Benefits & Vendor Programs Lead — Ancillary

Harvard University; Massachusetts; Hybrid; USD 100,000 - 135,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Paid time off

Health insurance

Retirement plans

Wellbeing resources

Family support

Tuition assistance

Commuter benefits

Job summary

Harvard University seeks an experienced Benefits Analyst to administer and optimize health and welfare programs. You will partner with Benefits and Total Rewards teams to ensure compliant plan design, vendor coordination, and data-driven improvements across faculty and staff.

The role emphasizes project leadership, complex reporting, and cross‑functional collaboration, with a hybrid on-site schedule and opportunities for professional growth within Harvard’s comprehensive benefits program.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience.
• Minimum of 5 years’ relevant benefits experience.
• Proven analytical and numeric skills.
• Project and program management experience.
• Strong and current working knowledge of ERISA and related state and Federal laws and regulations.
• Collaborative vendor management style.
• Understands organizational complexity and shifting priorities.
• Demonstrates insight and creativity and offers options and solutions when approaching issues.
• Proactive in identification and communication of issues or barriers.
• Effective communication and influential skills, both written and oral.
• Strong interpersonal skills.
• Advanced level of Microsoft Excel for analysis.
• PeopleSoft and Service Now Case experience preferred.
• Ability to maintain a high level of discretion, confidentiality, and attention to detail.
• Commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging.
• High level of professionalism for interactions at all levels of the organization.

Responsibilities

• Plays a key role in the management of ancillary benefits, and the Unemployment Insurance process.
• Coordinate and follow up vendor management activities for ancillary benefits: hosting regular service meetings, maintaining issues log, communicating status and decisions to appropriate BCW teams.
• Assist in the design of new processes and procedures to improve efficiency and participant experience, working directly with relevant BCW teams and with our vendor partners.
• Collaborate with team members from BCW in the development, and implementation of plans.
• Project lead for implementations or changes to current plans/vendors.
• Develop and maintain reporting needs for BCW Finance and ensure communications among teams for transparent and timely knowledge updates.
• Respond to data requests for union negotiations.
• Conduct internal benefits audits and provide guidance to teams for changes.
• Be a participant on Request for Proposal (RFP) team for current and new benefit requests, as requested and possibly be a team lead.
• Other duties as assigned.

Skills

Analytical skills

Project management

ERISA knowledge

Vendor management

Communication skills

Interpersonal skills

Excel

PeopleSoft

ServiceNow

Attention to detail

Discretion

Diversity & inclusion

Professionalism

Education

Bachelor's degree

Tools

Excel

PeopleSoft

ServiceNow

Job description

Harvard University seeks an experienced Benefits Analyst to administer and optimize health and welfare programs. You will partner with Benefits and Total Rewards teams to ensure compliant plan design, vendor coordination, and data-driven improvements across faculty and staff.

The role emphasizes project leadership, complex reporting, and cross‑functional collaboration, with a hybrid on-site schedule and opportunities for professional growth within Harvard’s comprehensive benefits program.