Senior Director – Global Benefits

Hines•Houston, TX

About The Position

The Senior Director, Global Benefits will grow and lead Hines’ global benefits function, overseeing employee health and welfare, retirement, leave and absence, and wellness programs. The role owns the design and execution of Hines’ global benefits strategy and establishes the governance, data, and operating model to support it. The position partners with business and HR leaders to improve visibility, manage risk, and identify opportunities for consistency and efficiency while preserving appropriate local ownership. The role establishes global governance and decision-making processes; coordinates broker, consultant, carrier, and vendor services and procurement; and develops cross-country benefits data and risk-management processes. It supports local HR leaders with competitiveness, compliance considerations, service quality, and cost, and partners with Global Mobility on international assignments and cross-border employee situations. The Senior Director also works with geography HR and other functions on cost visibility, forecasting, and spend analysis; improves employee experience and benefits communications; supports due diligence and integration for acquisitions and organizational changes; and advises senior HR leaders on trends, risks, and priorities. The role builds the capabilities and support model for a sustainable global benefits function and leads benefits staff or project resources as the function grows.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree required.
15+ years of relevant experience.
Demonstrated success building strategy, governance, or operating processes in an evolving organization.
Experience coordinating broker, consultant, carrier, and vendor relationships, including procurement, RFPs, renewals, or contract negotiations.
Ability to work through influence in a matrixed organization and distinguish global oversight from local plan ownership.
Experience with benefits cost analysis, budgeting, vendor performance, and market benchmarking.
Sound judgment handling sensitive employee and plan information, and ability to work with Legal and local experts on jurisdiction-specific matters.
Clear communication skills and ability to explain complex benefits issues and practical next steps to senior leaders and local HR teams.

Nice To Haves

Advanced degree or benefits-related professional credentials.
Experience in both global corporate benefits management and consulting is preferred.

Responsibilities

Own the design and execution of Hines’ global benefits strategy, aligned with the company’s Total Rewards philosophy, business priorities, and workforce needs.
Establish global governance, decision rights, minimum standards, review cycles, escalation paths, and clear roles for Total Rewards, geography business and HR leadership, and external advisors.
Hold recurring reviews with business and HR leaders on plan design, renewals, risks, employee concerns, and improvement opportunities; recommend which matters should use global standards, geographic coordination, or local decision-making.
Assess benefits broker, consultant, carrier, and vendor relationships, including service models, fees, scope, performance, and renewal timelines.
Develop a coordinated global approach to broker and benefits procurement, establishing standards for selection, RFPs, contracting, renewals, service reviews, and performance measurement while accounting for local expertise and legal requirements.
Identify opportunities to consolidate or coordinate services and purchasing, and partner with local HR leaders on a phased transition to the coordinated model.
Build cross-country processes for collecting and maintaining benefits data with appropriate privacy and access controls, and use qualified local advisors to review local plans and practices using a risk-based approach.
Help local HR leaders assess competitiveness, compliance considerations, service quality, and cost; provide consistent tools and relevant benchmarks; and establish escalation protocols for significant issues.
Partner with Global Mobility on benefits considerations for international assignments and cross-border employee situations.
Partner with geography HR and other functions to improve global cost visibility, forecasting, and benefits-spend analysis.
Use employee feedback, local input, service data, and available utilization information to identify issues and improve the employee experience.
Develop global communication principles and resources that help employees understand their benefits while enabling accurate local explanations.
Support benefits due diligence and integration for acquisitions, new country entry, and significant organizational changes; prepare business cases for material changes to benefits strategy, procurement, or service delivery.
Advise the Head of Total Rewards and senior HR leaders on global benefits trends, emerging risks, and strategic priorities.
Build productive relationships with HR and business leaders, other Hines functions, brokers, and other providers; develop capabilities, tools, and support for a sustainable global benefits function.
Lead and develop benefits staff or project resources as the function grows.