The Director, Total Rewards & HR Systems leads the strategy, design, governance, and continuous improvement of compensation, benefits, recognition, leave, and HR technology programs that support our Team Members and business growth globally.
This leader drives a globally relevant and competitive total rewards strategy that attracts and retains top talent. Applying design thinking and pragmatism, this leader creates an experience that meets the needs of our restaurant leaders and Team Members. As the enterprise owner of the total rewards strategy and HR systems roadmap, this leader ensures programs and platforms are globally compliant, scalable, data-informed, and easy to use. The role partners closely with HR Operations, Finance, IT, Enterprise Data & Analytics, Legal/Compliance, brokers, consultants, and vendors.
This role owns the Total Rewards and HR Systems components of shared payroll processes and partners with Payroll and Finance on upstream data, system integrations, controls, compensation-related inputs, and issue resolution.
What You Will OwnTotal Rewards Strategy & Governance- Develop and execute a total rewards strategy aligned with business priorities, workforce needs, financial objectives, and external market practices.
- Advise executive leadership on compensation, benefits, recognition, and workforce reward trends, risks, investments, and opportunities.
- Establish program governance, decision rights, policies, controls, service expectations, and measures of effectiveness across the total rewards portfolio.
- Translate complex market, financial, regulatory, and workforce data into clear recommendations for senior leaders.
Compensation & Recognition- Lead the design, administration, and ongoing evaluation of base pay, incentive, geographic differential, recognition, and other reward programs.
- Maintain job architecture, salary structures, market-pricing practices, pay ranges, and compensation guidelines that support internal equity and external competitiveness.
- Monitor minimum wage, wage-and-hour, FLSA, pay transparency, and related compensation regulatory developments globally; partner with local experts and recommend timely program and structure changes.
- Partner with Finance and business leaders on compensation planning, workforce cost modeling, incentive design, and quarterly and annual bonus processes.
- Lead compensation reviews, audits, and analyses throughout the Team Member lifecycle, including offers, promotions, transfers, equity adjustments, and organizational changes.
Benefits, Wellbeing & Leave- Lead the strategy, design, administration, and optimization of health, welfare, retirement, wellbeing, leave, and related benefit programs globally, balancing enterprise consistency with local market and statutory requirements.
- Manage broker, consultant, carrier, and vendor relationships; evaluate plan performance, service quality, utilization, cost, risk, and market competitiveness.
- Direct annual renewal and enrollment activities, including plan recommendations, communications, implementation readiness, and post-enrollment review.
- Provide governance and oversight for company, state, and federal leave programs, including FMLA, while partnering with operational teams and vendors on day-to-day administration.
- Ensure required filings, notices, audits, and reporting are completed accurately and on time.
HR Systems, Data & Technology- Own the HR technology strategy and roadmap, optimizing Workday as the current HCM platform while continuously evaluating emerging technologies, AI-enabled capabilities, and alternative solutions that can improve scalability, efficiency, insight, and the Team Member experience.
- Establish intake, prioritization, governance, release planning, testing, documentation, security-role coordination, and change-control practices for HR systems.
- Lead functional configuration and continuous improvement of HR technology, translating business needs into clear requirements, workflows, controls, integrations, reports, and user experiences.
- Partner with IT and Enterprise Data & Analytics on architecture, integrations, security, data governance, reporting logic, data quality, automation, and the responsible adoption of AI across HR and Total Rewards.
- Develop and execute an AI and automation roadmap for HR and Total Rewards that simplifies repetitive and transactional work, expands intelligent self-service, and frees HR capacity for strategic, analytical, and high-value contributions. Prioritize practical use cases such as case support, knowledge management, workflow automation, workforce insights, compensation and benefits analysis, and personalized communications.
- Establish governance for AI-enabled tools and processes, including use-case approval, data privacy, security, bias and accuracy testing, human review, documentation, vendor accountability, and ongoing monitoring globally.
- Manage HR technology vendors, contracts, service levels, implementation partners, issue escalation, and value realization.
- Build reliable people reporting and analytics that enable leaders to understand workforce trends, program effectiveness, cost, compliance, and risk.
- Drive adoption through practical communications, training, self-service, process documentation, stakeholder engagement, and measurable support outcomes.
Compliance, Risk & Process Excellence- Maintain current knowledge of applicable compensation, benefits, leave, reporting, privacy, and HR technology requirements globally, using qualified local counsel and advisors as appropriate.
- Lead or support financial, legal, plan, and people-data audits; remediate findings and strengthen preventive controls.
- Identify process, system, vendor, and compliance risks and implement practical improvements that support scale and reduce manual work.
