Sr. Consultant, Benefits Governance

If you’re passionate about becoming a Nationwide associate and believe you have the potential to be something great, let’s talk. At Nationwide®, “on your side” goes beyond just words. Our customers are at the center of everything we do and we’re looking for associates who are passionate about delivering extraordinary care.

This is a hybrid work opportunity.

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Job Description Summary

Do you enjoy bringing clarity and consistency to complex benefits governance work? In this role, you can help the committees that oversee Nationwide’s benefit plans make well-documented decisions that support associates and retirees. If you thrive in an environment where your work strengthens prudent plan administration, we’d like to hear from you!

As a Senior Consultant, you'll lead governance and compliance support activities for the Benefits Investments Committee (BIC), the Benefits Administrative Committee (BAC), the Administrative Committee (AC), and the Program Administrative Committee (PAC), along with related benefit-plan and selected wellbeing compliance work. Working closely with these committees, in-house legal counsel, and the benefits planning team, you'll serve as the Secretary for these committees and maintain the governance framework, committee processes, documentation standards, and compliance operating cadence that help the committees administer our benefit plans prudently, consistently, and in alignment with legal and regulatory expectations.

Job Description

Key Responsibilities:

• Serves as Secretary and leads governance and operational support for the Benefits Investments Committee (BIC), Benefits Administrative Committee (BAC), Administrative Committee (AC), and Program Administrative Committee (PAC). Prepares meeting agendas and materials, drafts and maintains minutes and governance documentation, and tracks action items through to completion. Committee-specific responsibilities include:
  BIC — fee-review coordination, target date fund administration support, and participant investment communication summaries and updates.
  BAC — health and welfare plan appeals support, decision-letter drafting and execution, and annual reporting support.
  AC — qualified retirement plan administration and interpretation matters, recordkeeper oversight (fees, performance, etc.), and claims and appeals support.
  PAC — coordination of non-ERISA program and policy decision reviews, and decision-letter drafting and execution.
• Coordinates committee work across Legal, HR, Finance, NW Asset Management (NWAM), vendors, and other support teams to promote consistent governance standards, documentation discipline, and timely issue escalation.
• Serves as the liaison and single point of accountability for recurring reviews, third-party coordination, dependencies, and status visibility across the committees, while preserving each committee's distinct responsibilities.
• Maintains an annual governance and compliance calendar for benefit plans and selected wellbeing programs, identifying recurring reviews, reporting obligations, required notices, document refresh cycles, and recommended fiduciary best practices.
• Oversees governance records and control documentation, including charters, delegations, committee materials, issue logs, and evidence of completed reviews, to support audit readiness and consistent process execution; ensures fiduciary committee documentation remains current and compliant, working closely with Legal. Coordinates decisions, dependencies, and open matters so responsibilities and status remain visible between meetings.

• Partners with Legal and other internal stakeholders to assess the operational impact of legislative, regulatory, litigation, and policy developments and coordinates needed process, documentation, and committee updates

• Assists with coordination, review, and timely submission of annual and recurring ERISA filings in partnership with Benefits Accounting, Legal, auditors, and external administrators.
• Supports other compliance-sensitive benefit administration activities, including initial claims determinations, board reporting, plan-document interpretation escalations, and related communications and documentation updates.
• Coordinates periodic reviews of vendor controls, process adherence, and documentation quality across benefit plans and selected wellbeing services, and tracks remediation through closure with accountable partners. Shares best practices, templates, processes, and lessons learned across the BIC, BAC, and AC and surfaces gaps before they become larger operational, compliance, litigation, or fiduciary risks.
• Researches, benchmarks, analyzes, and recommends governance and compliance process improvements to strengthen plan administration, committee effectiveness, and operational risk management.
• May perform other responsibilities as assigned.

Reporting Relationships: Reports to VP, Associate Benefits and Wellbeing. This is an individual contributor role; may have opportunity to lead small team or project resources to support the work.

