Senior Compensation Consultant

Senior Compensation Consultant

Western National Insurance Group is a private mutual insurance company with over 120 years of experience serving customers' property-and-casualty insurance needs in the Midwestern, Northwestern, and Southwestern United States. Known as "The Relationship Company®," we define success as a measure of the relationships we've built over time. In everything that we do, we know that delivering a friendly and helpful interaction makes for a better experience for everyone involved. That's the power of "nice". At Western National, nice is something we work to bring to every person and organization with whom we partner and serve.

Western National is seeking a Senior Compensation Consultant to join our team! The individual in this role will have the opportunity to lead the design, administration, and continuous improvement of Western National Insurance Group's compensation programs. This individual will leverage market data, internal equity analysis, and business insight to deliver competitive, equitable, and sustainable pay practices that support the organization's talent strategy and long-term business objectives.

This position will begin with an in-office training period, averaging approximately three months. Following training, the role will transition to a hybrid schedule with three days in the office and two days working from home each week. Candidates should be within a commutable distance of our Twin Cities office.

Responsibilities and opportunities of this role include:

• Leading the design, administration, and continuous improvement of the organization's compensation philosophy, salary structures, job architecture, and related programs to support market competitiveness, internal equity, and sound compensation governance.
• Partnering with HR Business Partners and business leaders to evaluate new and existing positions, conduct market benchmarking, recommend job levels and pay grades, and provide guidance on compensation decisions.
• Leading the annual market review process, including participation in salary surveys, analysis of market movement and competitive positioning, and recommendations for salary structure and employee pay adjustments.
• Developing and overseeing a consistent approach to internal equity analysis, identifying areas of concern, recommending appropriate actions, and educating leaders on equitable pay practices.
• Administering companywide incentive compensation programs, including short-term and long-term incentive plans, and supporting program design, modeling, communication, and governance.
• Leading the annual merit review cycle from planning through completion, including system configuration, leader education, communications, data validation, approvals, employee communications, and payroll coordination.
• Partnering with senior HR leadership and the CEO to support executive compensation, including base salary, short-term and long-term incentives, and related compensation analyses and recommendations.
• Configuring, maintaining, and continuously improving Workday Advanced Compensation processes, reporting, and controls.
• Collaborating with HR leadership and Finance on the annual budgeting process by providing compensation analyses, workforce cost projections, salary increase modeling, incentive forecasting, and financial recommendations.
• Preparing compensation analyses, dashboards, models, and executive-ready materials that translate complex data into actionable recommendations.
• Maintaining compensation policies, procedures, documentation, and employee-facing communications, including Total Rewards communications and annual Total Rewards statements.
• Monitoring compensation-related laws and regulations, partnering with HR and Legal to assess impacts, and supporting compliant implementation and ongoing audits.
• Building trusted relationships across the organization and providing responsive, practical, and customer-focused compensation consultation.

Must-have qualifications for a candidate include:

• Five-plus years of progressively responsible compensation experience, including experience with base pay, incentive compensation, market pricing, and job evaluation.
• Bachelor's degree in human resources, business, finance, or a related field; equivalent relevant experience may be considered in lieu of a degree.
• Experience administering compensation processes in Workday, including Workday Advanced Compensation.
• Strong analytical skills with the ability to interpret complex data, develop recommendations, and communicate findings to business leaders and executives.
• Experience managing large, detail-intensive annual processes and partnering across HR, Finance, Payroll, and business functions.
• High attention to detail, accuracy, confidentiality, and follow-through.
• Ability to balance analytical rigor with an approachable, consultative style.
• Strong written, verbal, and presentation skills, including experience presenting to executives and leadership groups.
• Ability to influence without direct authority and build credibility with a wide range of stakeholders.
• Strong organizational, project management, prioritization, and time management skills.
• Collaborative, responsive, and solutions-oriented approach with a strong customer focus.
• Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Excel and strong proficiency in Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, Outlook, and Teams.
• Ability to create and interpret compensation models, reports, dashboards, and data visualizations.

Ideal candidates will have:

• Certified Compensation Professional (CCP) designation.
• Experience supporting executive compensation and long-term incentive programs.
• Experience with compensation survey platforms, job architecture, pay equity analysis, and compensation analytics.
• Experience working in multi-state organizations.

The targeted hiring range for this role is $104,300 - $143,440, annually. However, the base pay offered may vary depending on the job-related knowledge, skills, credentials, and experience of each candidate, as well as other factors such as the scope and location of the role. Candidates looking for compensation outside of the posted range are encouraged to apply and will be considered based on their individual qualifications and / or may be considered for other positions.

Western National has long been known as "The Relationship Company®" and caring for our employees is part of that relationship commitment. We value connectiveness, empowerment, and accountability, and we believe that our employees are our biggest asset.

Currently ranked as the 41st largest private company by revenue in Minnesota (Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal), Western National has earned accolades year-over-year as an employer of choice and garnered multiple awards for wellness in the workplace. Western National has also been named a Top Workplace by the Star Tribune for consecutive years. In addition, the Group is consistently recognized as a Ward's 50 property-and-casualty insurance company for its outstanding financial results.

Western National offers full-time employees a significant Total Rewards Package, including:

• Medical insurance plan options and other standard employee benefits, including dental insurance, vision benefits, life insurance, disability insurance, and more!
• Health Savings Accounts (HSA) and Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA)
• 401(k) Plan (participants are eligible for 100% matching on the first 6% of their contributions)
• Wellbeing Program, including onsite fitness studio
• Paid Time Off – including holiday, vacation, and volunteer
• 100% company-paid tuition reimbursement for approved job-relevant coursework and access to The Institutes (Risk and insurance education)
• Paid parental leave
• Bonus opportunities

Western National believes in supporting balance between work and life by providing a flexible work environment, which includes a variety of hybrid and remote work arrangements designed to balance individual, job, department, and company needs.

Applicants must be authorized to work for any employer in the U.S. We are unable to sponsor or take over sponsorship of an employment Visa at this time.

Western National provides employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local laws.