Total Rewards And Compensation Specialist

Job Description

Job Description

Job Title: Total Rewards and Compensation Specialist

Job Description

This role leads end-to-end total rewards initiatives, with a primary focus on compensation and benefits strategy, design, and operations. You will design and refine bonus and incentive programs, evaluate and enhance benefits offerings, and translate complex data into clear insights that support talent attraction, retention, and organizational performance. Working closely with cross-functional partners, you will ensure pay transparency, internal equity, and a scalable total rewards framework that supports a growing workforce.

Responsibilities

• Assist with full-cycle compensation and total rewards initiatives, from strategic definition through implementation and impact tracking.
• Define and execute bonus and incentive program designs that align with business strategy, promote equity, and drive performance.
• Collaborate cross-functionally with HR Business Partners, Finance, Recruiting, and Legal to promote pay transparency, equity, and consistent decision-making.
• Manage and improve compensation processes, including job architecture, salary review cycles, and pay equity analyses, while supporting compliance with relevant laws and internal policies.
• Develop clear compensation communication materials and deliver reporting and analytics that help leaders and employees understand pay decisions.
• Analyze benefits utilization data and market trends to assess the competitiveness and cost-effectiveness of current benefits offerings.
• Develop annual benefits strategies by modeling plan design changes, premium-sharing scenarios, vendor comparisons, and renewal evaluations.
• Evaluate new benefits offerings and propose enhancements that reflect employee needs and align with business goals.
• Support benefits program reviews, benchmarking activities, and vendor evaluations to ensure benefits remain competitive and sustainable.
• Partner with the People, Payroll, or People Operations teams on annual enrollment, employee communications, and data audits related to benefits.
• Provide insights on benefits performance and support cross-functional total rewards projects.
• Translate total rewards data into strategic business insights that support talent attraction, retention, and financial outcomes.
• Influence the design and implementation of enterprise-wide total rewards strategies by advising on how compensation and benefits programs impact employee behavior, motivation, and retention.
• Integrate compensation, benefits, and performance data into a cohesive, insight-driven total rewards strategy that aligns with business and talent outcomes.
• Evaluate emerging trends and technologies in total rewards, such as AI in compensation and personalized benefits, and recommend test-and-learn pilots.
• Deliver reporting, analytics, and communication materials that help leaders and employees understand total rewards programs and their value.
• Champion improvements to compensation systems, workflows, data integrity, and equity analytics, leveraging AI and modern compensation technologies where appropriate.
• Lead complex total rewards projects independently, build strong stakeholder relationships, and balance organizational priorities, cost implications, and employee experience.
• Continuously refine total rewards processes with internal teams and external consultants to ensure market competitiveness, scalability, and internal equity.
• Perform ad hoc reporting and other duties related to compensation, benefits, and total rewards as needed.

Essential Skills

• At least 3 years of progressive experience in Compensation or Total Rewards, with deep knowledge of compensation frameworks, salary structures, job architecture, and pay equity practices.
• Hands-on experience with benefits strategy and operations, including vendor evaluation, renewals, and benchmarking.
• Proven experience designing and administering bonus, equity, and incentive programs.
• Ability to interpret and apply market data from providers such as Radford, Mercer, or Option Impact.
• Strong business acumen with the ability to connect total rewards strategies to organizational goals, financial realities, and employee engagement.
• Skill in anticipating business needs and tailoring total rewards recommendations to unique organizational and market contexts.
• Proficiency with HRIS software; experience with Workday or similar systems.
• Experience supporting or managing compensation and benefits programs for hourly employee populations.
• Strong analytical and quantitative skills, including the ability to develop and interpret reports, analytics, and data-driven insights.
• Excellent communication skills, with the ability to create clear, compelling materials that explain compensation and benefits programs.
• Bachelors degree required.

Additional Skills & Qualifications

• Experience working in human resources, benefits administration, or benefits management environments.
• Background in process improvement within compensation, benefits, or broader HR operations.
• Familiarity with modern compensation technologies and AI-enabled tools for compensation and equity analytics.
• Experience collaborating with cross-functional teams such as HR Business Partners, Finance, Recruiting, and Legal.
• Comfort working in a growing organization and contributing to the build-out of new rewards and compensation structures.
• Ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously while maintaining attention to detail and alignment with organizational priorities.

Work Environment

This role operates in a hybrid work environment, with an expectation of working in the office three days per week and remotely two days per week. Mondays are designated as key in-office team days, with flexibility to work remotely when needed. Standard hours are approximately 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. You will work within a modern HR technology stack that includes HRIS tools such as Workday and may involve the use of AI-enabled compensation technologies and analytics platforms. The environment supports collaboration across HR, Finance, Recruiting, Legal, and other stakeholders, and offers the opportunity to help build and scale total rewards and compensation structures in a growing location.

This is a Contract position based out of South Chesterfield, VA.

The pay range for this position is $70000.00 - $90000.00/hr.

Individual compensation offered for this position within this range will depend on many factors, including qualifications, skills, relevant experience, job knowledge, geographic location, internal equity, and other pertinent job-related factors.

Eligibility requirements apply to some benefits and may depend on your job classification and length of employment. Benefits are subject to change and may be subject to specific elections, plan, or program terms. If eligible, the benefits available for this temporary role may include the following: Medical, dental & vision Critical Illness, Accident, and Hospital 401(k) Retirement Plan Pre-tax and Roth post-tax contributions available Life Insurance (Voluntary Life & AD&D for the employee and dependents) Short and long-term disability Health Spending Account (HSA) Transportation benefits Employee Assistance Program Time Off/Leave (PTO, Vacation or Sick Leave)

This is a Contract position based out of South Chesterfield, VA.

This position is anticipated to close on Oct 30, 2026.

This is a hybrid position in South Chesterfield,VA.

Aston Carter provides world-class corporate talent solutions to thousands of clients across the globe. Specialized in accounting, finance, human resources, talent acquisition, procurement, supply chain and select administrative professions, we extend the capabilities of industry-leading companies. We draw on our deep recruiting expertise and expansive network to meet the evolving needs of our clients and talent community with agility and excellence. With offices across the U.S., Canada, Asia Pacific and Europe, Aston Carter serves many of the Fortune 500. We are proud to be a ClearlyRated Best of Staffing® Platinum Award winner for both client and talent service.

The company is an equal opportunity employer and will consider all applications without regard to race, sex, age, color, religion, national origin, veteran status, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information or any characteristic protected by law.

If you would like to request a reasonable accommodation, such as the modification or adjustment of the job application process or interviewing process due to a disability, please email View email address on ziprecruiter.com for other accommodation options.

San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance: Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, for all positions located in the city and county of San Francisco, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.

Massachusetts Lie Detector: It is unlawful in Massachusetts to require or administer a lie detector test as a condition of employment or continued employment. An employer who violates this law shall be subject to criminal penalties and civil liability.

Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI): We may use Artificial Intelligence (AI) to support parts of our hiring process, including sourcing, screening, and evaluating candidates. AI helps assess applications and qualifications, but final decisions are made by our hiring team. By applying, you acknowledge and agree that your application may be reviewed using AI tools.