Senior Benefits Analyst

Petco; United States; On-site; USD 95,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

Petco Animal Supplies, Inc. is seeking a Senior Benefits Analyst to oversee retirement, health, and welfare programs. You will manage vendor relationships, drive implementation projects, and ensure compliance with plan requirements.

You will lead annual Open Enrollment, coordinate communications, and conduct 401(k)/VEBA audits, partnering with Payroll, HRIS, Legal and finance to ensure accurate, timely delivery.

Qualifications

• 7–10 years of benefits/HR experience.
• Strong Excel and data analysis skills.
• Experience with 401(k), VEBA, ACA, ERISA.
• Excellent communication and vendor management.
• Bachelor's degree required.

Responsibilities

• Serve as primary liaison for health, welfare, and retirement vendors.
• Lead vendor implementation and data integration with carriers.
• Coordinate employee communications and Open Enrollment materials.
• Conduct vendor performance reviews and improvements.
• Oversee annual 401(k) and VEBA audits.
• Stay current on federal and state benefits regulations.
• Collaborate across teams to document efficient processes.

Skills

Vendor management

Project management

Data analysis

Excel proficiency

Communication skills

Education

Bachelor's degree in HR or related field

Tools

Workday

Alteryx

PowerPoint

Job description

Want to help pets live their best lives? We’re proud to be where the pets go and where the pet people go. If you want to make a real difference, create an exciting career path, feel welcome to be your whole self and nurture your wellbeing, Petco is the place for you. Our core values capture that spirit as we work to improve lives by doing what’s right for pets and people. Pet First – Protect & Empower. All pets should Live their Best Life. We put the needs of pets and pet parents at the center of everything we do. Foster the Fun – Connect & Bond. Our Passion for pets brings us together! We celebrate the journey of pet parenthood through distinct experiences, products, and services. Let’s Go! Own & Commit. We are stronger as One Petco team. We bring our unique superpowers and champion authenticity in everyone to drive success. About Petco: We’re proud to be "where the pets go" to find everything they need to live their best lives for more than 60 years — from their favorite meals and toys, to trusted supplies and expert support from people who get it, because we live it. We believe in the universal truths of pet parenthood — the boundless boops, missing slippers, late night zoomies and everything in between. And we’re here for it. Every tail wag, every vet visit, every step of the way. We are 29,000+ strong and together we nurture the pet-human bond in more than 1,500 Petco stores across the U.S., Mexico and Puerto Rico, 250+ Vetco Total Care hospitals, hundreds of preventive care clinics and eight distribution centers. In 1999, we founded Petco Love. Together, we support thousands of local animal welfare groups nationwide and have helped find homes for approximately 7 million animals through in-store adoption events.

Position Purpose

The Senior Benefits Analyst plays a critical role in the strategic administration and oversight of Petco’s retirement programs (401k) and the operational success of the health and welfare plans. This role acts as the primary liaison for benefit vendors, ensuring high-level service delivery, plan compliance, and seamless execution of health and welfare initiatives. The ideal candidate is a proactive project manager who can navigate complex vendor relationships and ensure Petco’s retirement and enrollment strategies are executed with precision.

Essential Job Functions

• Serve as the primary point of contact for health, welfare, and retirement vendors to ensure performance meets established SLAs and stay abreast of the benefits market to proactively suggest new vendor features or digital tools that could improve the Petco partner experience.
• Lead the vendor implementation process for new carriers, ensuring systems are integrated and data flows are accurate. Establish and monitor a detailed implementation project plan with clear "Go/No-Go" milestones to ensure the vendor meets all Petco-defined expectations prior to launch.
• Partner with the vendor to customize and review all employee-facing communications, ensuring the tone, branding, and plan details are accurate and easy for partners to understand.
• Conduct regular vendor performance reviews to identify service gaps and drive resolution or process improvements.
• Act as the project lead for the annual Open Enrollment rollout, creating comprehensive project plans, timelines, and responsibility matrices. Partner with internal communications to develop and review legally required participant materials and marketing for OE.
• Lead the UAT (User Acceptance Testing) for OE system configurations within enrollment platform to ensure a frictionless partner experience.
• Lead the end-to-end execution of the annual 401k and VEBA audits, serving as the primary liaison between internal stakeholders (Payroll, HRIS, Legal) and external independent auditors.
• Build strong relationships and collaborate with all levels of the organization to ensure support in change management.
• Play a key and influential role working with others, in groups, in cross-functional settings, and with diverse stakeholders internally and externally.
• Partner with cross-functional teams to create and document efficient and streamlined processes and procedures in the established format.
• Aligning benefit strategies with overall Total Rewards, HR, and business strategy and objectives.
• Manage meetings where you describe, explain, and respond to questions concerning the financial performance and utilization of Petco’s benefit programs.
• Stay current on changing Federal and State regulations and legislation that may affect employee benefits (e.g., ERISA, ACA, COBRA, HIPAA, FMLA).

Other Duties and Responsibilities

• Participates in the process during selection of vendors related to all Health & Welfare, Retirement and Recognition programs.
• Analyze the business and employee benefits market to keep abreast of changes and trends. Make appropriate recommendations for change.
• Play a key role in strategic discussions. Drive discussions to resolution or consensus.
• Build partnerships with key stakeholders.
• Project credibility, professionalism, and assertiveness to drive projects.
• Express confidence and gain respect as the technical subject matter expert among peers, subordinates, and superiors, both within and outside HR.
• Maintain focus at the strategic level and leverage resources, vendors, brokers, and others appropriately to accomplish strategic and tactical goals. Provide leadership and direction, as well as oversight to vendors and other service providers.
• Effectively apply skills, knowledge, experience, and core competencies across the organization at all levels.
• Assist other Total Rewards functions in the completion of special projects or during peak periods.
• Perform other duties as assigned or required.
• Assists with the execution of system changes (e.g., testing updates, new configurations), identify reoccurring issues and partner with colleagues to implement customer service oriented solutions.

Supervisory Responsibility

While this position does not directly supervise other employees, it has functional supervisory responsibilities for the accomplishment of assigned projects when designated as the primary lead.

Education/Experience

7-10 years of direct employee benefits department or human resources experience. College degree required. Demonstrated and advanced knowledge of Microsoft Excel and previous experience working with accounting and finance partners. Has a demonstrated ability to analyze and evaluate complex sets of data and make strong business decisions based on evaluations. Requires strong problem solving, effective time management, and decision-making skills and the ability to handle confidential information. Must be proficient utilizing various Microsoft Office applications (e.g., Word, Excel and PowerPoint). Requires strong analytical and communication (verbal & written) skills. Must be able to effectively operate in dynamic, fast paced environment with compressed timelines. Must be results-oriented, with an ability to prioritize, plan accordingly, and handle multiple projects simultaneously. Alteryx & Workday experience a plus. #LI-AT2

Equal Opportunity Employer

Petco Animal Supplies, Inc. is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, age, protected veteran status, or any other protected classification.