Director, Compensation

About this role

Job Description

Summary The Director, Compensation owns the strategy, governance, and operational execution of Zendesk’s global compensation programs. This role is responsible for translating compensation into a business advantage by enabling competitive pay decisions, supporting talent retention and growth, and delivering scalable, equitable, and market-aligned compensation practices.

The Director will set the functional roadmap for global compensation advising, compensation analytics, tools and systems, with strong emphasis on data rigor, automation, process discipline, and cross-functional partnership. This leader will partner closely with senior leaders in Finance, Legal, Payroll, Talent Acquisition, HR Business Partners, Total Rewards, and business executives to drive org-level outcomes that directly impact workforce planning, pay equity, budget management, and talent strategy.

This is a high-impact leadership role accountable for building scalable compensation operations, establishing practical policy guardrails, and serving as the final decision-maker for complex compensation escalations, exceptions, and executive compensation support.

Duties & Responsibilities • Direct and oversee the global compensation function, including compensation advising, analytics, tools and systems, policy governance, and employee and manager support. • Develop, modify, and execute global compensation policies, guidelines, and procedures, ensuring alignment with business objectives, compensation philosophy, and organizational values. • Establish and implement compensation strategies and operating models that support pay decisions, job architecture, promotions, market pricing, and annual compensation cycles. • Serve as the functional authority on complex compensation matters and provide guidance to business leaders, HR partners, and employees on policy interpretation, exceptions, and competitive pay decisions. • Partner with Finance, Payroll, Legal, Talent Acquisition, and Total Rewards to support compensation planning, budget allocation, offer design, pay progression, and broader workforce planning. • Lead compensation analytics and insights, including market benchmarking, pay equity analysis, range penetration, incentive analysis, and executive-ready reporting. • Own compensation tools and systems, including configuration, workflow design, data integrity, reporting, and process automation to improve scale, accuracy, and user experience. • Support executive compensation activities, including executive offer packages, annual executive pay review processes, equity support, and coordination of governance and approvals. • Build forecasting and planning processes for compensation spend, merit cycles, promotions, adjustments, equity refreshes, and other compensation-related investments. • Analyze market trends, internal compensation data, and best practices to identify opportunities for program optimization, competitiveness, and improved employee experience. • Drive continuous improvement through process redesign, technology enablement, and standardization of compensation practices across regions and business functions. • Lead, develop, and mentor the team supporting global compensation operations, establishing priorities and accountability for results. • Monitor program performance, data quality, escalations, and compliance risks, taking corrective action as needed. • Own short- to mid-term planning for the function, including annual goals, service delivery priorities, and strategic initiatives. • Establish KPIs, SLAs, and dashboards to measure compensation cycle effectiveness, turnaround time, decision quality, employee experience, and operational health. • Build and maintain governance frameworks for compensation decisions, including exception handling, approvals, documentation standards, and audit readiness. • Partner with leadership to ensure compensation programs support hiring strategy, retention goals, internal equity, and market competitiveness. • Lead org design, hiring, development, and succession planning for the Global Compensation team. • Build career frameworks and development paths for compensation specialists and managers, with clear accountability for performance and promotion readiness. • Manage vendor strategy, including RFPs, negotiations, contract management, and ongoing performance governance for compensation survey providers, analytics tools, and systems vendors. • Ensure compliance with global compensation requirements, including wage and hour considerations, pay transparency laws, internal controls, and data/privacy obligations, partnering with internal stakeholders to mitigate risk. • Provide executive-ready reporting and recommendations on compensation trends, risk, cost, and program effectiveness.

Required Qualifications • Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources, Business, Finance, Economics, or a related field. • 12+ years of experience in global compensation, executive compensation, total rewards, compensation analytics, or enterprise HR leadership. • 5+ years of people leadership experience, including managing managers and scaling teams. • Strong experience partnering with senior Finance, Legal, Payroll, HR, and business leaders on compensation strategy and execution. • Demonstrated success building scalable compensation programs, playbooks, and governance frameworks. • Experience with financial forecasting, budgeting, accruals, and compensation planning related to enterprise workforce programs. • Deep knowledge of compensation principles, market pricing, pay equity, job architecture, incentive design, and compensation compliance requirements. • Experience leading vendor strategy, including RFPs, negotiations, and contract review. • Strong executive presence and ability to communicate complex compensation issues to senior stakeholders. • Proven ability to operate in ambiguity while maintaining disciplined accountability. • Ability to handle highly confidential and sensitive i

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