Benefits Specialist

Function HR Our Company We’re Hitachi Vantara, the data foundation trusted by the world’s innovators. Our resilient, high-performance data infrastructure means that customers – from banks to theme parks ­– can focus on achieving the incredible with data. If you’ve seen the Las Vegas Sphere, you’ve seen just one example of how we empower businesses to automate, optimize, innovate – and wow their customers. Right now, we’re laying the foundation for our next wave of growth. We’re looking for people who love being part of a diverse, global team – and who get excited about making a real-world impact with data. Job description The Role Key Responsibilities Support the day-to-day delivery of Benefits and Absence operations with focus in Latin America and as a back up for North America, ensuring timely, accurate, and high-quality service while providing day-to-day leadership, coaching, workload prioritization, and development for the Benefits & Absence team. Serve as the primary escalation point for complex employee, manager, vendor, and stakeholder inquiries related to Benefits, Leave of Absence (LoA), Paid Time Off (PTO), and other absence programs, ensuring timely resolution and an exceptional employee experience. Partner closely with HR Business Partners, Total Rewards, Payroll, Finance, Legal, Procurement, IT, managers, and external vendors to ensure seamless administration of Benefits and Absence programs and effective cross-functional collaboration. Manage relationships with benefits providers, leave administrators, brokers, and third-party vendors, monitoring service delivery, resolving operational issues, and driving continuous improvements. Oversee the full lifecycle administration of Benefits and Absence programs, including benefits enrollment, life events, leaves of absence, PTO administration, accommodations (where applicable), terminations, open enrollment, employee communications, and wellness initiatives. Ensure compliance with applicable legislation, company policies, internal controls, and audit requirements related to Benefits and Absence programs while supporting internal and external audits, reporting, and data validation activities. Monitor operational performance through KPIs, SLAs, and reporting, identifying trends, risks, and opportunities to improve service quality, operational efficiency, and employee experience. Drive process standardization, continuous improvement, and automation initiatives by leveraging HR technology and best practices, while maintaining accurate process documentation, knowledge articles, and standard operating procedures. Support regional and global HR transformation initiatives, system implementations, acquisitions, integrations, and projects related to Benefits, Absence, and HR Operations. Act as the subject matter expert for Benefits and Absence programs, providing trusted guidance to leaders, HR partners, managers, and employees while ensuring consistent application of policies and processes. What You’ll Bring Bachelor's degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, or a related field. Minimum of 5-7 years of progressive HR experience, including significant experience in Benefits and Absence administration. Demonstrated experience leading or coordinating teams in an HR Operations or Shared Services environment. Strong knowledge of Latin America and U.S. employee benefits administration and Leave of Absence programs is required. Experience managing relationships with benefits providers, leave administrators, brokers, and third-party vendors. Experience collaborating with Payroll, HRIS, Finance, Legal, and cross-functional stakeholders. Strong understanding of HR operations, compliance, employment legislation, and operational controls. Experience with HRIS platforms such as Workday and payroll systems including ADP Workforce Now or similar solutions. Advanced Excel skills with experience analyzing operational data, metrics, and dashboards. Experience leading process improvement, standardization, automation, and operational excellence initiatives. Project management and change management experience are highly desirable. Fluency in English and Spanish is required. Portuguese is a strong plus. Key Competencies Influencing skills Benefits and Absence subject matter expertise Stakeholder and vendor management Customer-centric mindset Operational excellence and continuous improvement Analytical thinking and data-driven decision-making Problem solving and sound judgment Process optimization and automation Planning, prioritization, and execution Collaboration and influencing across functions Change and project management Strong communication and relationship-building skills High level of accountability, ownership, and attention to detail Ability to thrive in a fast-paced, global environment #LI-FC2 About us We’re a global team of innovators. Together, we harness engineering excellence and passion for insight to co-create meaningful solutions to complex challenges. We turn organizations into data-driven leaders that can a make positive impact on their industries and society. If you believe that innovation can inspire the future, this is the place to fulfil your purpose and achieve your potential. Fostering innovation through diverse perspectives Hitachi is a global company operating across a wide range of industries and regions. One of the things that sets Hitachi apart is the diversity of our business and people, which drives our innovation and growth. We are committed to building an inclusive culture based on mutual respect and merit-based systems. We believe that when people feel valued, heard, and safe to express themselves, they do their best work. How we look after you We help take care of your today and tomorrow with industry-leading benefits, support, and services that look after your holistic health and wellbeing. We’re also champions of life balance and offer flexible arrangements that work for you (role and location dependent). We’re always looking for new ways of working that bring out our best, which leads to unexpected ideas. So here, you’ll experience a sense of belonging, and discover autonomy, freedom, and ownership as you work alongside talented people you enjoy sharing knowledge with. We’re proud to say we’re an equal opportunity employer and welcome all applicants for employment without attention to race, colour, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran, age, disability status or any other protected characteristic. Should you need reasonable accommodations during the recruitment process, please let us know so that we can do our best to set you up for success.