Retirement Senior Manager

Forvis Mazars•Atlanta, GA

About The Position

The Retirement Senior Manager is a newly created role that provides strategic leadership for the firm’s retirement programs as the organization grows. The role owns strategy, administration, governance, and compliance for 401(k) and profit-sharing programs, and serves as the technical subject matter expert on plan design, fiduciary oversight, operational controls, regulatory requirements, and participant experience. The Senior Manager will modernize retirement processes, use data and technology, strengthen governance, and ensure programs remain competitive, compliant, scalable, and aligned with the needs of a growing professional services and public accounting firm. The role works with internal partners and external providers to oversee plan operations, compliance, fiduciary governance, participant communications, and complex plan issues. It advises senior leadership, supports firm growth and integrations, and leads and develops retirement team members.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree.
8+ years of relevant experience in retirement plan administration, governance, and operations.
Hands-on experience managing defined contribution retirement plans, including 401(k) administration, compliance testing, plan audits, fiduciary governance, vendor management, participant communications, and issue resolution.

Nice To Haves

Experience with profit-sharing plans, retirement plan correction programs, and M&A or new-entity integrations.
Experience with Workday or similar HRIS and benefits administration systems.
Experience with data reconciliation, process automation, and process improvement initiatives.
Experience working in a complex professional services or public accounting environment.
Professional certifications such as CEBS, QKA, QPA, or CPC.
Advanced HR or compensation certifications such as CCP, PHR, SPHR, or SHRM-SCP.

Responsibilities

Lead strategy, design, governance, administration, and continuous improvement for 401(k) and profit-sharing programs.
Oversee retirement plan compliance, including census preparation, nondiscrimination testing, Form 5500 filings, audits, participant notices, regulatory updates, and correction processes.
Own the annual profit-sharing calculation and allocation process in partnership with Finance, vendors, and auditors.
Serve as the primary technical contact for recordkeepers, investment advisors, legal counsel, consultants, vendors, and plan auditors; manage service quality, issue resolution, reporting, and deliverables.
Advance fiduciary governance by preparing committee materials, documenting decisions, tracking actions, and ensuring administrative practices meet plan, operational, and regulatory standards.
Lead analysis and resolution of complex retirement plan issues, including operational errors, plan document interpretation, correction strategies, voluntary compliance submissions, and audit findings.
Oversee retirement processes for managing directors, employees, and retirees, including eligibility, deferral elections, contributions, distributions, communications, transitions, and escalated participant matters.
Translate complex retirement plan concepts into participant communications, education resources, compliance notices, and targeted campaigns.
Conduct benchmarking, plan analysis, and research on emerging practices to evaluate competitiveness and inform strategic recommendations.
Partner with HRIS, Payroll, Finance, Total Rewards, and vendors on data feeds, eligibility management, contribution processing, reconciliation, reporting, and Workday integration.
Advise senior leadership on retirement plan strategy, fiduciary considerations, regulatory developments, operational risk, participant impact, and opportunities to improve plan effectiveness.
Support firm growth, new entities, workforce changes, and M&A integration through retirement plan due diligence, design alignment, harmonization, vendor readiness, and participant transition planning.
Identify and lead opportunities to modernize, automate, and scale retirement operations through process redesign, stronger controls, analytics, vendor capabilities, and system integration.
Lead and develop retirement team members through technical guidance, prioritization support, coaching, and performance feedback.