Typical Skills and Experiences: Education: Undergraduate studies in business administration, economics, finance, human resources, public policy, or related field preferred. Graduate studies or legal studies a plus.

License/Certification/Designation: Certified Employee Benefits Specialist (CEBS), Certified Benefits Professional (CBP), or progress toward related benefits or compliance certifications preferred.

Experience: Typically, eight or more years of related experience in benefits strategy, governance, compliance, plan administration, plan asset investments, or benefits consulting. Experience with committee governance, vendor management, plan documentation, claims or appeals processes, and cross-functional project leadership strongly desired.

Knowledge, Abilities and Skills: Proven knowledge of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), applicable DOL, IRS, and health-and-welfare regulatory requirements, committee governance practices, project management concepts, vendor management, and benefits theory. Demonstrated ability to interpret plan and governance documents, define relevant issues, develop practical solutions, manage competing priorities, and communicate clearly with all levels of management, external partners, and third-party providers. Strong analytical, documentation, facilitation, and process-improvement skills required. Working knowledge of wellbeing compliance interfaces, confidentiality-sensitive processes, and operational controls preferred. Strong presentation and interaction skills with executive level leaders.

Other criteria, including leadership skills, competencies and experiences may take precedence.

Staffing exceptions to the above must be approved by the hiring manager’s leader and Human Resource Business Partner. 

Values: Regularly and consistently demonstrates the Nationwide Values.

Job Conditions: Overtime Eligibility: Not Eligible (Exempt) Working Conditions: Normal office environment. Occasional travel. Non-standard or extended hours based on work or project needs.

ADA: The above statements cover what are generally believed to be principal and essential functions of this job. Specific circumstances may allow or require some people in the job to perform a somewhat different combination of duties.

 

Benefits

We have an array of benefits to fit your needs, including: medical/dental/vision, life insurance, short and long term disability coverage, paid time off with newly hired associates receiving a minimum of 18 days paid time off each full calendar year pro-rated quarterly based on hire date, nine paid holidays, 8 hours of Lifetime paid time off, 8 hours of Unity Day paid time off, 401(k) with company match, company-paid pension plan, business casual attire, and more. To learn more about the benefits we offer, click here.

Nationwide is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive culture where everyone feels challenged, appreciated, respected and engaged. Nationwide prohibits discrimination and harassment and affords equal employment opportunities to employees and applicants without regard to any characteristic (or classification) protected by applicable law.

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Smoke-Free Iowa Statement: Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company, its affiliates and subsidiaries comply with the Iowa Smokefree Air Act. Smoking is prohibited in all enclosed areas on or around company premises as well as company issued vehicles. The company offers designated smoking areas in which smoking is permitted at each individual location. The Act prohibits retaliation for reporting complaints or violations. For more information on the Iowa Smokefree Air Act, individuals may contact the Smokefree Air Act Helpline at 888-944-2247.

NOTE TO EMPLOYMENT AGENCIES:

We value the partnerships we have built with our preferred vendors. Nationwide does not accept unsolicited resumes from employment agencies. All resumes submitted by employment agencies directly to any Nationwide employee or hiring manager in any form without a signed Nationwide Client Services Agreement on file and search engagement for that position will be deemed unsolicited in nature. No fee will be paid in the event the candidate is subsequently hired as a result of the referral or through other means.

Nationwide pays on a geographic-specific salary structure and placement within the actual starting salary range for this position will be determined by a number of factors including the skills, education, training, credentials and experience of the candidate; the scope, complexity and location of the role as well as the cost of labor in the market; and other conditions of employment. If a Sales job, Sales Incentives, based on performance goals are possible in addition to this range. Note on Compensation for Part-Time Roles: Please be aware that the salary ranges listed below reflect full-time compensation. Actual compensation may be prorated based on the number of hours worked relative to a full-time schedule.

The national salary range for Sr Consultant, Benefits Governance : $138,000.00-$243,000.00

The expected starting salary range for Sr Consultant, Benefits Governance : $138,000.00 - $206,000.00