Americas Benefits Manager

The Opportunity

The Americas Benefits Manager reports to the Global Head of Benefits and sits within Arup’s Reward Community of Expertise (CoE). The Reward CoE works across Arup’s global matrix, spanning four regions, corporate and global functions, and more than 30 countries, to deliver the Global Reward Strategy in support of the overall Arup Strategy.

In this role, you will be responsible for the design, governance, and delivery of benefit programs across the United States, Canada, and Colombia. You will ensure programs are aligned with Arup’s global benefit strategy while responding to local market, regulatory, and cultural requirements.

The position works closely with regional and global People leaders, Finance, Payroll, People Services, and external partners to translate strategy into effective, scalable solutions. The role focuses on delivering well documented, compliant, and globally aligned benefit programs, continuous improvement, strong stakeholder engagement, and an excellent member experience.

This is a role with high visibility and influence, ideal for a benefits leader who enjoys turning strategy into action while improving the employee experience across the Americas.

Key Responsibilities

Strategy, Design, and Governance

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
Compliance, Risk, and Financial Management

Ensure benefits programs comply with applicable regulations across the U.S., Canada, and Colombia at both federal and state/provincial levels.
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
Operations, Vendors, and Delivery

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
Leadership, Collaboration, and Influence

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
Insights, Analytics, and Communication

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
At Arup, you belong to an extraordinary collective – in which we encourage individuality to thrive. Our strength comes from how we respect, share and connect our diverse experiences, perspectives and ideas.

You will have the opportunity to do socially useful work that has meaning – to Arup, to your career, to our members and to the clients and communities we serve.

Is This Role Right for You?

• Minimum of 10 years of experience, with strong technical expertise in health, retirement, wellbeing, and time‑away programs
• Deep knowledge of US benefits with experience managing benefits across additional countries, ideally including 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

Skills and Attributes

• Strategic thinker with strong execution and operational discipline
• Comfortable working independently and leading complex workstreams end to end
• Strong analytical, problem solving, and decision making skills
• Excellent communication skills, with the ability to explain complex topics clearly
• Collaborative, adaptable, and comfortable operating in ambiguity
• Confident leading supplier relationships and working with technology
• Use data, insights, and market intelligence to support evidence‑based decision‑making
• Develop and inspire others while living Arup’s values and driving continuous improvement