Sr Director, Global Total Rewards

Watlow; Maryland Heights (MO); Hybrid; USD 220,000 - 300,000; Full time

Job summary

Watlow is seeking a Senior Director, Global Total Rewards & Systems to lead compensation, benefits, payroll and HR systems for 5,000+ employees across 30+ countries. You will set the rewards strategy and actively build key programs, including global job architecture, sales incentives and AI-enabled HR tooling.

You will partner with executives, lead a four-person team, and drive payroll conversions, vendor partnerships and cost optimization while maintaining competitive rewards for engineers and

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent in business, finance, HR, or related field.
• 15+ years in total rewards with global scope and 5+ years leading a team.
• Experience designing incentive plans and pay programs for engineering/technical roles.
• Experience leading a job architecture or leveling project.
• Global payroll and HR systems experience (Dayforce/Workday/SAP/SF/Oracle).
• Experience selecting and managing benefits brokers across multiple countries.
• Strong financial and analytical skills; able to explain complex topics to executives.
• Proven leadership with ability to guide, motivate and delegate to deliver results.

Responsibilities

• Own and update Watlow's global pay philosophy, salary structures and job leveling.
• Run annual merit, bonus and promotion cycles from planning through communications.
• Lead design of incentive plans across 30 countries.
• Oversee benefits plan design, vendor management and compliance globally.
• Own HR systems, data quality, reporting and AI tool adoption.
• Oversee payroll compliance and integration with in-house or vendor setups.
• Lead pay equity reviews and readiness for pay transparency rules.
• Advise CHRO/Board on pay decisions and workforce cost.

Skills

Total rewards leadership

Incentive plan design

Job architecture

Leadership

Financial analysis

Executive communication

Global payroll oversight

Benefits vendor management

AI / automation in HR

Cross-functional collaboration

Education

Bachelor's degree in business/finance/HR

MBA (preferred)

Tools

Dayforce

Workday

SAP SuccessFactors

Oracle

Job description

St. Louis, MO (Corporate Headquarters) | 4:1 Hybrid

About the Role

The Senior Director, Global Total Rewards & Systems leads compensation, benefits, payroll and HR systems for Watlow's 5,000+ employees in more than 30 countries. The role reports to the CHRO, sits on the Global HR Leadership Team, and leads a team of four direct reports.

This is a hands-on job. You'll set the rewards strategy, but you will also do part of the building yourself. Over the next year that means finishing our global job architecture work, improving the sales incentive plan, getting more value out of our benefits spend, and bringing better technology into HR. We're looking for someone who is comfortable in front of the executive team one day, and in the details of analyzing market data the next day.

First Priorities

• Complete the Global Job Architecture project, including the pay and cost impact analysis, present recommendations to the Executive Team and deliver rollout to managers.
• Build pay programs to help us at attract and retain engineers and other technical talent in our tightest labor markets including the US, Mexico, India and Malaysia.
• Implement changes to the sales incentive plan in partnership with Sales leadership and Finance.
• Select and onboard a new international benefits consultant, then use that partnership to bring benefits costs down across our 30+ countries.
• Provide leadership and guidance to team delivering payroll conversion and implementation of new payroll vendor in Mexico.
• Put AI and automation to work in HR, starting with compensation, payroll, and employee self-service.

Key Responsibilities

• Own Watlow's global pay philosophy, salary structures, and job leveling, and keep them current with market data from our survey providers.
• Run the annual merit, bonus, and promotion cycles from planning through manager communication.
• Lead incentive plan design, including the annual incentive plan, production incentive plan and sales incentive plan across 30 countries.
• Oversee benefits plan design, renewals, vendor and broker management, and compliance in every country where we operate.
• Own HR systems and related tools, including data quality, reporting, and the advancement of AI tools across our function.
• Oversee payroll compliance and integration, whether payroll is run in-house, through vendors, or through employer-of-record partners.
• Lead pay equity reviews and get Watlow ready for new pay transparency rules, including the EU Pay Transparency Directive and U.S. state laws.
• Advise the CHRO, the executive team, and the Board on pay decisions, workforce cost, and rewards strategy.
• Handle the rewards side of acquisitions, integrations, and entry into new countries.
• Lead, inspire and develop a high-performing t team of four, and build the bench the function needs as Watlow grows.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in business, finance, human resources, or a related field.
• 15+ years in total rewards, including global total rewards experience and at least 5 years leading a team.
• Experience designing incentive plans and pay programs for engineering or other technical roles.
• Experience leading a job architecture or leveling project.
• Previous experience and oversight of global payroll and HR systems such as Dayforce, Workday, SAP SuccessFactors, or Oracle.
• Experience selecting and managing benefits brokers, consultants, and vendors across multiple countries.
• Solid financial and analytical skills, and the ability to explain complex topics plainly to executives and employees.
• Proven leadership skills with ability to lead, guide, motivate and delegate to deliver results.

Preferred Qualifications

• CCP, GRP, or CBP certification, or an MBA.
• Experience in a global manufacturing or industrial technology company.
• Experience with pay transparency and pay equity programs in Europe, Asia and N. America.
• A track record of using AI or automation to improve HR processes.

What Success Looks Like

• Global Job Architecture is finished, rolled out, and being used by HR and managers to make pay and career decisions.
• The sales incentive plan is more aligned to the business results we want.
• Benefits costs are moving in the right direction across our international locations without losing what employees value.
• HR systems and payroll run with fewer manual steps and cleaner data.
• The executive team sees Total Rewards as a partner in growing the business, not just a cost center.

Watlow is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.