Senior Director, Total Rewards

NextDecade • Houston, TX

19h • Onsite

About The Position

The Senior Director, Total Rewards leads enterprise Total Rewards, including short and long-terms incentive programs, job architecture, Executive compensation , payroll and benefits management, HR systems and workforce planning strategy.
This position serves as a strategic advisor to executive leadership and a leader over core HR function, balancing employee experience, financial discipline, internal equity, and governance

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources, Business, Finance, or related discipline
• 15+ years of progressive experience spanning Compensation, Benefits, Payroll, and/or HRIS at increasing levels of responsibility or relevant experience.
• Demonstrated success leading Total Rewards in complex, regulated, public trading organizations and high growth environments.
• Deep expertise in executive compensation, short and long-term incentive (plans management.
• Strong knowledge of compensation governance, benefits design, payroll controls, and HRIS data architecture.
• Advanced analytical, financial modeling, and executive communication skills.

Nice To Haves

• Master’s degree in related field or MBA.
• Professional certifications such as CCP (Certified Compensation Professional), CBP, GRP, or CECP
• Prior experience in public company.
• Experience supporting rapid workforce ramp-ups
• Good Workday or comparable enterprise HRIS expertise.
• Experience supporting executive leadership and Board level compensation topics.

Responsibilities

• Develop and lead enterprise compensation strategies, including base pay, annual short and long-term incentives, and recognition.
• Owns job architecture, market pricing, leveling, and internal equity frameworks across corporate, commercial, and operational populations.
• Lead annual compensation cycles (merit, bonus, incentives), including modeling, governance, leader guidance, and executive recommendations.
• Partner with Finance and Legal to ensure compensation programs align with financial targets, governance standards, pay transparency, and regulatory requirements.
• Owns benefits strategy, design, and administration across health, welfare, retirement, and wellness programs.
• Manage broker and vendor relationships, renewals, negotiations, and cost containment strategies.
• Ensure benefit plans are competitive, compliant, and aligned with workforce demographics and market practices.
• Oversee employee communications and education related to benefits and total rewards.
• Provide executive oversight of payroll operations to ensure accurate, timely, and compliant payroll execution.
• Establish payroll controls, audits, escalation processes, and compliance monitoring.
• Partner closely with Finance, HR, and Payroll vendors to resolve exceptions, support audits, and maintain SOX aligned controls where applicable.
• Lead enterprise workforce planning to align headcount and labor costs with business priorities and growth milestones.
• Partner with Finance and business leaders to translate business plans into forward looking workforce demand across employees, contractors, and temporary labor.
• Drive annual and multi‑year workforce planning, including scenario modeling and labor cost forecasting.
• Provide clear workforce insights—headcount trends, labor cost drivers, and contractor mix—to support executive planning and decision making.
• Ensure workforce planning aligns with compensation, benefits, and payroll programs to anticipate the cost impact of organizational change and growth.
• Own HRIS strategy and governance, including system configuration, data integrity, security controls, document retention compliance, and process optimization.
• Ensure seamless integration between compensation, benefits, payroll, and core HR data.
• Lead HRIS enhancements, upgrades, testing cycles, and cross functional implementations.
• Deliver executive ready analytics, dashboards, and workforce insights to support decision making.
• Ensure compliance with federal, state, and international laws related to compensation, benefits, payroll, and employee data.
• Serve as escalation point for risk sensitive decisions related to pay, benefits, systems, and data accuracy.
• Lead and develop high performing teams across Compensation, Benefits, Payroll, and HRIS.
• Act as a strategic partner to HR Business Partners, HR Talent, Finance, Legal, executive leadership, compensation committee and executive compensation independent consultants.
• Translate complex technical topics into clear, practical recommendations for senior leaders.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Director
• Number of Employees: 101-250 employees