AVP – Compensation

The AVP, Compensation is a key member of the Total Rewards team, responsible for leading the design, governance, and delivery of Fortitude’s compensation programs. In partnership with the SVP, Total Rewards, this role drives the execution of the company’s compensation strategy as a component of the overall Total Rewards’ strategy, ensuring alignment with business priorities, talent objectives, and market competitiveness.

The AVP will oversee core compensation functions including annual compensation planning, incentive and equity programs, and pay equity analysis. This role serves as an advisor to partners cross-functionally to enable consistent, data-driven, and equitable pay decisions across the organization.

What You Will Do: 

Compensation Strategy & Program Governance

• Partner with the SVP, Total Rewards to operationalize and evolve the company’s compensation philosophy and strategy
• Play a leading role in the governance and continuous improvement of compensation programs, including base salary structures, incentive plans, and equity programs
• Establish and maintain frameworks, guidelines, and controls to support consistent and effective pay decisions
• Ensure integration with benefits, well-being, and overall employee value proposition

Stakeholder Advisory & Cross-Functional Leadership

• Act as consultant to People Partners, Talent Acquisition, and management on compensation matters, including the total rewards strategy, compensation philosophy, market benchmarking, internal equity, policies, procedures.
• Influence decision-making through data-driven insights and a strong understanding of business priorities

Annual Compensation Cycle Management

• Responsible for the end-to-end management of annual compensation cycle, including salary increase, bonus, and equity planning
• Oversee tools, modeling, and processes to enable efficient and effective decision-making
• Establish and lead compensation communication and education strategies that embed understanding of the company’s compensation philosophy and enable consistent application of compensation practices across the organization  
• Ensure clear communication and enablement for People Partners and business leaders

Equity Program Oversight

• Oversee the administration and governance of equity programs, ensuring effective execution and alignment with total rewards strategy
• Own the relationship with the company’s third-party equity administration vendor, including oversight of day-to-day operations, service delivery and process effectiveness
• Partner with Accounting to support equity related reporting, expense management and compliance requirements
• Contribute to the evolution of equity programs and practices in line with business needs
• Develop and deliver training and educational materials to enhance participant understanding of equity program and support informed decision-making

Market Intelligence & Analytics

• Lead the organization’s approach to market benchmarking and compensation analytics
• Translate external market data and internal insights into actionable recommendations
• Develop scalable reporting and tools to support ongoing decision-making

Pay Review & Compliance

• Lead pay review analyses and partner with the SVP, Total Rewards on remediation strategies
• Ensure compliance with compensation-related regulations, including pay transparency requirements
• Partner with People & Culture Partners and Legal to proactively manage risk and uphold equitable pay practices

What You Will Have:

• 7–10+ years of progressive experience in compensation, including program design and governance
• Strong expertise in broad-based compensation, including base, incentive, and equity programs
• Experience leading enterprise job architecture and leveling frameworks, including salary structure design, governance, and organizational enablement
• Familiarity with emerging technologies, including AI-driven tools and analytics, and the ability to leverage them to enhance compensation insights, decision-making, and process efficiency
• Demonstrated ability to lead enterprise compensation cycles and influence stakeholders
• Strong analytical capability with the ability to translate data into business insights and recommendations
• Working knowledge of compensation regulations, including pay equity and pay transparency
• Experience with HRIS and compensation tools (e.g., Workday)
• Proven ability to lead cross-functional initiatives and manage competing priorities in a fast-paced environment
• Excellent communication, organizational, and project management skills with the ability to translate complex technical information for general audiences.
• Demonstrated ability to collaborate with cross-functional teams
• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent professional experience preferred; advanced degree or relevant certifications (such as CCP) a plus