Vice President of Compensation, Human Resources

HarbourVest Partners • Boston, MA

5d • Hybrid

About The Position

For over forty years, HarbourVest has been home to a committed team of professionals with an entrepreneurial spirit and a desire to deliver impactful solutions to our clients and investing partners. As our global firm grows, we continue to add individuals who seek a collaborative, open-door culture that values diversity and innovative thinking. In our collegial environment that’s marked by low turnover and high energy, you’ll be inspired to grow and thrive. Here, you will be encouraged to build on your strengths and acquire new skills and experiences. We are committed to fostering an environment of inclusion that promotes mutual respect among all employees. Understanding and valuing these differences optimizes the potential of both the individual and the firm. HarbourVest is an equal opportunity employer. This position will be a hybrid work arrangement. You will receive 18 remote workdays per quarter to use at your discretion, subject to manager approval. For example, you may choose to work in the office 4 days per week and take one remote day weekly (typically 13 weeks per quarter), leaving 5 additional remote days to be used as needed. Job description summary The Vice President of Compensation leads the design and governance of global compensation programs that attract, retain, and motivate our global talent. The role brings deep expertise in compensation strategy and execution, including long‑term incentives, job and pay architecture, and technology‑enabled solutions across both public and private company environments. This role leads all aspects of pay equity, global pay transparency, and regulatory compliance, while ensuring the effective delivery of annual performance, pay, and promotion cycles. The VP partners closely with Finance, Legal, HR, and the Compensation Committee to deliver scalable, competitive, and equitable programs aligned to business strategy. The ideal candidate is a proactive, meticulous leader who thrives in a fast‑paced, highly collaborative environment.

Requirements

• 15+ years of dynamic compensation experience, including senior leadership roles with experience in both private and public company environments, across multiple stages of growth.
• Strong management experience and a passion for development in order to lead a small team of two fully dedicated comp. teammates.
• Deep expertise in long-term incentive program design and administration.
• Demonstrated leadership in pay equity analysis and remediation and global pay transparency compliance.
• Deep knowledge of global market survey participation, benchmarking, analytics and reporting.
• Strong track record of using technology solutions to scale compensation processes and to maintain accurate and complete data sets.
• Executive presence demonstrated through influencing senior leaders and engaging effectively across all levels of the firm.
• Strong analytical, modeling, and problem-solving skills, with sophisticated technical proficiency in Excel and PowerPoint to analyze, visualize, and summarize large data sets.
• Demonstrated commitment to process rigor and execution mentality.
• Strong attention to detail and a ‘zero-defect’ demeanor.
• Strong project management skills, organizational and time management skills.
• Self-motivated with proven track record to multitask and handle multiple deadlines in a fast-paced environment.
• Strong interpersonal communication (verbal and written), and advisory skills with the ability to work effectively both independently and collaboratively.
• Ability to maintain strict confidentiality and maintain a high level of trust and integrity to handle confidential situations and documentation.

Nice To Haves

• experience with carried interest or similar investment-linked compensation structures.

Responsibilities

• Compensation Strategy, Governance & Execution Design, implement, and evolve compensation structures (base pay, incentives, and other programs) aligned to business initiatives.
• Serve as an advisor on compensation philosophy, market competitiveness, internal equity, and regulatory risk (including the preparation and presentation of executive ready materials).
• Partner with Finance and Legal to ensure global compliance with applicable compensation regulations, disclosure requirements, and governance standards.
• Establish best-in-class processes for annual compensation cycles, incentive planning, market pricing, and job and pay range architecture.
• Responsible for oversight and execution our annual performance, pay and promotion cycle processes and the effectiveness of our Workday Advanced Compensation tools.
• Lead all aspects of our Job Leveling and Job Family frameworks foundational to our HR infrastructure and the effectiveness of our promotion and compensation programs and processes.
• Assist with incentive plan design work including re-design and administration.
• Partner with Performance, Recruiting and Payroll teammates as well as Finance partners and HR Generalists to ensure proper end-to-end accuracy and efficiency of our compensation programs and data.
• Assist with leading a high-performing compensation team, developing talent and fostering a culture of rigor, innovation, accountability and development!
• Implement global pay equity strategy, including methodology selection, ongoing analyses, remediation planning, and reporting.
• Ensure programs and practices support equitable outcomes in alignment with what we value and legal requirements.
• Lead the company’s approach to global pay transparency laws, including job architecture, pay ranges, disclosures, and manager enablement / training.
• Lead the development and management of our LTI programs.
• Oversee planning, budgeting, execution and participant outcomes in partnership with Finance.
• Ensure programs are competitive, scalable, and clearly communicated.
• Champion the use of Workday technology and automation to drive efficiency, accuracy, and scalability in compensation processes, tracking and administration.
• Develop analytics, dashboards, and scenario models to support decision-making, pay equity and pay for performance analyses; and own data integrity/oversight related to compensation (data audits, integrity, etc.).
• Standardize global compensation processes while allowing for some local market and regulatory nuance.

Benefits

• This role is eligible for a discretionary annual bonus, which is determined based on individual and overall firm performance.
• In addition to salary and bonus, total compensation may include eligibility for long-term reward programs and a comprehensive total rewards package that may include retirement, health, insurance, paid time off, and wellness programs.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Executive
• Education Level: No Education Listed
• Number of Employees: 501-1,000 employees