Compensation Manager

Kickoff: The Fintech Powering Financial Security at Scale Kikoff is a profitable, pre‑IPO fintech company on a mission to empower everyone to achieve financial security. With record revenue growth in 2025 and a unicorn valuation, we have built a suite of products that help millions of people build credit, access liquidity, and save money. We’re scaling fast and looking for talented individuals to help build something meaningful and impact millions of people’s finances. Why Kikoff : This is a consumer fintech startup where you will work with serial entrepreneurs who have built strong consumer brands and innovative products. We value extreme ownership, clear communication, craftsmanship, and a desire to create lasting work and relationships. You can build an exciting business and have real‑life customer impact. Compensation Manager We are looking for a Compensation Manager to own our cash and equity programs end‑to‑end as we scale toward IPO. You will be the in‑house comp expert who turns our compensation philosophy into the systems that run underneath every offer, merit cycle, promotion, and equity refresh— ensuring bands hold up, grants land where they should, and data is clean enough for the comp committee. This role reports to the VP of People and works closely with People Analytics, the stock admin team on Carta, Recruiting on offers, Finance on comp budgets, and HRBPs on individual cases. It is a senior individual‑contributor role with no direct reports today, with a path to building a team as the function expands. What You’ll Do Maintain Kikoff’s salary structure end‑to‑end: Radford‑benchmarked bands by job and level, geographic differentials, annual market refreshes, and job matching that connects roles to survey data. Run the annual merit and promotion cycle— proration logic, manager allocation tools, calibration support, final letter generation, and out‑of‑cycle adjustments. Execute the equity program day‑to‑day: new hire grant recommendations, refresh administration on our front‑loaded vesting framework, grant table maintenance, and Carta operations. Build comp materials and competitive intelligence for offer construction with Recruiting, including total compensation views for senior candidates. Own pay transparency and compliance— pay range posting requirements (CO, NY, CA, and other jurisdictions), FLSA classification, and pay equity audits. Drive IPO readiness work end‑to‑end in partnership with the VP of People— NEO benchmarking analysis, CD&A prep, ESPP and PSU plan design, and equity education for the broader team. Build and maintain comp dashboards and reporting in partnership with People Analytics— burn rate, dilution, comp ratio against bands, pay equity, and refresh scenarios. Serve as the comp expert on individual cases for HRBPs, recruiters, and managers, including difficult conversations where the framework drives the answer. Partner with Finance on comp accruals, merit pool sizing, and budget reconciliation. About You 5 + years of compensation experience at a tech company, including direct ownership of merit cycle administration, salary band maintenance, and equity grant operations. Hands‑on experience with Radford or another major tech comp survey, including job matching, market analysis, and band construction. Strong fluency with equity mechanics— vesting schedules, refresh design, grant tables, ISO/NSO/RSU treatment, and Carta workflows. Pre‑IPO experience is a strong plus, especially with equity refresh redesign, ESPP or PSU plan design, or supporting NEO disclosure prep. Strong analytical skills with deep Excel/Sheets fluency, comfort in HRIS comp modules, and ideally hands‑on experience with Pave, Lattice, or comparable tooling. Familiarity with pay transparency requirements across CO, NY, CA, and other jurisdictions. A pragmatic communicator who can translate comp logic for non‑comp audiences — managers, candidates, and leadership. Strong judgment on when to follow the framework versus enacting an exception, and when an exception should become a framework change. Comfortable in a lean environment where you partner with People Analytics, Recruiting, and Finance instead of a team of your own and are expected to do the work yourself rather than hand it off to consultants. Base Range : $185,000–$225,000 USD Equal Employment Opportunity Statement : At Kikoff, we are committed to providing equal employment opportunities for all applicants and employees. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, disability status, or any other classification protected by applicable law. San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance: Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records. #J-18808-Ljbffr