Senior Benefits Specialist

Kyowa Kirin is a fast‑growing global specialty pharmaceutical company that applies state‑of‑the‑art biotechnologies to discover and deliver novel medicines in four disease areas: bone and mineral; intractable hematologic; hematology oncology; and rare disease. A Japan‑based company, our goal is to translate science into smiles by delivering therapies where no adequate treatments currently exist, working from drug discovery to product development and commercialization.

In North America, we are headquartered in Princeton, NJ, with offices in California, North Carolina, and Mississauga, Ontario.

Kyowa Kirin is seeking a Senior Benefits Specialist to support North America (U.S. and Canada) by administering health, welfare, and retirement programs. This role ensures compliance with federal and state regulations, delivers exceptional employee experience, and partners with vendors to optimize benefit offerings. Reporting to the Head of Total Rewards, this position will play a key role in aligning benefits strategy with organizational goals.

The Benefits Specialist ensures compliance with relevant laws and company policies while maintaining accurate records.

• Lead Open Enrollment and ongoing new hire benefits enrollment, including developing strategy, planning, communications, system updates and configuration, creating materials, and delivering employee presentations.
• Serve as the primary contact for employee benefit inquiries and maintain the benefits communication channel. Ensure timely responses and organization of benefits‑related communications.
• Manage and coordinate the company’s wellness strategy, events, and communications, ensuring alignment with organizational goals and employee engagement.
• Partner with benefit vendors and brokers to resolve issues and improve service delivery.
• Manage qualified life event changes and benefit terminations, ensuring timely and accurate processing, record‑keeping, and compliance.
• Maintain the benefits communication calendar, scheduling and tracking important deadlines, events, and updates to ensure timely dissemination of benefits information to employees. Develop communications to engage employees in the benefits programs.
• Manage the leave, disability, and ADA processes. Partner with third-party vendors to ensure smooth administration. Educate employees and managers on leave procedures, provide payroll with necessary updates, and manage premium collection during unpaid leaves.
• Administer and monitor the organization's retirement plans. Review and audit reports from the recordkeeper and highlight any issues to payroll to be addressed.
• Serve as the liaison between employees and retirement plan recordkeepers and plan consultants, addressing questions on plan features, investment options, and plan provisions. Coordinate and lead the quarterly investment committee meetings.
• Manage annual nondiscrimination testing and required filings to ensure 401(k) plan compliance with federal regulations.
• Prepare reports and analyze benefits data to support decision‑making and ensure the competitiveness of benefits offerings.
• Manage all benefit compliance requirements and filings such as Form 5500, coordinate non‑discrimination testing with vendors, and distribute all required notices on time to ensure compliance with health and welfare regulations (COBRA, HIPAA, ACA, etc.).
• Coordinate with vendors to prepare, verify accuracy, and distribute SBCs, SPDs, and other required plan documents in compliance with federal and state regulations.
• Manage the benefits portal and keep documents up to date.
• Maintain confidential employee benefit records and ensure compliance with applicable regulations.
• Oversee benefits invoicing by guiding HR Admin, ensuring accurate and audited data, and collaborating with vendors to resolve discrepancies.

• Bachelor's degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, or a related field preferred.
• 5+ years of experience in benefits administration, leave administration, and human resources, with increasing responsibility in complex environments.
• Thorough understanding and knowledge of federal and state benefits regulations.
• Clear…