Benefits Strategy Executive Advisor

Summary of the Role 

Howard Hughes Medical Institute seeks a Benefits Strategy Executive Advisor to serve as the organization's internal subject matter expert through a multi-workstream benefits transformation. This is a limited-term engagement, structured as an independent contractor or consulting firm arrangement, focused on a defined and consequential body of project work rather than an ongoing administrative role. The advisor operates as a seat at the table with senior leadership, advising the Chief Operating Officer and Office of General Counsel with authority throughout the initiative. The initial engagement runs through early 2028 go-live and initial implementation, with extension considered based on the project roadmap. 

Why This Role Matters 

Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) is one of the nation's largest private biomedical research philanthropies, supporting a community of approximately 2,600 employees across three populations: headquarters in Chevy Chase, MD; the Janelia Research Campus in Ashburn, VA; and host site scientists and staff embedded at more than 100 universities nationwide.  

HHMI's benefits program is a strategically important component of its ability to attract and retain world-class scientific talent. The Institute is now undertaking its most significant benefits modernization in years, and this engagement is central to that work. The Institute's goals for this work are clear: bend the long-term cost curve, improve the employee experience, and adopt modern benefit designs that are not limited by how the program has always been structured. 

HHMI engages external benefits consultants and brokers to support its benefits work. The advisor serves as the internal counterpart to those relationships, ensuring HHMI’s priorities and independent judgment lead every engagement with external partners. 

The advisor will report directly to the Chief of People & Culture and will work in close daily partnership with the Sr. Director of Total Rewards & Benefits and the broader Benefits team. This structure is intentional: the advisor brings specialized medical and pharmacy benefits expertise and strategic depth that this engagement requires, while the Sr. Director and Benefits team bring institutional knowledge, carrier relationships, and operational continuity. The advisor advises and leads on strategy; the team executes and owns ongoing administration. Success requires genuine collaboration between the two. 

The advisor will also work closely with the Chief Operating Officer and Office of General Counsel throughout the engagement, serving as a trusted internal expert that HR, Legal, Finance, and leadership can all rely on for authoritative, independent guidance. 

The engagement spans four active workstreams drawn from HHMI’s near- and long-term benefits roadmap: 

• Pharmacy Benefit Strategy & Vendor Procurement (immediate priority)

• Medical Plan Portfolio Redesign

• Near-Term Benefits Efficiency Initiatives

• Long-Term Benefits Sustainability

What You Will Actually Do 

• Serves as HHMI’s internal expert counterpart to external benefits consultants and brokers, evaluating recommendations and vendor analyses independently, directing firm priorities, holding consultants accountable to timelines and deliverables, and escalating where their outputs fall short of HHMI’s needs.

• Deconstructs vendor and actuarial proposals, including pricing structures, contract terms, guarantees, and savings claims, to distinguish genuine value from repackaging, identify where spread and rebate economics sit, and surface the trade-offs leadership needs to decide.

• Partners closely with the Sr. Director of Total Rewards & Benefits and the Benefits team, aligning on strategy day to day, advising on vendor relationships, plan design decisions, and negotiation positioning, and supporting the team’s capacity on active projects without displacing team accountability.

• Advises on plan design, contract negotiation, vendor relationships, and regulatory compliance across all active workstreams, including incumbent and prospective carriers, PBMs, and specialty partners, bringing independent market perspective.

• Translates complex benefits decisions and broker outputs into clear options analyses and recommendations for senior leadership, communicating effectively with both vendors and executives and advising on communication strategies for employee-facing plan changes.

• Partners with the assigned project management resource on workstream coordination and stakeholder communications, and supports People & Culture and Finance alignment on cost modeling, funding strategy, and plan change impacts.

• Identifies risks and escalates issues with recommended mitigations before they reach leadership as surprises.

What We Are Looking For 

• Demonstrated experience with PBM RFPs and carve-outs at employer scale, either executing them directly or managing a broker or consultant through the process with full command of the substance.

• Deep familiarity with pharmacy benefit structures, including formulary design, specialty pharmacy, GLP-1 policy, biosimilar strategy, and direct manufacturer contracting.

• Experience managing external benefits consultants and brokers, understanding how consulting firms work, where their incentives lie, and how to direct them effectively on behalf of an employer.

• Experience advising C-suite and legal stakeholders, comfortable presenting independent recommendations and holding a position under scrutiny.

• Strong vendor market knowledge, including understanding of the PBM landscape, carrier relationships, and how to structure negotiations.

• Ability to work independently with minimal ramp-up; HHMI needs expertise on day one.

• 15+ years of benefits strategy experience, with direct accountability for complex plan design and vendor management.

Nice to Have 

• Prior experience on the broker or consulting firm side, in benefits consulting, actuarial, or brokerage, bringing market perspective and vendor leverage that internal-only backgrounds may lack.

• Experience with value-based benefit design, Centers of Excellence networks, and incentive-based steerage models.

• Familiarity with self-funded employer plan structures, stop-loss, and funding strategy.

• Experience working with research institutions, universities, or nonprofits with complex employee populations.

• Knowledge of California-specific plan considerations, including Kaiser, state mandates, and multi-site compliance.

What This Role Is Not 

• Not a project management or coordination role; it is a seat at the table with senior leadership.

• Not a replacement for HHMI's external benefits consultants and brokers; it is the internal counterpart to them.

Practical Details