Manager, Total Rewards

Crain Communications•Detroit, MI

2d•Hybrid

About The Position

The Manager, Total Rewards is a hands-on individual contributor responsible for Crain’s benefits, retirement and compensation programs. There are no direct reports. The Manager title reflects the experience, judgment and ownership expected in the role—not responsibility for managing a team. This person will own programs and vendor relationships while also handling the day-to-day work needed to keep them running. In Crain’s lean HR environment, that means being equally comfortable analyzing a complex issue, building a spreadsheet, resolving an employee question, testing a system change or leading a vendor discussion. Total Rewards is the core focus, but the role may also support HR technology, compliance, payroll-related work, Crain’s small international population and other HR priorities as needs evolve.

Requirements

Approximately 7–10 years of progressive Total Rewards, benefits, compensation, HR consulting or related experience.
Strong hands-on experience with health and welfare benefits, retirement plans, leave/disability administration and compensation analysis.
Proven ability to independently own programs, solve problems, make recommendations and follow work through to completion.
Strong vendor management experience, including holding partners accountable and resolving service issues.
Advanced-to-expert Excel skills. Must be comfortable working independently with complex data, formulas, reconciliations, models and scenario analysis.
Strong financial and analytical skills with the ability to turn detailed information into a clear recommendation.
Excellent communication skills and executive presence. Must be credible with senior leaders and equally approachable and effective with employees at all levels.
Comfort working in a lean environment and doing both strategic and detailed administrative work. No task is beneath the role when it needs to get done.
Bachelor’s degree or equivalent combination of education and relevant experience.

Nice To Haves

Executive presence and communication – confident and credible with senior leaders, employees and external partners; communicates complex topics clearly and appropriately for the audience.
Ownership, judgment and execution – works independently, brings structure to ambiguous issues and takes work from problem through resolution, including the detailed execution required along the way.
Analytical and technical strength – advanced to expert Excel skills; able to analyze and reconcile complex data, build models, identify issues and translate findings into practical recommendations.
Vendor and relationship management – builds strong relationships, sets clear expectations, challenges appropriately and holds partners accountable for results.
Adaptability and learning agility – comfortable working across strategic, analytical and administrative responsibilities in a lean HR environment; learns new areas quickly and steps in where needed.
Continuous improvement and business mindset – considers cost, risk, employee experience and business needs while looking for practical ways to improve programs, processes and how work gets done.

Responsibilities

Own the day-to-day administration of health and welfare, retirement, disability and leave programs.
Serve as a go-to resource for complex employee benefit, retirement and leave questions, including FMLA and other applicable leave programs.
Manage retirement plan administration, including contributions, reconciliations, testing, audits, participant issues and vendor coordination.
Maintain accurate eligibility, enrollment, deductions, contributions, funding and vendor data; investigate and resolve discrepancies.
Lead annual enrollment, renewals, plan changes, audits, compliance activities and implementation of new programs or vendors.
Review utilization, costs, employee needs and vendor performance and recommend practical improvements to plan design, administration and cost management.
Support benefits needs for Crain’s small employee population outside the U.S., working with local vendors and advisors as needed.
Support and manage annual compensation processes, including merit planning, salary reviews and incentive programs.
Conduct market pricing, benchmarking, job analysis and internal equity reviews.
Develop recommendations for new hires, promotions, market adjustments, retention and other pay decisions.
Build models and scenario analyses to evaluate compensation decisions and financial impact.
Partner directly with HR colleagues and leaders on compensation questions, balancing market data, internal equity, business needs, performance and cost.
Analyze Total Rewards data, costs, utilization and trends and turn the findings into clear recommendations.
Build financial models, forecasts, reconciliations and leadership-ready analyses using Excel and other available tools.
Own key vendor relationships. Set expectations, track commitments, challenge recommendations and costs, and drive issues through resolution.
Lead vendor renewals, evaluations, implementations and transitions as needed.
Manage projects from issue identification through implementation, keeping owners, timelines and decisions moving.
Look for ways to simplify work, strengthen controls, manage costs and improve the employee experience.
Be a trusted resource to employees, managers, HR colleagues and company leaders on Total Rewards matters.
Communicate clearly with audiences at every level—from an employee with a benefits question to a senior executive reviewing a recommendation.
Develop practical, employee-friendly communications and education for benefits, compensation, retirement, leave and program changes.
Work directly with Finance, Payroll, Legal, HR technology partners and outside advisors when issues cross functional lines.
Support Workday/HRIS reporting, testing, data integrity, implementations and process improvements.
Support HR compliance, audits, reporting and operational controls.
Assist with payroll-related administration, reconciliations, data validation, issue resolution and process improvement, with the potential for broader ownership over time.
Support other cross-functional HR projects and employee lifecycle work.
Use AI, automation and other technology thoughtfully to reduce manual work and improve analysis, controls and service.