Manager, Benefits

Company Overview The Manager, Benefits leads the shape and delivery of the company’s benefits experience, serving as the strategic and hands‑on owner of all benefits administration. This role dives deep into the technical heart of day‑to‑day operations—driving compliance, optimizing vendor partnerships, resolving complex issues, and ensuring every detail is executed with precision. As a high‑impact contributor, this position carries full accountability for accuracy, outcomes, and risk mitigation across the entire benefits function, making it a critical force in supporting and elevating the employee experience. Responsibilities Own the end‑to‑end administration and execution of global benefits programs, including Medical, Dental, and Vision—acting as the primary functional lead for benefits operations. Perform hands‑on benefits administration activities, including eligibility management, issue resolution, vendor coordination, and compliance execution. Serve as the escalation point for complex benefits, leave of absence, compliance matters, and benefit related payroll adjustments, resolving issues directly. Lead benefits initiatives and improvements through influence and subject matter expertise. Retirement & Savings Programs Lead the hands‑on administration of retirement and savings programs, including the U.S. 401(k) plan and Canadian RRSP. Serve as the primary point of contact for retirement plan vendors, recordkeepers, and fiduciary advisors, supporting plan governance, compliance oversight, and operational execution. Manage day‑to‑day retirement plan activities, including enrollments, contribution changes, loans, hardship withdrawals, distributions, and annual employer match processing. Support the management of all aspects of retirement plan compliance, including testing coordination, reporting, audits, and documentation. Partner with Legal, Payroll, and Finance to ensure ongoing compliance with applicable retirement plan regulations and internal controls. Demonstrate strong leadership and clear, effective communication, creating high‑quality experiences for partners, stakeholders, and internal teams. Required Qualifications 4+ years of progressive experience in benefits administration. Demonstrated experience administering and supporting benefits programs in areas affected by FMLA, ADA, Workers’ Compensation, and unemployment requirements. Experience providing HR support to employee populations spanning multiple U.S. states and counties, as well as in Canada. Strong working knowledge of HRIS and benefits administration systems. Advanced capability in Microsoft Excel and strong skills in Word and PowerPoint. Preferred Qualifications Bachelor’s degree in human resources. UKG experience. Certifications such as PHR, SHRM‑CP, CEBS. Behavioral Traits for Success Highly analytical and detail‑oriented; produces accurate, high‑quality work. Driven by subject‑matter expertise, data, and logical analysis. Methodical and disciplined; follows defined processes and standards. Cautious, evidence‑based decision‑maker who seeks full understanding before acting. Persistent and thorough when solving complex or technical problems. Ability to navigate a changing environment – open to change and flexible. Communicates in a clear, factual, and concise manner. Demonstrates strong ownership, ensuring projects are completed thoroughly, accurately, and on time. Performance Measurement Decision‑making, judgment, and execution. Ability to communicate complex issues in a clear and concise manner. Time management and prioritization. Timeliness of reconciliation. Internal and external stakeholder feedback. This description is not intended to be construed as an exhaustive list of all functions, responsibilities, skills, and abilities. Additional functions and requirements may be assigned by supervisors as deemed appropriate. This document does not represent an expressed or implied contract of employment, nor does it alter your at‑will employment, and Build‑A‑Bear, Inc. reserves the right to change this job description and/or assign tasks for the employee to perform, as may be deemed appropriate. Equal Opportunity Employer. This employer is required to notify all applicants of their rights pursuant to federal employment laws. For further information, please review the Know Your Rights notice from the Department of Labor. #J-18808-Ljbffr Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc.