Global Benefits Specialist

Role Overview

• Administer global employee benefits programs including medical, dental, vision, retirement, life insurance, disability, wellness initiatives, and supplemental benefit offerings across multiple countries.
• Support benefit operations in the US and international regions, including coordination with country-specific vendors, brokers, and administrators.
• Serve as a subject matter resource for employees regarding benefit eligibility, enrollment, life event changes, and plan utilization.
• Manage benefits onboarding and annual open enrollment processes, including employee communications, education sessions, and system coordination.
• Ensure accurate benefits data management and payroll deductions through HRIS and payroll systems.
• Partner with the Global Benefits/Total Rewards Manager to support program enhancements, renewals, benchmarking, and process improvements.
• Identify opportunities to improve employee experience, operational efficiency, and scalability of global benefits processes.
• Administer leave of absence programs including FMLA, statutory leave programs, disability, parental leave, sick leave, and country-specific leave requirements.
• Coordinate directly with employees, managers, HR partners, and third-party administrators regarding leave eligibility, documentation requirements, timelines, and return-to-work processes.
• Track employee leave status and maintain accurate documentation while ensuring confidentiality and compliance.
• Support international leave administration and coordinate with regional partners to ensure alignment with local regulations and practices.
• Escalate complex or high-risk leave matters appropriately while exercising sound judgment in routine case management.
• Coordinate and support global wellness initiatives and employee wellbeing programs in partnership with Total Rewards and People teams.
• Assist in the development and execution of employee education and engagement efforts related to benefits and wellness offerings.
• Support communication strategies that improve employee understanding and utilization of available programs and resources.
• Gather employee feedback and identify opportunities to enhance participation and overall employee experience.
• Ensure compliance with applicable federal, state, and international regulations related to benefits and leave administration, including ACA, ERISA, COBRA, HIPAA, FMLA, and applicable country-specific requirements.
• Maintain accurate records, documentation, and reporting for audits, renewals, and regulatory compliance activities.
• Support annual compliance filings, benefits audits, and vendor reporting requirements.
• Monitor changes in legislation and escalate potential impacts to leadership.
• Partner with brokers, insurance carriers, leave administrators, and external vendors to ensure timely issue resolution and quality service delivery.
• Assist with vendor management activities including enrollment accuracy, billing reconciliation, reporting validation, and operational issue resolution.
• Collaborate cross-functionally with Payroll, HR Operations, Legal, Finance, and People Business Partners to support effective program administration.
• Contribute to ongoing process documentation and operational best practices.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, or related field preferred.
• 4+ years of experience in benefits, leave administration, HR operations, or Total Rewards.
• Experience supporting global employee populations and/or benefits administration outside the US strongly preferred.
• Knowledge of US benefits and leave regulations including FMLA, ACA, ERISA, COBRA, and HIPAA.
• Familiarity with international benefits and leave practices in countries such as the UK, India, Canada, or EMEA/APAC regions preferred.
• Experience working with HRIS, benefits administration systems, and payroll platforms.
• Strong organizational skills with the ability to manage multiple priorities and deadlines independently.
• Strong analytical, problem-solving, and communication skills.
• Ability to handle sensitive and confidential information with discretion.
• Demonstrated customer service orientation and employee support mindset.

Benefits

• Healthcare insurance: We provide medical, dental, and vision insurance, and a flexible spending account that allows you to set aside pre-tax dollars to pay for eligible out-of-pocket expenses.
• Stock options.
• Personal time off: A healthy work-life balance is critical to your success at the office. Smarsh offers a “take-what-you-need” time off policy as well as flexible work arrangements.
• 401K Match: Smarsh provides a 4% 401K match for which employees are fully vested on day one.
• Sabbatical: The Smarsh sabbatical programme provides a time to recharge, study or simply do something you are passionate about away from the workplace. Employees are eligible after six years of service.
• Recognition: We’re big on kudos for a job well done. Our employee-recognition programme enables co-workers to nominate their peers who best embody our core values for recognition.