The Senior Director of Benefits establishes the vision, strategy, and long-term direction for the company's global benefits portfolio, including health and welfare benefits, leave, wellbeing, retirement, and accommodations. This role is accountable for translating business and workforce priorities into an integrated, multi-year benefits strategy; advising executive leadership on program direction, financial implications, market competitiveness, and risk; and ensuring company-wide programs and practices deliver sustainable business and employee outcomes.
Responsibilities:
- Establish and lead the global vision, multi-year strategy, and operating roadmap for the integrated benefits portfolio, including health and welfare benefits, leave, wellbeing, retirement, and accommodations
- Translate company and People strategy into global benefits objectives, policies, governance standards, and investment priorities that support workforce needs and long-term organizational performance
- Lead, develop, and organize the Global Benefits team, setting functional priorities, clarifying decision authority, building leadership capability, and ensuring accountability for successful strategy execution and operations
- Serve as the principal benefits advisor to executive leadership, providing recommendations on market trends, workforce needs, financial exposure, program risk, and significant policy or investment decisions
- Own the global benefits financial strategy and results, including long-range cost planning, annual budgets, funding approaches, utilization and trend analysis, and recommendations that balance competitiveness, employee experience, risk, and financial sustainability
- Establish the enterprise governance and compliance framework for global benefits programs, including oversight of regulatory requirements, filings, audits, controls, and risk mitigation across all applicable jurisdictions
- Set the strategic direction and company-wide practices for leave and accommodation programs, ensuring equitable employee experiences, regulatory compliance, effective governance, and scalable delivery
- Lead the global vendor and partner strategy, including selection, negotiation, performance governance, service delivery, innovation, and accountability for financial and employee outcomes
- Partner with executive and senior leaders across People, Finance, Legal, Payroll, and the business to reconcile competing priorities, influence policy and strategy, and provide cohesive direction on global benefits matters
- Lead the benefits strategy, due diligence, risk assessment, and integration approach for major company initiatives, including mergers and acquisitions, geographic expansion, and organizational transformation
Required Skills and Experience:
- Bachelor's degree in Human Resources, Business, or a related field, or equivalent experience
- 15+ years of progressive HR experience, including 12+ years focused on domestic and international benefits strategy, design, and management, with significant responsibility for global programs and team leadership
- Demonstrated experience advising executive leaders, setting multi-year functional strategy, overseeing significant benefits investments, and leading complex vendor negotiations and enterprise-wide change
- Deep expertise across global health and welfare benefits, leave, wellbeing, retirement, and accommodations, including experience navigating multiple jurisdictions such as the US and Canada
- Enterprise and systems thinking, with the ability to anticipate external and workforce trends, evaluate intangible variables, and establish clear direction in complex and ambiguous situations
- Executive-level communication, consultation, and influence skills, including the ability to present recommendations, negotiate critical matters, and build alignment among stakeholders with competing priorities
- Strong financial and analytical acumen, including long-range cost planning, evaluation of program value and risk, and accountability for significant benefits investments
- Ability to establish scalable governance, operating models, technology strategies, and decision frameworks across an integrated global benefits portfolio
- Demonstrated ability to influence company-wide policy and strategy through partnership with executive leaders, cross-functional stakeholders, vendors, consultants, and regulatory agencies
- Proven ability to lead organizational change, develop team capability, and drive sustainable outcomes across complex global programs
- Strategic Leadership: establishes a compelling long-term direction for the global benefits portfolio and mobilizes the team and cross-functional partners around shared company outcomes
- Judgment and Problem Solving: evaluates complex and ambiguous business, workforce, financial, and regulatory issues; anticipates long-term implications; and makes sound enterprise-level recommendations
- Executive Communication and Influence: synthesizes complex information into clear decisions and uses consultation, negotiation, and persuasion to influence executives and other critical stakeholders
Preferred Skills and Experience:
- Experience leading benefits through mergers and acquisitions, geographic expansion, or major organizational transformation
- Advanced degree and/or benefits-related professional certification preferred
On-Camera Policy:
To support a fair, transparent, and engaging interview experience, candidates interviewing remotely are expected to be on camera during all video interviews. Being on camera fosters authentic connection, improves communication, and allows for full engagement from both candidates and interviewers. We understand that technical, bandwidth, or location-related challenges may occasionally prevent video use. If this applies, candidates are required to notify us in advance so we can explore appropriate accommodations.
Security Requirements:
- Conducts duties and responsibilities in accordance with AWN’s Information Security policies, standards, processes, and controls to protect the confidentiality, integrity and availability of AWN business information (in accordance with our employee handbook and corporate policies).
- Background checks are required for this position.
- This position may require access to information protected under U.S. export control laws and regulations, including the Export Administration Regulations (“EAR”). Please note that, if applicable, an offer for employment will be conditioned on authorization to receive software or technology controlled under these U.S. export control laws and regulations.
