Executive Compensation Director

wk; New York (NY); On-site; USD 250,000 - 350,000; Full time

Job summary

wk in New York seeks a Director of Executive Compensation to lead enterprise-wide executive pay strategy and governance. You will drive global programs for base pay and incentives with strong data support.

You will partner with HR and Finance, mentor the Compensation COE, and guide senior leaders on market trends and program evolution in a fast-paced environment.

Candidate will influence executive decisions, ensure compliance, and shape the global compensation roadmap for the organization.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in HR, business, or related field.
• 12-15+ years of progressive executive compensation experience.
• Experience leading global compensation programs and teams.
• Ability to influence executive stakeholders in ambiguous environments.
• Expertise in base pay, incentive design, and program management.
• Strong data analytics and market benchmarking capabilities.
• Change management and policy implementation.

Responsibilities

• Own enterprise executive compensation philosophy, frameworks, and guidelines.
• Govern base pay, incentive plans, and executive decisions with escalation protocols.
• Partner with HR and Finance to ensure sustainability, competitiveness, and compliance.
• Lead, coach, and develop compensation team members.
• Provide counsel on executive reward programs and global policies.
• Develop and harmonize global base pay and incentives for executives.
• Communicate compensation strategy to leaders and drive change.
• Analyze market data to inform recommendations and decisions.

Skills

Executive comp design

Data analytics

Stakeholder influence

Change management

Global compensation

Education

Bachelor's in HR or related

Tools

Excel

Job description

The Director of Executive Compensation provides enterprise-level leadership for compensation strategy, governance, and execution across assigned business units and/or global functions, focused on the executive roles across the organization. This role serves as a senior advisor to executive leadership, ensuring compensation programs align with business strategy, talent priorities, and external market dynamics. The Director leads the design, governance, and continuous evolution of global executive compensation programs, drives consistency and scalability across regions, and establishes decision frameworks for complex compensation matters. Operating with a high degree of autonomy, the Director sets strategic direction, mentors and develops compensation talent, and represents the Compensation COE in enterprise initiatives and executive forum. They will proactively identify areas of opportunity and recommend creative solutions. They will have significant specialized in-depth expertise and knowledge of technical Compensation programs at all levels of the organization, while using a consultative approach to provide counsel to leaders both within the division and across the company. Works within the Compensation COE to standardize deliverables and analysis.

Essential Duties and responsibilities

• Owns and governs enterprise executive compensation philosophy, frameworks, and decision guidelines, ensuring alignment with business strategy and talent objectives.
• Establishes governance models for base pay, incentive plans, and executive compensation decisions, including escalation and approval protocols.
• Partners with senior HR and Finance leaders to ensure compensation programs are financially sustainable, competitive, and compliant globally.
• Leads, coaches, and develops compensation team members; sets performance expectations and builds bench strength within the Compensation COE.
• Provides functional leadership across matrixed teams and regional/divisional partners to ensure consistent application of compensation practices globally.
• Provides counsel regarding the administration of executive reward programs aligned with global policies and practices as appropriate.
• Oversees development of base pay programs and incentive harmonization in a global environment related to the executive roles.
• Serves as a strategic partner to HR and Divisional leaders on compensation strategy, executive pay decisions, and complex talent scenarios.
• Leads compensation support for senior leadership populations, including executive offers, retention strategies, and succession-related pay decisions.
• Leads the design, evaluation, and evolution of global base pay and incentive programs, including short-term and long-term incentive plans ensuring continuous market competitiveness.
• Interprets complex market data and internal analytics to inform executive decision-making and enterprise trade-offs.
• Anticipates market and regulatory trends and proactively evolves executive compensation programs accordingly.
• Owns enterprise-level communication strategy for executive compensation programs, including executive messaging and change leadership.
• Influences outcomes through data-driven storytelling and strong executive presence.
• Proactively identifies compensation roadblocks or areas of opportunity and independently recommends creation solutions to complex problems using sophisticated analytics and judgement.
• Uses technical compensation professional knowledge to develop models, evaluate processes and monitor trends.
• Assesses strategies needed to best ensure executive compensation programs and tools are used effectively by client groups.
• Maintains rigor around the global career framework, evaluating and determining salary grades or market rates for executive jobs levels.
• Analyzes market data and use to make recommendations regarding compensation packages, policies and programs.
• Partners with key divisional stakeholders, key HR stakeholders and the broader compensation COE globally to achieve compensation outcomes that both attract and retain critical talent.

Job Qualifications

Education

• Minimum: Bachelor's Degree in Human Resource Management or related field OR, equivalent.

Experience

• Minimum Experience: 12-15+ years of progressive compensation experience, including leadership of enterprise or global compensation programs, OR equivalent.
• Demonstrated experience leading compensation teams or large-scale enterprise initiatives
• Proven ability to influence executive-level stakeholders and drive decisions in ambiguous environments
• Base pay and incentive compensation design & program management
• Market analysis & benchmarking
• Compensation program communications and implementation
• Administer and provide guidance for executive and non-executive compensation programs
• Knowledgeable around global compensation policies and programs
• Compensation design for technology organizations
• Strong technical and data analytics capability
• Change management and policy implementation
• Adv