Benefits Strategy Lead — Open Enrollment & Compliance

AppFolio, Inc.; Richardson (TX); On-site; USD 115,000 - 143,000; Full time

Job summary

AppFolio is seeking a Benefits Manager to lead strategy, administration, and continuous improvement of our health, welfare, retirement, and well-being programs. You’ll ensure compliance and act as the SME for benefits across the org, partnering with Legal, Finance, and the People team.

This high-trust role drives Open Enrollment, plan design decisions, and vendor management, shaping the employee experience through data-driven insights and clear communication. Reports to the Sr.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of progressive experience in benefits management, ownership of plan administration and Open Enrollment.
• Experience in a high-growth public SaaS or tech environment strongly preferred.
• Deep knowledge of US benefits compliance: ERISA, HIPAA, ACA, COBRA, Section 125, 5500 filings, non-discrimination testing.
• Demonstrated track record managing broker and vendor relationships at scale.
• Proven project management experience leading Open Enrollment or comparable annual benefits programs.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Strong analytical orientation; comfortable working with benefits data, utilization metrics, and cost analyses.

Responsibilities

• Be the subject matter expert on health, welfare, retirement, and well-being programs.
• Provide guidance on plan design, market positioning, and program decisions.
• Own end-to-end compliance with federal/state regulations; lead 5500 filings and testing.
• Lead Open Enrollment with timelines, dependencies, and stakeholder management.
• Drive benefits strategy using market trends and data-driven recommendations.
• Manage broker and vendor relationships and lead vendor evaluations.
• Design employee-facing education and communication about benefits.
• Analyze utilization and costs; translate findings into recommendations.
• Support scaling and M&A with cross-functional partners.
• Maintain plan documents and internal knowledge bases for audit readiness.

Skills

Benefits strategy

Compliance expertise

Open Enrollment

Vendor management

Data analysis

Communication skills

Education

Bachelor's degree in HR or related field

Tools

Workday HRIS

Payroll systems

Job description

AppFolio is seeking a Benefits Manager to lead strategy, administration, and continuous improvement of our health, welfare, retirement, and well-being programs. You’ll ensure compliance and act as the SME for benefits across the org, partnering with Legal, Finance, and the People team.

This high-trust role drives Open Enrollment, plan design decisions, and vendor management, shaping the employee experience through data-driven insights and clear communication. Reports to the Sr.