VP/SVP Total Rewards & People Operations (Cambridge)

Flagship Pioneering is a scientific innovation engine that invents and builds companies that change the world. We bring together the greatest scientific minds with entrepreneurial company builders and assemble the capital to allow them to take courageous leaps in human health, sustainability, and beyond.

What sets Flagship apart is our ability to advance biotechnology by uniting life science innovation, company creation, and capital investment under one roof in a way that is largely without precedent. Our team of scientists, entrepreneurial leaders, and professional capital managers are each aligned around an institutionalized process that enables us to innovate and create breakthroughs for the benefit of people and planet.

Many of the companies Flagship has founded have addressed humanity’s most urgent challenges: vaccinating billions of people against COVID-19, curing intractable diseases, improving human health, preempting illness, and feeding the world by improving the resiliency and sustainability of agriculture.

Flagship has been recognized twice on FORTUNE’s “Change the World” list, an annual ranking of companies that have made a positive social and environmental impact through activities that are part of their core business strategies, and has been named four times to Fast Company’s annual list of the World’s Most Innovative Companies.

Position Overview

Flagship Pioneering is seeking an experienced and strategic Vice President or Senior Vice President, Total Rewards and People Operations to lead the design, management, and evolution of Total Rewards programs and key people infrastructure across our ecosystem. The scope of this role spans compensation, executive compensation, equity, benefits, people operations, and people analytics for Flagship and its portfolio of companies.

This is a highly visible leadership role requiring deep expertise in compensation strategy and private-company equity, as well as the ability to operate effectively across a complex, fast‑paced, and highly matrixed environment. The ideal candidate will bring strong executive presence, sound judgment, and the ability to translate business strategy into scalable people programs that support growth, innovation, and organizational effectiveness.

This leader will oversee an established team across Compensation, Benefits, People Operations, and People Analytics, and will be expected to shape a modern, market‑relevant Total Rewards philosophy, refine equity and incentive structures, advance benefits strategy, and drive people insights that support executive decision‑making.

Key Responsibilities

Total Rewards Strategy and Leadership

• Lead the strategy, design, and ongoing evolution of Flagship’s global Total Rewards philosophy across compensation, executive compensation, equity, benefits, and other reward programs.
• Serve as the principal architect of rewards strategy, recommending program direction to senior leadership and ensuring alignment with business priorities, talent strategy, and financial objectives.
• Develop and refine salary structures, incentive frameworks, equity guidelines, and market positioning approaches across a global footprint.
• Oversee job architecture and leveling governance in support of internal equity, talent management, and scalable compensation decision‑making.
• Guide annual compensation planning processes, including merit, bonus, promotion, and other pay actions, in partnership with HR, Finance, and business leadership.
• Partner closely with Talent Acquisition and HR Business Partners on executive and broad‑based offer strategy, market competitiveness, and internal equity.
• Lead the continued evolution of executive compensation and broad‑based equity strategy across Flagship and applicable portfolio companies.

Equity and Incentive Design

• Provide strategic leadership for complex equity and long‑term incentive programs, including private‑company equity structures and alternative long‑term incentive constructs.
• Oversee equity strategy, governance, and operational execution through the team, ensuring strong program design and scalable administration.
• Partner with senior leadership on the design and refinement of incentive and ownership frameworks that support attraction, retention, and long‑term value creation.
• Bring familiarity with innovative and non‑traditional compensation approaches, including profits interests, carried interest, and related long‑term incentive structures.

Benefits Strategy

• Lead benefits strategy across health and welfare, retirement, leave, and ancillary programs, ensuring programs remain competitive, sustainable, and aligned with organizational values and workforce needs.
• Partner with the Benefits leader and external advisors to evaluate plan design, funding, market trends, vendor performance, and evolving regulatory requirements.
• Support harmonization and modernization of benefits strategy where appropriate across a diverse and growing ecosystem.

People Operations

• Oversee key People Operations functions, including onboarding, offboarding, employee lifecycle processes, policy administration, compliance workflows, service delivery, and operational process excellence.
• Ensure people processes are scalable, well‑governed, and designed to support a high‑quality employee and manager experience.
• Partner effectively across HR, Payroll, IT, Legal, and Finance to improve operational efficiency and strengthen people‑related infrastructure.
• Provide leadership on HR compliance, as well as compensation‑ and benefits‑related compliance considerations, in partnership with internal and external experts as appropriate.

People Analytics

• Lead the People Analytics agenda, with an emphasis on generating insights that support executive decision‑making across workforce planning, hiring, retention, compensation, and organizational effectiveness.
• Oversee dashboards, reporting, and analytical frameworks that inform leaders including the CEO and CFO.
• Translate data and analysis into actionable recommendations in partnership with HR Business Partners and business leaders.
• Advance a thoughtful, increasingly sophisticated analytics capability that supports better people decisions across Flagship and the broader ecosystem.

Portfolio Company Partnership

• Advise and support portfolio company leaders on Total Rewards strategy, with involvement calibrated to company stage, maturity, and business need.
• Tailor rewards frameworks and guidance for a range of company stages while maintaining sound governance and alignment with broader talent and value creation goals.
• Present recommendations and insights to portfolio company leadership and boards as needed.

Leadership and Team Development

• Lead, develop, and inspire a multi‑functional team spanning Compensation, Benefits, People Operations, and People Analytics.
• Foster strong collaboration across functional teams and help continue building a high‑performing, service‑oriented, and strategically focused organization.
• Manage external consultants, brokers, survey providers, and other key vendors in support of rewards strategy and operational excellence.

Qualifications

• 15+ years of progressive experience in Total Rewards, with significant depth in compensation strategy and experience leading broad, multi‑functional teams.
• Deep expertise in compensation design, market benchmarking, executive compensation, incentive strategy, and private‑company equity.
• Strong familiarity with alternative long‑term incentive structures, including profits interests, carried interest, and other innovative ownership or reward constructs.
• Experience leading or advising on benefits strategy, including health and welfare, retirement, leave, and ancillary offerings.
• Experience overseeing or partnering closely with People Operations and People Analytics functions in complex organizations.
• Demonstrated success operating in high‑growth, founder‑led, venture‑backed, private equity, or similarly dynamic business environments.
• Experience supporting global workforces and navigating matrixed organizations with multiple stakeholders and business models.
• Strong executive presence with the ability to influence senior leaders, present compelling recommendations, and operate as a trusted advisor.
• Proven ability to translate data and market insights into practical, business‑relevant decisions and action plans.
• Experience working with boards, founders, and senior executive stakeholders preferred.
• Prior life sciences or biotechnology experience preferred, but not required.

Why Join Flagship Pioneering?

This is a rare opportunity to play a critical role in shaping how a highly innovative organization rewards, supports, and scales exceptional talent. As Senior Vice President, Total Rewards and People Operations, you will operate at the intersection of business strategy, organizational design, and cutting‑edge science, helping to build and evolve the people infrastructure that supports transformative work in human health and sustainability.

At Flagship, we recognize there is no perfect candidate. If you have some of the experience listed above but not all, please apply anyway. Experience comes in many forms, skills are transferable, and passion goes a long way. We are dedicated to building diverse and inclusive teams and look forward to learning more about your unique background.

The salary range for this role is $300,000 - $400,000 . ]]> <