Role: Sr Program Manager, Benefits Strategy
Team: Impact & Reward
Scope: Individual Contributor, P5
Years of Experience: 7+
Location: Ventura, CA / Hybrid
This role is responsible for ensuring effective management and delivery of U.S. (including Hawaii) & Canada benefits, in partnership with Benefits Leader. This includes developing and implementing comprehensive benefits strategies, managing vendor relationships, and collaborating with internal stakeholders across various departments such as finance and legal. This position requires a strong background in benefits management, understanding of the emergent benefits landscape, account management and leadership skills.
What You’ll Do
- Closely partner with the Sr Dir, benefits leader and benefits vendors to provide strategic and impactful insights into benefit design, structure and competitiveness for health and welfare, retirement and wellness plans and programs. Together with these insights, develop and implement a comprehensive benefits strategy that is co-created via feedback and listening sessions and aligns with Patagonia’s mission and values.
- This role also supports ongoing compliance with federal and state regulations by ensuring benefit programs, processes, and communications align with applicable requirements and by partnering with Legal and the Benefits Leader on regulatory updates and risk mitigation.
- Support the benefits leader and team with the in-house administration of all employee benefits programs, including open enrollment.
- Develop and deliver the regular employee experience campaign related to benefits and total rewards (in partnership with compensation team), including: educational materials, presentations, and communication strategies to enhance employee understanding of and engagement with benefit offerings.
- Actively manage relationships with benefits vendors, consultants, and brokers to ensure the delivery of high-quality services and competitive pricing.
- Collaborate with internal stakeholders, such as technology, finance and legal departments to ensure seamless integration and processing of benefit administration activities.
- Monitor and manage the budget for US programs, including tracking costs, assessing cost-sharing strategies and recommending opportunities for changes.
- Develop partnerships with external organizations and industry groups to stay informed of emerging trends and best practices in benefits design and administration.
Who You Are
- Benefits strategist: You bring a deep understanding of the U.S. and Canada benefits landscape and enjoy translating complex regulatory, market, and employee insights into thoughtful, values-aligned benefits strategies that balance competitiveness, compliance, cost, and employee experience.
- Trusted partner: You thrive in close partnership with senior leaders, vendors, and cross-functional stakeholders (Finance, Legal, Technology), building credibility through collaboration, sound judgment, and follow-through.
- Employee experience champion: You care deeply about how benefits are understood and experienced by employees, and you excel at designing clear, inclusive communications and education that resonate across a distributed, deskless, and hourly workforce.
- Analytical and pragmatic: You are comfortable working with data to evaluate trade-offs, track costs, assess program effectiveness, and make informed recommendations that support both people and business priorities.
- Operationally strong: You bring rigor to benefits administration and program execution, ensuring accuracy, compliance, and smooth delivery—especially during high-impact moments like open enrollment.
- Relationship builder: You proactively manage vendor, broker, and consultant relationships, holding partners accountable while fostering strong, productive collaborations.
- Mission-aligned: You are energized by Patagonia’s purpose and values and are motivated to help shape benefits programs that reflect equity, well-being, environmental responsibility, and long-term impact.
Experience You Bring
- 7+ years of experience in benefits design and administration
- In-depth knowledge of employee benefits programs, including health and welfare plans, retirement savings, and wellness initiatives – including fringe benefits and perks
- Extensive experience communicating benefits and rewards across a distributed workforce, including deskless, hourly workers
- Demonstrated experience in designing fit-for-purpose benefits programs and evaluating trade-offs in overall benefit offering portfolio
- Strong analytical skills with the ability to interpret data and make data-driven decisions.
- Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to effectively collaborate with internal and external stakeholders at an executive level
- Working knowledge of Workday benefits admin module preferred
- Certification(s) in benefits administration or related field (e.g., CEBS, PHR, SPHR) preferred. Prior leadership experience preferred.
Hiring Range: $160,000 – $180,000 USD Annual
At Patagonia, pay ranges are assigned to a job based on the location specific market median of similar jobs according to 3rd party salary benchmark surveys. Individual pay within that range can vary for several reasons including skills/capabilities, experience, and available budget. Note the full pay range for this role ranges from: $140,000 - $210,000 USD Annual. The Hiring Range reflects where in the range we intend to hire for this role.
Benefits
Patagonia offers a comprehensive benefits package, including medical, dental, vision, retirement and leave of absence plans. Benefit plans may vary slightly depending on the nature of your employment.
Workplace Location Overview
This position is Hybrid, with a standard schedule of Tuesday - Thursday on-site and remote work on other days. Occasional additional office visits may be required for team events or critical meetings.
Employee Conduct
It is the responsibility of every employee to contribute to a positive, inclusive work environment through cooperative and professional interactions with co-workers, customers and vendors.
Equal Employment Opportunity
All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, protected veteran status, disability, or any other factors prohibited by law.
