Global Head of Benefits

Job description

DDN is in an extraordinary moment. We’ve spent more than two decades building technology that powers some of the world’s most demanding computing environments. Today, we’re at the center of the AI infrastructure boom, our business is experiencing tremendous scale—and our People infrastructure needs to move just as fast. We’re looking for a **Head of Global Benefits** to build an intentional, scalable approach to benefits globally — one that balances employee experience, market competitiveness, cost, compliance, and the realities of operating across many different countries. This role is critical in delivering value to our people and to helping make DDN an employer of choice for all. This is a role for someone who likes both **building the strategy and doing the work**. You’ll set the direction for how DDN approaches benefits globally, while getting into the details of plan design, renewals, vendors, employee issues, and implementation. You’ll inherit a decentralized environment and have the opportunity to make it simpler, stronger, and more consistent. **What You’ll Own** **Build our global benefits strategy** - Develop a clear global benefits philosophy and framework, defining where we want consistency globally and where programs should reflect local markets. - Assess our existing programs across countries and identify opportunities to improve competitiveness, employee experience, cost effectiveness, and operational simplicity. - Establish market benchmarks and principles for evaluating benefit changes and investments. - Partner with People leadership and Finance on our longer-term benefits roadmap and investment priorities. **Lead benefits across our global footprint** - Own the design, implementation, and ongoing management of health, retirement, leave, insurance, wellbeing, and other benefit programs across DDN’s global population. - Lead annual renewals and enrollment processes, including recommendations on plan design, employee contributions, and vendor changes. - Ensure programs remain compliant with local requirements while meeting DDN’s broader benefits philosophy. - Navigate the complexity of benefits across entities, EOR populations, and different employment models. **Make the experience better — and simpler** - Create clearer, more consistent processes for how benefits are administered and communicated around the world. - Partner with a newly formed HR Operations team to improve benefits workflows, data, systems, and integrations. - Make it easier for employees and managers to understand what DDN offers and where to go when they need help. - Identify opportunities to automate or eliminate manual work and reduce unnecessary regional complexity. **Manage our partners and our spend** - Own relationships with global and local brokers, consultants, carriers, and benefits vendors. - Lead vendor selection, negotiation, implementation, and performance management. - Develop strong visibility into benefits spend globally and partner with Finance on forecasting and budgeting. - Use data — utilization, employee feedback, market benchmarks, and cost trends — to evaluate whether our programs are actually delivering value. **Be a trusted partner** - Partner closely with HRBPs, HR Operations, Payroll, Finance, Legal, and regional People teams. - Provide practical guidance on complex benefits and leave questions, including situations where there may not be an obvious playbook. - Bring a global perspective while understanding that the right answer in California, Germany, India, or Japan won't always be the same. - Help DDN build the infrastructure and operating discipline we need as we continue to scale. - Oversee a small but nimble team responsible for global exeucution **What We’re Looking For** - Significant experience leading benefits in a **global, multi-country organization**, ideally in a fast-growing technology environment. - 2+ Years managing small, global teams responsible for multi-country benefit execution - Deep knowledge of U.S. benefits combined with meaningful experience designing and managing programs internationally, ideally across Europe, the Middle East and across Asia. - Experience working across a mix of entities, EORs, and different local employment structures. - Strong understanding of benefits governance, compliance, renewals, plan design, and vendor/broker management. - Experience evaluating benefits through both an employee experience and financial lens. - Comfortable moving between strategy and execution. This is not a role where someone else does all the implementation. - Strong analytical skills and the ability to turn messy data and competing inputs into clear recommendations. - Excellent cross-functional judgment and the ability to work effectively with Finance, Legal, Payroll, HRBPs, and senior leaders. - A practical, low-ego approach. You know when global consistency matters, when local nuance matters, and when something simply doesn't need to be as complicated as it currently is. **What Success Looks Like** In your first few months, you’ll have created a clear picture of DDN’s global benefits landscape and established a thoughtful roadmap for where we go next. After year one, benefits will start to feel less like a collection of country-by-country programs and more like a global function with clear principles, strong local execution, and an employee experience that can scale with DDN. Further, you’ll have clear understanding of market norms, risks, the competitive landscape, and where our biggest opportunities lie.