About This Role
This role involves leading the design, administration, and communication of employee benefits programs across the LATAM region, based in Colombia. The specialist will partner with HR teams to ensure benefits are compliant with local regulations, competitive in local markets, and tailored to the diverse needs of employees across Latin America, managing a wide range of benefits from statutory social security programs and healthcare to wellness initiatives and leave entitlements.
Responsibilities
- Lead day-to-day operations for benefits programs across the LATAM region, including healthcare, pension/retirement plans, life insurance, and wellness programs
- Partner with regional HR teams to tailor benefits to local employee needs, benchmarking against LATAM-specific market data
- Manage country-specific statutory benefits including social security contributions, severance funds (e.g., Cesantías in Colombia, FGTS in Brazil), profit-sharing obligations (PTU in Mexico), and 13th/14th month salary requirements
- Manage relationships with regional insurance brokers and wellness vendors across LATAM markets
- Ensure service delivery meets agreed SLAs and handle escalations with local vendor contacts
- Negotiate plan designs and pricing with vendors, factoring in LATAM inflation rates and currency volatility
- Stay current on regulatory changes across key LATAM markets including Colombia, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, and Peru in partnership with global and local brokers
- Ensure all benefits programs comply with local labor codes, tax laws, and social security mandates — including Colombian Decreto 1072, Mexico's Ley Federal del Trabajo, Brazil's CLT, and Argentina's Ley de Contrato de Trabajo
- Manage country-specific statutory requirements such as prima de servicios (Colombia), aguinaldo (Mexico/Argentina), 13º salário (Brazil), asignación familiar (Chile/Peru), and obra social coverage (Argentina)
- Liaise with local legal counsel and payroll teams to ensure benefits are correctly treated for tax and social contribution purposes in each jurisdiction
- Oversee compliance and employee education on mandatory pension systems across LATAM, including Colombia's dual regime (RPM vs. RAIS/AFP), Mexico's AFORE system, Brazil's INSS, Chile's AFP system, and Argentina's SIPA
- Where applicable, manage supplementary voluntary pension or savings vehicle offerings (e.g., voluntary contributions to Colombian AFP accounts or Brazilian PGBL/VGBL plans)
- Build effective, multilingual communication strategies (primarily in Spanish and Portuguese) through emails, webinars, FAQs, and guides to help employees understand and maximize their benefits
- Adapt communication style for cultural nuances across LATAM countries, ensuring clarity for employees with varying levels of benefits literacy
- Partner with HR leaders and HR Generalists to deliver in-country communications
