Senior Associate

The Senior Associate, Benefits supports the administration, compliance, and day-to-day operations of employee benefits programs for the assigned JAPAC region. This role is responsible for ensuring accurate plan administration, a seamless employee experience, strong vendor performance, and adherence to local statutory and regulatory requirements. The position partners closely with HR, Payroll, Finance, Legal, vendors, brokers, and external advisors to deliver high-quality benefits services and drive operational excellence across regional benefit offerings.

Roles & Responsibilities

Benefit Administration & Operations

Oversee day-to-day administration of benefit plans including health, dental, life insurance, disability, retirement/pension plans, wellness programs, statutory benefits, and region-specific employee benefit programs. Serve as a primary point of contact for employees, managers, and HR partners regarding benefit enquiries, eligibility requirements, enrolments, life events, and issue resolution. Manage benefit enrolments, dependent updates, life-event changes, leaves of absence, and terminations while ensuring timely and accurate updates in HR systems and vendor platforms. Partner with Payroll teams to support benefit deductions, taxable benefit processing, reconciliation activities, and issue resolution. Maintain accurate employee benefits records and ensure data integrity across internal systems and third-party administrator platforms. Support employee onboarding and offboarding activities related to benefits administration.

Vendor & Partner Management

Partner with benefit providers, insurers, pension administrators, wellness vendors, brokers, and third-party administrators to resolve operational issues and ensure effective service delivery. Monitor vendor performance against service level agreements (SLAs) and escalate issues as appropriate. Review and validate eligibility files, vendor reports, invoices, and benefit-related data to ensure accuracy and completeness. Support annual plan renewals, vendor transitions, implementation of new programs, and operational enhancements. Coordinate with internal stakeholders and external vendors to ensure timely resolution of employee and operational issues.

Compliance & Governance

Ensure benefits programs are administered in accordance with local statutory, tax, regulatory, and data privacy requirements. Maintain audit-ready documentation including policies, standard operating procedures (SOPs), process documentation, and benefits records. Support internal and external audits by providing accurate documentation, reports, and supporting evidence. Ensure adherence to established controls, governance standards, and operational procedures. Identify and escalate potential compliance risks and support remediation efforts as needed.

Employee Experience & Communication

Support the development and delivery of employee benefit communications, enrolment materials, employee guides, Knowledge Articles, FAQs, and intranet content. Facilitate benefit-related onboarding and offboarding communications and employee education initiatives. Partner with HR stakeholders to improve employee understanding and awareness of available benefits programs. Support resolution of complex employee benefit inquiries while maintaining a high level of customer service. Identify opportunities to enhance employee experience and simplify benefit processes.

Projects & Continuous Improvement

Contribute to annual Open Enrollment planning, execution, and post-enrolment activities. Support benefits-related projects including process improvements, vendor implementations, operational transitions, and technology enhancements. Analyze operational trends, employee inquiries, and vendor performance metrics to identify process improvement opportunities. Participate in initiatives focused on service delivery excellence, process standardization, and operational efficiency. Support knowledge management activities including updates to procedures, training materials, and operational documentation.

Basic Qualifications and Experience

Bachelor's degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, Finance, Commerce, or a related discipline. 4-7 years of overall experience in with at least 3 years in Benefits Administration, Benefits Operations, Total Rewards Operations, HR Shared Services, or Employee Benefits Consulting. Experience supporting regional or multinational employee benefits programs in a global organization. Strong understanding of employee benefits administration, statutory frameworks, and tax considerations. Experience working with HRIS platforms such as Workday and case management tools such as ServiceNow. Experience partnering with global vendors, insurers, brokers, third-party administrators, and cross-functional stakeholders. Experience supporting Open Enrollment, plan renewals, benefits implementations, or vendor transitions. Experience maintaining compliance, supporting audits, and managing operational controls within a benefits environment.

Skills

Functional Skills

• Benefits Administration & Operations
• Vendor & Third-Party Administrator Management
• Benefits Compliance & Governance
• Employee Benefits Lifecycle Management
• Open Enrollment Administration
• Benefits Data Validation & Reconciliation
• Process Documentation & SOP Management
• Payroll Coordination
• Knowledge Management
• Operational Excellence & Continuous Improvement

Technical Skills

• Workday
• ServiceNow
• Microsoft Excel
• Microsoft PowerPoint
• Microsoft Office Suite
• HR Systems and Vendor Platforms

Professional Skills

• Strong stakeholder management and collaboration skills
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Strong customer service and employee experience mindset
• Attention to detail and commitment to accuracy
• Strong organizational and prioritization skills
• Ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment
• Analytical problem-solving capabilities
• Ability to work effectively across global teams and time zones
• Adaptability and ability to navigate complex organizational environments

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience supporting multi-country benefits programs.
• Experience working in a shared services, global business services (GBS), or global capability center (GCC) environment.
• Exposure to benefits consulting, insurance administration, pension administration, or vendor management environments.
• Familiarity with process improvement methodologies and operational excellence practices.