Compensation Analyst

Job Description

Position Summary


The Compensation Analyst plays a key role in supporting the organization's total rewards strategy through the analysis, administration, and continuous improvement of compensation programs. This position conducts compensation analyses and market research, supports job architecture and compensation frameworks, and develops recommendations that influence attraction, engagement, and retention of key talent across the organization.


Working collaboratively with HR, Operations, Finance, and other business leaders, the Compensation Analyst leverages data, reporting, and industry benchmarks to identify trends and drive informed compensation decisions.


The ideal candidate brings experience designing and managing compensation programs, market pricing jobs, familiarity with Workday or similar HCM systems, strong analytical capability, an understanding of compensation fundamentals, and the ability to translate data into clear, actionable insights for leaders and people managers at varying levels.


Heartland Dental is the nation's largest dental support organization, providing non-clinical administrative support services to more than 3,000 supported doctors across 39 states and the District of Columbia in 1,900+ dental offices. Each Heartland Dental supported office is unique to the community and the patients they serve. Supported doctors are the clinical leaders of their practice, retain full clinical autonomy, and establish their own care philosophies. All Heartland Dental supported doctors are united by a common goal: delivering the highest quality dental care and patient experiences.


Below is an overview of the duties and responsibilities you would take on in this role:


Rewards Strategy & Insights

• Support the development and maintenance of compensation frameworks, pay ranges, and reporting.

• Advise on pay philosophy, program design, and total rewards strategy.

• Develop insights that tell a clear, actionable story for leaders, connecting pay decisions, incentives, performance, and retention outcomes.

• Conduct ad-hoc compensation analysis and advise on correct band placement for specific roles or positions.

Market Data & Analysis

• Collect, analyze, and interpret external market compensation data using tools such as MarketPay/PayFactors, ERI, LightCast, and BLS to ensure pay practices remain competitive and aligned with business needs.

• Assist in market pricing and benchmarking efforts to ensure positions remain externally competitive and internally equitable.

• Lead participation in annual and ad hoc salary surveys, ensuring data accuracy and timely submissions.

• Provide data-driven insights and recommendations to support compensation decisions, workforce planning, and talent retention strategies.

Reporting & Insights

• Translate complex compensation data into concise summaries and visualizations that enhance understanding and transparency for non-technical stakeholders.

• Support ongoing enhancements to compensation dashboards and reporting outputs to better meet organizational needs.

• Analyze and surface patterns, trends, and outliers in compensation and rewards, identifying opportunities or risks related to retention and competitiveness.

Program & Process Support

• Partner in the job evaluation and job leveling process ensuring jobs are mapped properly to the job architecture across the organization.

• Support the annual merit and compensation planning cycle.

• Contribute to strategic compensation projects that strengthen program effectiveness, improve consistency, and support employee engagement and retention.

• Partner with Compensation leadership on continuous improvement of compensation processes, tools, and documentation.

Manager & Stakeholder Enablement

• Support the development and delivery of compensation training and education for people managers and leadership teams, improving confidence and capability in pay-related decisions.

• Build and maintain strong cross functional relationships to ensure compensation practices are understood, applied consistently, and aligned with operational realities.

Required Experience

Minimum Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in human resources, business, finance, related field, or equivalent experience.

• 2-4 years of direct compensation analysis and compensation administration experience.

• Experience working with HCM and compensation systems such as Workday, ERI, and MarketPay/PayFactors.

• Strong analytical, research, and problem-solving skills, with the ability to draw insights from complex data sets.

• Proven presentation and communication skills, including the ability to explain compensation concepts clearly to managers and leaders.

• Solid understanding of compensation methodologies, job architecture, and salary structures.

Preferred Experience

Desirable Qualifications

• Experience supporting compensation and rewards programs in a large, multi-site environment or within the healthcare industry strongly preferred.

• Certified Compensation Professional (CCP) or equivalent certification.

Additional Qualifications/Responsibilities

Physical Requirements:

• Ability to perform essential duties satisfactorily with or without reasonable accommodation. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential duties of the position

• Prolonged periods sitting at a desk and working on a computer

• Must be able to lift up to 15 pounds at times