Director, Total Rewards

Pinnacle Live•Arlington Heights, IL

4d•$160,000 - $172,000•Hybrid

About The Position

The Director, Total Rewards and People Experience is responsible for developing and leading Pinnacle Live’s total rewards strategy, building scalable compensation, benefits, leave, and recognition programs that support a growing, multi-site workforce. This role establishes the frameworks, governance, processes, and analytics needed to ensure competitive, equitable, and sustainable rewards practices across venue operations and corporate teams. The Director reports directly to the Chief Human Resources Officer, serves on the HR leadership team, and partners closely with Finance, Operations, brokers, and vendors. There is a genuine opportunity here to modernize the function, to design job architecture and pay structures from a clean sheet, and to apply AI and advanced analytics to rewards decisions that most organizations still make on instinct. This is a hybrid leadership position based in the United States, with a preference for candidates located in Dallas, Texas. The role requires approximately 10–15% travel to Pinnacle Live venues, corporate meetings, industry events, and leadership gatherings. Extended business hours may be required. If you want to own total rewards end to end rather than a slice of it, and you would rather build the model, this is that role.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in human resources, Business Administration, Finance, or a related field; or an equivalent combination of education and directly related professional experience.
Eight (8) or more years of progressive experience in compensation, benefits, HR operations, or total rewards, with demonstrated success building and enhancing programs in a growing organization.
Three (3) or more years of direct people leadership experience managing and developing HR or total rewards staff.
Demonstrates experience designing compensation programs, including compensation philosophy, job architecture, salary structures, market benchmarking, annual merit processes, and incentive program design.
Demonstrates experience leading health, welfare, and retirement benefit programs end-to-end, including plan design, annual renewal, broker and vendor management, open enrollment, compliance, and budget oversight.
Working knowledge of the federal and multi-state regulatory framework governing total rewards, including ERISA, ACA, COBRA, HIPAA, FLSA classification and wage and hour requirements, IRS Section 125, Form 5500 filing and nondiscrimination testing, 401(k) plan governance, FMLA and ADA, and state and local pay transparency and pay equity requirements.
Experience developing recommendations and presenting them to executive leadership.
Strong analytical and financial modeling skills, with the ability to leverage data, technology, automation, and emerging tools to improve total rewards decision-making.
Demonstrated ability to influence leaders and build strong partnerships with Finance, HR, brokers, vendors, and business stakeholders.
Ability to balance enterprise consistency with the unique needs of a diverse, multi-site workforce.
Strong project management skills with the ability to drive initiatives from strategy through implementation.
Ability to operate strategically while remaining hands-on in building processes, tools, and solutions.
Ability to translate complex compensation and benefits concepts into clear guidance for employees and non-technical audiences.
Sound judgment and discretion in handling highly confidential compensation data and protected health and personal information.

Nice To Haves

Experience in live events, audiovisual or production services, hospitality, or another multi-unit service business.
Experience managing self-insured or level-funded health plans, including underwriting and renewal analytics.
Experience in a high-growth or private equity-backed environment, including executive compensation, long-term or phantom equity plan support, and preparation of compensation committee or board materials.
Experience harmonizing pay structures and benefit plans through merger and acquisition integration.
Experience with enterprise HRIS platforms such as Workday, UKG, ADP, Dayforce, or Paylocity, including implementation.
CCP, CEBS, CBP, SHRM-SCP, SPHR, or comparable certification.

Responsibilities

Develop and evolve the organization’s compensation strategy, including compensation philosophy, job architecture, pay structures, market pricing, and governance to support continued growth.
Lead annual compensation programs, including merit increases, incentive planning, and market benchmarking.
Design and administer variable and incentive pay programs across frontline, corporate, and sales populations.
Conduct pay equity analyses and develop remediation and governance approaches in partnership with HR leadership and legal counsel.
Ensure compliance with applicable federal, state, and local compensation regulations, including wage and hour requirements, exemption classification, and pay transparency laws.
Develop and execute the organization’s health, welfare, and retirement benefits strategy, overseeing plan design, vendor partnerships, administration, and compliance to deliver competitive, cost-effective programs aligned with business objectives.
Lead the annual renewal and open enrollment cycle end-to-end, including plan modeling, employee communications, and post-enrollment audit.
Provide strategic oversight of all leave programs, including FMLA, ADA, state and local leave laws, and company leave policies, establishing standardized processes, strengthening compliance, and delivering a consistent employee experience across a multi-state workforce.
Build and evolve a scalable employee recognition strategy that reinforces company values, recognizes meaningful contributions, and strengthens employee engagement and retention.
Provide strategic oversight of HRIS capabilities, total rewards technology, and workforce analytics.
Leverage AI-enabled insights to enhance compensation, benefits, compliance, and data-driven decision-making, while ensuring data integrity, fairness, and appropriate human judgment in all outcomes affecting employees.
Develop total rewards reporting and dashboards for HR, Finance, and executive leadership.
Lead the Total Rewards function, providing strategic leadership and developing team capabilities.
Ensure sound financial stewardship through effective budget management and strong partnerships with brokers, vendors, and internal stakeholders.
Partner with Finance on cost modeling, accruals, and forecasting for compensation and benefits spend.
Support total rewards integration for acquisitions, including harmonization of pay structures and benefit plans.
Maintain plan documentation, required regulatory filings, and audit readiness.
Perform other duties as assigned.