Benefits Manager

AppFolio is more than a company. We’re a community of dreamers, big thinkers, problem solvers, active listeners, and multipliers. At every opportunity, we set the pace while delivering innovation built to carry real estate into the future. One in which every experience feels effortless, yet meaningful. Where customers are empowered to take on any opportunity. We show up as one team, connected by our values to be a force for good. Because together, we have the power to create extraordinary outcomes for our customers, our communities, and ourselves.

The Benefits Manager is the trusted expert behind one of the most personal aspects of life at AppFolio — the health, financial, and well-being programs that show up for our employees and their families. In this role, you will lead the strategy, administration, and continuous improvement of our full suite of benefits programs, ensuring they are competitive, compliant, and genuinely valued by the people they serve.

This is a high-trust role. Every employee interacts with what you build. You will be the SME leadership turns to on the most sensitive questions, the project leader behind one of the biggest cross-functional efforts on our annual calendar (Open Enrollment), and the partner who keeps our broker and vendor relationships sharp. This role reports to the Sr. Director, Total Rewards.

WHAT YOU'LL DO

- Be the subject matter expert. Serve as the primary technical authority on health, welfare, retirement, and well-being programs. Provide thoughtful guidance to leadership on plan design, market positioning, and program decisions. Resolve complex employee escalations with care and judgment.

- Own compliance end to end. Ensure all programs remain in strict compliance with federal and state regulations, including ERISA, HIPAA, ACA, COBRA, Section 125, and state-specific requirements. Lead annual 5500 filings, non-discrimination testing, and audit-readiness. Partner with Legal where needed; carry the function as the primary owner.

- Lead Open Enrollment as a true project. Own end-to-end planning, execution, and communications for the annual Open Enrollment process — typically AppFolio's largest cross-functional People team initiative of the year. Bring real project management discipline: timelines, dependencies, stakeholder management, post-mortem learning.

- Drive benefits strategy. Monitor market trends, peer SaaS benchmarks, and employee feedback to keep AppFolio's benefits competitive and aligned with our culture. Bring forward recommendations grounded in data, employee experience, and cost discipline.

- Manage broker and vendor relationships. Hold partners accountable to high service standards, competitive renewals, and optimal plan performance. Lead vendor evaluations and RFPs as needed.

- Design employee-facing education and communication. Build communication strategies that empower employees to actually understand and use their benefits. Partner with the broader People team, HRBPs, and Marketing/Comms where relevant.

- Use data to make the function smarter. Analyze benefit utilization, cost trends, and program effectiveness. Translate findings into recommendations that improve employee experience and steward AppFolio's investment well.

- Support scaling and M&A. Lead benefits integration during acquisitions or significant scaling events, partnering closely with Total Rewards leadership, Legal, and Finance.

- Steward documentation and operational rigor. Maintain plan documents, SPDs, internal knowledge bases, and process documentation that allow the function to scale and audit cleanly.

WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR

- Trusted advisor. People come to you with their most sensitive benefits questions — leadership and employees alike — because you bring expertise, discretion, and judgment. You make complex topics feel approachable.

- Project management strength. You don't just know benefits; you run the work. You build timelines, manage stakeholders, communicate proactively, and deliver on the date you committed to.

- Deep attention to detail. Benefits is a function where small errors create large consequences. You catch what others miss, and you build processes that catch what people miss.

- Vendor partnership. You know how to get the best from brokers and vendors — partnership when it works, accountability when it doesn't.

- Strong communication. You can speak the technical language of benefits with brokers and Legal, and translate it into plain, warm communication for employees.

- Dot connector. You see how benefits decisions connect to comp strategy, talent acquisition, total rewards philosophy, and employee experience. You bring that systems view to your work.

MUST HAVE

- 5+ years of progressive experience in benefits management, including ownership of plan administration, compliance, and Open Enrollment.

- Experience in a high-growth public SaaS or tech environment strongly preferred.

- Deep knowledge of US benefits compliance: ERISA, HIPAA, ACA, COBRA, Section 125, 5500 filings, non-discrimination testing.

- Demonstrated track record managing broker and vendor relationships at scale.

- Proven project management experience leading Open Enrollment or comparable annual benefits programs.

- Excellent verbal and written communication skills.

- Strong analytical orientation; comfortable working with benefits data, utilization metrics, and cost analyses.

NICE TO HAVE

- CEBS, CBP, or PHR/SPHR certification.

- Experience supporting benefits integration during M&A activity.

- Familiarity with Workday, or comparable HRIS benefits modules.

- Experience partnering on well-being or leave-of-absence program design.

COMPENSATION & BENEFITS

The base salary that we reasonably expect to pay for this role is: $115,000 - $143,000

The actual base salary/hourly wage for this role will be determined by a variety of factors, including but not limited to: the candidate’s skills, education, experience, etc.

Please note that base pay is one important aspect of a compelling Total Rewards package. The base pay range indicated here does not include any additional benefits or bonuses/commissions that you may be eligible for based on your role and/or employment type.

Regular full-time employees are eligible for benefits - see here https://www.appfolioinc.com/careers/life-at-appfolio.

About AppFolio AppFolio is the technology leader powering the future of the real estate industry. Our innovative platform and trusted partnership enable our customers to connect communities, increase operational efficiency, and grow their business. For more information about AppFolio, visit appfolio.com http://appfolio.com.

Why AppFolio

Grow | We enable a culture of high performance, where delivering results is recognized by opportunities for growth and compelling total rewards. Our challenging and meaningful work drive the growth of our business, and ourselves.

Learn | We partner with you to realize your potential by investing in you from the start. We're cultivating a team of big thinkers through coaching and mentorship with our best-in-class leaders, and giving you the time and tools to develop your skills.

Impact | We are creating a world where living in, investing in, managing, and supporting communities feels magical and effortless, freeing people to thrive. We do this by innovating with purpose while cultivating a culture of impact. We learn as much from each other as we do our customers and our communities.

Connect | We excel at hybrid work by fostering an environment that feels flexible, personal and connected, no matter where we are. We create space to fuel innovation and collaboration, and we come together to celebrate, connect, and succeed.

Paddle as One.

Learn more at appfolio.com/company/careers http://appfolio.com/company/careers

Statement of Equal Opportunity

At AppFolio, we value diversity in backgrounds and perspectives and depend on it to drive our innovative culture. That’s why we’re a proud Equal Opportunity Employer, and we believe that our products, our teams, and our business are stronger because of it. This means that no matter what race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, age, marital status, ancestry, physical or mental disability, or medical condition, pregnancy, genetic information, veteran or military status, or any other characteristic protected by law, you’re always welcome at AppFolio.

We are committed to providing an inclusive and accessible candidate experience. If you need a reasonable accommodation at any point in the application or interview process for a disability, pregnancy-related condition, or religious practice, please contact us at peopleoperations@appfolio.com or (805) 284-0834. You do not need to use any particular wording.