Benefits Manager

The Benefits Manager is the trusted expert behind one of the most personal aspects of life at AppFolio: the health, financial, and well‑being programs that show up for our employees and their families. In this role, you will lead the strategy, design, and continuous improvement of our full suite of benefits programs, ensuring they are competitive, compliant, and genuinely valued by the people they serve. Your impact Lead benefits strategy and roadmap: Own the multi‑year benefits strategy across health, welfare, retirement, well‑being, and LOA programs – grounded in market benchmarks, peer SaaS data, employee feedback, and cost discipline. Bring forward data‑driven recommendations on plan design and market positioning, partnering with the Head of Total Rewards on key decisions. Serve as SME and final decision authority: Be the technical authority on all benefit programs. Resolve complex escalations, own policy exception decisions, and drive committee relationships, including 401(k) and wellness committees, with final accountability for all program decisions resting with this role. Partner with People Leadership and Legal on complex edge cases, including acquisitions and significant scaling events. Own broker, vendor, and contract accountability: Hold broker and vendor partners to high service standards, competitive renewals, and strong plan performance. Lead RFPs and evaluations as needed, owning strategic relationships and contract accountability while the Benefits Specialist manages day‑to‑day coordination. Drive data‑informed program decisions and financial stewardship: Analyze utilization, cost trends, and program effectiveness to sharpen the employee experience and optimize AppFolio's investment. Partner with Finance on forecasting and budget accountability, and maintain documentation and operational governance that supports audit‑readiness and scale. Lead Open Enrollment and employee education strategy: Own end‑to‑end OE strategy, planning, and cross‑functional stakeholder management. Set the communication strategy that empowers employees and equips managers – partnering with HRBPs and Comms on content and channels, while the Benefits Specialist handles execution and HRIS operations. Own compliance governance and regulatory accountability: Maintain the compliance framework across ERISA, HIPAA, ACA, COBRA, Section 125, and applicable state regulations. Own audit‑readiness posture and Legal partnership; final accountability for all regulatory obligations sits with this role. Qualifications Trusted advisor: People come to you with their most sensitive benefits questions because you bring expertise, discretion, and judgment. Strategic thinker: You connect benefits decisions to comp strategy, talent acquisition, total rewards philosophy, and employee experience. Project management: You build timelines, manage stakeholders, communicate proactively, and deliver. Open Enrollment is a major organizational event, and you run it like one. Governance owner: You build the compliance framework and hold the standard. Vendor strategist: You’re accustomed to working closely with brokers and ensuring accountability on both ends. Strong communicator: You can speak the technical language of benefits with brokers and Legal, and translate it into plain, warm communication for employees. Team multiplier: You set clear direction, remove blockers, and make the team smarter, not just busier. Must have 7+ years of progressive experience in benefits management, including ownership of plan strategy, compliance governance, and Open Enrollment leadership. Experience in a high‑growth public SaaS or tech environment strongly preferred. Deep knowledge of US benefits compliance: ERISA, HIPAA, ACA, COBRA, Section 125, and state‑specific requirements. Demonstrated track record managing broker and vendor relationships at scale, including RFP and renewal processes. Proven project management experience leading Open Enrollment or comparable large‑scale annual programs. Strong analytical orientation; comfortable working with benefits data, utilization metrics, and cost analyses. Excellent verbal and written communication skills across audiences. Comfort operating in an oversight/governance model, partnering with a Specialist who owns execution. The compensation that we reasonably expect to pay for this role is: $115,000 - $143,000 [base pay]. The actual compensation for this role will be determined by a variety of factors, including but not limited to the candidate’s skills, education, experience, and internal equity. Please note that compensation is just one aspect of a comprehensive Total Rewards package. The compensation range listed here does not include additional benefits or any discretionary bonuses you may be eligible for based on your role and/or employment type. Regular full‑time employees are eligible for benefits - see here . Statement of Equal Opportunity At AppFolio, we value diversity in backgrounds and perspectives and depend on it to drive our innovative culture. That’s why we’re a proud Equal Opportunity Employer, and we believe that our products, our teams, and our business are stronger because of it. This means that no matter what race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identification, national origin, age, marital status, ancestry, physical or mental disability, or veteran status, you’re always welcome at AppFolio. #J-18808-Ljbffr