete propriety and trustworthiness of the incumbent.

Roles a Benefits Director Typically Collaborates With

A Benefits Director will work closely with the following roles:

Collaborative Roles
HR Director	Benefits Manager	Payroll Manager
HR Manager	HR Coordinator	Payroll Coordinator
Senior HR Specialist	Human Resources Executive	Human Resources Project Manager

Benefits Director Salary

The average salary for a Benefits Director lies between $138,000 and $177,000 annually in the U.S. The current median is $156,749.

What Is the Benefits Director Pay Difference by Location?

The average salary for a Benefits Director is affected by location as follows:

City	Average Salary
San Francisco, CA	$195,936
Seattle, WA	$171,389
Denver, CO	$158,520
Austin, TX	$154,162
Washington, D.C.	$174,492
Milwaukee, WI	$155,132
Boston, MA	$176,609
New York, NY	$188,569

What Is the Benefits Director Pay Difference by Experience Level?

Experience affects a Benefits Director’s earnings as follows:

Experience Level	Average Salary
< 1 year	$146,021
1–4 years	$146,868
5–9 years	$149,127
10–19 years	$155,337
20+ years	$157,368