Global Benefits Advisor (9m FTC) in Manchester

About the role

We’re looking for a Global Benefits Advisor to join our People team on a 9-month fixed term contract, covering a period of maternity leave. This is a hands-on, operationally focused role that sits at the heart of how we deliver and manage benefits for our people around the world. You’ll be supporting the Benefits Manager and Global Benefits Senior Manager, taking ownership of the day-to-day running of our benefit programmes and playing a key part in ensuring our employees have a smooth, well-supported experience. If you enjoy working at the intersection of people, process, and technology — and you take pride in getting the detail right — this could be a great fit.

What you’ll be doing

• Benefit administration and technology: Serving as the first point of contact within the team for benefits queries from HR colleagues and partners, escalating to internal teams or third-party providers where needed and following up to make sure things are resolved. Acting as the primary contact for our global benefits technology platform (Benefits+), overseeing its day-to-day performance, coordinating testing and issue resolution, and managing service enhancements and single sign-on (SSO) certification. Liaising with brokers and external providers on an ongoing basis, ensuring that enrolment data is accurate, invoices are reconciled, and spend stays within agreed budgets. Administering team invoices, including reconciling membership listings and managing any associated recharge processes, and serving as the point of contact for vendor payment queries. Administering partner health insurance plans (outside the US) and managing partner recharges through the partnerships accounts team. Producing and analysing quarterly benefit dashboards to keep key stakeholders informed. Identifying opportunities to improve the employee experience by streamlining benefits touchpoints across the employee lifecycle.
• Annual enrolments: Creating and managing project plans for annual enrolment windows to ensure timely delivery and clear stakeholder communication. Updating benefit plan designs within Benefits+ ahead of each enrolment period. Leading user acceptance testing (UAT), drafting employee communications, and coordinating benefit fairs. Coordinating the submission of census data for global insurance renewals and managing employee eligibility files in line with GDPR and local privacy requirements.
• Communication and support: Keeping key stakeholders informed about benefit activities, and providing training to HR colleagues on local benefit offerings where needed. Helping to maintain and update benefits content across HR platforms such as SharePoint and Benefits+. Supporting the team with benefit communications, newsletters, and onboarding materials.
• Team and project support: Supporting projects related to new benefit implementations, policy changes, and global rollouts. Coordinating global requests for proposal (RFPs) and local market reviews, including drafting RFP documentation and scoring frameworks. Providing ad-hoc project support as required.

What we’re looking for

• We’re looking for someone who is organised, communicates clearly, and is comfortable working with technology as part of their day-to-day role.
• A degree or equivalent professional experience — we value practical knowledge as much as formal qualifications.
• Some background in HR or benefits administration, ideally within a corporate or professional services environment, though related experience in a similar operational role will also be considered.
• Familiarity with benefits or HR technology platforms, including experience with payroll configuration, provider reporting, or troubleshooting system issues.
• Strong organisational skills and close attention to detail, particularly when managing data and financial reconciliations.
• The ability to communicate clearly in writing, including drafting communications that strike the right tone for different audiences.
• Comfort working with AI tools and benefits technology as part of a modern HR workflow.
• Strong interpersonal skills and the ability to build effective working relationships across teams and with external partners.
• Confidence managing routine tasks independently, knowing when to escalate and when to resolve.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office, particularly Excel and Outlook.
• Experience with Workday or a similar HR system would be an advantage, though not essential.

Inclusion

Freshfields is an equal opportunities employer and all applications received by the firm will be considered by the firm on the basis of their merit alone and we welcome applications from all suitably qualified individuals regardless of background. All offers of employment will be conditional on the candidate having/securing the right to work in the UK and providing the firm with evidence of that right prior to employment commencing. Freshfields is a Ban the Box employer. We ask applicants to disclose criminal convictions only when a conditional job offer is made. A conviction does not automatically lead to withdrawal of the offer: we make decisions on a case by case basis and take a number of factors into account.