VP of Global Total Rewards & People Services (Waltham)

Overview

As Vice President of Global Total Rewards and People Services, you will lead a team of HR professionals across Compensation, Benefits, Wellness, Mobility, and People Services. This team ensures programs are market-leading, compliant, and designed to support Pega’s culture of innovation, inclusion, and high performance. The Global Total Rewards and People Services function partners with senior leadership, Finance, Legal, and the Board of Directors to design competitive, scalable people programs aligned with Pega’s long-term strategy.

What You'll Do at Pega

• Lead Pega’s Global Total Rewards and People Services organization, with responsibility for general and executive compensation, benefits, wellness, global mobility, and people systems.
• Drive the strategic design, timeline, and end-to-end execution of all key annual people cycles, including global merit review, bonus payouts, annual equity refresh, benefit renewals, and year-end performance calibration.
• Work with Finance, Legal, and HR leadership to ensure programs are financially sound, compliant, and scalable across regions.
• Set the overall direction for compensation programs to support business priorities, reinforce performance differentiation, and remain competitive within relevant talent markets.
• Own the global annual benefit renewal, strategy, and enrollment cycles, ensuring programs optimize employee experience, manage costs, and align with regional regulatory requirements.
• Design Pay for Performance programs, including equity plan design, delivery, and education.
• Establish governance and oversight for executive compensation, including short- and long-term incentives, equity vehicles, and executive employment and transition arrangements.
• Act as a key advisor and operational lead to the Board of Directors and Compensation Committee by orchestrating the annual Compensation Committee calendar, compiling proxy statement data (CD&A), and delivering board-ready recommendations for complex compensation topics.
• Lead and mentor a strong Global Total Rewards and People Services team, emphasizing cross-functional collaboration and continuous improvement.
• Track external labor market dynamics, regulatory developments, and emerging people practices, converting insights into practical actions that strengthen Pega’s people strategy.

Who You Are

• A senior people leader with deep expertise across total rewards, including Compensation, Benefits, Mobility, HRIS, and Operations.
• Proven track record of managing enterprise-wide annual cycles with precision and program management rigor.
• Comfortable operating at the C-suite and Board level, with the presence and judgment to influence complex decisions. Strategic and analytical, with the ability to connect total rewards programs to broader business outcomes.
• A strong communicator who translates complex compensation topics into clear, compelling narratives for diverse audiences.
• Proven leader of multi-disciplinary, global teams, driving alignment and execution across geographies.
• Pragmatic and solutions-oriented, with strong attention to detail and a high degree of integrity and confidentiality.
• AI aptitude with demonstrated leadership in leveraging AI and automation to transform HR operations, simplify workflows, and drive data-driven decision-making at scale.

What You've Accomplished

• Experience operating in a publicly traded and/or highly regulated environment is strongly preferred.
• Progressive leadership experience across total rewards and operations within complex, global organizations; demonstrated partnership with Boards of Directors and Compensation Committees, including leading executive compensation plans and board-ready recommendations.
• Ability to synthesize complex data into concise executive insights and actionable recommendations.
• Experience leading and developing multi-disciplinary HR teams, with a history of leveraging data, modeling, and automation to improve decisions and streamline processes.
• Proven ability to navigate ambiguity and change while remaining focused on outcomes and long-term strategy.
• A track record of building strong teams and developing future leaders.
• A highly collaborative, innovative, and inclusive culture.
• Competitive compensation and comprehensive benefits.
• Opportunities for professional growth and leadership development.
• The chance to influence Pega’s people strategy on a global scale.

Pega Offers You

• A highly collaborative, innovative, and inclusive culture.
• Competitive compensation and comprehensive benefits.
• Opportunities for professional growth and leadership development.
• The chance to make a meaningful impact on Pega’s people strategy at a global scale.

Additional Information

Base salary range for this role is 256,900 - 406,200 USD annually. This role may be eligible for annual bonus or commission, as well as benefits and other incentives. The final compensation will be determined during the offer process based on the candidate's education, experience, skills, and qualifications, as well as market conditions and may vary from the posted range. We will share information on benefits, bonus/commission, and other pay components at the relevant recruitment stage.