Sr. Compensation Analyst

Cushman & Wakefield • Chicago, IL

1d

About The Position

The Senior Compensation Analyst is a key member of C&W’s Global Compensation team, supporting the Americas Human Resources organization. This role is responsible for analyzing, designing, and administering compensation programs, including base pay and incentive plans, while ensuring internal equity, external competitiveness, and compliance with applicable regulations. The Senior Compensation Analyst partners closely with HR Business Partners, HR Operations, and business leaders to provide market pricing, job evaluation, analytics, and insights. Primary focus will be the United States and Canada, with limited support for other countries as needed.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources, Business, Finance, or a related field, or equivalent relevant experience.
• Minimum of 3-5 years of progressive experience in compensation analysis or a related analytical role with demonstrated ability to analyze and interpret large, complex data sets.
• Experience supporting compensation programs in a U.S. and/or global environment, across different employee segments (e.g., hourly, salaried, commissioned); consulting experience is a plus.
• Working knowledge of HRIS systems; Workday experience preferred.
• Advanced Excel and analytical skills, including pivot tables, complex formulas, lookups, and data visualization; experience with PowerPoint required.
• General knowledge of local, state, and federal compensation-related compliance requirements, including FLSA, DOL, and antitrust regulations‑related compliance requirements, including FLSA, DOL, and anti‑trust regulations.
• Advanced compensation analysis, including market pricing, job evaluation, and internal equity analysis
• Demonstrated quantitative and analytical skills with the ability to work with large, complex data sets
• Advanced Excel proficiency (pivot tables, complex formulas, lookups, data modeling)
• Experience developing compensation or financial models, scenarios, and insights to support business decisions
• Ability to translate data into clear, actionable recommendations for leaders
• Proficiency with HRIS and compensation systems; Workday experience preferred
• Business acumen and consultative skills; ability to advise HR partners and leaders on pay decisions
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including presentation of findings
• Proven ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment‑paced environment
• Ability to independently research and provide issue resolution.
• High level of discretion and professionalism when handling confidential information

Responsibilities

• Compensation Analysis & Market Pricing Conduct job evaluations and market pricing using multiple survey sources and pricing tools to ensure competitive and equitable pay practices.
• Participate in and analyze compensation survey data; maintain benchmark job matches and market data repositories.
• Perform internal equity and competitiveness analyses and provide pay recommendations aligned with compensation philosophy and guidelines.
• Support the development, maintenance, and refinement of salary structures, job levels, and pay grades.
• Analytics, Reporting & Decision Support Design, generate, consolidate, and manipulate data from multiple systems to deliver accurate, timely, and meaningful compensation reports and analyses.
• Develop compensation models and ad hoc analyses to support compensation decisions, scenario planning, and project work.
• Translate data into insights and recommendations for leaders, enabling informed decision-making related to pay, job design, and compensation programs‑making related to pay, job design, and compensation programs.
• Compensation Programs & Annual Processes Support the administration of annual compensation processes, including merit increases and bonus programs, ensuring accuracy, timeliness, and adherence to guidelines.
• Provide guidance to HR Business Partners and managers on compensation policies, programs, and practices.
• Assist in the development of communication and reference materials related to compensation programs and year‑end processes; provide ongoing user support as needed.
• Systems, Governance & Process Improvement Partner with HR Operations and HR Services teams to improve process automation, data integrity, and governance across compensation reporting and systems.
• Ensure compensation data is accurate, current, and audit ready; proactively identify opportunities to enhance processes, controls, and reporting capabilities‑ready; proactively identify opportunities to enhance processes, controls, and reporting capabilities.
• Support Workday compensation processes, reporting, and data maintenance; contribute to continuous improvement of system functionality and usage.
• Projects & Specialized Support Lead or support compensation-related projects, including job architecture initiatives, bonus target alignment, exemption classification analysis, and compensation structure development‑related projects, including job architecture initiatives, bonus target alignment, exemption classification analysis, and compensation structure development.
• Stay current on compensation trends, regulatory requirements, and best practices; provide guidance accordingly.

Benefits

• Cushman & Wakefield also provides eligible employees with an opportunity to enroll in a variety of benefit programs, generally including health, vision, and dental insurance, flexible spending accounts, health savings accounts, retirement savings plans, life, and disability insurance programs, and paid and unpaid time away from work.
• In addition to a comprehensive benefits package, Cushman and Wakefield provide eligible employees with competitive pay, which may vary depending on eligibility factors such as geographic location, date of hire, total hours worked, job type, business line, and applicability of collective bargaining agreements.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level