Retirement Plan Manager

Is the opportunity to join a culture where “We Do the Right Thing,” and “We Courageously Shape Our Future Together” important to you? If so, Guardian is seeking a motivated individual to join our team as a Retirement Plan Manager.

This role will support the governance, compliance oversight, and strategic management of the company’s qualified and non-qualified retirement programs, including defined contribution, defined benefit, and executive retirement plans. Additionally, supports the retirement plan operating model, governance framework, fiduciary oversight processes, vendor management strategy, and administration oversight. The Manager will partner with internal stakeholders and external service providers to help ensure operational excellence, regulatory compliance, effective risk management, and strong participant experience.

The successful candidate will combine deep retirement plan expertise with strong business judgment, and continuous improvement capabilities to help evolve Guardian’s retirement programs and support long‑term organizational objectives and design reviews and lead implementation of new programs.

• Support management in plan design reviews and evaluation of new programs by preparing materials, reports, analyses, and recommendations.
• Evaluate retirement program effectiveness through benchmarking, market analysis, participant outcomes, and regulatory developments to identify enhancement opportunities.
• Support participant engagement through strategic review and planning.
• Lead implementation of new programs by developing end-to-end processes that are fit for purpose for Guardian’s plans.

• Use technology, where applicable, to streamline operations, increase efficiency, and improve accuracy.
• Support consistent operational controls, governance practices, and risk management standards across all retirement plans. Identify, assess, and mitigate operational, compliance, fiduciary, and participant risks.
• Maintain robust operational documentation, controls, standard operating procedures, and evidence of oversight activities.
• Lead remediation efforts related to operational issues, audit findings, compliance exceptions, escalations, and data integrity concerns across all plans.
• Coordinate and oversee nondiscrimination testing, regulatory filings, audits, annual limits, and other compliance requirements in partnership with service providers and internal partners.
• Support alignment among plan documents, Summary Plan Descriptions, administrative practices, and operational procedures across all retirement plans.

• Serve as a key contact supporting vendor relationships for retirement plan service providers, including recordkeepers, administrators, consultants, auditors, custodians, and fiduciary service providers.
• Support vendor governance reviews, performance evaluations, issue resolution, corrective action plans, and service delivery improvements.
• Evaluate vendor capabilities, service models, fees, controls, and participant outcomes to support strategic decision‑making.
• Support vendor sourcing, transitions, implementations, and operating model changes, as needed.
• Monitor vendor performance against agreed‑upon service standards and identify opportunities for continuous improvement.

• Support the development and execution of retirement communication strategies designed to improve participant engagement, financial wellness, and retirement readiness.
• Partners with recordkeepers and service providers to evaluate participant behaviors, communication effectiveness, and service outcomes.
• Identify opportunities to enhance…