Senior Manager Compensation

Mellon Foundation; New York (NY); Hybrid; USD 195,000 - 215,000; Full time

Job summary

The Mellon Foundation seeks a Director, Human Resources Business Partner to lead compensation strategy, governance, and job architecture. This role partners with HR, Finance, Payroll, and external consultants to establish scalable compensation programs and ensure market-competitive, equitable pay aligned with the Foundation's mission.

Responsibilities include managing major compensation initiatives, developing governance frameworks, and driving annual compensation planning while maintaining data

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, Finance, Economics, or related field.
• 8+ years of progressive experience in compensation, total rewards, HR consulting, or a related field.
• Experience designing or enhancing compensation programs, job architecture frameworks, salary structures, and compensation policies.
• Demonstrated success leading complex, cross-functional projects from planning through implementation.
• Strong expertise in compensation benchmarking, market pricing, job evaluation, and workforce analytics.
• Advanced Excel skills and experience with HRIS platforms and reporting tools.
• Exceptional analytical, communication, consulting, and stakeholder management skills.
• High degree of discretion, judgment, and commitment to confidentiality; CCP certification preferred.

Responsibilities

• Partner with the Director, Total Rewards to build and implement the Foundation's compensation strategy, philosophy, programs, and governance framework.
• Lead the development and maintenance of compensation structures, salary ranges, job families, career levels, and compensation guidelines.
• Design and document scalable compensation processes that support organizational growth and evolving workforce needs.
• Develop and maintain compensation policies, procedures, and decision-making frameworks that ensure consistency, transparency, and compliance.
• Support the development of Board and executive leadership compensation materials and analyses.
• Serve as the project manager for major compensation initiatives, including job architecture development, market pricing projects, compensation program redesigns, pay equity assessments, and annual compensation cycles.
• Build project plans, timelines, stakeholder engagement strategies, communication plans, and implementation frameworks for compensation initiatives.
• Coordinate cross-functional workstreams involving HR, Finance, Payroll, Legal, HRIS, and external consultants.
• Lead the design, implementation, and ongoing management of the Foundation's job architecture and leveling framework.
• Conduct job evaluations, organizational assessments, and position reviews to ensure consistency and internal equity.
• Establish and maintain methodologies for market pricing and compensation benchmarking.
• Analyze workforce data to identify compensation trends, compression concerns, pay equity considerations, and competitive positioning.
• Oversee day-to-day compensation processes and ensure operational excellence across compensation transactions and programs.
• Ensure compensation data integrity across HRIS, payroll, and reporting platforms.
• Provide guidance on compensation actions including hiring, promotions, transfers, reorganizations, and retention considerations.
• Serve as a trusted advisor to managers and HR colleagues on compensation policies, practices, and decision-making.
• Support and oversee annual compensation planning processes, including merit, promotional, and market adjustment programs.
• Identify opportunities to improve efficiency, automation, accuracy, and scalability of compensation administration.
• Monitor compensation-related regulatory requirements and emerging best practices.
• Maintain audit-ready documentation and governance controls for compensation programs and decisions.
• Develop dashboards, reporting tools, and executive-level presentations that provide insights into compensation effectiveness and trends.
• Deliver training, education, and communication materials that improve manager understanding of compensation practices and philosophy.
• Build strong partnerships across Finance, Payroll, HRIS, Legal, and business functions to support effective program execution.

Skills

Advanced Excel

HRIS experience

Stakeholder management

Education

Bachelor's degree in HR/Business/Finance/Economics

CCP certification preferred

Job description

The Mellon Foundation (“Foundation”) is a not-for-profit, grant-making organization that believes that the arts and humanities are where we express our complex humanity, and we believe that everyone deserves the beauty, transcendence, and freedom to be found there. Through our grants, we seek to build just communities enriched by meaning and empowered by critical thinking, where ideas and imagination can thrive. The Foundation makes grants in four core program areas—Higher Learning, Arts and Culture, Public Knowledge, and Humanities in Place—and through its signature Presidential Initiatives. The Foundation seeks a Director, Human Resources Business Partner, for our Human Resources team.

Position Summary

The Manager, Compensation plays a critical role in building, implementing, and maturing the Foundation's compensation function. Reporting to the Director, Total Rewards, this position leads the development of compensation programs, processes, governance, and job architecture that supports a scalable, equitable, market-competitive, and mission-aligned compensation strategy.

