Head of Total Rewards

Pattern Energy Group•San Francisco, CA

9d•Hybrid

About The Position

Pattern Energy is seeking a strategic, hands-on Head of Total Rewards to lead the design, governance, and execution of the company’s compensation, executive compensation, incentive plans, benefits, and related rewards programs. This role will serve as a senior leader within People & Culture and will play a critical role in shaping programs that attract, retain, and motivate top talent while ensuring alignment with business strategy, market competitiveness, regulatory requirements, and sound governance. This leader will bring deep expertise in executive compensation, annual and long-term incentive plan design, equity and equity-like vehicles including RSUs and SARs, M&A-related compensation and benefits integration, and broad-based health and welfare, retirement, and wellbeing programs across US and Canada. The ideal candidate is equally comfortable in the boardroom and in the details, advising senior executives and compensation committees while also driving operational rigor, compliance, analytics, communications, and systems execution.

Requirements

Advanced degree required.
15+ years of progressive Total Rewards/ HR experience (with a heavy focus on Total Rewards), including significant leadership experience in compensation, executive compensation, incentive plans, and benefits.
Deep expertise in executive compensation, including board- and committee-level compensation design and oversight, with particular strength in equity and complex incentive structures.
Strong experience with annual incentive plans, deferred incentives, long-term incentives, RSUs, SARs, and other equity-like vehicles.
Demonstrated success leading M&A-related compensation and benefits due diligence, integration, harmonization, and retention design.
Strong benefits leadership experience, including health and welfare, retirement, vendor management, renewal strategy, and employee communications.
Strong analytical and financial modeling skills with the ability to translate complex data into clear recommendations.
Strong knowledge of compensation governance, tax, compliance, and regulatory considerations.
Proven ability to influence senior executives and operate effectively in a fast-paced, high-growth, and evolving environment.
Excellent judgment, discretion, and executive presence.
Experience leading through complexity, ambiguity, and change.

Nice To Haves

Experience in renewable energy, infrastructure, industrial, private equity-backed, or similarly complex environments.
Experience supporting private company executive compensation structures and evolving long-term incentive frameworks.
Experience integrating rewards programs across multiple business units, acquired entities, or cross-border employee populations.
Familiarity with compensation committee materials, valuation concepts, and transaction-related executive compensation matters.

Responsibilities

Lead the analysis, and administration of executive compensation programs, including base salary, annual incentives, long-term incentives, retention awards, sign-on packages, and separation-related pay considerations.
Partner closely with the Executive Team, Finance, Legal, and the Board/Compensation Committee on executive pay decisions, materials, recommendations, and governance processes.
Develop and maintain executive compensation frameworks that align pay with performance, company strategy, shareholder expectations, and market competitiveness.
Support executive compensation benchmarking, market analyses, peer comparisons, modeling, and recommendations for senior leadership roles.
Prepare executive compensation materials for Board and Committee meetings, including compensation memos, scenario analysis, and decision support.
Own the design, governance, and administration of company-wide incentive plans.
Lead enterprise compensation strategy including compensation philosophy, salary structures, job architecture, market pricing, pay equity support, annual merit cycles, and promotion/in-range movement governance.
Build and refine incentive plan design principles, payout methodologies, metrics, thresholds, weighting approaches, and governance controls.
Lead annual incentive calibration and payout processes, including business performance assessment, individual performance alignment, payout modeling, and leadership review support.
Ensure all incentive plans are documented clearly, scalable, auditable, and aligned across acquired and legacy businesses where relevant.
Partner with Finance and HR systems/payroll teams to strengthen the operational execution, controls, reconciliation, and communication of variable pay programs.
Lead the design and administration of long-term incentive vehicles, including RSUs, SARs, cash-based LTIPs, and other equity or equity-like awards.
Advise leadership on plan provisions such as vesting, retirement treatment, termination treatment, change-in-control treatment, and award timing.
Partner with Legal and Finance on award agreements, plan document review, tax treatment, valuation considerations, accounting impacts, and participant communications.
Build clear employee and executive-facing education materials to improve understanding of complex long-term incentive programs.
Lead the Total Rewards workstream for mergers, acquisitions, integrations, carve-outs, and restructuring activity if any.
Conduct compensation and benefits due diligence for target companies, including executive arrangements, retention risk analysis, severance obligations, annual incentive structures, equity programs, and benefit plan liabilities.
Design and execute post-close compensation and benefits harmonization strategies, including job leveling alignment, pay range mapping, retention programs, transition incentives, and executive retention arrangements.
Partner with business leaders, Legal, and Finance on transaction-related retention, sign-on, and change-management compensation arrangements.
Oversee the strategy, design, vendor management, compliance, and execution of employee benefits programs, including medical, dental, vision, retirement, disability, leave, wellbeing, and ancillary offerings for both all locations including US and Canada.
Lead annual benefits renewal strategy, plan design changes, vendor negotiations, employee communications, and open enrollment execution.
Ensure benefits programs are competitive, cost-effective, compliant, and aligned with employee needs and the company’s talent strategy.
Drive improvements in benefits governance, audits, reconciliations, reporting, and employee experience.
Build, lead, and develop a high-performing Total Rewards team across compensation and benefits.
Create a high-bar operating model with strong controls, documentation, analytics, stakeholder communication, and service delivery.
Drive continuous improvement in Total Rewards processes, systems, reporting, and automation.
Serve as a trusted advisor to executive leaders on pay, rewards risk, retention, and workforce planning implications.
Other tasks as assigned by manager.