Americas Benefits Leader: Strategy, Compliance & Delivery

Arup; Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 140,000 - 165,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Profit sharing

401(k) with company match

Flexible working options

Job summary

Arup is seeking an Americas Benefits Manager to design, govern, and deliver comprehensive benefit programs across the United States, Canada, and Colombia. You will ensure alignment with global strategy while adapting to local regulations and market needs.

You will collaborate with regional and global stakeholders, manage budgets and vendors, and drive continuous improvement to deliver a compliant, scalable, and engaging employee benefits experience for our Americas members.

Qualifications

• Minimum of 10 years of experience in health, retirement, wellbeing, and time‑away programs.
• Deep knowledge of US benefits with experience managing benefits across Canada and Colombia.
• Experience managing vendors, renewals, and complex benefit processes.
• Professional services or similarly complex, matrixed environments.
• Exposure to global or regional benefits governance models.

Responsibilities

• Develop and execute an Americas benefits approach aligned with Arup’s Global Benefit framework and business objectives.
• Lead the evaluation, design, and ongoing optimization of health, welfare, retirement, wellbeing, and time away programs.
• Monitor market trends, legislative changes, and best practices across the Americas to ensure programs remain competitive, compliant, and sustainable.
• Partner with global stakeholders to support regional consistency while respecting local requirements.
• Oversee audits, filings, and governance activities for benefit and retirement plans.
• Manage the Americas benefits budget, including forecasting, cost modeling, and financial reporting.
• Partner with brokers, consultants, and vendors to evaluate costs, funding approaches, and long‑term risks.
• Lead the planning and delivery of key annual processes such as open enrollment and renewal cycles.
• Manage vendor, broker, and administrator relationships to ensure strong service delivery and value for cost.
• Drive operational excellence through process improvement, documentation, and effective use of technology.
• Act as an escalation point for complex or sensitive benefits issues.
• Partner with a high‑performing shared services regional delivery team to prioritize member experience, optimize benefit processes, effectively resolve benefit queries, and efficiently deliver benefits to members.
• Implement global benefit initiatives and standards within the region, supporting global governance and reporting requirements.
• Provide functional leadership and guidance to regional People Partners and People Services teams.
• Serve as a trusted subject‑matter expert for Region Leadership Team, People Partners, and members across the Americas.
• Use data and benchmarking to assess program performance, costs, and member utilization.
• Define success measures and track outcomes to support continuous improvement.
• Design clear, practical communications that help members understand and use their benefits.
• Prepare and present recommendations and updates to senior stakeholders and governance groups.

Skills

Benefits leadership

Stakeholder engagement

Strategic planning

Data analytics

Regulatory compliance

Vendor management

Change management

Job description

Arup is seeking an Americas Benefits Manager to design, govern, and deliver comprehensive benefit programs across the United States, Canada, and Colombia. You will ensure alignment with global strategy while adapting to local regulations and market needs.

You will collaborate with regional and global stakeholders, manage budgets and vendors, and drive continuous improvement to deliver a compliant, scalable, and engaging employee benefits experience for our Americas members.