Description

Introduction

We are seeking a strategic and experienced leader to oversee the design, strategy, and delivery of IBM's U.S. Health & Welfare programs for active employees and retirees. This role is pivotal in shaping the future of our benefits portfolio.

The ideal candidate is a self-starter with deep subject matter expertise in U.S. health benefits, particularly within self-funded employer environments. They will lead a high-performing team and collaborate across HR, Finance, Legal, and external partners to drive innovation, affordability, and efficiency within our benefits offerings.

Your role and responsibilities

Team Leadership

• Lead a sizable team of U.S. Health & Welfare experts, fostering accountability, innovation, and high performance across strategy, operations, and vendor management.
• Collaborate with global and regional benefits leaders to ensure alignment and knowledge sharing.

Strategy & Design

• Lead the strategic design of health and welfare benefits for IBM's U.S. population, including medical, pharmacy, dental, vision, and retiree programs.
• Develop multi-year benefit strategies that balance cost containment, employee experience, and health outcomes.
• Evaluate and implement innovative market solutions through RFP or other related activities.
• Develop compelling, data-driven presentations and executive briefs to communicate strategy, recommendations, and impact to senior leadership.
• Translate complex benefit concepts into clear, actionable insights for diverse audiences.

Program Delivery & Operations

• Oversee the end-to-end delivery of benefits, ensuring operational excellence, compliance, and a seamless employee experience.
• Partner with vendors, consultants, and internal stakeholders to manage plan performance and service delivery.
• Lead annual enrollment planning, communications, and contract execution.

Governance & Compliance

• Ensure all programs comply with federal and state regulations (e.g., ERISA, ACA, HIPAA).
• Support internal audits, risk assessments, and reporting requirements.

Stakeholder Engagement

• Serve as a trusted advisor to senior leadership on health benefits strategy and trends.
• Represent IBM in external forums and employer coalitions to stay ahead of market developments.

Leaders are expected to spend time with their teams and clients and therefore are generally expected to be in the workplace a minimum of three days a week, subject to business needs.

Required education

Bachelor's Degree

Preferred education

Master's Degree

Required technical and professional expertise

• 10+ years' experience with U.S. health benefits strategy and administration, with self-funded plan experience.
• Deep knowledge of the U.S. healthcare ecosystem, including carriers, PBMs, provider networks, and regulatory landscape.
• Experience managing vendor or client relationships and negotiating contracts.
• Strong analytical skills with the ability to interpret data and drive decisions.
• Excellent written and verbal communication, project management, and leadership skills.
• Exceptional presentation development skills, with experience crafting executive-level decks and strategic narratives.
• Ability to influence senior stakeholders through clear, persuasive communication and data storytelling.

Preferred technical and professional experience

• Deep knowledge of US Health & Welfare benefit programs
• CEBS Certified Employee Benefits Specialist

ABOUT BUSINESS UNIT

IBM Corporate Headquarters (CHQ) team represents a variety of functions such as marketing, finance, legal, operations, HR, and more, all working together to solve some of the world's most complex problems, help our clients achieve success and build collaborative work environments for IBMers.

YOUR LIFE @ IBM

In a world where technology never stands still, we understand that, dedication to our clients success, innovation that matters, and trust and personal responsibility in all our relationships, lives in what we do as IBMers as we strive to be the catalyst that makes the world work better.

Being an IBMer means you'll be able to learn and develop yourself and your career, you'll be encouraged to be courageous and experiment everyday, all whilst having continuous trust and support in an environment where everyone can thrive whatever their personal or professional background.

Our IBMers are growth minded, always staying curious, open to feedback and learning new information and skills to constantly transform themselves and our company. They are trusted to provide on-going feedback to help other IBMers grow, as well as collaborate with colleagues keeping in mind a team focused approach to include different perspectives to drive exceptional outcomes for our customers. The courage our IBMers have to make critical decisions everyday is essential to IBM becoming the catalyst for progress, always embracing challenges with resources they have to hand, a can-do attitude and always striving for an outcome focused approach within everything that they do.

Are you ready to be an IBMer?

ABOUT IBM

IBM's greatest invention is the IBMer. We believe that through the application of intelligence, reason and science, we can improve business, society and the human condition, bringing the power of an open hybrid cloud and AI strategy to life for our clients and partners around the world.

Restlessly reinventing since 1911, we are not only one of the largest corporate organizations in the world, we're also one of the biggest technology and consulting employers, with many of the Fortune 500 companies relying on the IBM Cloud to run their business.

At IBM, we pride ourselves on being an early adopter of artificial intelligence, quantum computing and blockchain. Now it's time for you to join us on our journey to being a responsible technology innovator and a force for good in the world.

IBM is proud to be an equal-opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, pregnancy, disability, neurodivergence, age, or other characteristics protected by the applicable law. IBM is also committed to compliance with all fair employment practices regarding citizenship and immigration status.

OTHER RELEVANT JOB DETAILS

IBM will not be providing visa sponsorship for this position now or in the future. Therefore, in order to be considered for this position, you must have the ability to work without a need for current or future visa sponsorship.

The compensation range and benefits for this position are based on a full-time schedule for a full calendar year. The salary will vary depending on your job-related skills, experience and location. Pay increment and frequency of pay will be in accordance with employment classification and applicable laws. For part time roles, your compensation and benefits will be adjusted to reflect your hours. Benefits may be pro-rated for those who start working during the calendar year.

Job Title

U.S. Health & Welfare Benefits Leader

Date posted

29-Oct-2025

Job ID

65679

City / Township / Village

Armonk

State / Province

New York

Country

United States

Work arrangement

Onsite

Area of work

Enterprise Operations

Employment type

Regular

Contract type

Regular

Projected Minimum Salary per year

151,000.00

Projected Maximum Salary per year

261,000.00

Position type

Professional

Travel required

Some travel may be required based on business demand

Company

(0147) International Business Machines Corporation

Shift

General (daytime)

Is this role a commissionable/sales incentive based position?

No



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