Pensions & Benefits Manager North America

Pensions & Benefits Manager - North America

Location: Raleigh (NC) USA - onsite, hybrid
Department: Human Resources - Pensions & Benefits
Reports To: Head of Pensions & Benefits
Type: Full-Time | Permanent

The Opportunity

Join our Global Pensions & Benefits CoE as a Pensions & Benefits Manager focused on the Americas, especially the USA, Canada, and Mexico. Key responsibilities include overseeing Insured Employee Benefits, with emphasis on medical plan risk management, financial control, communication, and stakeholder management.

Moreover, you will be involved in our North America pension governance - including oversight over pension regulatory reporting and in shaping and managing our pension programs strategically ensuring they are designed and implemented in line with regulatory requirements and our global governance standards.

How you will make an impact

Employee Benefits

• Oversee and control Insured Employee Benefits Programs - with particular focus on medical programs/health benefits - across North America, including finance strategy, risk management, and cost control.
• Serve as the main contact for strategic insured employee benefits in the region.
• Collaborate with cross-functional stakeholders including legal, finance, compliance, and business at local, regional, and global levels including Hitachi Americas Benefits Committee, of which you will be a member.
• Manage relationships with internal and external vendors, ensuring quality service through coordination with the Group US Benefit Pool team and brokers.
• Develop and direct IEB financial and risk strategies with support from Group US Benefits Pool team and brokers.
• Monitor employee benefits/medical plan pools' performance, recommend cost-control actions, and address key cost drivers.
• Provide regular risk management reports to the global and regional management.
• Shape annual renewal strategies with Group Benefit Pool team's and brokers' input, considering market challenges.
• Develop and provide target-oriented training to support HR and business as required.
• Draft and prepare a communication strategy and communication material to effectively support employee communication and line manager support.

• Contribute to governance and management of our regional pension plans, with an emphasis on regulatory reporting and compliance.
• Over time, as your expertise develops, your responsibilities related to pensions will grow to include:

• Providing oversight for pension program design, implementation, and compliance, ensuring adherence to all applicable legal and regulatory requirements.
• Offering guidance on strategic and operational enhancements.
• Monitoring legislative developments, evaluating risks, managing costs, and recommending plan modifications as appropriate.
• Responsible to ensure compliance with applicable external and internal regulations, procedures, and guidelines

• 5+ years of track record in US employee benefits particularly around medical plan governance - ideally within a multinational matrix organization - having an excellent understanding of the multiple challenges in the area of medical plans and health benefits.
• Solid understanding around pension and willingness to expand knowledge in the pension sphere to reach expert level in Pensions.
• Degree (minimum bachelor or similar) in Economics, Business & Administration, Law, or comparable subject.
• Proficiency in use of IT tools/applications and strong skills to work with Microsoft Office.
• Strong ability to effectively operate in a matrix organization and expertise in communicating across business units, functions and jurisdictions.
• Profound Project Management experience - leading and coordinating stakeholders to achieve project objectives.
• Excellent end-to-end process thinking and analytical skills.
• Strong presentation skills and stakeholder management.
• Self-driven, collaborative, enthusiastic and inclusive, curious, and wanting to learn new things, creating or responding constructively to challenging new ideas and inputs. Ability to work effectively with a wide range of stakeholders.

• Health Care: medical (PPO, CDHP with HSA HMO), dental, and vision.
• Financial Wellbeing: Employer sponsored pension - 401(k) Program with generous company match and contribution, Life/AD&D Insurance, disability insurance.
• Family Care: Life and Family (Legal, pet, auto, home, identity theft, etc.), special needs support, and adoption assistance.
• Work-Life: Enhanced leave programs (FMLA, Military Service Leave, Maternal, Paternal, adoption, vacation, and holiday).
• Employee Engagement and Development Employee Resource Groups (depending on location), tuition reimbursement program.