Director, Global Compensation

Bentley Systems; Exton (PA); Hybrid; USD 180,000 - 250,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Salary and benefits package

Inclusion programs and wellbeing

Global impact and collaboration

Job summary

Bentley Systems is seeking a Director, Global Compensation to design and govern our worldwide compensation strategy. You will lead base salary, incentives, and long-term incentives while aligning pay with performance and market data.

The role reports to the Vice President, Total Rewards and partners with Finance and HR to optimize budgeting, reporting, and governance. Hybrid/office Exton, PA preferred.

Qualifications

• 10+ years in HR with 6+ years leading global compensation programs.
• Experience designing comp structures across countries/regions.
• Strong knowledge of pay principles, market pricing, job architecture.
• Experience advising senior leadership on compensation strategy.
• Financial acumen with compensation modeling, budgeting, forecasting.
• Ability to analyze data and translate into business recommendations.

Responsibilities

• Develop and govern Bentley's global compensation strategy and programs.
• Advise executives and HR partners on complex compensation matters.
• Lead design, governance, and execution of base salary, incentives, and equity.
• Advance pay-for-performance integration with business outcomes.
• Oversee global job architecture, job evaluation, and market pricing.
• Monitor market trends to inform attraction and retention.
• Ensure compliance with global pay transparency and labor laws.
• Lead annual compensation planning, merit, bonuses, and equity plans.
• Collaborate with Finance to model budgets and forecast spend.
• Support executive compensation governance and benchmarking.

Skills

Strategic leadership

Executive stakeholder management

Data analysis

Communication

Analytical thinking

Education

Bachelor's degree in HR/Business/Finance

Master's degree or MBA

CCP certification

GRP certification

Tools

Workday Compensation

Compensation analytics tools

Budgeting/Forecasting

AI-enabled tools

Job description

Bentley Systems

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).

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.

What We Offer

• A great Team and culture – please see our colleague video.
• An exciting career as an integral part of a world-leading software company providing solutions for architecture, engineering, and construction - watch this short documentary about how we got our start.
• An attractive salary and benefits package.
• A 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. Discover our latest user success stories for an insight into our global impact.

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.

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Request An Accommodation

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]