Manager of Compensation

Quinnipiac University•Hamden, CT

About The Position

Quinnipiac University’s Office of Human Resources is hiring its inaugural Manager of Compensation. Reporting to the Vice President for Human Resources, this role serves as the University’s lead expert on compensation planning, design, analysis, and administration. The Manager combines analytical rigor with consultation and change-management skills to turn complex data into practical recommendations, advise leaders across the institution, and promote competitive, equitable, compliant, and financially sustainable pay practices that support the University’s mission and talent priorities. The position leads the University’s compensation programs and job architecture work, including compensation philosophy, career bands, job levels, salary grades and ranges, job evaluation methodology, and career progression guidelines. It also leads compensation planning and analysis, provides guidance to leaders and managers, partners with cross-functional stakeholders, and supports clear communication, governance, and consistent administration of compensation practices.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, Finance, Economics, Analytics, or a related field.
At least 5–7 years of progressively responsible compensation, total rewards, HR analytics, or closely related experience, including substantial direct compensation analysis and administration experience.
Knowledge of job analysis and evaluation, market pricing, salary structure design, job leveling, pay administration, internal equity analysis, and compensation benchmarking.
Experience conducting or supporting pay equity analyses and compensation compliance reviews.
Understanding of applicable federal and state employment and compensation laws and regulatory requirements, including FLSA, wage and hour, pay equity, and evolving pay-transparency requirements.
Ability to interpret regulatory requirements and assess their impact on compensation policies, programs, and practices.
Strong analytical and quantitative skills, including ability to analyze complex data, identify trends, develop financial and compensation models, and formulate data-driven recommendations.
Advanced Microsoft Excel proficiency and experience with HRIS, compensation, reporting, or analytical systems.
Exceptional attention to detail and commitment to data accuracy and integrity.
Strong written, verbal, and presentation skills, including ability to explain complex information credibly to senior leaders, managers, employees, and HR professionals.
Ability to develop and facilitate training for audiences with varying levels of compensation knowledge.
Strong interpersonal, consulting, and relationship-building skills, with ability to influence decisions and establish credibility without direct authority.
Project leadership skills and ability to independently lead complex, cross-functional, organization-wide initiatives from design through implementation.
Strong organizational skills and ability to manage multiple priorities, deadlines, and stakeholder expectations.
Sound judgment, discretion, and ability to manage confidential employee and compensation information.
Applications must include a resume, a cover letter detailing alignment with the position requirements and demonstrated commitment to intentional leadership that values individuals of all backgrounds and experiences, and contact information for three references.

Nice To Haves

Master’s degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, Finance, Organizational Development, Business Analytics, or a related field.
Certified Compensation Professional, SHRM-CP, SHRM-SCP, or SPHR certification.
Compensation or total rewards experience in higher education or another complex, decentralized organization.
Experience leading an enterprise-wide job architecture, career framework, career banding, salary grade structure, or compensation transformation initiative.
Experience developing or modernizing a compensation philosophy and related governance and salary administration practices.
Experience with higher education compensation surveys and benchmarking resources, including CUPA-HR or comparable market data.
Experience developing compensation communications, executive presentations, manager training, and change-management programs.
Experience partnering with HRIS teams to implement or maintain compensation structures and job architecture in an enterprise HR system.
Experience using analytics or business intelligence tools to communicate compensation trends and support decision-making.
Proven ability to collaborate effectively with individuals from varied backgrounds.

Responsibilities

Lead the design, implementation, administration, and continuous improvement of the University’s compensation programs, policies, structures, and practices.
Serve as functional leader for the University’s compensation and job architecture framework project, including creating and maintaining its compensation philosophy, job architecture, career bands, job levels, salary grades and ranges, job evaluation methodology, and career progression guidelines.
Develop and administer consistent guidelines for starting salaries, promotions, lateral moves, market and equity adjustments, retention considerations, temporary assignments, and other compensation actions.
Lead annual and long-range compensation planning, including merit programs, salary structure adjustments, market priorities, budget modeling, financial impact analysis, and forecasting.
Conduct market pricing and benchmarking using higher education and general industry data, and coordinate compensation survey participation and relationships with external data providers.
Analyze market competitiveness, internal equity, salary compression, range penetration, pay positioning, and compensation trends, translating findings into actionable recommendations.
Advise HR colleagues, senior leaders, and managers on compensation decisions, organizational changes, workforce priorities, and financial considerations.
Evaluate new and existing positions and recommend job families, levels, career bands, salary grades, market references, classifications, and range placement using a consistent methodology.
Develop and maintain salary structures, analytical models, dashboards, reports, and executive presentations to support informed, consistent, and defensible compensation decisions.
Partner with HR leadership, Finance, HR Business Partners, Talent Acquisition, Employee Relations, General Counsel, Payroll, and HR Systems and Analytics on compensation planning, compliance, systems configuration, data integrity, and process improvement.
Lead communication, education, and change-management efforts for compensation initiatives, including presentations, training, manager tools, guidelines, FAQs, and measures of program effectiveness.
Establish and maintain compensation governance, approval processes, documentation standards, decision guidelines, data controls, and review practices that support consistent administration and mitigate compensation-related risks.