Executive Director, Total Rewards

Blue Bird Careers•Macon, GA

4d•Onsite

About The Position

Reporting to the CHRO, the Executive Director, Total Rewards owns enterprise total rewards strategy and execution, including compensation, benefits, executive compensation support, incentive design, job architecture, governance, and rewards communications. This leader ensures programs are competitive, compliant, operationally practical for a manufacturing environment, and aligned to Blue Bird’s business priorities and culture. The Executive Director, Total Rewards will drive scalable processes, analytics and insights, and a customer-oriented operating rhythm that supports both plant and corporate populations.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree required in Human Resources, Business, Finance, Economics, or related field.
10+ years progressive experience in Total Rewards, Compensation, Benefits, or related HR specialty (manufacturing and/or multi-site environment preferred).
5+ years’ experience leading enterprise programs (compensation cycles, benefits renewals, incentive plans, job architecture) with cross-functional stakeholders.
Proficiency with Microsoft Office (Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Teams); comfort building trackers, dashboards, and executive-ready summaries.

Nice To Haves

Experience designing and delivering learning programs, including end-to-end training cycle: needs assessment, design, development, delivery, and evaluation.
Strong knowledge of instructional design for adult learners, learning experience design, and content curation.
Experience working with a Learning Management System with demonstrated capability managing learning content, learning paths/curricula, and reporting.
Excellent communication skills with the ability to communicate complex details in a clear, structured, and engaging manner.
Strong organizational and project management skills with the ability to manage multiple assignments, deadlines, and stakeholders.
Strong customer focus, able to anticipate needs, provide guidance, and deliver a positive learner and stakeholder experience.
Strong interpersonal and customer relationship skills to handle difficult and sensitive matters with professionalism and discretion.

Responsibilities

Develop and lead Blue Bird’s enterprise total rewards strategy aligned to business priorities, talent strategy, and financial stewardship.
Translate business needs into practical rewards solutions for plant and professional populations, balancing competitiveness, internal equity, and cost.
Establish and monitor program success metrics (e.g., market competitiveness, turnover/retention impact, benefits participation, incentive effectiveness, pay equity indicators).
Build strong cross-functional partnerships with Finance, Legal, HRBPs, and leaders to ensure consistent adoption and understanding of rewards programs.
Ensure all regulatory compliance for all health and welfare programs.
Own compensation philosophy and annual cycle execution (merit, bonus, adjustments, promotions), including guidelines, modeling, communications, and leader enablement.
Lead job architecture and leveling: job families, career pathways, job documentation standards, pricing methodology.
Maintain market benchmarking strategy and survey participation; recommend pay structure updates to support competitiveness and internal consistency.
Consult on compensation decisions and offers, ensuring alignment with policy, market, and internal equity; provide tools and coaching that support timely, consistent decisions.
Design, implement, and govern incentive programs (including operations, sales/commercial, and enterprise plans as applicable) to reinforce performance and profitable growth.
Partner with Finance and business leaders to establish measures, targets, payout mechanics, and controls; assess plan effectiveness and recommend improvements.
Lead benefits strategy and annual renewal process in partnership with brokers and vendors; ensure competitive offerings that support employee wellbeing and cost stewardship.
Oversee vendor performance management, contracts, service delivery, compliance, and employee experience.
Evaluate plan designs and benefit communications to increase utilization, understanding, and satisfaction across diverse employee groups and locations.