Benefits Manager

About the Role  

Armada is growing quickly, and our benefits program needs to scale with it. As Benefits Manager, you will own the day-to-day operation of Armada's benefits program: enrollments, renewals, broker and carrier management, compliance, and benefits-related employee relations. You will be the person employees come to when they need help with their coverage, and the person the business relies on to keep the program accurate, compliant, and competitive. 

You will partner closely with HR Operations, Payroll, Finance, Legal, and Global Mobility to turn complex compliance and operational requirements into a simple, reliable experience for employees. 

What You'll Do

• Own benefits administration end to end. Manage the full benefits lifecycle for US employees, including new hire enrollment, qualifying life events, changes, COBRA, and offboarding, resolving issues accurately and on time. 
• Run open enrollment.  Coordinate with the broker and carriers and deliver clear employee communications. 
• Manage brokers, carriers, and vendors. Serve as the day-to-day owner of Armada's benefits partners, hold them to service levels, escalate service issues, and support renewal and marketing analysis with recommendations on cost and quality trade-offs. 
• Keep the program compliant. Own the compliance calendar and maintain compliance with US benefits requirements, including ERISA, ACA reporting, COBRA, HIPAA, Section 125, 401k audit, nondisrimination testing, and state-level mandates, escalating novel or evolving risks. 
• Handle benefits-related employee questions. Act as the go-to resource for benefits questions and concerns, handling sensitive situations such as medical leave, family changes, or loss with discretion and empathy. 
• Partner on payroll and budget accuracy. Work with Payroll and HR Operations to make sure deductions, employer contributions, and carrier feeds are accurate and reconciled every pay period. Partner with Finance on benefits invoices, budgeting, and forecasting. 
• Support benefits beyond the US. Partner with our EOR providers to make sure benefits for employees outside the US are compliant with local requirements and consistent with Armada's approach. 
• Build processes that scale. Document and improve benefits processes and policies so they are clear, repeatable, and audit-ready, using automation and AI tools where they add real efficiency. 

What Success Looks Like

• First 90 days: You own benefits administration and the broker relationship. You have audited current plans, carrier feeds, and the compliance calendar, and shared a prioritized list of gaps and fixes. 
• First 6 months: Core benefits processes are documented, a benefits KPI report is in place. 
• First 12 months: You have run a renewal or open enrollment cycle with clean data, on-time communications, and accurate payroll deductions from day one. 

What We're Looking For

• Bachelor's degree and 5+ years of experience in benefits administration or Total Rewards, or a Master's degree and 3+ years of experience 
• Hands-on ownership of open enrollment for a US employer, ideally in a high-growth company 
• Working knowledge of US benefits regulations, including ERISA, ACA, COBRA, HIPAA, and Section 125, with sound judgment about when to bring in Legal or outside experts 
• Experience working with brokers, carriers, and vendors and holding them accountable for service quality 
• Proficiency with HRIS and benefits administration platforms, plus strong spreadsheet and reporting skills 
• Clear, empathetic communication with employees and credibility with leadership when explaining trade-offs 
• A team-first, low-ego mindset, comfortable building structure in a fast-moving environment