Equity Administration Consultant

Cypress HCM; Northbrook (IL); On-site; USD 96,000 - 117,000; Full time

Job summary

Confidential / Blinded is seeking an experienced Equity Compensation Consultant to provide hands-on administration coverage during a temporary leave, with a focus on ESPP and LTI operations. You will support global equity programs, manage deadlines and reconciliations, and partner with Payroll, Finance, Legal, SOX, HR, and external vendors to ensure accurate data and timely actions.

The role requires strong public-company equity administration experience, advanced Excel skills, and the ability

Qualifications

• Minimum of 5 years of direct equity compensation administration experience in a public-company environment.
• Hands-on experience administering ESPP and long-term incentive (LTI) programs.
• Experience with multiple global equity award types and lifecycle events (RSUs, PSUs, stock options, SARs).
• Experience supporting executive compensation disclosures and proxy preparation.
• Strong working knowledge of SOX controls, data reconciliation, and compliance.
• Experience with a stock plan administration platform; Fidelity PSW preferred.
• Advanced Excel skills for data validation and reconciliation.
• Able to work independently and manage concurrent deadlines.
• Strong written and verbal communication with cross-functional partners.

Responsibilities

• Provide end-to-end operational support for global LTI programs (grants, vesting, releases, exercises).
• Support ESPP enrollment, payroll changes, reconciliations, and post-purchase reporting.
• Review and escalate equity transactions, data validation, and corrections.
• Maintain accurate equity data in the stock plan platform; resolve data issues with teams and vendor.
• Prepare reconciliations for SOX controls and audits.
• Coordinate with Payroll and Finance on taxable events and reporting.
• Collaborate with Legal, SOX, Exec Comp, HR, and vendors on compliance and disclosures.
• Support year-end and proxy-related deliverables and communications.
• Maintain handoff notes and documentation for continuity.

Skills

Public equity admin

ESPP & LTI

Global equity types

SOX controls

Fidelity PSW

Excel proficiency

Data privacy

Collaboration

Tools

Fidelity PSW

Job description

Equity Compensation Consultant

Pay Rate: $75/hour

Assignment Type: Temporary Consultant Assignment

Assignment Focus: Equity Administration / Total Rewards

Company: Confidential / Blinded

Position Overview

Our client is seeking an experienced Equity Compensation Consultant to provide hands‑on administration coverage and continuity during a temporary leave. This role will support global equity compensation programs with a particular focus on Employee Stock Purchase Plan (ESPP) and Long-Term Incentive (LTI) administration, controls, deadlines, reconciliations, and cross‑functional coordination.

The ideal candidate will bring strong public-company equity administration experience and be able to step into an established environment quickly, independently manage time‑sensitive activities, and partner effectively with Payroll, Finance, Legal, HR, SOX, Executive Compensation, and external vendors.

Qualifications

Required Qualifications

• Minimum of 5 years of direct equity compensation administration experience in a public‑company environment.
• Demonstrated hands‑on experience administering both an Employee Stock Purchase Plan (ESPP) and long‑term incentive (LTI) programs.
• Experience with multiple global equity award types and lifecycle events, such as RSUs, PSUs, stock options, stock appreciation rights, grants, vestings, releases, exercises, cancellations, and terminations.
• Experience supporting executive compensation disclosures, CD&A or annual proxy preparation, including validation and reconciliation of equity‑related data.
• Experience working with a stock plan administration platform with Fidelity PSW experience is strongly preferred.
• Working knowledge of SOX controls, audit evidence, reconciliations, segregation of duties, data privacy, and public‑company equity administration requirements.
• Strong Excel skills, including formulas, lookups, pivot tables, data comparison, reconciliation, and validation of complex data sets.
• Ability to work independently, exercise sound judgment, manage concurrent deadlines, and escape material risks or exceptions quickly.
• Clear written and verbal communication skills and demonstrated ability to work collaboratively with Payroll, Finance, Legal, HR, SOX, executives, and external vendors.

Preferred Qualifications

• Global equity administration experience, including coordination of non‑U.S. payroll, tax, reporting, or filing requirements.
• Experience supporting executive or Section 16 equity populations and highly sensitive transactions.
• Equity Compensation Associate (ECA), Certified Equity Professional (CEP), or comparable equity compensation credential.

Assignment Purpose

Provide experienced, hands‑on equity administration coverage and continuity during a temporary leave, with particular focus on ESPP and LTI operations, controls, deadlines, and cross‑functional coordination.

Job Summary

This consultant will support the global Total Rewards team by providing senior‑level, hands‑on administration and review support across equity compensation programs. The assignment requires an experienced equity professional who can quickly learn established processes, independently manage time‑sensitive work, identify and escalation risks, and partner effectively with Equity Administration, Executive Compensation, Payroll, Finance, Legal, SOX, HR, and external service providers. The consultant will supplement the existing team and help maintain business continuity, accuracy, and audit readiness during the coverage period.

Key Responsibilities

• Provide end‑to‑end operational support for global long‑term incentive (LTI) programs, including grants, vesting and release events, cancellations, exercises, award conversions, and other scheduled or ad‑hoc transactions.
• Support the Employee Stock Purchase Plan (ESPP) across enrollment, participant changes, payroll contribution files, purchase preparation and processing, reconciliations, exception management, and post‑purchase reporting.
• Act as an experienced reviewer and escalation resource for equity transactions, data validations, calculations, payroll files, and participant‑impacting corrections.
• Maintain accurate participant, award, payroll, and HR data in the stock plan administration platform and resolve data integration or recordkeeping issues with internal teams and the vendor.
• Assist in preparation and documentation of the monthly, quarterly, and event‑based reconciliations. Maintain clear evidence to support SOX controls, internal and external audits, and management review.
• Coordinate with Payroll and Finance on taxable events, funding, reporting, accounting support, data validation, and issue resolution across U.S. and non U.S. populations.
• Partner with Legal, SOX, Executive Compensation, HR, and external advisors on plan compliance, controls, securities and tax considerations, global reporting, and country‑specific requirements.
• Support year‑end and annual cycle activities, including data preparation, grant and vesting readiness, participant reporting, audit requests, tax related deliverables, and recurring program communications.
• Support preparation and validation of equity compensation data, tables, and supporting schedules used in the Compensation Discussion and Analysis (CD&A) and annual proxy statement process.
• Partner with Executive Compensation, Legal, Finance, and external advisors to reconcile proxy‑related equity data, respond to review questions, and assist with timely completion of required executive compensation disclosures.
• Review and update participant communications, FAQs, tax supplements, process documentation, and educational materials; respond to escalated employee inquiries clearly and within established service expectations.
• Monitor critical milestones, dependencies, approvals, and open issues. Communicate status, risks, and recommended actions to the appropriate process owner or leadership contact promptly.
• Follow established segregation‑of‑duties, access, privacy, and change‑control requirements. Do not implement material process or policy changes without documented approval.
• Identify practical opportunities to improve controls, documentation, automation, and efficiency while preserving process stability during the temporary assignment.
• Create and maintain clear handoff notes, issue logs, decision records, and updated procedures to support continuity at the end of the engagement.

Engagement Details

• Temporary consultant assignment supporting the Equity Administration function.
• $75/hour pay rate.
• The consultant must comply with client confidentiality, information security, data privacy, access, and records‑management requirements.

About The Company

A global leader in applied safety science, the company transforms safety, security, and sustainability challenges into opportunities for customers. The organization delivers testing, inspection, and certification services, together with software products and advisory offerings, that support customer innovation and business growth. Its mission is working for a safer world.

#1308