Benefits Associate

IBM
IBM

Accounting & Finance

Markham, ON, Canada

Posted on Jun 12, 2026
Introduction

At IBM Human Resources & Talent Transformation, we reimagine the way people work by combining AI, data, and human centred design. Our teams help close skill gaps, modernize HR models, and create engaging employee experiences at scale. Working in HR at IBM means bridging technology and people. Streamlining processes, driving agility, and enabling leaders and employees to thrive. You’ll collaborate across the business to shape the future of work. With continuous learning, career growth, and a culture built on empathy and innovation, IBM offers the opportunity to make a real impact on organizations and people worldwide.

Your role and responsibilities

As an IBM Benefits Associate, you will be a reliable and trusted resource for designing and delivering enterprise health and wellness programs and initiatives on behalf of IBM employees in Canada. We seek a growth-oriented professional with a positive attitude who will manage essential and innovative IBM HR benefits programs that promote enhanced employee experience, anticipate workforce needs, and align with the IBM business landscape.

Benefits offerings managed through this role, including strategy, design, vendor management, compliance, policy communication, and offering and process optimization, include leaves and time off, employee assistance and mental health programs, and various other benefits and wellness offerings, in partnership with other Canada Benefits team members. You will act as the primary focal, under the direction of the Canada Benefits Leader, in partnering with our Benefits Centre of Excellence team in Latin America to ensure seamless end-to-end delivery of programs, and you will actively participate in global wellness, simplification, and HR AI and automation projects.

Key responsibilities include:

  • Design and implement benefit and leaves program strategies in alignment with IBM business objectives.
  • Collaborate closely with other team members, including team members within and outside of the benefits organization, to drive overall strategic and transformational activities.
  • Manage various benefits, leaves, and wellness projects.
  • Lead program and offering reviews based on market trends research and data-driven insights through analysis of workforce needs, benefits usage, cost analysis, outcomes, and other factors.
  • Liaison with consultants and outsourced benefits administration vendors where needed on benefits programs renewals, leaves changes, and revisions and deployment of program offerings.
  • Propose, initiate, and manage simplification and automation of processes.
  • Ensure programs and policies are in continuous compliance and alignment with legislative changes and IBM’s changing business needs.
  • Optimize employee policy communication and create executive presentations.
  • Manage vendor contracts where needed, including renewals and amendments, and partner with Procurement on competitive benchmarking and bids.
  • Manage overall vendor spending in partnership with IBM Finance.
  • Manage investigations and exception requests as it relates to owned benefit and leaves programs.
  • Manage escalations and support resolutions for any employee concerns in collaboration with HR, legal, and other benefits team members.
  • Collaborate with other team members to build and deliver analytical capabilities and data-driven insights that inform recommendations.
  • Provide ongoing guidance to IBMers on benefit offerings and support AI-driven solutions to improve employee experience in partnership with HR Services and other teams.
  • Facilitate departmental business controls and compliance on benefits programs which may also be inclusive of internal and external audits.
Required education
Bachelor's Degree
Required technical and professional expertise
  • 5+ years of experience with benefits, wellness, or leaves programs design and/or delivery or related human resources, business or consulting experience
  • Excellent executive stakeholder management skills
  • Excellent communication and presentation skills
  • Experience managing complex projects with cross-functional internal and external teams
  • Experience managing complex cases and escalations
  • Willingness to work in a fast-paced environment with tight turnaround times with the ability to prioritize work when there are competing demands and urgent business needs
  • Excel and PowerPoint proficiency
  • Ability to organize, analyze, interpret and explain data findings
  • Ability to use AI tools and solutions to improve processes and outcomes
  • Experience with technology projects and/or user testing
  • Ability to work independently and collaboratively in a dynamic environment
Preferred technical and professional experience
  • Vendor management experience, including experience with contract renewals
  • Current benefits and/or leaves knowledge through participation in ongoing educational programs, professional societies, etc.

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

Must have the ability to work in Canada without sponsorship. For additional information about location requirements, please discuss with the recruiter following submission of your application.

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