As a patient-focused organization, University of Utah Health exists to enhance the health and well-being of people through patient care, research and education. Success in this mission requires a culture of collaboration, excellence, leadership, and respect. University of Utah Health seeks staff that are committed to the values of compassion, collaboration, innovation, responsibility, integrity, quality and trust that are integral to our mission. EO/AA

• The Compensation Lead — Programs serves as a senior individual contributor within the Compensation Center of Expertise, with primary responsibility for translating compensation strategy into practical tools, frameworks, guidance, and implementation-ready resources. This role supports major compensation initiatives such as job architecture implementation, career framework integration, compensation program updates, executive job architecture, workforce segmentation, incentive or variable pay design, and other enterprise compensation workstreams.  

• This position is intended for a tool-builder, rollout driver, and solution-oriented partner who can turn complex compensation concepts into usable materials that support consistent decision-making across HR and operational leadership. The Compensation Lead — Programs partners closely with Compensation leadership, Compensation Operations, Compensation Consulting, HR partners, Finance, HRIS, Talent Acquisition, and business stakeholders to ensure compensation programs are scalable, sustainable, documented, and operationally supported.  

• The role provides advanced compensation expertise, program design support, workstream leadership, implementation coordination, stakeholder readiness support, and practical problem-solving. It may provide matrixed guidance, coaching, quality review, and work direction to compensation analysts or project contributors, but does not necessarily serve as a formal people manager. Success in this role requires strong compensation judgment, project discipline, written communication, tool development capability, and the ability to convert strategy into clear, practical, adoption-ready resources 

Schedule: Monday - Friday 8:00 am - 4:30 pm

• Hybrid, In office Tuesdays and Thursdays (Subject to change based on department needs)

Corporate Overview: University of Utah Health is an integrated academic healthcare system with five hospitals including a level 1 trauma center, eleven community health centers, over 1,600 providers, and a health plan serving over 200,000 members. University of Utah Health is nationally ranked and recognized for our academic research, quality standards and overall patient experience. In addition to our clinical delivery system, we have a School of Medicine, School of Dentistry, College of Nursing, College of Pharmacy, and College of Health providing education and training for over 1,250 providers annually. We have over 2 million patient visits annually and research grants exceeding $350 million. University of Utah Hospitals and Clinics represents our clinical operations for the larger health system.

Essential Functions

Advanced Compensation Consultation

• Provides senior-level compensation consultation to HR partners, leaders, and other stakeholders on complex matters, including hiring, promotions, market adjustments, retention actions, interim assignments, bonuses, job evaluations, career framework placement, pay administration, and executive or leadership role questions.
• Interprets compensation policy, job architecture, market data, internal pay consistency, budget constraints, and operational context to develop practical, defensible recommendations that balance business need, market competitiveness, internal consistency, financial stewardship, and precedent risk.
• Manages or supports escalated, high-impact, precedent-setting, politically sensitive, or ambiguous compensation matters with appropriate documentation, routing, and follow-through.

Compensation Program and Workstream Leadership

• Leads significant, defined compensation program workstreams such as job architecture implementation, workforce segmentation, incentive/variable pay program development, executive compensation framework development, or career framework integration.
• Serves as a compensation content and design lead by translating business needs, compensation strategy, and implementation requirements into practical frameworks, tools, guidance, and decision standards.
• Partners with designated project / program resources to support planning, readiness, documentation, and implementation coordination across Compensation Operations, Consulting, and Programs.
• Identifies program risks, stakeholder readiness gaps, policy implications, resourcing constraints, or decision points requiring leadership attention, and recommends practical mitigation options.

Job Architecture, Market Analysis, and Pay Decision Support

• Conducts advanced job evaluations and market analyses to determine appropriate job classification, career level, salary structure placement, and benchmark alignment.
• Applies compensation judgment to complex job architecture questions, including role differentiation, leveling, titling, executive role alignment, and internal consistency across departments, functions, and workforce segments.
• Analyzes compensation data to assess market competitiveness, compression, turnover risk, hiring difficulty, and pay alignment.
• Develops leader-ready summaries and recommendations that translate complex analysis into clear findings, options, tradeoffs, and recommended actions.

HR Partner Enablement and Knowledge Transfer

• Serves as a senior technical resource to HR Strategic Advisors, Talent Acquisition partners, and other HR colleagues on compensation policy, market logic, job architecture, pay decision standards, documentation expectations, and escalation triggers.
• Builds capability among HR partners, compensation analysts, and project contributors through coaching, knowledge sharing, quality review, tools, training, and practical decision support.
• Partners with Compensation Operations, Compensation Programs, HRIS, Finance, Talent Acquisition, and other stakeholders to support effective program delivery and identify opportunities for better tools, clearer policies, process redesign, and improved service delivery.
• Ensures compliance with federal, state, and local wage and hour laws, pay practices, and organizational compensation policies.

Knowledge / Skills / Abilities

• Advanced knowledge of compensation principles and practices, including market pricing, salary structure design, job evaluation, job architecture, pay placement, incentive programs, pay administration, and internal pay consistency analysis.

• Strong ability to apply compensation judgment in complex, ambiguous, high-impact, or precedent-setting situations.

• Strong consulting and facilitation skills, including the ability to guide discussions with senior and executive leaders, diagnose business needs, frame options, communicate tradeoffs, and determine when issues require further analysis or escalation before commitments are made.

• Strong analytical, written, and verbal communication skills, including the ability to interpret data, identify trends, develop insights, and communicate complex compensation concepts clearly.

• Ability to handle the highest level of confidential information and interact effectively with all levels of management, HR partners, Finance, HRIS, Talent Acquisition, and other stakeholders.

• Experience leading workstreams or cross-functional efforts without direct authority.

• Knowledge of federal, state, and local wage and hour regulations and employment practices.

Required

• Bachelor’s degree in human resources management, Business Administration, Finance, Healthcare Administration, Organizational Development, or a related field, or four years of professional compensation experience.
• Minimum of seven years of experience in Compensation, Total Rewards, Human Resources, Finance, or a closely related field, including meaningful experience applying compensation principles in a professional setting.

Preferred

• Certified Compensation Professional (CCP).
• Experience in a healthcare, academic medical center, higher education, public sector, or similarly complex organization.
• Experience with job architecture, career frameworks, salary structure design, market survey participation, incentive program support, executive compensation support, or enterprise compensation program implementation.
• Master's Degree in a related area of assignment, or equivalency.

Working Conditions and Physical Demands

Employee must be able to meet the following requirements with or without an accommodation.

• This is a sedentary position in an office setting that may exert up to 10 pounds and may lift, carry, push, pull or otherwise move objects. This position involves sitting most of the time and is not exposed to adverse environmental conditions.