Director of Compensation

The next part of your journey is right around the corner — with The Standard.

A genuine desire to make a difference in the lives of others is the foundation for everything we do. With a customer-first mindset and an intentional focus on building strong teams, we’ve been able to uphold our legacy of financial stability while investing in new, innovative technologies that support the needs of our customers. Our high-performance culture focused on operational excellence thrives thanks to remarkable people united by compassion and a customer-first commitment. Are you ready to make a difference?

Job Summary:

The Director of Compensation leads the broad-based compensation team. This leader manages the day-to-administration, execution and improvement of broad-based compensation programs, structures and processes, including base pay structures, incentive programs (short-term and long-term), job leveling, market pricing and compensation survey participation, and the annual compensation (ACE) event (performance, merit and promotions).

This position partners with the VP Total Rewards to develop enterprise-wide compensation strategies that are market-competitive, equitable, fiscally responsible and aligned with business outcomes. The Director ensures strategy execution, and strong program governance.

Primary Responsibilities:

Compensation program administration – Overall responsibility for timely, accurate and efficient administration of the company’s broad-based compensation programs including responsibility for ensuring alignment and execution of job leveling and market pricing practices consistent with compensation framework. Ownership of annual compensation survey participation and ensuring market information is consistently and appropriately incorporated into the compensation structures and individual role placement in the structures. Responsible for ensuring comp team’s execution of annual merit and promotion cycle processes and annual pay equity analysis. Ensures audits are in place for all broad-based compensation processes. Develops and implements compensation governance processes.

Strategy design and consultation – Works closely with VP Total Rewards on compensation philosophy and identification, design and execution of strategic compensation projects. Organizes and directs the work of project manager(s), compensation team and other enterprise partners to ensure timely and effective project execution. Consults and advises senior leaders on complex compensation matters; presents recommendations to executive forums.

Team leadership, coaching and development – Leads team of Compensation Consultants and Analysts. Directs the day-to-day work of the team including the business support model. Determines required learning and development outcomes for the team; provides guidance in the creation of development plans; monitors ongoing progress and provides coaching, mentoring and feedback to ensure individual and team growth.

Driving process improvements – Works closely with the compensation team, other HR partners and business leaders to identify and execute process improvements, including opportunities for increased efficiency and automation through the company’s HR system (Workday), and potentially through use of AI and other third-party tools.  

Skills & Background You’ll Need:

Education:

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, HR, Finance, Economics, or related field.
• CCP Certification

Experience:

• 8+ years in HR compensation, with at least 1 year of direct leadership experience.
• Deep compensation subject matter expertise & prior experience utilizing Excel for compensation modeling.
• Experience leading a team and providing coaching, development opportunities, and prioritization/organization of team’s projects and day-to-day work responsibilities.

Key Behaviors of a Successful Candidate:

• Winning Together: Excellent verbal and written communication skills with the ability to build strong relationships within the team and across the organization to become a trusted partner. High level of empathy & emotional intelligence with the ability to understand and respond to the needs and motivations of others.
• Driving Success: Able to manage and execute on multiple “business as usual” and strategic priorities at the same time, with a very high degree of ownership over results and accuracy of pay.
• Improvement Mindset: Solid business acumen with the ability to understand and communicate with stakeholders to provide insight into business operations and how compensation impacts organizational success. Thinks strategically and aligns initiatives with strategic business objectives.
• Developing People: Provides coaching and development opportunities for individual team members and fosters a team culture focused on collaboration, accountability, and continuous improvement.

#LI-Remote

We have built an enduring legacy of stability, financial strength and exceptional customer service through the contributions of the service-oriented people who choose to work at The Standard. To ensure we can attract and retain the best talent, when you join The Standard you can expect:

• A rich benefits package including medical, dental, vision and a 401(k) plan with matching company contributions

• An annual incentive bonus plan

• Generous paid time off including 11 holidays, 2 wellness days, and 8 volunteer hours annually — PTO increases with tenure

• A supportive, responsive management approach and opportunities for career growth and advancement 

• Paid parental leave and adoption/surrogacy assistance

• An employee giving program that double matches your donations to eligible nonprofits and schools

In addition to the competitive salary range below, our employee-focused benefits support work-life balance. Learn more about working at The Standard.

• Eligibility to participate in an incentive program is subject to the rules governing the program and plan. Any award depends on a variety of factors including individual and organizational performance.

The actual compensation for this role will be based on a combination of education and experience, knowledge and skills, position budget, internal equity, and market data.

Salary Range:

Standard Insurance Company, The Standard Life Insurance Company of New York, Standard Retirement Services, Inc., StanCorp Mortgage Investors, LLC, StanCorp Investment Advisers, Inc., and American Heritage Life Insurance Company and American Heritage Service Company, marketed as The Standard, are Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity employers. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, color, sex, national origin, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, disability or veteran status or any other condition protected by federal, state or local law. Except where precluded by state or federal law, The Standard will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance. The Standard offers a drug- and alcohol-free work environment where possession, manufacture, transfer, offer, use of or being impaired by an illegal substance while on The Standard's property, or in other cases which the company believes might affect operations, safety or reputation of the company is prohibited. The Standard requires a criminal background investigation and employment, education and licensing verification as a condition of employment. After any conditional offer of employment is made, the background check will include an individualized assessment based on the applicant’s specific record and the duties and requirements of the specific job. Applicants will be provided an opportunity to explain and correct background information. All employees of The Standard must be bondable.