Director, Health Care Benefits

As part of our Human Resources team youll help us attract hire and retain the top talent we need to achieve our bold vision. Youll play a vital role in defining developing and maintaining the winning culture that empowers diverse individuals to work together and create the impossible. Were seeking change leaders talent strategists employee advocates and culture architects to enable our teams partners and businesses to do and be their best.

In this position...

We are seeking an experienced and strategic Director Health Care Benefits to lead the design evolution and administration of Fords health care benefits programs. This leader will be responsible for setting the future direction for our health care benefits ensuring they are comprehensive competitive cost-effective and aligned with Fords overall business objectives and employee needs.

This leader will shape Fords benefits strategy and lead a team committed to operational excellence delivering seamless administration full compliance and outstanding employee experience. The ideal candidate will possess a deep understanding of the evolving health care landscape a proven track record in strategic benefits planning the ability to deliver operational excellence through strong team leadership and exceptional skills in cross-functional collaboration and labor relations. An important component of this role involves leading health care benefit negotiations with our union partners proposing solutions that meet the needs of both the company and our union-represented employees.

This role is hybrid and requires at least 4 days onsite in the Dearborn MI office.

What youll do...

Strategic Vision & Benefits Innovation:

• Establish Fords multi-year health care benefits vision and strategic roadmap aligning with enterprise business objectives and long-term talent strategy.
• Oversee competitive benchmarking market intelligence and assessment of emerging health care trends disruptive technologies and industry innovations to position Ford as a benefits leader and employer of choice.
• Analyze workforce demographics health data and utilization patterns to design benefit strategies that optimize health outcomes employee experience cost management and competitive positioning.
• Develop business cases and financial models for senior leadership on benefit investments plan redesign and transformational initiatives.
• Partner with Supply Chain Finance Legal HR IT and Labor Relations to align health care strategy with corporate financial planning risk management and total rewards philosophy.

Labor Strategy & Collective Bargaining Leadership:

• Serve as the lead strategist and senior negotiator for health care benefits in collective bargaining shaping proposals that balance business sustainability with union partnership and employee value.
• Develop detailed bargaining strategies scenario modeling and long-term cost projections to inform executive decision-making and negotiation positioning.
• Build strategic relationships with union leadership to foster collaboration mutual understanding and creative problem-solving for complex health care challenges.
• Translate negotiated agreements into actionable implementation roadmaps then lead team to implement.

Vendor Strategy & Ecosystem Partnerships:

• Define vendor strategy and lead the selection of strategic partners (medical/dental/vision carriers PBMs and carve-out specialty vendors) that align with Fords vision and deliver measurable value.
• Establish governance frameworks and collaborative partnerships with vendors to drive innovation value-based care outcomes measurement and excellence in service delivery and cost outcomes.
• Negotiate enterprise-level contracts and service agreements that optimize financial terms performance accountability and strategic flexibility.

Operational Excellence & Plan Administration Leadership:

• Guide team to deliver consistently excellent health care plan administration including medical pharmacy dental and vision programs across union and non-union populations.
• Manage health care benefits budget cost forecasting and financial performance; partner with Finance and actuarial consultants to optimize funding approaches model scenarios and demonstrate value for investment.
• Champion continuous improvement in processes systems and service delivery while adhering to collective bargaining agreements regulatory requirements and internal policies.
• Oversee annual enrollment strategy and execution with clear communication and high employee engagement.

Health Care Plan Design & Governance:

• Guide the evolution of plan design to balance value choice affordability and fiscal responsibility.
• Establish governance structures policies and decision-making frameworks that ensure consistent equitable legally compliant benefit delivery and mitigate risks through proactive oversight.
• Ensure all plans comply with federal state and local regulations (ACA COBRA HIPAA ERISA) and all applicable collective bargaining agreements.

Team Leadership Talent Development & Change Management:

• Build and lead a high-performing benefits team coaching members to elevate their capabilities take ownership of outcomes and deliver results that exceed standards.
• Foster a culture of collaboration innovation accountability continuous learning and service quality.
• Manage organizational change for major benefits transformations ensuring stakeholder alignment effective communication and successful adoption across the enterprise.
• Serve as a thought leader and trusted advisor to senior HR leadership business unit leaders and cross-functional partners on health care strategy and industry trends; represent Ford externally through participation in industry forums coalitions roundtables and advisory boards.

Youll have...

• Bachelors degree in Human Resources Business Administration Health Care Administration or a related field (Masters preferred).
• Minimum of 10-15 years of progressive experience in employee benefits with at least 7-10 years focused specifically on health care benefits strategy design and administration in a large complex organization (Fortune 500 or comparable experience strongly preferred).

Even better you may have...

• Demonstrated experience leading or significantly contributing to health care benefit negotiations within a unionized environment; experience with major industrial unions (e.g. UAW) is highly desirable.
• Extensive experience with vendor selection contract negotiation and performance management in the health care benefits space.
• Proven ability to balance strategic vision with operational executioncandidates must be comfortable setting strategy AND ensuring their team delivers flawless execution.
• Strong track record of building and leading teams to achieve both strategic and operational excellence.
• In-depth knowledge of federal and state benefits legislation (e.g. ACA COBRA HIPAA ERISA) and compliance requirements.
• Strong analytical and financial management skills with the ability to interpret complex data perform scenario modeling and make data-driven recommendations.
• Excellent communication presentation negotiation and interpersonal skills with the ability to influence and collaborate effectively with all levels of the organization including senior leadership and union leadership.
• Proven leadership coaching and project management skills with the ability to manage multiple priorities and lead cross-functional initiatives in a fast-paced environment.
• Professional certification such as CEBS (Certified Employee Benefit Specialist) or similar.
• Experience with self-insured health plans actuarial valuation processes and claims analytics.
• Experience in the automotive manufacturing or other heavily unionized industries.

As an established global company we offer the benefit of choice. You can choose what your Ford future will look like: will your story span the globe or keep you close to home Will your career be a deep dive into what you love or a series of new teams and new skills Will you be a leader a changemaker a technical expert a culture builderor all of the above No matter what you choose we offer a work life that works for you including:

• Immediate medical dental vision and prescription drug coverage
• Flexible family care days paid parental leave new parent ramp-up programs subsidized back-up child care and more
• Family building benefits including adoption and surrogacy expense reimbursement fertility treatments and more
• Vehicle discount program for employees and family members and management leases
• Tuition assistance
• Established and active employee resource groups
• Paid time off for individual and team community service
• A generous schedule of paid holidays including the week between Christmas and New Years Day
• Paid time off and the option to purchase additional vacation time.

This position is a leadership level 5.

For more information on salary and benefits click here.

Visa sponsorship is not available for this position.
Candidates for positions with Ford Motor Company must be legally authorized to work in the United States. Verification of employment eligibility will be required at the time of hire.

We are an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race religion color age sex national origin sexual orientation gender identity disability status or protected veteran the United States if you need a reasonable accommodation for the online application process due to a disability please call 1-.

This position is hybrid. Candidates who are in commuting distance to a Ford hub location may be required to be onsite four or more days per week. #LI-Hybrid#LI-LC2