Classification & Compensation Manager

Commonwealth of Massachusetts • Boston, MA

22h • Hybrid

About The Position

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts Executive Branch is one of the state's largest employers with 45,000 employees that span 11 secretariats and 70 plus agencies. From accountants to X-ray technicians with hundreds of titles in between, we are one employer with many career opportunities. The Commonwealth is looking for leaders, thinkers, creators, and innovators. We are a diverse workforce that reflects the diverse population that we serve.
The mission of the Human Resources Division (HRD) is to attract, engage, educate, develop, and retain a high performing and diverse workforce.
The Commonwealth offers competitive, comprehensive benefits, a diverse and inclusive culture, and an opportunity to serve. We share a commitment to make Massachusetts a great place to live, work, and raise a family – while delivering a customer-service-oriented state government that is as hard-working as the people of the Commonwealth.
As the Classification & Compensation Manager, you are a senior member of the Policy, Classification & Compensation Unit (C&C) within HRD and report directly to the Director of Policy, Classification & Compensation.
C&C’s work spans three interconnected areas:
Compliance and oversight: Ensuring all salary administration, classification decisions, and hiring practices align with relevant laws, policies, collective bargaining agreements, and other HR guidelines.
Strategy and innovation: Maintaining, updating, and modernizing the Commonwealth’s classification system and compensation structures to attract and retain a high-performing and diverse workforce.
Policy creation and development: Designing, updating, and implementing HR policies that support modern, equitable, and effective workforce practices.
In this role, you will provide leadership and expertise in both classification and compensation administration. You will oversee classification studies, conduct job analyses, develop and revise classification specifications, and support agencies in maintaining accurate and effective classification processes. You will also lead compensation initiatives, oversee market benchmarking activities, and serve as a strategic partner to agencies on workforce and organizational matters.
C&C is a small team that works closely together to deliver services to our constituent agencies. While your role will focus on managing the C&C analysts and leading key projects and initiatives, we are an “all hands-on deck” unit and often pitch in to help each other.

Requirements

• At least five (5) years of full-time or, equivalent part-time, professional, administrative, supervisory, or managerial experience in business administration, business management, public administration, public management, clinical administration or clinical management
• At least one (1) year must have been in a project management, supervisory or managerial capacity
• A certificate in a relevant or related field may be substituted for one (1) year of the required (A) experience.
• A Bachelor's degree in a related field may be substituted for two (2) years of the required (A) experience.
• A Graduate degree in a related field may be substituted for three (3) years of the required (A) experience.
• A Doctorate degree in a related field may be substituted for four (4) years of the required (A) experience.

Nice To Haves

• Experience conducting classification studies and job analyses
• Experience developing, revising, and interpreting classification specifications
• Knowledge of job evaluation methodologies, organizational design principles, and classification systems
• Experience analyzing organizational structures and making classification recommendations
• Experience utilizing compensation surveys and labor market data to support classification and compensation decisions
• Strong leadership and supervisory experience
• Excellent communication and customer service skills
• Highly organized with the ability to manage competing priorities
• Strong writing skills for clear guidance, decisions, and documentation
• Analytical mindset with the ability to translate data into actionable insights
• Comfort navigating complex, sometimes ambiguous projects

Responsibilities

• Lead and develop a high-performing team
• Supervise a team of three seasoned analysts, setting priorities and ensuring high-quality work
• Provide coaching, feedback, and professional development
• Lead compensation and classification initiatives
• Lead major classification and compensation projects from planning through execution, often managing multiple priorities simultaneously
• Perform job analyses through interviews, questionnaires, and review of organizational information to assess duties, responsibilities, and reporting relationships
• Develop, revise, and maintain classification specifications to ensure they accurately reflect work performed and support workforce needs
• Review and evaluate requests for new classifications or updates to existing classifications
• Lead the Commonwealth’s participation in external compensation benchmarking, serving as the primary liaison to the National Compensation Associate of State Governments and overseeing annual and ad hoc salary surveys and data collection
• Own and utilize market compensation software to assess labor market trends, price jobs to local relevant compensation markets, identify compensation gaps and risks, develop reports to monitor workforce compensation health, and connect and maintain Commonwealth jobs to benchmark compensation titles
• Manage data, systems, and reporting
• Analyze and present complex data using Excel (pivot tables, formulas, salary modeling)
• Act as the business lead for the C&C ServiceNow platform: Improve workflows, forms, and user experience for agencies and analysts
• Provide guidance to assigned agencies: Serve as a subject matter expert on: Hiring process, Compensation and salary administration, Classification
• Review and approve classification, personnel, and compensation requests for compliance and consistency
• Provide clear, practical guidance to agency HR teams on classification, compensation practices, and related policy
• Lead Audit and Appeal Processes
• Manage quarterly audits of delegated HR transactions, including planning, execution, and follow-up
• Conduct classification appeal hearings and issue decisions

Benefits

• Comprehensive Benefits
• Outstanding suite of employee benefits that add to the overall value of your compensation package
• Work experience that supports you, your loved ones, and your future

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Manager