Associate: Benefits at Robert Walters

What you'll do:

• As a Benefits Associate based in Cape Town, you will immerse yourself in the daily operations of global employee benefits administration. Your role will involve supporting a wide range of programmes designed to enhance employee wellbeing—spanning health insurance, wellness initiatives, retirement plans, travel coverage, life assurance, disability protection, and more.
• You will act as a dependable resource for colleagues seeking guidance on their benefits options while ensuring every interaction is handled with care and confidentiality.
• By partnering with internal teams such as Payroll and Legal as well as external vendors like brokers or insurers, you will help maintain seamless processes that uphold compliance standards worldwide.
• Your analytical skills will be put to use when consolidating data from various sources or preparing insightful reports that guide future decision-making.
• Whether coordinating annual enrolments or assisting with new programme rollouts across different geographies, your contribution will be vital in delivering exceptional service to employees at every stage.
• Provide comprehensive day-to-day support in administering global benefits programmes including health, wellness, travel, retirement, life and disability insurance as well as employee assistance initiatives.
• Serve as the first point of contact for employee benefits enquiries across various international regions, ensuring timely and accurate responses aligned with policy and compliance standards.
• Assist in executing annual benefits processes such as enrolment periods, renewals, and plan changes by collaborating closely with vendors and internal teams.
• Work alongside the Benefits Broker, People Team, Payroll, Legal, and Finance departments to ensure seamless integration of data and accurate auditing for all benefits-related activities.
• Coordinate with third-party vendors to guarantee high-quality service delivery while assisting in the reconciliation of monthly invoices and preparing detailed reports.
• Maintain up-to-date documentation for all benefits programmes while ensuring strict adherence to local, regional, and global regulatory requirements.
• Support the preparation of internal reporting, benchmarking exercises, and analytics that inform strategic planning around employee benefits offerings.
• Participate actively in rolling out new or enhanced benefits programmes across different regions by contributing to communications strategies and project coordination efforts.
• Extract and consolidate benefit data from multiple sources as needed for analysis or reporting purposes.

What you bring:

• To excel as a Benefits Associate in this role, you will bring proven experience managing employee benefit schemes within complex organisational settings—preferably those operating internationally.
• Your background should include hands-on involvement with data analysis tasks that require both technical proficiency (especially in Excel) and an eye for detail.
• Familiarity with industry-standard HRIS systems will enable you to navigate digital workflows efficiently while safeguarding sensitive information.
• Your interpersonal skills will allow you to build trusting relationships with colleagues at all levels—from responding empathetically to individual queries through collaborating on large-scale projects involving multiple stakeholders.
• A solid grasp of compliance issues ensures your work always meets regulatory expectations no matter the jurisdiction involved. If you have previously contributed towards implementing new benefit offerings or supported teams during annual renewal cycles across different markets (such as EMEA), your insight will be especially valuable here.
• Demonstrated experience (2–3 years) working within employee benefits administration—ideally gained in financial services or professional services environments where accuracy is paramount.
• Proficiency in analysing and manipulating data using tools such as Excel; able to extract insights from complex datasets relevant to benefits management.
• Comprehensive understanding of core benefits practices along with awareness of regional or global compliance requirements affecting multinational organisations.
• Exceptional attention to detail combined with strong analytical abilities that ensure data accuracy throughout all processes.
• Professionalism and discretion when handling confidential information related to employees’ personal circumstances or entitlements.
• Ability to thrive within regulated environments that demand accountability while maintaining a client-service mindset at all times.
• Experience using HRIS platforms (with preference given to those familiar with Workday) for managing employee records or processing transactions related to benefits.
• Excellent communication skills enabling effective collaboration across functions, geographies, and levels of seniority within the organisation.
• Preferred: Experience supporting global benefits programmes spanning multiple countries or regions such as EMEA.