Benefits manager Jobs in Houston, TX

Total Rewards Manager

The Total Rewards Manager will lead the design, development, administration, and continuous improvement of Enterprise Electrical's compensation and benefits programs.

Reporting to the Vice President of Human Resources, this position will develop scalable total rewards strategies that support rapid workforce growth, market competitiveness, internal equity, employee engagement, and retention across a predominantly skilled-trades, hourly, and multi-state workforce.

The ideal candidate brings progressive compensation, benefits, and total rewards experience, strong analytical and business acumen, and a demonstrated ability to challenge existing practices, influence executive decisions, and translate market data into practical and sustainable programs.

Essential Functions, Duties, and Responsibilities

Strategic Compensation Leadership

• Develop and execute a comprehensive Total Rewards strategy aligned with the company's growth objectives and workforce plans.
• Evaluate existing compensation programs and recommend enhancements that improve market competitiveness, retention, employee engagement, and internal equity.
• Lead enterprise-wide compensation benchmarking and provide recommendations based on market data, labor conditions, and organizational priorities.
• Design and maintain scalable salary structures, pay grades, career frameworks, incentive plans, bonus programs, recognition programs, and compensation governance practices.
• Assess pay equity, wage compression, pay inversion, geographic pay differences, and other compensation-related risks, and develop proactive solutions.
• Partner with executive leadership and Finance to evaluate compensation investments, forecast workforce costs, and balance talent needs with financial performance.
• Develop compelling business cases, executive presentations, compensation analyses, and dashboards that support informed decision-making and workforce planning.

Executive Partnership and Influence

• Serve as a trusted advisor to senior leadership regarding compensation trends, benefits strategy, workforce costs, labor market dynamics, and total rewards practices.
• Develop data-driven business cases and recommendations that influence leadership decisions regarding compensation investments and benefits enhancements.
• Demonstrate the confidence and executive presence to respectfully challenge existing practices using market intelligence, analytics, financial insights, and well-supported business recommendations.
• Translate complex compensation and benefits information into clear, practical recommendations for executive and operational leaders.

Benefits Strategy and Administration

• Lead the strategy, design, administration, and continuous improvement of health, welfare, and retirement benefit programs.
• Evaluate opportunities to enhance benefit offerings, employee experience, program utilization, and overall value.
• Manage annual benefits renewals, broker and vendor relationships, contract negotiations, utilization analysis, and employee feedback.
• Partner with internal and external stakeholders to ensure benefits programs remain competitive, compliant, financially responsible, and aligned with workforce needs.
• Develop effective benefits communication and education strategies that improve employee understanding and engagement.

Growth, Scalability, and Organizational Readiness

• Conduct a comprehensive assessment of current Total Rewards programs and develop a multiyear roadmap capable of supporting workforce growth beyond 2,000 employees.
• Identify risks, gaps, infrastructure needs, and process improvements associated with rapid workforce expansion and multi-state operations.
• Evaluate compensation and benefits processes for scalability and recommend technology, reporting, automation, and workflow enhancements.
• Support business expansion by evaluating geographic pay practices, labor market conditions, prevailing wage requirements, and benefits competitiveness across new markets.
• Establish scalable processes, policies, and governance structures that support continued organizational growth.

Compliance and Analytics

• Establish policies, frameworks, controls, and governance practices necessary to support a larger and more complex workforce.
• Ensure compliance with applicable federal, state, and local compensation and benefits requirements, including ACA, COBRA, ERISA, HIPAA, FMLA, prevailing wage, and Davis-Bacon regulations.
• Develop and maintain Total Rewards dashboards and key performance indicators.
• Use workforce analytics to identify opportunities related to retention, engagement, cost management, pay equity, and business performance.
• Monitor changes in compensation, benefits, employment, and wage-related laws and recommend appropriate organizational responses.
• Drive continuous improvement through data, technology, process enhancements, clear communication, and cross-functional partnership.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

Required Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Expert knowledge of compensation strategy, salary structures, market benchmarking, pay equity, incentive design, and compensation governance.
• Strong knowledge of employee benefits strategy, plan administration, annual renewals, vendor management, utilization analysis, and employee communications.
• Demonstrated ability to build, redesign, and scale compensation and benefits programs rather than solely maintain established programs.
• Strong analytical skills with the ability to interpret market data, workforce trends, financial impacts, employee feedback, and operational needs.
• Demonstrated business acumen and executive presence, with the confidence to respectfully challenge existing practices and influence leadership decisions.
• Ability to develop business cases, dashboards, executive presentations, policies, governance structures, and scalable program frameworks.
• Strong project management, change management, communication, presentation, and cross-functional collaboration skills.
• Ability to communicate complex compensation and benefits concepts clearly to employees, operational leaders, and executives.
• Ability to operate effectively in a high-growth and evolving environment with competing priorities and developing processes.
• Working knowledge of federal, state, and local compensation and benefits laws and regulations.
• Experience supporting large hourly, field-based, skilled-trades, or multi-state workforces preferred.

Required Education and Experience

Education

• Bachelor's degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, Finance, or a related field preferred.
• Equivalent professional experience may be considered in place of a degree.

Certifications and Licenses

One or more of the following certifications are preferred:

• Certified Compensation Professional (CCP)
• Certified Employee Benefit Specialist (CEBS)
• SHRM Senior Certified Professional (SHRM-SCP)
• Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR)
• Related compensation, benefits, or human resources certification

Experience Requirements

• Eight or more years of progressive experience in compensation, benefits, or Total Rewards.
• Experience supporting organizations undergoing significant growth, organizational transformation, or workforce scaling.
• Demonstrated success building, redesigning, or substantially improving compensation and benefits programs.
• Experience supporting construction, industrial, manufacturing, energy, skilled trades, logistics, or another large hourly workforce environment strongly preferred.
• Experience supporting multi-state operations preferred.
• Experience implementing or optimizing HRIS, compensation, benefits administration, analytics, or reporting technologies preferred.

Work Environment and Position Details

Work Environment

• Professional office environment with regular collaboration across Human Resources, Finance, Operations, branch leadership, and executive leadership.
• The position may occasionally require travel to company offices, operational locations, or vendor meetings.

Position Type

• Full-time, exempt.

Office Schedule

• This role is designed for an individual who thrives in a highly collaborative, in-person environment.
• The position is expected to work predominantly from the office, with reasonable flexibility accommodated when appropriate.

Equipment and Technology Routinely Used

• HRIS, payroll, compensation, benefits administration, and applicant tracking platforms.
• Market-pricing, salary-survey, analytics, dashboard, and reporting tools.
• Microsoft 365, including Excel, PowerPoint, Teams, and Power BI or equivalent reporting solutions.
• Vendor, broker, insurance carrier, retirement, wellness, and employee communication platforms.

Enterprise Electrical's Core Values and Purpose

To perform this position successfully, an individual should demonstrate Enterprise Electrical's core values: