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Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Compensation and Benefits Specialist

💰 $ - $

🎯 Role Definition

The Compensation and Benefits Specialist designs, administers, analyzes, and communicates compensation and benefits programs that attract, retain, and motivate employees while ensuring compliance with applicable laws and internal policies. This role partners with HR business partners, payroll, legal, finance, and external vendors to maintain competitive pay structures, administer benefit plans, execute open enrollment, analyze total rewards data, and implement compensation strategy and pay equity initiatives. The ideal candidate blends technical HRIS and analytics skills with strategic total rewards knowledge and strong stakeholder communications.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

  • HR Generalist with exposure to pay and benefits administration
  • Benefits Coordinator or Payroll Specialist transitioning to total rewards
  • Compensation Analyst or HR Analyst advancing into specialist-level ownership

Advancement To:

  • Compensation & Benefits Manager / Total Rewards Manager
  • Senior Compensation Analyst or Senior Total Rewards Specialist
  • HR Business Partner (with total rewards leadership) or Director of Compensation & Benefits

Lateral Moves:

  • Payroll Manager or Payroll Analyst
  • Talent Acquisition Specialist with focus on compensation packages
  • HRIS Analyst focusing on compensation and benefits modules

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

  • Design, administer and continually refine base pay programs, incentive plans, and variable pay structures that align with business objectives and budget constraints; prepare plan documentation, eligibility rules, and distribution methodologies.
  • Conduct comprehensive market benchmarking and salary surveys (internal and external) to recommend competitive salary ranges and pay structures by job family, level, and geography; summarize findings and propose adjustments to leadership.
  • Lead job evaluations and job leveling exercises using consistent methodologies (e.g., point-factor, market-based, competency frameworks) to ensure internal equity and career progression clarity.
  • Perform regular pay equity and pay-for-performance analyses, identify gaps, develop mitigation plans, and partner with legal and HR leadership to implement equitable pay actions.
  • Manage benefits administration for medical, dental, vision, life, disability, FSA/HSA, commuter, and wellness programs, including plan renewals, vendor relationships, and cost-containment strategies.
  • Plan and execute annual open enrollment campaigns end-to-end: communications, enrollment system configuration, FAQs, employee education sessions, and coordination with carriers and brokers.
  • Serve as the primary point of contact for benefits vendors and brokers; negotiate contracts, review SLAs, resolve escalations, and audit vendor deliverables for accuracy and compliance.
  • Maintain and configure compensation and benefits components in HRIS and payroll systems (Workday, ADP, Oracle HCM, PeopleSoft or similar), ensure accurate integrations and timely changes to payroll.
  • Develop and maintain compensation models, total rewards statements, and scenario analyses for budgeting, M&A/transitions, promotions, and workforce planning.
  • Prepare, analyze and distribute monthly/quarterly compensation and benefits reports and dashboards (cost of benefits, headcount by grade, salary spend, merit budget usage, turnover trends) to HR leaders and finance.
  • Support salary administration processes including merit cycles, promotions, equity refreshes, new hire offers, and pay adjustments; create offer letters and approvals workflows aligned with compensation policy.
  • Ensure compliance with federal, state and local regulations affecting pay and benefits (FLSA, ERISA, ACA, COBRA, HIPAA, state paid leave laws), maintain records and support audits and legal inquiries.
  • Lead or support compensation-related projects such as incentive plan design, global salary structure harmonization, job architecture updates, and HRIS compensation module implementations.
  • Build strong partnerships with business leaders and HRBPs to translate business needs into compensation and benefits strategy, provide consultation on competitive offers and retention actions.
  • Create clear, employee-friendly communications about compensation philosophy, benefit plan changes, enrollment instructions, and total rewards value to increase engagement and understanding.
  • Administer leave and accommodation programs (FMLA, ADA-related coordination, state leave programs) in partnership with HR operations and legal to ensure consistent application and documentation.
  • Reconcile and verify benefit billings and payroll deductions; work with payroll and finance to resolve discrepancies, maintain audit trails, and support month-end close activities.
  • Execute compensation modeling and total cost of ownership calculations for workforce planning, promotions, hiring approvals, and executive compensation scenarios; build scenario-based financial impacts for decision makers.
  • Support executive compensation administration including bonus/long-term incentive tracking, grant documentation, vesting schedules, and compliance with governance and disclosure requirements.
  • Maintain up-to-date compensation policies, job descriptions, market benchmarking libraries, and total rewards documentation; regularly review and recommend policy updates.
  • Investigate and resolve employee inquiries and appeals related to pay and benefits, conduct case reviews, interpret policy, and recommend corrective actions as needed.
  • Participate in audit preparation and deliverables for internal and external compensation and benefits audits, ensuring required documentation, data extracts, and reconciliations are accurate and timely.

Secondary Functions

  • Provide training to HR teams and managers on compensation processes, benefits enrollment systems, and policy interpretation to ensure consistent application across the organization.
  • Support ad-hoc analytics requests from leadership including turnover by pay band, cost-to-hire by role, benefits utilization trends, and ROI analyses for wellness programs.
  • Contribute to the organization’s total rewards communications strategy by producing employee-facing materials, intranet content, and FAQs tailored for different populations.
  • Assist in vendor selection processes by drafting RFPs, coordinating demos, scoring vendor responses, and building ROI comparisons for HRIS, benefits administration, and analytics tools.
  • Participate in cross-functional projects (finance, legal, IT) to ensure compensation and benefits considerations are embedded in broader organizational initiatives.
  • Monitor and research emerging total rewards trends (e.g., pay transparency laws, parental leave best practices, flexible benefits) and propose pilots or policy updates.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

  • Compensation analysis and job evaluation methodologies (point-factor, market-based, competency frameworks)
  • Salary benchmarking and market survey design and interpretation
  • Benefits plan administration and vendor/contract management (medical, dental, vision, retirement plan administration)
  • HRIS and payroll systems experience (Workday, ADP, PeopleSoft, Oracle HCM, UKG; configuration and reporting)
  • Advanced Excel modeling (pivot tables, VLOOKUP/XLOOKUP, INDEX/MATCH, nested formulas) and financial scenario modeling
  • Data analysis and visualization (Power BI, Tableau, or equivalent) — building dashboards and business reports
  • Statistical techniques for pay equity analysis (regression analysis, decomposition methods) and familiarity with relevant tools (R, Python, SAS — desirable)
  • Regulatory compliance knowledge: ERISA, ACA, COBRA, FMLA, FLSA, state and local leave/pay laws
  • Project management skills for compensation cycles and HRIS implementations; experience with Agile or traditional PM frameworks
  • Offer modeling, salary band design, and incentive plan calculation experience

Soft Skills

  • Strong stakeholder management and consultative advisory with leaders and HR business partners
  • Clear, persuasive written and verbal communication; ability to translate technical data into executive summaries and employee communications
  • Analytical problem-solving and attention to detail with a strong orientation toward data accuracy and auditability
  • Confidentiality and sound judgment handling sensitive pay and benefits information
  • Change management and training skills to implement new programs and ensure adoption
  • Time management and ability to manage multiple compensation/benefits cycles and deadlines
  • Collaborative team player with cross-functional influence and negotiation skills
  • Customer service orientation when handling employee inquiries and escalations
  • Critical thinking and continuous improvement mindset, driven to optimize processes and reduce manual effort
  • Adaptability to evolving regulatory and business environments

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

  • Bachelor's degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, Finance, Economics, Statistics, or a related field

Preferred Education:

  • Master's degree (MBA, MHRM) or relevant certifications such as Certified Compensation Professional (CCP), Certified Employee Benefit Specialist (CEBS), SHRM-CP/SCP, or HRCI credentials

Relevant Fields of Study:

  • Human Resources Management
  • Business Administration
  • Finance
  • Economics
  • Statistics / Data Analytics

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range: 3–7 years of progressive experience in compensation, benefits administration, or total rewards roles.

Preferred:

  • 5+ years of hands-on compensation and benefits experience, including market benchmarking, pay structure design, and benefits vendor management.
  • Demonstrated experience configuring compensation and benefits in an HRIS and integrating with payroll systems.
  • Proven track record of working cross-functionally with finance, legal, and business leaders to implement total rewards programs and policies.
  • Prior exposure to global compensation and benefits practices is a plus for international environments.
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