- Maintain an inventory of AI-enabled HR use cases and vendors, assess legal and operational risks, and ensure appropriate controls for sensitive Team Member data, automated recommendations, and human decision-making.
- Partner with HR Operations and Legal/Compliance to ensure policies, system workflows, and service-delivery practices remain aligned.
- Support new-location readiness by ensuring total rewards programs, HR systems, required registrations, data, and vendor processes are prepared for launch.
Leadership & Partnership- Lead and develop Total Rewards and HR Systems Team Members and, where applicable, other leaders. Establish clear individual and team objectives aligned with business priorities and KDRs, provide candid feedback and coaching, and build the capability and succession strength required to deliver long-term results.
- Present program performance, recommendations, risks, and investment needs to executive leadership and governance forums.
- Create an operating rhythm that balances short- and long-term objectives, aligns resources and priorities across strategic initiatives, annual cycles, system releases, vendor commitments, and compliance deliverables, and keeps progress, decisions, risks, and accountability visible and on track.
What You BringExperience & Education- Bachelor's degree or equivalent combination of education and progressive experience in total rewards, compensation, benefits, HR systems, or HR operations.
- 6-8 years of progressive experience in total rewards, compensation, benefits, HR systems, or HR operations, including leadership responsibility for enterprise programs and cross-functional initiatives.
- 2-4 years of leadership experience, including responsibility for leading teams, developing Team Members, and coordinating work across functions.
- Demonstrated ownership of Workday or a comparable enterprise HR technology ecosystem, including configuration, governance, releases, integrations, reporting, and vendor management, combined with a record of challenging legacy processes and applying AI, automation, or emerging technology to improve how work gets done.
- Strong knowledge of compensation structures, benefits administration, leave programs, HR compliance, data governance, and HR technology controls.
- Experience leading total rewards or HR systems across global markets is strongly preferred; experience in a multi-unit, high-volume, geographically dispersed, or high-growth organization is also preferred.
- Relevant professional certification, such as CCP, CEBS, SHRM-SCP, SPHR, or Workday certification, is preferred.
Capabilities- Strategic and analytical thinker who converts complex data into practical business recommendations.
- Strong financial acumen, including program-cost modeling, forecasting, benchmarking, and business-case development.
- Future-focused HR technology leader with deep Workday fluency who is not constrained by legacy systems, processes, or mindsets. Brings curiosity about advances in AI and emerging technology and applies design thinking and pragmatism to determine when to optimize, automate, integrate, replace, or redesign solutions around business and user needs.
- Applies practical knowledge of generative AI, predictive analytics, intelligent automation, and responsible AI principles to evaluate emerging capabilities, identify appropriate use cases, and shape secure, scalable, and user-centered HR solutions.
- Demonstrated ability to identify and implement AI-enabled solutions that reduce repetitive and transactional work, improve productivity and service quality, and expand capacity for strategic and high-value contributions. Leads stakeholder education, responsible-use guidance, pilot design, adoption planning, and measurement of business, workforce, and experience outcomes.
- Makes timely, well-informed decisions with confidence, understands system and process interdependencies, and mobilizes stakeholders across functions to champion and sustain change.
- Clear and influential communicator who creates space for honest and difficult conversations, adapts messages for diverse audiences, and drives alignment among executives, field leaders, Team Members, technical partners, and vendors.
- High standards of integrity, confidentiality, accuracy, and sound judgment.
- Proficiency in Microsoft Office and HR reporting and analytics tools.
Operating Model- Reports to the Vice President of Total Rewards.
- Leads Total Rewards and HR Systems resources and external partners aligned to the approved organization structure, coordinating with local and regional HR, Finance, Legal, payroll, and advisory partners across global markets.
- Partners closely with Payroll and Finance.
- Serves as the HR business owner for total rewards platforms, Workday priorities, functional requirements, governance, adoption, and value realization.
- Works with IT as the technical partner for architecture, security, integrations, infrastructure, and deployment standards.
- Works with HR Operations as the service-delivery partner for day-to-day process execution and Team Member support.
Physical DemandsWhile performing the duties of this job, the Team Member is regularly required to sit and may occasionally lift and/or move up to 25 pounds. The role requires the ability to manage competing priorities, navigate complex issues, and operate effectively in a fast-paced environment.
CompensationCommensurate with experience and qualifications.
Medical, Dental, and Vision insurance are available for full-time Team Members on the first of the month following their start date. Additionally, company-paid Life Insurance and Short-Term Disability are provided where allowed. We offer a comprehensive voluntary benefits package including Critical Illness, Hospital Indemnity, and Accident Coverage.
