Senior HR Specialist, Benefits

Impact and Opportunity

The Senior HR Specialist, Benefits provides independent, end-to-end administration and operational leadership for the Company’s health and welfare, retirement, equity, and executive compensation programs. This role serves as a trusted expert for complex benefit matters, executive and management programs, and regulatory compliance, partnering closely with Finance, Legal, Payroll, HR Business Partners, and external vendors. The position is responsible for managing programs with minimal supervision, ensuring data integrity, compliance, and a high employee experience.

Essential Functions and Responsibilities

Health, Welfare, Equity and Retirement Programs

• Independently administer day-to-day operations for health and welfare and retirement plans, including medical, dental, vision, life, disability, and 401(k) plans.
• Serve as a primary point of contact for escalated or complex employee benefit inquiries, providing accurate guidance and timely resolution.
• Perform routine and ad hoc audits to ensure data accuracy across HRIS, payroll, and vendor systems; proactively resolve discrepancies.
• Coordinate benefits billing reconciliation, identify variances, and work with Finance and vendors to resolve issues.
• Support COBRA administration in partnership with third-party administrators, including monitoring election notices and ensuring regulatory compliance.
• Track employee leave requests, maintain accurate records, and coordinate with Payroll to ensure correct leave coding and pay treatment.
• Independently administer the Company’s Equity Plans (stock and bonus), including stock transactions, equity awards, bonus calculations, participant communications, and program education.
• Serve as the primary administrator for the Deferred Compensation Plan for executive participants, managing open enrollments, company contribution calculations, payroll deferrals, FICA coordination, distributions, participant communications, and census data maintenance.
• Partner closely with Finance and Legal to ensure accurate data exchange, alignment on processes, and adherence to plan documents and regulatory requirements.
• Provide detailed analysis and modeling for complex termination, retirement, and severance scenarios to support executive and management decision-making.
• Support company-wide severance plans and guidelines, partnering with Legal, HRBPs, and Finance on administration and compliance.

Program Operations, Compliance, Governance, and Reporting

• Maintain data integrity across multiple systems supporting benefits, equity, and executive compensation programs; produce reports and analysis for senior leadership as needed.
• Monitor and maintain compliance with compensation and benefits regulations, plan documents, and governance requirements related to executive and management programs.
• Maintain audit-ready documentation and respond to internal and external audit inquiries as needed.
• Prepare and deliver benefits onboarding sessions and targeted education for management and executive employees upon hire or promotion.
• Contribute to continuous improvement initiatives by identifying opportunities to streamline processes, enhance controls, and improve the employee experience

Minimum Qualifications

• Minimum four years of increasingly responsible benefits administration, human resources, or Finance/Accounting experience, with demonstrated ownership of programs
• Bachelor’s degree in business administration, or directly related area
• Business fluent English communication skills (written and verbal).
• Curious, self-motivated. Is a skilled problem solver; works to understand the root cause of issues and develops sustainable solutions to overcome them.
• Experience supporting compliance, reporting, and governance activities.
• Experience maintaining data integrity across HRIS payroll, and vendor systems, and providing management reporting.

Preferred Qualifications

• Background in process improvement, automation, or systems implementations related to benefits or compensation programs.
• Experience working with external vendors, including monitoring service level agreements, addressing performance gaps, driving issues to resolution, and building productive relationships.

Nice to Know

Travel: 0-20%

Competencies:

Deliver Results

• Understand the mission and how your output supports that mission; set SMART objectives and deliver

Drive Change

• Focus on agility and commitment to continuous improvement; Understand and act on internal and external drivers of change

Build Capability

• Foster a culture of learning and development; Support individual growth through continuous feedback to achieve personal and professional goals

Cultivate Innovation

• Openly embrace, create, implement and support new and innovative ideas, processes and technology that deliver business results

PHYSICAL DEMANDS/WORK ENVIRONMENT (US):

All positions in our office require interaction with people and technology while either standing or sitting. In order to best service our customers, internal and external, all associates must be able to communicate face-to-face and on the phone with or without reasonable accommodation. Gentherm is committed to compliance with its obligations under all applicable state and federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination. In keeping with this commitment, it attempts to reasonably accommodate applicants and employees in accordance with the requirements of the disability discrimination laws. It also invites individuals with disabilities to participate in a good faith, interactive process to identify reasonable accommodations that can be made without imposing an undue hardship.