Benefits and Retirement Manager

Job Description

Reporting to the Global Benefits Lead, you will lead, develop, and provide direction to a team of Canadian benefit professionals. This is a hands-on leadership role, where you will balance team leadership with direct involvement in program execution and operational delivery, offering the opportunity to remain closely connected to program outcomes while shaping strategy and driving results.

Key Responsibilities:

• Lead, develop, and manage the team, fostering accountability, capability development, and overall team effectiveness
• Manage vendor and consultant relationships, including contract negotiation, performance management, and governance oversight
• Provide strategic direction on benefits, retirement, and wellness programs
• Ensure effective governance, compliance, and risk management across all programs
• Oversee analytics, reporting, and insights to support leadership decision-making
• Serve as the senior subject matter expert and escalation point for complex issues
• Drive communication and education strategies to enhance program understanding and engagement
• Evaluate and drive continuous improvement of programs, including business case development and ROI analysis

Group Benefits

• Lead collaboration with consultants to assess market trends and recommend program enhancements
• Oversee strategy and execution of annual enrolment and ongoing program delivery
• Own vendor relationships and ensure service performance, issue resolution, and effective communication with stakeholders
• Provide oversight of administration and data integrity, supporting complex issues and critical activities as required

Disability, Accommodation and Leave Management

• Provide governance and oversight of disability, accommodation, and leave programs, including vendor performance and internal processes
• Ensure consistent, compliant, and effective program delivery
• Support complex cases and return-to-work planning, where required

Group Retirement & Savings Programs

• Lead oversight of retirement and savings programs, ensuring effective governance and compliance
• Provide strategic guidance and support key governance activities and issue resolution as required
• Coordinate and participate as an active member of the Canadian Retirement Committee

Governance & Compliance

• Oversee monitoring and interpretation of legislative and regulatory changes and development and maintenance of benefit-related policies as required
• Lead benefit program governance reviews and support audits and remediation activities as needed

HRIS Systems

• Provide leadership oversight on benefits-related systems and initiatives
• Ensure integrity of system integrations and data flows
• Partner in resolution of complex system or data issues, as required

Wellness Programs

• Lead the development and evolution of wellness strategies and programs
• Oversee program effectiveness through analytics and insights
• Support delivery of key initiatives and education activities, as required

Basic Job Requirements

• Accredited four (4) year degree or global equivalent in Human Resources, Business Administration, Finance or related field, or equivalent combination of education and directly related experience
• 12+ years of progressive and broad benefit, group retirement, and systems work-related experience
• 3-5+ years demonstrated experience leading and developing teams
• Demonstrated experience leading complex program initiatives, including design, implementation, and ongoing management
• Advanced capability in working with complex datasets and tools (including Excel) to analyze, reconcile, and resolve data issues across multiple systems and vendors
• Experience working with data integrations and file feeds between systems and vendors, including supporting design, validation, and issue resolution

Other Job Requirements

Preferred Qualifications

• Certified Employee Benefits Specialist (CEBS) designation, or progress toward completion (including related designations such as GBA or RPA)

Key Capabilities

• Strong business judgment and problem-solving capability in complex, ambiguous environments
• Ability to influence and build credibility with stakeholders across all levels of the organization
• Demonstrated ability to operate effectively in a matrixed and lean team environment, balancing competing priorities
• High degree of professionalism, discretion, and sound decision-making in handling sensitive matters
• Strong collaboration mindset with the ability to drive outcomes through others