Compensation Manager

James Hardie•Chicago, IL

1d•Hybrid

About The Position

James Hardie is seeking an experienced Compensation Manager to support a complex, evolving workforce across manufacturing, sales, and corporate environments. This role is highly analytical and technical, with ownership of core compensation processes rather than people management. The ideal candidate brings strong market pricing expertise, experience working across multiple employee populations, and comfort operating in a systems-enabled but Excel-heavy environment. Flexibility in approach is critical, as this role requires navigating different compensation structures rather than applying a single, rigid framework. You will partner with Human Resources leadership, as well as internal teams in Finance, Legal, and HR operations to address business needs, provide guidance, and ensure successful outcomes.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree, ideally in a qualitative area.
Approximately 5+ years of compensation experience.
Experience supporting employee populations of 2,500–5,000+ employees.
Strong U.S. compensation experience required; global exposure or awareness is a strong plus.
Demonstrated expertise in market pricing, job architecture and evaluation methodologies, and compensation analysis across varied job families and pay structures.
Experience supporting hourly and manufacturing populations is highly valued.
The ability to work in a fast-paced environment and manage competing priorities is essential.
Ability to operate independently with minimal oversight.
Comfortable flexing across compensation philosophies and structures (not tied to a single point-factor or singular A-point approach).
Experience in working alongside other experienced compensation professionals, enabling collaboration and customization rather than foundational build-out.
Confident owning a function and being accountable for outcomes without direct reports.
Clear, thoughtful communicator who can explain and defend compensation decisions.
Brings intellectual curiosity, adaptability, and an appreciation that compensation practices vary by geography, workforce, and business needs.
Knowledge of human resources and compensation including knowledge of relevant Federal, State, Local laws/regulations relating to compensation.
Experience in developing compensation structures and pay scales for corporate roles and functions; experience in developing manufacturing pay scales or hourly pay scales.
Expertise in financial analysis, statistical analysis, and modeling is required.
Business and financial acumen.
Experience working with compensation systems is required.
Advanced Excel proficiency is essential, including: Pivot tables, VLOOKUP/XLOOKUP, Power Query, data manipulation and translating data into clear narratives.

Nice To Haves

Global exposure or awareness is a strong plus.
Experience supporting hourly and manufacturing populations is highly valued.

Responsibilities

Manage the annual compensation merit cycle and/or semi-annual promotion cycles for a large segment of the organization.
Lead market pricing and job architecture activities across hourly and salaried populations, exempt and non-exempt roles, and corporate, sales, and/or manufacturing functions.
Conduct in-depth compensation analysis, including market benchmarking and pay structure assessments, incentive plan scenario modeling, and ad-hoc analysis to support leadership decisions.
Support bonus and incentive compensation programs.
Partner closely with HR and business leaders, including manufacturing stakeholders, to provide compensation guidance and recommendations.
Provide operational support for immigration and relocation programs in coordination with third-party vendors.
Communicate and present compensation decisions clearly, including navigating difficult or sensitive conversations.
Contribute to the organization’s expanding global compensation awareness, including pay transparency considerations in Europe.
Leverage systems and tools to manage compensation data accurately and efficiently.
Operate effectively in an Excel-driven environment while supporting broader system adoption.