Employee Benefits Implementation Manager

Patra is an outcome-focused operating partner working exclusively for the insurance industry. Combining expert global teams, process intelligence, and purpose-built technology, Patra delivers measurable results to clients. With 20 years of deep domain expertise, exceptional client retention rates, and significant sustained investment in AI, Patra partners with agencies, brokers, MGAs, MGUs, and carriers to transform how insurance operations are delivered.

The Employee Benefits Implementation Manager is responsible for leading the implementation function for employee benefits programs, overseeing a portfolio of client onboardings, and ensuring successful delivery from post-sale transition through operational readiness. This role combines hands-on implementation leadership with people management, process standardization, and cross-functional coordination to deliver consistent, scalable, and outcomes.

As a manager, you will lead and develop implementation team members, establish delivery standards, monitor performance across active implementations, and partner with salesonboarding experience. You will balance strategic oversight with direct involvement in complex or high-visibility implementations, ensuring client satisfaction, revenue realization, and a smooth transition to ongoing service.

Core Responsibilities

• Lead the Implementation Team: Manage, coach, and develop implementation consultants and other team members supporting employee benefits onboarding. Set expectations for quality, timeliness, client communication, and documentation. Provide guidance on prioritization, issue resolution, and stakeholder management across the implementation portfolio.
• Oversee Portfolio Delivery: Lead multiple concurrent implementations to keep milestones, dependencies, and deliverables on track. Monitor project health, remove obstacles, balance team capacity, and step in on high-risk, complex, or escalated cases when needed.
• Standardized Implementation Operations: Establish and maintain standardized implementation and transition methodologies, governance, templates, checklists, and quality controls for BPO employee benefits service implementations. Drive consistency through documented standard operating procedures (SOPs), process maps, knowledge transfer plans, testing protocols, compliance and control checkpoints, and operational readiness criteria across client, vendor, and internal teams. Ensure repeatable handoff to service delivery with clear roles, escalation paths, performance measures, and continuous improvement practices that support stable go-live and post-implementation service execution.
• Partner Cross-Functionally: Collaborate with sales, account management, operations, compliance, product, and technology teams to align on implementation scope, readiness, and client outcomes. Support pre-sale discussions for complex opportunities and help define scalable solutions for onboarding and service delivery.
• Manage Risk, Escalations, and Performance: Identify and mitigate risks across a BPO employee benefits service implementation, including knowledge transfer, process readiness, SOP completion, staffing and training readiness, access and controls, carrier/vendor dependencies, payroll and eligibility data quality, and handoff to steady-state operations. Proactively manage client, vendor, and internal escalations to resolve blockers, protect implementation timelines, and support service stability at go-live. Track implementation and transition performance through milestones, defect trends, SLA/KPI readiness, client feedback, and continuous improvement actions.

Secondary Responsibilities

• Talent Development: Support hiring, onboarding, training, and ongoing development of implementation team members. Foster a culture of accountability, collaboration, and continuous improvement.
• Continuous Improvement & Reporting: Analyze implementation performance, identify bottlenecks, and recommend processes, tooling, and workflow enhancements. Maintain visibility into implementation metrics, trends, and action plans for leadership review.
• Client and Market Insight: Surface recurring client needs, service gaps, opportunities to improve benefits onboarding, enrollment experiences, and operational support. Partner with internal teams to strengthen client retention and expansion readiness.

Key Performance Indicators

• Revenue velocity & realization of implemented PARR & In-Year PARR Realization
• Implementation Duration between Project Kickoff and Go Live
• Implementation quality through PARR accuracy & CSAT score
• Achieve overall revenue and EBITA targets
• Successful transition to service delivery with minimal defects or rework

Qualifications & Experience

Required:

• 5+ years of experience in employee benefits, insurance, benefits administration, client servicing and carrier coordination or implementation delivery, including experience leading complex client onboarding efforts and building scalable employee benefit processes.
• Demonstrated leadership experience, including coaching, performance management, and team development.
• Strong project and portfolio management skills with the ability to manage competing priorities across multiple implementations.
• Deep knowledge of employee benefits operations, eligibility, enrollment workflows, and stakeholder coordination across brokers, carriers, clients, and internal teams.
• Effective communication, problem-solving, and escalation management skills with a client-focused mindset.
• Ability to build scalable processes, documentation, and governance practices that support quality and consistency.

Preferred:

• Experience managing employee benefits implementations in a brokerage, carrier, TPA, or benefits technology environment.
• Familiarity with benefits administration platforms, HRIS/payroll integrations, and enrollment technologies.
• Working knowledge of applicable compliance requirements, including ACA, ERISA, COBRA, and HIPAA.
• PMP, CEBS, GBA, or similar project management or employee benefits certification.
• Experience supporting distributed, offshore, or multi-team delivery models.

Patra Corporation is an equal opportunity employer committed to celebrating diversity and creating a safe and inclusive environment for all employees.