Director, Retirement Benefits

**This position is listed on behalf of a partner company, who manages all applications and next steps. Our partner is looking for a Director, Retirement Benefits based in the United States.** This leadership role oversees the strategic direction, governance, and optimization of retirement and financial wellness programs within a large organization. The position serves as a trusted advisor on retirement strategy, compliance, fiduciary responsibilities, and investment oversight. You will partner with senior leaders and cross-functional teams to enhance employee retirement outcomes and strengthen benefits programs. The role combines strategic planning, operational excellence, vendor management, and data-driven decision-making. You will influence long-term benefits strategy while ensuring regulatory compliance and operational effectiveness. This is an opportunity to make a meaningful impact on employee financial wellbeing within a collaborative, people-focused environment. ### Accountabilities: The Director, Retirement Benefits will lead the design, administration, governance, and continuous improvement of retirement programs while acting as the organization’s subject matter expert in retirement strategy and compliance. This role requires strong leadership, analytical thinking, and cross-functional collaboration to deliver competitive and effective benefits solutions. - Develop and execute long-term strategies for retirement and financial wellness programs, including plan design improvements that support employee attraction, retention, engagement, and retirement readiness. - Evaluate retirement program performance through benchmarking, participation analysis, savings outcomes, and industry trends to identify optimization opportunities. - Advise senior leadership and governance committees by preparing recommendations, business cases, financial analyses, and strategic updates. - Lead fiduciary oversight activities, including investment reviews, retirement plan governance frameworks, investment policy statements, and committee support. - Oversee 401(k) plan administration, including payroll integration, contribution processing, compliance testing, audits, regulatory filings, and operational improvements. - Ensure compliance with ERISA, Internal Revenue Code, SECURE Act requirements, Department of Labor regulations, and other applicable retirement legislation. - Manage relationships with recordkeepers, trustees, consultants, auditors, investment advisors, and other external partners while negotiating contracts and service expectations. - Lead vendor evaluations, fee benchmarking initiatives, RFP processes, and ongoing performance reviews to ensure cost-effective service delivery. - Analyze retirement program costs, investment expenses, utilization trends, and employee engagement data to support informed decision-making. - Develop employee education and financial wellness initiatives in partnership with internal teams and external providers to improve retirement readiness. - Mentor and develop team members while fostering collaboration across Human Resources, Finance, Legal, Payroll, Communications, and other business functions. ## Requirements: The ideal candidate brings extensive retirement benefits expertise, strong leadership capabilities, and the ability to operate strategically within a complex organization. They should combine technical knowledge of retirement programs with strong communication, analytical, and stakeholder management skills. - Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources, Finance, Business Administration, Economics, Accounting, or a related field. - 10+ years of progressive experience in retirement benefits, including significant responsibility for retirement plan design, administration, and strategy. - 5+ years of leadership experience managing complex retirement programs within a large organization. - Deep expertise in 401(k) administration, ERISA compliance, fiduciary governance, investment oversight, and retirement…