Director, Global Compensation

BENTLEY SYSTEMS, INC.; Exton (PA); Hybrid; USD 180,000 - 260,000; Full time

Job summary

Bentley Systems is seeking a Director of Global Compensation to lead design, governance, and execution of our worldwide compensation strategy. Reporting to the VP Total Rewards, this role drives philosophy, equity, and market competitiveness across regions.

The ideal candidate combines strategic leadership with analytical rigor to deliver innovative compensation programs that attract, motivate, and retain top talent worldwide.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or higher in a related field.
• 10+ years HR experience with 6+ years leading global compensation programs.
• Experience designing compensation structures across multiple countries/regions.
• Strong knowledge of pay equity, market pricing, and incentive design.
• Proven ability to partner with executive leadership and advise on strategy.
• Financial acumen in budgeting, forecasting, and modeling.

Responsibilities

• Develop and evolve Bentley's global compensation philosophy, programs, and policies.
• Advise executives and HR partners on complex compensation matters.
• Lead design, governance, and administration of base salary, incentives, and equity programs.
• Drive pay-for-performance alignment and market competitiveness.
• Oversee global job architecture, salary structures, and market pricing processes.
• Monitor market trends to attract and retain talent.
• Ensure compliance with global pay transparency and regulatory requirements.
• Manage annual compensation planning, merit, bonuses, and equity allocations.
• Model compensation budgets with Finance and evaluate program effectiveness.
• Support executive compensation governance and benchmark analyses.
• Optimize Workday compensation functionality and analytics.

Skills

Global compensation

Executive stakeholder communication

Data analysis

Budgeting & forecasting

Pay equity & market pricing

Job architecture & evaluation

Workday knowledge

Strategic leadership

Presentation skills

Education

Bachelor's degree in HR, Business, Finance, Economics

Master's degree or MBA (preferred)

Certified Compensation Professional (CCP)

Global Remuneration Professional (GRP)

Tools

Workday Compensation

Compensation analytics tools

Job description

Location

Preference for hybrid or office-based in Exton, PA. Open to home-based candidates within the Eastern time zone.

Position Summary

Are you ready to help shape the future of compensation at a global software company advancing the world's infrastructure? Bentley Systems is seeking a Director, Global Compensation to lead the design, governance, and execution of our global compensation strategy. Reporting directly to the Vice President, Total Rewards, this role will ensure our compensation philosophy supports business objectives, promotes internal equity, and maintains market competitiveness across diverse regions. The ideal candidate combines strategic leadership, analytical expertise, and operational excellence to deliver innovative compensation programs that attract, motivate, and retain top talent worldwide.

Responsibilities

• Partner with the VP, Total Rewards to develop and evolve Bentley's global compensation philosophy, programs, and policies.
• Serve as a trusted advisor to business leaders, HR Business Partners, and Talent Acquisition on complex compensation matters.
• Lead the design, administration, and governance of global base salary, annual incentive, and long-term incentive programs.
• Drive the evolution of Bentley's pay‑for‑performance approach by strengthening the connection between performance outcomes and compensation decisions.
• Oversee global job architecture, job evaluation methodologies, salary structures, and market pricing processes.
• Monitor compensation market trends and competitive practices to ensure effective attraction and retention strategies.
• Ensure compliance with global pay transparency requirements, labor regulations, and compensation reporting obligations.
• Lead the annual compensation planning cycle, including merit increases, bonus planning, and equity allocation processes.
• Partner closely with Finance to model compensation budgets, forecast spend, and evaluate program effectiveness.
• Support executive compensation activities, including Board committee materials, peer group analyses, proxy preparation support, and executive benchmarking.
• Optimize Workday compensation functionality and leverage analytics, automation, and AI‑enabled tools to improve decision‑making and reporting.
• Lead and develop compensation team members while fostering a culture of continuous improvement and operational excellence.
• Minimal travel may be required.
• Requires sitting or standing at will while performing work on a computer (or any other physical requirements).

Qualifications

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, Finance, Economics, or a related field.
• 10+ years of progressive Human Resources experience, including 6+ years leading global compensation programs.
• Experience designing and administering compensation structures across multiple countries and regions.
• Strong knowledge of compensation principles, market pricing, job architecture, salary administration, incentive design, and pay equity practices.
• Experience partnering with executive leadership teams and advising senior stakeholders on compensation strategy.
• Strong financial acumen with experience in compensation modeling, budgeting, and forecasting.
• Demonstrated ability to analyze complex data and convert insights into business recommendations.
• Excellent communication and presentation skills with the ability to explain compensation concepts to diverse audiences.

Preferred Qualifications

• Master's degree or MBA.
• Certified Compensation Professional (CCP) and/or Global Remuneration Professional (GRP) certification.
• Experience supporting public company executive compensation programs and related governance requirements.
• Advanced knowledge of Workday Compensation and compensation analytics tools.
• Experience leveraging AI and automation to improve compensation processes and decision support.

Personal Characteristics

• Strategic thinker with a strong business mindset.
• Collaborative and influential leader.
• Highly analytical and detail‑oriented.
• Comfortable operating in a fast‑paced, global environment.
• Committed to transparency, fairness, and continuous improvement.
• An exciting career as an integral part of a world‑leading software company providing solutions for architecture, engineering, and construction.
• Commitment to inclusion, belonging and colleague wellbeing through global initiatives and resource groups.
• A company committed to making a real difference by advancing the world’s infrastructure for better quality of life, where your contributions help build a more sustainable, connected, and resilient world.

About Bentley Systems

Around the world, infrastructure professionals rely on software from Bentley Systems to help them design, build, and operate better and more resilient infrastructure for transportation, water, energy, cities, and more. Founded in 1984 by engineers for engineers, Bentley is the partner of choice for engineering firms and owner‑operators worldwide, with software that spans engineering disciplines, industry sectors, and all phases of the infrastructure lifecycle. Through our digital twin solutions, we help infrastructure professionals unlock the value of their data to transform project delivery and asset performance. www.bentley.com

Equal Opportunity Employer

Bentley is an equal opportunity employer and considers all qualified applicants for employment without regard to race, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, pregnancy, protected veteran status, religion, national origin, age, genetic information or any other protected characteristic. This commitment extends to all aspects of employment, including, but not limited to, hiring, placement, promotion, compensation, and training. Know Your Rights as an applicant under the law.

As an Equal Opportunity Employer, Bentley is committed to providing reasonable accommodations to applicants with disabilities. We encourage you to request a reasonable accommodation if you are not able to fully use or access our online application system. You can make an accommodation request by calling 610-458-5000 or sending us an email at [e-mail]