Senior Compensation Specialist

Sentara Healthcare Inc; Norfolk (VA); On-site; USD 80,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

Sentara Healthcare Inc is seeking a Senior Compensation Specialist who will serve as a strategic partner within HR. This role requires leading market analyses and ensuring competitive compensation programs that align with organizational strategies.

The ideal candidate will have over 5 years of relevant experience and a Bachelor’s Degree in a related field. Responsibilities include providing expert recommendations and supporting annual compensation processes while collaborating closely with Talent Acquisition and HR leaders.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of experience in compensation including market pricing and internal equity analysis.
• Experience with offer strategy and negotiations in Talent Acquisition.
• Ability to work with complex compensation policies and frameworks.

Responsibilities

• Lead complex market analyses and provide recommendations on compensation strategy.
• Support annual compensation processes through data validation and auditing.
• Translate complex compensation data into actionable guidance.

Skills

Compensation analysis

Data-driven insights

Advanced Excel skills

Talent Acquisition support

Education

Bachelor’s Degree in HR, Business, Finance, or related field

Certified Compensation Professional (CCP)

Tools

Workday

MarketPay

Job description

The Senior Compensation Specialist serves as a strategic and consultative partner to HR and business leadership, responsible for delivering advanced compensation analysis and guidance across the organization. This role plays a critical part in ensuring compensation programs are market competitive, internally equitable, and aligned with organizational strategy, workforce needs, and financial objectives.

Operating with a high degree of independence, the Senior Compensation Specialist leads complex market analyses, job evaluations, and organizational pay reviews, providing expert recommendations on compensation strategy, job structure, and pay decisions. This position partners closely with Talent Acquisition, HR Business Partners, and leadership to support hiring strategies, workforce planning, and retention initiatives.

The role also supports annual compensation processes through rigorous data validation, auditing, and insight generation, ensuring accurate and effective program outcomes. The Senior Specialist translates complex data into clear, actionable guidance and contributes to continuous improvement of compensation practices, tools, and governance frameworks.

Education

• Bachelor’s Degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, Finance, Analytics, or related field

Certification/Licensure

• Certified Compensation Professional (CCP)

Experience

• Minimum of 5 years of progressive experience in compensation, including market pricing, job evaluation, and internal equity analysis
• Demonstrated experience supporting Talent Acquisition with complex offer strategy and negotiations
• Proven ability to interpret compensation philosophy, policies, and governance frameworks in complex situations
• Experience developing data-driven insights and recommendations for HR and business partners
• Advanced Excel skills, including modeling, scenario analysis, and large dataset manipulation
• Experience working with HRIS and compensation planning tools (Workday & MarketPay preferred)