Director of Total Rewards & Operational Excellence

Posting Summary

The University of Vermont ( UVM ) seeks a Director of Total Rewards & Operational Excellence to provide leadership and oversight for compensation, benefits, and retention-focused programs, while advancing operational excellence across the Human Resources function.

Reporting to the Chief Human Resources Officer, this role serves as a strategic partner to university leaders, helping align total rewards programs and HR operations with institutional priorities and workforce needs. The Director works collaboratively across Human Resources and the broader university community to ensure compensation, benefits, and retention programs are administered consistently, effectively, and in support of organizational goals.

In addition to overseeing total rewards programs, the Director leads efforts to improve HR service delivery through process optimization and cross-functional collaboration. This includes evaluating and redesigning business processes, identifying opportunities to improve efficiency and customer service, and partnering with HR technology stakeholders to leverage system capabilities in support of operational excellence and business goals.

The successful candidate will bring broad HR leadership experience, strong operational and relationship-management skills, and a demonstrated ability to partner with leaders to address workforce needs through practical, scalable solutions. Compensation and benefits philosophies, priorities, and strategic direction are established in partnership with the CHRO and senior university leadership. The Director serves as a steward and operational leader, translating those priorities into effective, compliant, and sustainable programs, processes, and practices that support workforce needs and institutional goals.

Key Responsibilities

Total Rewards Stewardship & Workforce Retention

• Provide leadership and oversight for retention-focused compensation and benefits programs.
• Partner with university leaders, including the Director of HR Partners and the Chief Human Resources Officer, to assess workforce needs, recommend retention-focused compensation and benefits solutions, and support leadership alignment and approval of program changes that advance attraction, retention, and organizational effectiveness.
• Ensure effective administration of leadership-approved compensation philosophies, structures, policies, and practices.
• Oversee market benchmarking, compensation analysis, and benefits program evaluation to support data-informed decision-making.
• Partner closely with benefits subject matter experts and other stakeholders to ensure effective program delivery, compliance, and alignment with institutional priorities.
• Monitor compensation and benefits program effectiveness and recommend improvements based on workforce trends, organizational needs, and financial sustainability considerations.
• Support vendor governance and program oversight activities related to compensation and benefits programs.

Operational Excellence & Process Improvement

• Lead efforts to improve HR service delivery, operational effectiveness, and customer experience across HR functions.
• Evaluate, redesign, and standardize HR business processes to improve efficiency, consistency, compliance, and service quality.
• Identify opportunities to streamline workflows, reduce administrative burden, and improve collaboration across HR teams.
• Champion a culture of continuous improvement, innovation, and operational excellence throughout the HR organization.
• Develop and monitor performance measures and service metrics to assess effectiveness and drive ongoing improvement.
• Partner with the HR Technology & Data team to optimize HR processes and leverage HR systems and tools effectively, ensuring technology capabilities support business objectives and enhance the experience of employees, managers, and HR staff.
• Serve as a steward of data-informed practices by encouraging the use of HR metrics, reporting, and insights to enhance operational effectiveness.

Leadership & Collaboration

• Lead, mentor, and develop Total Rewards team members.
• Foster a culture of accountability, collaboration, continuous learning, and customer service.
• Build strong relationships with campus leaders, HR colleagues, Finance, Legal, and other stakeholders.
• Support organizational change initiatives and facilitate adoption of new programs, systems, and processes.

Governance, Compliance & Financial Stewardship

• Ensure total rewards programs comply with applicable laws, regulations, university policies, and collective bargaining agreements.
• Establish and maintain appropriate governance, controls, and documentation for compensation and benefits programs.
• Oversee vendor relationships and partner with staff responsible for benefits administration on RFPs, vendor performance, and contract management.
• Support budget planning, forecasting, and responsible stewardship of total rewards resources.
• Prepare reports and recommendations for senior leadership and participate in audits and reviews as needed.

Minimum Qualifications (or equivalent combination of education and experience)

• Bachelor's degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, Organizational Leadership, or a related field.
• Eight years of progressively responsible professional experience in Human Resources, including leadership experience across multiple HR functional areas.
• Experience partnering with senior leaders to identify workforce needs and implement effective HR solutions.
• Working knowledge of compensation and benefits programs, including administration, compliance, and program oversight.
• Demonstrated experience leading HR operations, process improvement, organizational effectiveness, and service delivery initiatives through the evaluation, redesign, and optimization of business processes.
• Experience implementing or optimizing HR technology platforms, including ERP , HRIS , workflow automation, or employee self-service systems.
• Strong communication, collaboration, stakeholder management, and problem-solving skills.

Desirable Qualifications

• Master's degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, Public Administration, Organizational Leadership, Higher Education Administration, or a related field.
• Experience overseeing retention-focused compensation and benefits programs.
• Broad HR leadership experience across multiple functional areas, including HR Business Partnering, HR operations, employee relations, talent acquisition, workforce planning, compensation, benefits, HRIS , organizational development, or learning and development, with demonstrated success partnering with organizational leaders to address workforce and operational challenges.
• Experience in higher education or other large, complex, and highly regulated organizations.
• Professional certifications such as SHRM -CP, SHRM - SCP , PHR , SPHR , CCP , CBP , CEBS , HRCM , Lean, Six Sigma, or similar credentials.

Anticipated Pay Range

$130,000 - $150,000

Other Information

Special Conditions

A probationary period may be required, Background Check required for this position