Global Compensation Director: Strategy & Analytics

Zendesk; Colorado; Hybrid; USD 196,000 - 294,000; Full time

Job summary

Zendesk seeks a Director of Compensation to own strategy, governance, and execution of global compensation programs. You will drive pay decisions aligned with business goals, support retention, and ensure scalable, equitable practices across regions.

You will partner with Finance, Legal, Payroll, HR, and executives to orchestrate budgeting, offer design, and workforce planning. This leadership role emphasizes data rigor, automation, and cross-functional collaboration.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in HR, business, finance, economics or related field.
• 12+ years global compensation/total rewards/executive compensation leadership.
• 5+ years of people leadership experience, including managing managers.
• Strong experience partnering with senior Finance, Legal, Payroll, HR leaders on strategy and execution.
• Proven ability to build scalable compensation programs, playbooks and governance.
• Experience with financial forecasting, budgeting, accruals, and enterprise compensation planning.
• Deep knowledge of market pricing, pay equity, job architecture, incentive design and compliance.

Responsibilities

• Direct and oversee the global compensation function and policy governance.
• Develop and execute global compensation policies and operating models.
• Lead compensation analytics including benchmarking, equity, and reporting.
• Own compensation tools, data integrity, and automation for scale.
• Support executive compensation activities and governance with leadership.

Skills

Executive leadership

Strategic compensation

Stakeholder collaboration

Analytical thinking

Data-driven decisions

Executive communications

Education

Bachelor’s degree in related field

Tools

Compensation software

Analytics tools

Job description

Zendesk seeks a Director of Compensation to own strategy, governance, and execution of global compensation programs. You will drive pay decisions aligned with business goals, support retention, and ensure scalable, equitable practices across regions.

You will partner with Finance, Legal, Payroll, HR, and executives to orchestrate budgeting, offer design, and workforce planning. This leadership role emphasizes data rigor, automation, and cross-functional collaboration.