Job Title
Pension & Benefits Senior Manager EMEA
Job Description Summary
Job Description
Pension & Benefits Senior Manager EMEA
London
As a member of the EMEA Rewards Team, you will lead the governance, and delivery of pension and benefit programmes across the region. You will ensure compliance with local regulations, alignment with global and regional total rewards strategy, and strong vendor governance.
Key Responsibilities:
- With the support of the Head of Total Rewards EMEA, develop the regional pensions and benefits strategy, ensuring competitiveness, compliance, and alignment with global frameworks.
- Manage statutory and supplementary pension plans across EMEA, including DC, DB, and country‑specific schemes.
- Manage all insured benefits, including medical, life, disability, accident, underwriting, annual insured benefits renewals, and claims handling in the region.
- Support the Global Head of Benefits to optimise multinational pooling arrangements and implement a preferred broker relationship.
- Lead relationships with brokers, insurers, pension providers, and consultants, including RFPs, renewals, and contract negotiations.
- Maintain strong governance frameworks, policies, and compliance processes for pensions and benefits across all EMEA jurisdictions
- Lead the benchmarking of benefits offerings in EMEA to ensure competitiveness, maintaining benefits frameworks aligned to job levels to ensure internal equity.
- Facilitate the transition of benefits administration activities into shared services, ensuring smooth handover, process clarity and ongoing governance.
- Manage benefits and pension data integrity, reporting, budgeting, and cost‑control initiatives
- Deliver clear employee communications and provide expert support to Reward Business Partners, HR and employees on complex pension and benefits matters
- Support M&A activity, including due diligence, plan harmonisation, and integration of new entities.
What we are looking for:
Experience:
- Strong experience in pensions and benefits management across multiple EMEA countries.
- Deep knowledge of UK pensions (DC, DB, auto‑enrolment) and familiarity with major European pension frameworks.
- Proven ability to manage complex benefits programmes and vendor relationships.
- Strong analytical skills with the ability to interpret data and present insights.
- Experience working in a multinational environment; ability to navigate cultural and regulatory differences.
- Strong project management skills and comfort working in a fast‑paced, matrixed organisation.
- Professional qualifications (e.g., PMI, CIPD, CEBS) are an advantage.
Skills:
- Detail‑oriented with strong governance instincts.
- Confident decision‑maker with a proactive, solutions‑focused mindset.
- Excellent communication skills, with the ability to explain complex topics simply.
- Collaborative partner who builds strong relationships across HR, Finance, and Legal.
- Comfortable balancing strategic thinking with hands‑on operational delivery.
Please note: this is a direct search led by Cushman & Wakefield. We only work with recruitment agencies on our preferred supplier list, and only where a signed and in date agreement is in place and the agency has been directly instructed on the role by a member of our Talent Acquisition team. We do not accept speculative or unsolicited CVs submitted to any of our employees or outside of our agreed process. No agency fees will be payable in these circumstances.
Cushman & Wakefield is an equal opportunity / affirmative action employer. All qualified candidates will receive consideration for employment without regard to ethnicity, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, age, disability, religion, marital status, or any other legally protected characteristic. Cushman & Wakefield is committed to equity in employment, and our goal is to have a diverse, inclusive and barrier-free workplace. If you are a person with a disability and need any other accessible accommodations during the hiring process, you are invited to bring this to the Talent Acquisition Advisor’s attention once they have made contact.
INCO: “Cushman & Wakefield”