Serving as the Foundation's compensation project lead and subject matter expert, the Manager partners with HR, Finance, Payroll, managers, and external vendors to establish compensation frameworks, drive key initiatives, conduct analysis, and ensure effective program administration. A strong emphasis is placed on project management, change leadership, and continuous improvement as the Foundation evolves its total rewards infrastructure.

Position Description

Responsibilities may include, but will not be limited to, the following:

• Partner with the Director, Total Rewards to build and implement the Foundation's compensation strategy, philosophy, programs, and governance framework.
• Lead the development and maintenance of compensation structures, salary ranges, job families, career levels, and compensation guidelines.
• Design and document scalable compensation processes that support organizational growth and evolving workforce needs.
• Develop and maintain compensation policies, procedures, and decision-making frameworks that ensure consistency, transparency, and compliance.
• Support the development of Board and executive leadership compensation materials and analyses.

Compensation Project Management

• Serve as the project manager for major compensation initiatives, including job architecture development, market pricing projects, compensation program redesigns, pay equity assessments, and annual compensation cycles.
• Build project plans, timelines, stakeholder engagement strategies, communication plans, and implementation frameworks for compensation initiatives.
• Coordinate cross-functional workstreams involving HR, Finance, Payroll, Legal, HRIS, and external consultants.

Job Architecture & Workforce Analytics

• Lead the design, implementation, and ongoing management of the Foundation's job architecture and leveling framework.
• Conduct job evaluations, organizational assessments, and position reviews to ensure consistency and internal equity.
• Establish and maintain methodologies for market pricing and compensation benchmarking.
• Analyze workforce data to identify compensation trends, compression concerns, pay equity considerations, and competitive positioning.

Compensation Operations & Consultation

• Oversee day-to-day compensation processes and ensure operational excellence across compensation transactions and programs.
• Ensure compensation data integrity across HRIS, payroll, and reporting platforms.
• Provide guidance on compensation actions including hiring, promotions, transfers, reorganizations, and retention considerations.
• Serve as a trusted advisor to managers and HR colleagues on compensation policies, practices, and decision-making.
• Support and oversee annual compensation planning processes, including merit, promotional, and market adjustment programs.
• Identify opportunities to improve efficiency, automation, accuracy, and scalability of compensation administration.

Analytics, Governance & Compliance

• Monitor compensation-related regulatory requirements and emerging best practices.
• Maintain audit-ready documentation and governance controls for compensation programs and decisions.
• Develop dashboards, reporting tools, and executive-level presentations that provide insights into compensation effectiveness and trends.
• Deliver training, education, and communication materials that improve manager understanding of compensation practices and philosophy.
• Build strong partnerships across Finance, Payroll, HRIS, Legal, and business functions to support effective program execution.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, Finance, Economics, or related field.
• 8+ years of progressive experience in compensation, total rewards, HR consulting, or a related field.
• Experience designing or enhancing compensation programs, job architecture frameworks, salary structures, and compensation policies.
• Demonstrated success leading complex, cross-functional projects from planning through implementation.
• Strong expertise in compensation benchmarking, market pricing, job evaluation, and workforce analytics.
• Advanced Excel skills and experience with HRIS platforms and reporting tools.
• Exceptional analytical, communication, consulting, and stakeholder management skills.
• High degree of discretion, judgment, and commitment to confidentiality; CCP certification preferred.

The Mellon Foundation is committed to building an inclusive workplace where all individuals are treated with dignity and respect. Employment opportunities are based on individual qualifications, merit, and organizational need, without regard to race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, and related conditions), gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, age, national origin, disability, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law. We welcome applications from qualified individuals of all backgrounds.

Mellon offers a generous total rewards package that includes base salary and a comprehensive benefits program, as well as an excellent working environment. Mellon is committed to providing compensation that is competitive and equitable within the philanthropic sector. The estimated annual salary range for this role is $195,000 - $215,000. The amount of pay offered will be determined by several factors, including but not limited to qualifications, unique skills, credentials, or experience that is expected to impact the candidate’s contribution to the role. We will also consider market data as well as the Foundation’s internal pay equity framework.

Please note that Mellon maintains a hybrid work schedule, with three days per week in person at the Foundation’s Manhattan offices.

The Foundation will consider each complete application carefully but only contact those individuals it believes are most qualified for the position.