• Develop and execute enterprise Benefits, Leave, Disability, and Workers' Compensation strategies aligned with organizational, operational, and financial objectives. • Lead long-term planning, program design, and continuous improvement initiatives that enhance employee experience, mitigate risk, and support business growth. • Establish governance frameworks, policies, standard operating procedures, controls, and audit practices that promote compliance, consistency, and operational excellence. • Monitor industry trends, legislative developments, and workforce needs to proactively recommend program enhancements and risk mitigation strategies. • Serve as a trusted advisor to senior leadership on Benefits, Leave, Disability, and Workers' Compensation matters. • Oversee all health and welfare benefit programs, including medical, dental, vision, life insurance, disability, retirement, wellness, EAP, and voluntary benefit offerings. • Lead annual benefits planning, open enrollment, employee communications, and program implementation efforts. • Evaluate plan performance, utilization trends, enrollment data, and employee feedback to optimize program effectiveness, competitiveness, and cost efficiency. • Partner with brokers, consultants, actuaries, and carriers to develop plan design recommendations and long-term benefits strategies. • Oversee enterprise leave and disability programs, including FMLA, ADA, state leave programs, Paid Family Leave, Short-Term Disability, Long-Term Disability, and workplace accommodations. • Provide strategic oversight of the organization's Workers' Compensation program, including claim management, return-to-work initiatives, injury prevention, and vendor performance. • Establish and monitor key performance indicators including claim frequency, severity, lag time, litigation rates, reserve accuracy, lost-time claims, and return-to-work outcomes. • Analyze claim trends and organizational risk factors to identify opportunities for prevention, cost reduction, and improved employee outcomes. • Partner with third-party administrators, carriers, legal counsel, and operational leaders to ensure effective claim management and regulatory compliance. • Develop enterprise-wide education, reporting, and investigation practices that strengthen injury management and workplace safety. • Develop and manage budgets related to Benefits, Leave Administration, Disability, Workers' Compensation, and associated vendor partnerships. • Conduct financial forecasting, trend analysis, and cost modeling to support strategic decision-making and long-term planning. • Identify opportunities to improve program efficiency, reduce costs, and maximize organizational return on investment. • Deliver executive-level reporting, dashboards, and recommendations that provide actionable insights into program performance, cost drivers, and emerging risks. • Lead relationships with brokers, carriers, third-party administrators, leave vendors, disability providers, wellness partners, and consultants. • Conduct vendor performance reviews and ensure accountability for service levels, contractual obligations, compliance standards, and business outcomes. • Lead vendor selection processes, contract negotiations, implementations, renewals, and ongoing optimization efforts. • Drive process improvements, workflow enhancements, and scalable solutions that improve service delivery and operational effectiveness. • Ensure compliance with all applicable federal, state, provincial, and local regulations, including ERISA, ACA, COBRA, HIPAA, FMLA, ADA, OSHA, Workers' Compensation regulations, and state leave laws. • Partner with Legal, Compliance, Finance, and HR Operations to proactively identify and mitigate organizational risk. • Lead internal audits, compliance reviews, and corrective action initiatives while maintaining audit-ready documentation and practices. • Lead, mentor, and develop a team of Benefits and Workers' Compensation professionals, including internal employees and contracted resources. • Establish clear performance expectations, accountability measures, and service standards. • Foster a culture of collaboration, innovation, continuous improvement, and exceptional employee service. • Build scalable team structures, processes, and capabilities that support organizational growth and evolving business needs.