Assistant Vice President, Total Rewards

Assistant Vice President, Total Rewards

Stanford University is one of the world's premier academic and research institutions, devoting tremendous intellectual and physical resources toward the betterment of humanity. As a major Silicon Valley employer, Stanford seeks people committed to excellence and to improving our world. In turn, the university is committed to supporting its employees as they develop their careers and enrich their lives.

Reporting to the Associate Vice President for Human Resources, the Assistant Vice President, Total Rewards oversees a team of specialists and consultants and leads strategy and operations for university-wide staff compensation, executive compensation, and benefits. The role is responsible for oversight, design, and implementation of new total rewards strategies, policies, and programs. Additionally, this position reviews existing offerings and provides recommendations for changes and upgrades aligned with university values and strategic goals to ensure Stanford remains a competitive employer within the higher education market.

As a trusted partner and expert resource for the Vice President of Human Resources, members of the Human Resources Leadership Team (HRLT), and leaders in Stanford's schools/units, a key aspect of the role is building and managing relationships, influencing positive outcomes, and supporting effective communication with university leadership and key stakeholders.

This position is hybrid preferred (on-site two days per week), however, remote candidates willing to travel and work in person at least one week per month at Stanford's Redwood City campus location may be considered.

Core duties include:

• Successfully manage ongoing total rewards operations while leading a multi-year evolution of the compensation function, rebuilding both the service delivery model and the total rewards team through oversight of job architecture, formalization of job evaluation and leveling processes, and the creation of clear, user-friendly guidelines and communication tools.
• Drive strategic and operational excellence in total rewards by navigating incremental change while championing initiatives that build structure, consistency, and clarity.
• Ensure total rewards programs, processes, and communications evolve into effective, scalable, and well-adopted tools that support the organization's long-term success.
• Design and implement market-based compensation and benefits programs aligned with university values and strategic goals that are competitive within the higher education market.
• Oversee current state assessments, model ideal future state, and recommend pay structure movement, job structure modification, revisions, or redesign.
• Develop total rewards philosophy, strategy, policy, and programs that support the university's Employee Value Proposition (EVP).
• Influence positive change and outcomes by creating and nurturing connections and partnerships with senior leaders throughout the university, including senior HR leaders, finance directors, and other key stakeholders.
• Oversee and support the redesign, growth, and development of the total rewards team, ensuring their skillsets, performance, goals, and objectives are in alignment with the strategic, operational, and service goals of University Human Resources.
• Ensure superior delivery of benefits services to existing and former staff, retirees, and other university customers.
• Oversee executive compensation, including the design and delivery of executive rewards; proactively identify concerns and develop solutions and recommendations.
• Review and analyze market data and other relevant factors for accuracy and recommend pay structures and market-competitive solutions.
• Manage total rewards program costs and annual spend against budget while maintaining engaging and rewarding programs to motivate and inspire.
• Support the annual university budget process by analyzing and communicating financial implications and cost/benefits.
• Develop special programs, including rewards and recognition programs.
• Nurture and evaluate relationships with Stanford's total rewards consulting partners, claims payors, insurers, and other vendors in compliance with Stanford's procurement process and practices.
• Ensure compliance with state and federal regulations governing tax-qualified benefit programs, including but not limited to annual audits, accurate, timely filing of annual plan forms and schedules, and timely distribution of required participant communications.
• Oversee compensation and benefit survey participation and provide analysis of survey responses, market competitiveness, and guidance on compensation and benefits policies and programs. Keep abreast of compensation and benefits trends, external benchmark best practices, regulatory requirements, and labor laws to gain insights and provide strategy, vision, and direction for university-wide compensation and benefits programs. Oversee university-wide standards and strategy for compliance with Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and applicable federal and state pay equity and pay transparency regulations and reporting, including but not limited to: developing and implementing plans to assess university risk and liability; creating teams or task forces to address policy changes, compliance, or to mitigate potential risks; and developing education and communication strategy plans to support implementation of changes to policy or programs.
• Develop, manage, and implement the annual staff salary program; perform market analysis, job pricing, and forecast modeling and costing.
• Provide operational program and process oversight to ensure effective delivery of executive compensation, staff compensation, and benefits programs through our vendors and partners.
• Consult with Employee and Labor Relations and General Counsel on compensation strategy and market analysis related to collective bargaining and managing specialized market studies for union classifications.
• Lead and guide compensation team members to effectively support HR, key stakeholders, and line managers on alternative rewards and compensation options, including providing assessments, guidelines, evaluations, and recommendations.

Minimum requirements include:

• Master's degree or Bachelor's degree, and at least 10 years of relevant experience.
• At least one of the following certifications is preferred: CEBS, ISCEBS, PHR/SPHR, CCP/CBP, or equivalent certification.

Knowledge, skills, and abilities include:

• Strong relationship-building acumen in a highly matrixed environment with multiple constituencies (HR, finance, legal, unions, leadership); ability to navigate and influence change and recommend flexible solutions.
• Prior experience ideating, setting, articulating, and overseeing a total rewards vision and long-term projects in a decentralized and dynamically changing work environment aligned with institutional values and operational service expectations.
• Proven experience managing a team of compensation and benefits specialists and establishing and reinforcing standards for exceptional customer service.
• Prior experience developing and managing large-scale budgets for compensation and benefits programs, and the ability to assess ROI on total rewards investments.
• Subject matter knowledge of best practices in compensation and benefits philosophy, theory, market-based pay structures, FLSA, pay equity, market pricing methodologies, and higher education governance.
• Knowledge of federal, state, and local regulations governing compensation and benefits (FLSA, ACA, ERISA, HIPAA, FMLA, IRS, etc.).
• Experience working in the Human Resources function in large, complex, and decentralized organizations.
• Knowledge of the unique compensation and benefits issues and needs applicable to populations at a variety of career levels, including job evaluation, career frameworks, salary bands, and pay equity audits.
• Strong understanding and experience deploying market-based pay strategies and best practices.
• Expertise in pay transparency laws and regulations.
• Background in implementing HRIS compensation modules.
• Excellent and effective written and verbal communication skills.
• Proven planning and organizational skills and effective time management abilities.
• Ability to exercise discretion with confidential information.
• Proficiency with Google Workplace applications (Google Docs, Google Slides, etc.) and MS Office Suite, including advanced Excel and data visualization.
• Demonstrated excellence in leveraging Human Resource Information Systems (HRIS).

Physical requirements include:

• Frequently stand/walk, sit, use a computer, use a telephone, and grasp lightly/fine manipulation.
• Occasionally twist/bend/stoop/squat, reach/work above shoulders, grasp forcefully, lift/carry/push/pull objects that weigh up to 20 pounds, write by hand, sort/file paperwork.
• Rarely kneel/crawl.

Working conditions include:

• Occasional work on evenings and weekends.

Work standards include:

• Interpersonal Skills: Demonstrates the ability to work well with Stanford colleagues and clients and with external organizations.
• Promote Culture of Safety: Demonstrates commitment to personal responsibility and value for safety; communicates safety concerns; uses and promotes safe behaviors based on training and lessons learned.
• Subject to and expected to comply with all applicable University policies and procedures, including but not limited to the personnel policies and other policies found in the University's Administrative Guide.

The expected pay range for this position is $280,000 to $315,000 per annum. Stanford University provides pay ranges representing its good faith estimate