Senior Compensation Manager

Vaco; Frisco (TX); On-site; USD 125,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

Vaco by Highspring in Dallas, TX is seeking a Senior Compensation Manager to lead and optimize the organization's compensation programs within a large, PE-backed business. You will design data-driven strategies to attract and retain talent, manage base salary structures, and oversee annual merit cycles.

You will build Power BI dashboards, conduct market benchmarking, ensure governance, and translate complex data into clear recommendations for HR and Finance in a fast-paced environment.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in HR, Finance, Business Administration, Analytics, or related field.
• 7+ years of progressive compensation experience with program leadership.
• Expertise in compensation analysis, salary benchmarking, job architecture, and incentives.
• Strong Power BI and advanced Excel for analytics.

Responsibilities

• Develop, implement, and evaluate compensation strategies aligned with business growth.
• Lead administration of base salary structures, incentives, and merit increases.
• Conduct market benchmarking and compensation surveys for equity and competitiveness.
• Maintain job architecture, salary grades, and compensation ranges.
• Partner with HR leadership to evaluate roles, promotions, and changes.
• Develop governance policies for consistency and cost management.
• Create Power BI dashboards for compensation trends and headcount costs.
• Analyze data to identify pay disparities and improve practices.
• Translate data into actionable recommendations for HR and executives.
• Support annual merit, salary reviews, and incentive cycles.
• Collaborate with HRIS, People Analytics, and Finance to improve data integrity.
• Leverage Excel and Power BI to streamline analyses and reporting.
• Ensure on-time, accurate execution of compensation processes.
• Prepare analyses and presentations for senior leadership.
• Align programs with recruiting, retention, performance, and financial objectives.

Skills

Power BI

Excel

Compensation analytics

Benchmarking

Education

Bachelor's degree

Tools

Power BI

Job description

Senior Compensation Manager

Dallas, TX - 4 days onsite

Compensation: $125-150K + bonus

We are seeking an experienced Senior Compensation Manager to lead and enhance the organization's compensation programs across a large, complex, and growing business. This individual will play a key role in developing competitive, data-driven compensation strategies that support talent attraction, retention, performance, and overall business objectives.

Operating within a billion-dollar, private equity-backed organization with more than 5,000 employees, this role requires a blend of strategic compensation expertise, analytical capabilities, and hands-on program management. The ideal candidate will leverage Power BI and advanced compensation analytics to translate complex workforce and compensation data into actionable insights for HR leadership and executive stakeholders.

This is an opportunity for a compensation professional who enjoys building scalable processes, improving reporting capabilities, and partnering across the business in a fast-paced, results-oriented environment.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop, implement, and continuously evaluate compensation strategies that align with business objectives, market competitiveness, and organizational growth.


• Lead the administration and evolution of base salary structures, incentive compensation programs, annual merit increases, bonus plans, and other compensation initiatives.


• Conduct market benchmarking and compensation surveys to ensure competitive pay practices across roles, functions, and geographies.


• Establish and maintain job architecture, job leveling, salary grades, and compensation ranges to promote internal equity and external competitiveness.


• Partner with HR leadership and business stakeholders to evaluate compensation recommendations, new roles, promotions, and organizational changes.


• Support the development of compensation policies, guidelines, and governance processes that ensure consistency, scalability, and appropriate cost management.


• Develop and maintain interactive Power BI dashboards and reports to provide visibility into compensation trends, workforce costs, pay positioning, and program effectiveness.


• Analyze compensation data to identify trends, pay disparities, compression issues, internal equity concerns, and opportunities to improve compensation practices.


• Translate complex data into clear, actionable insights and recommendations for HR leadership, Finance, and executive management.


• Build reporting capabilities that support annual compensation planning, merit and bonus cycles, headcount planning, budgeting, and forecasting.


• Partner with HRIS, People Analytics, and Finance teams to improve data integrity, reporting automation, and compensation-related analytics.


• Leverage advanced Excel and Power BI capabilities to streamline recurring analyses, reduce manual reporting, and improve the accuracy and efficiency of compensation processes.


• Lead the planning and execution of annual merit, salary review, and incentive compensation cycles.


• Develop planning models, budgets, guidelines, and analytical tools to support compensation decisions across the organization.


• Provide guidance to HR business partners and managers on compensation recommendations, salary adjustments, promotions, and pay decisions.


• Monitor compensation spending against established budgets and collaborate with Finance to evaluate financial implications.


• Ensure compensation processes are executed accurately, consistently, and within established timelines.


• Prepare compensation analyses, dashboards, and presentations for senior leadership to support strategic decision-making.


• Collaborate with HR, Finance, Talent Acquisition, and business leaders to align compensation programs with recruiting, retention, performance, and financial objectives.


• Support compensation initiatives associated with organizational growth, acquisitions, integration efforts, and evolving business needs.


• Evaluate existing processes and recommend improvements that enhance efficiency, transparency, and scalability.


• Maintain confidentiality and ensure compensation practices comply with applicable employment laws, regulations, and internal policies.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Human Resources, Finance, Business Administration, Analytics, or a related field.


• 7+ years of progressive compensation experience, including experience managing or leading compensation programs.


• Demonstrated expertise in compensation analysis, salary benchmarking, job architecture, salary structures, and incentive compensation.


• Strong hands-on Power BI experience, including building dashboards, developing reports, and translating compensation data into meaningful business insights.


• Advanced Excel skills and experience working with large, complex datasets.

Equal Opportunity Notice

Highspring LLC (d/b/a Vaco by Highspring) and its parents, affiliates, and subsidiaries ("we," "our," or "Vaco by Highspring") are committed to the full inclusion of all qualified individuals and does not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment because of race (including but not limited to traits historically associated with race such as hair texture and hair style), color, sex (includes pregnancy or related conditions), religion or creed, national origin, citizenship, age, disability, status as a veteran, union membership, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, marital status, political affiliation, or any other protected characteristics as required by applicable law. The company is also committed to ensuring that persons who need them are provided with reasonable accommodations; if an accommodation is needed to participate in the job application or interview process, please contact [e-mail].

Vaco by Highspring also wants all applicants to know their rights that workplace discrimination is illegal.

Privacy Notice

• California residents may access Vaco by Highspring HR Notice at Collection for California Applicants and Employees here.


• Virginia residents may access our state specific policies here.


• Residents of all other states may access our policies here.


• Canadian residents may access our policies in English here and in French here.


• Residents of countries governed by GDPR and UK GDPR may access our policies here.

Additionally, submissions to this position are subject to the use of AI to perform preliminary candidate screenings, focused on ensuring minimum job requirements noted in the position are satisfied. More details about Vaco by Highspring's use of AI can be found here (https://www.highspring.com/ai-use-notices/). Further assessment of candidates beyond this initial phase will be conducted by recruiters and hiring managers. Vaco by Highspring does not know and cannot opine on if its client's use of AI products in hiring.

Pay Transparency Notice

Determining compensation for this role (and others) at Vaco by Highspring depends upon a wide array of factors including but not limited to:

• the individual's skill sets, experience and training;


• licensure and certification requirements;


• office location and other geographic considerations; and


• other business and organizational needs.

With that said, as required by local law, Vaco by Highspring believes that the following salary range referenced above reasonably estimates the base compensation for an individual hired into this position in geographies that require salary range disclosure. The individual may also be eligible for discretionary bonuses and/or participation in medical, dental, and vision benefits as well as the company's retirement plan (or similar retirement benefits).