Association Senior Director of Total Rewards

YMCA
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Join the YMCA of Greater Charlotte as our next Association Senior Director of Total Rewards!
Job Description

Under the general supervision of the Chief People and Culture Officer and consistent with the Christian mission of the YMCA, the Association Senior Director, Total Rewards leads a holistic total rewards strategy built on four connected pillars: compensation (competitive pay and variable incentives), benefits (health, insurance, retirement and lifestyle offerings), well-being (physical, mental and financial wellness), and recognition (programs that celebrate effort and reinforce performance). This role carries a strategic mandate for benefits, well-being and recognition, evaluating funding options against the Association's financial strengths and workforce needs in an increasingly volatile insurance marketplace, and a foundational mandate for compensation, HR Operations, and payroll, ensuring a fair, dependable and well-administered pay and payroll foundation that supports the incentive plan work led jointly by Finance and executive leadership.

Qualifications

Required Qualifications

1.       Bachelor's degree in Human Resources, Finance, Business or related field, or equivalent work experience.

2.       8+ years of progressive experience in compensation and benefits strategy, with demonstrated ownership of benefits funding decisions and carrier or broker negotiations.

3.       Demonstrated experience evaluating insurance funding models (fully insured, level-funded or self-funded) and making funding recommendations to executive leadership.

4.       Strong compensation fundamentals: job architecture, market pricing, pay equity analysis and merit cycle administration.

5.       Experience overseeing or closely partnering with a payroll function; personal payroll processing experience is not required, but comfort leading a Payroll Manager and holding payroll to a compliance and service standard is.

6.       Exposure to or experience integrating well-being and/or recognition programs into a broader total rewards strategy.

7.       High level of customer service skills and expertise.

8.       Demonstrated success working with multiple levels of leaders and exercising a high level of influence.

9.       Ability to maintain the highest level of confidentiality.

10.    Strong organizational skills and attention to detail.

All YMCA team members are expected to maintain a current and active status for all safety, risk, and programming certifications defined by the YMCA of Greater Charlotte.

Preferred Qualifications

1.       Master's degree in Human Resources, Finance or Business Administration.

2.       Experience and proficiency with HRIS and compensation/benefits analytics tools.

3.       Experience designing or scaling employee well-being or recognition programs (for example, mental health or EAP support, financial wellness, or structured appreciation programs).

4.       Nonprofit, association or mission-driven organization experience, with genuine alignment to the Y's Christian mission and values.

Working Conditions

•     While performing the duties of this job, the team member is regularly required to use a computer for extended periods of time and be able to communicate using a computer and phone/smart device.

•     The team member frequently is required to sit and reach and must be able to move around the work environment.

•     The team member must occasionally lift and/or move up to 10 pounds.

•     Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, and the ability to adjust.

•     The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate.

•     Travel as needed.

Essential Functions

Compensation (foundational)

1.       Maintain and evolve the base pay structure, job architecture, leveling and pay equity practices, ensuring a fair, consistent and legally compliant foundation.

2.       Partner with the VP of Finance and the incentive plan leadership role on the design and modeling of incentive and pay-for-performance programs; administer and communicate compensation programs rather than independently originate incentive plan design.

3.       Supervise the Payroll Manager, ensuring accurate, compliant and timely payroll processing, including benefits deductions and incentive payouts.

4.       Ensure all compensation and payroll practices comply with applicable federal, state and local requirements.

Benefits (strategic)

5.       Own the Association's benefits strategy, including evaluating funding options (fully insured, level-funded, self-funded) against the Association's financial strengths and workforce needs, and recommending the approach that best balances cost, protection and mission commitments.

6.       Monitor insurance marketplace volatility, carrier performance and regulatory change, and lead broker/carrier relationships, renewal strategy and vendor negotiations.

7.       Lead benefits-related RFPs and vendor management, ensuring plan design, cost and service objectives are met.

8.       Lead open enrollment strategy and execution in partnership with the Director, Benefits & Wellbeing.

Well-being (strategic)

9.       Design and lead well-being initiatives spanning physical, mental and financial wellness, treating well-being as a driver of performance and retention rather than a supplemental perk.

10.    Evaluate and introduce personalized, flexible well-being options, such as mental health support, caregiver benefits and financial wellness programs, suited to a multigenerational, mission-driven workforce.

Recognition & rewards (strategic)

11.    Design and lead employee recognition and appreciation programs that reinforce performance and connect everyday contributions to the Y's mission.

12.    Partner with People & Culture and site leadership to ensure recognition practices are consistent, meaningful and equitably distributed across the Association's locations.

Cross-functional partnership and governance

13.    Serve as a trusted advisor to the CPCO on total rewards strategy, translating market and financial realities into actionable recommendations across all four pillars.

14.    Prepare and evaluate job descriptions, classifications and market benchmarking in partnership with Talent Acquisition and HR Business Partners.

15.    Prepare the total rewards department budget and monitor plan costs against budget.

16.    Develop clear communication strategies for total rewards that help staff understand and value the full portfolio of pay, benefits, well-being and recognition.

17.    Partner with the Sr. Director of HR and, once established, the HRIS Data Analyst to access accurate, well-governed compensation and benefits data for benchmarking, modeling and reporting.

18.    Represent the Association in YMCA of the USA and peer-association total rewards forums, bringing external benchmarking into local strategy.

19.    Directly supervise and develop the Director, Benefits & Wellbeing. Payroll Manager, and HR Manager

Cause-Driven Leadership Competencies

1.       COMMUNICATION & INFLUENCE: Listens and expresses self effectively and in a way that engages, inspires, and builds commitment to the Y's cause.

2.       COLLABORATION: Creates sustainable relationships within the Y and with other organizations in service to the community.

3.       CRITICAL THINKING & DECISION MAKING: Makes informed decisions based on logic, data, and sound judgment.

4.       EMOTIONAL MATURITY: Demonstrates ability to understand and manage emotions effectively in all situations.