Director, Benefits

Your Opportunity

Schwab remains committed to providing increased visibility to career growth opportunities and job requirements. This posting announcement is part of increased transparency and while all qualified applicants will be reviewed and considered, this organization has a preferred candidate identified for this role.

At Schwab, you’re empowered to make an impact on your career. Here, innovative thought meets creative problem solving, helping us “challenge the status quo” and transform the finance industry together.

The Benefits Team empowers employees by providing comprehensive access to benefit plans and programs that promote proactive ownership of their health and overall well-being.

In this leadership role, you will help shape the strategic direction of Schwab’s benefits portfolio, translating enterprise priorities and long-term talent objectives into a multi-year roadmap for health, welfare, retirement, wellbeing, and related programs. You will serve as a trusted advisor to senior HR and business leaders, partnering across HR, Finance, Legal, IT, Compliance, vendors, and consultants to align plan design, funding, governance, administration standards, and employee experience.

This role requires a balance of strategic leadership and operational accountability, including vendor ecosystem strategy, benefits budget management, cost forecasting, regulatory governance, risk mitigation, team leadership, and change management for major benefits initiatives and transformations.

What you’ll do

• Establish and advance the benefits strategy, including a multi-year roadmap aligned to enterprise objectives, workforce needs, long-term talent strategy, and market competitiveness.
• Lead plan design, funding, and program decisions across retirement, health and welfare, wellbeing, and related benefit programs, balancing employee value, financial discipline, risk, and operational feasibility.
• Serve as a trusted advisor to senior HR and business leaders, translating benefits strategy, cost drivers, risks, and recommendations into clear, executive-ready insights and decision support.
• Define vendor strategy and governance, selecting and managing strategic partners, establishing performance expectations, leading business reviews, and negotiating enterprise-level agreements.
• Manage benefits financial performance, including budget planning, cost forecasting, scenario modeling, utilization analysis, and business cases for investments or plan changes.
• Establish governance, risk, and compliance frameworks to ensure benefits programs are administered consistently, equitably, and in alignment with applicable regulations and internal standards.
• Lead complex cross-functional initiatives, aligning HR, Finance, Legal, IT, Compliance, vendors, consultants, and other stakeholders around plan design, administration standards, communications, and implementation priorities.
• Build and develop a high-performing benefits team, fostering accountability, ownership, continuous improvement, and the capabilities needed to deliver transformational outcomes.
• Monitor market trends, benchmarking, and emerging innovations to identify opportunities that improve value, employee experience, outcomes measurement, and Schwab’s competitive position.
• Provide leadership for major annual and strategic initiatives, including Open Enrollment, vendor implementations, program changes, employee communications, audits, and other enterprise benefits priorities.

What you have

To ensure we fulfill our promise of “challenging the status quo”, this role has specific qualifications candidates should have for success:

Required Qualifications:

• 10+ years of progressive experience in benefits strategy, design, administration, and operations, including medical, prescription, dental, vision, life insurance, wellness, EAP, flexible spending plans, COBRA, HSAs, and retirement programs.
• Demonstrated experience leading benefits strategy, plan design, annual planning cycles, vendor management, implementations, and complex cross-functional initiatives.
• Strong financial acumen with experience managing benefits budgets, cost forecasting, utilization analysis, scenario modeling, and business cases for senior leadership.
• Deep knowledge of benefits regulations, governance practices, compliance requirements, risk mitigation, and plan administration standards.
• Proven ability to influence senior stakeholders, translate complex benefits topics into executive-ready recommendations, and drive alignment across HR, Finance, Legal, IT, Compliance, vendors, and consultants.
• Experience leading, developing, and elevating team capability in a lean, high-volume, deadline-driven environment.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Workday experience preferred.
• Advanced skills in MS Office suite, including the ability to develop executive-ready materials, financial models, and clear decision support.
• Experience leading organizational change management for major benefits transformations, program changes, vendor transitions, or employee-facing initiatives.
• Strong executive presence with the ability to advise, influence, and build trust with senior HR and business leaders.
• Proven ability to use benchmarking, market intelligence, and emerging trends to shape strategy, improve outcomes, and maintain competitive benefits offerings.
• Excellent organizational, analytical, communication, and project leadership skills, with the ability to manage multiple priorities and drive accountability across stakeholders.
• Strong problem-solving skills with the ability to identify root causes, evaluate tradeoffs, and recommend pragmatic, scalable solutions.
• Adaptable, service-focused, and comfortable operating in a dynamic environment with complex stakeholder needs and competing priorities.