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Requisition ID:  119010

Exec Director HR - Total Rewards (Human Resources)

We are seeking an Executive Director HR - Total Rewards who will provide strategic leadership for Johns Hopkins University’s compensation and benefits programs. This role is responsible for aligning these programs with the University’s mission and goals while enhancing the overall employee experience.


The successful candidate will be a hands-on leader who thrives in highly decentralized environments with competing priorities and complex stakeholder needs. This role serves as a key collaborator and people leader, fostering excellence, transparency, and innovation across Human Resources.


This is an on-site leadership role requiring presence in the office 3-4 days per week or more, as business needs dictate.


Specific Duties & Responsibilities


Compensation Strategy & Career Architecture Integration

  • Lead the design, governance, and communication of competitive and equitable compensation programs that drive candidate attraction, staff retention, internal mobility, and fiscal responsibility. Introduce a proactive approach to market benchmarking and internal equity reviews, enabling ongoing visibility into pay competitiveness and fairness across job families and levels. Oversee and lead the annual merit increase review process, including planning, analysis, budgeting, and execution to ensure alignment with compensation strategy and organizational objectives. Serve as executive leader for the institution’s Career Architecture (myCareer), ensuring its long-term sustainability and integration with talent management programs, including performance, development, and workforce planning. Provide strategic guidance to HR partners and senior stakeholders on compensation structure, job classification, and pay decisions. Oversee executive compensation planning and materials preparation for Compensation Committee review. Proactively manage review and approvals for family members of Disqualified Persons. Operate fluently in Workday, leveraging compensation-related tools and, ideally, Advanced Compensation functionality to optimize salary and bonus planning processes.
  • Lead the design, governance, and communication of competitive and equitable compensation programs that drive candidate attraction, staff retention, internal mobility, and fiscal responsibility.
  • Introduce a proactive approach to market benchmarking and internal equity reviews, enabling ongoing visibility into pay competitiveness and fairness across job families and levels.
  • Oversee and lead the annual merit increase review process, including planning, analysis, budgeting, and execution to ensure alignment with compensation strategy and organizational objectives.
  • Serve as executive leader for the institution’s Career Architecture (myCareer), ensuring its long-term sustainability and integration with talent management programs, including performance, development, and workforce planning.
  • Provide strategic guidance to HR partners and senior stakeholders on compensation structure, job classification, and pay decisions.
  • Oversee executive compensation planning and materials preparation for Compensation Committee review.
  • Proactively manage review and approvals for family members of Disqualified Persons.
  • Operate fluently in Workday, leveraging compensation-related tools and, ideally, Advanced Compensation functionality to optimize salary and bonus planning processes.


Benefits & Work Life

  • Oversee strategy planning and execution for annual benefits renewals across staff, students, and learners, ensuring programs remain competitive, cost-effective, and aligned with University objectives.
  • Coordinate budget development, vendor management, and multi-audience communications.
  • Lead the design and administration of a wide variety of inclusive, accessible benefits programs that serve the diverse needs of employees, students, and other learners.
  • Ensure programs are compliant, cost-effective, and responsive to evolving workforce and population health and wellbeing needs.
  • Collaborate with internal and external partners to enhance offerings across health, retirement, wellness, work-life, community-focused and voluntary benefits.


People Leadership & Team Development

  • Lead a high-performing, cross-functional team across compensation and benefits.
  • Foster a culture of accountability, inclusion, and continuous improvement.
  • Provide direct mentoring and coaching to team leaders, supporting professional development and cross-functional collaboration.
  • Drive alignment between team goals and broader institutional priorities.


Strategic Alignment & Partnership

  • Align Total Rewards strategies with institutional values, workforce needs, and financial realities.
  • Build and maintain strong collaborative relationships with other HR functional leaders and staff, ensuring cohesive strategy execution and shared ownership of outcomes.
  • Establish and monitor key performance indicators to assess program effectiveness and progress toward strategic goals.
  • Collaborate across HR and with key university and health system stakeholders to evolve programs and ensure operational and cultural fit.


Minimum Qualifications
  • Bachelor’s Degree in Human Resources, Business, Analytics, or a related field. 
  • Minimum of 15 years of progressive experience leading compensation and benefits teams, ideally, within large, decentralized institutions or academic/healthcare environments.
  • Additional education may substitute for required experience, and additional related experience may substitute for required education beyond a high school diploma/graduation equivalent, to the extent permitted by the JHU equivalency formula.


Preferred Qualifications
  • Master’s Degree or HR certification (e.g., CCP, CEBS, SHRM-SCP).
  • Well versed in executive compensation design and administration including cash and deferred incentives.
  • Deep experience in market benchmarking, compensation compliance, benefits regulations, and data governance best practices.
  • Exceptional leadership, coaching, and communication skills, with the ability to manage large teams through times of rapid change and complexity.
  • Experience with Workday HCM, with preferred experience using Advanced Compensation modules for planning and administration is strongly preferred.

Please be aware that our employment offer is contingent upon the successful completion of our pre-employment process, including criminal background, education, employment, and reference checks. This will require you and your references to answer questions regarding substantiated findings of serious misconduct.

 

The expected base pay salary range for this position is $225,000 - $300,000.

 

Total Rewards
The referenced base salary range represents the low and high end of Johns Hopkins University’s salary range for this position. Not all candidates will be eligible for the upper end of the salary range. Exact salary will ultimately depend on multiple factors, which may include the successful candidate's geographic location, skills, work experience, market conditions, education/training and other qualifications. Johns Hopkins offers a total rewards package that supports our employees' health, life, career and retirement. More information can be found here: https://hr.jhu.edu/benefits-worklife/.

Education and Experience Equivalency
Please refer to the job description above to see which forms of equivalency are permitted for this position. If permitted, equivalencies will follow these guidelines: JHU Equivalency Formula: 30 undergraduate degree credits (semester hours) or 18 graduate degree credits may substitute for one year of experience. Additional related experience may substitute for required education on the same basis. For jobs where equivalency is permitted, up to two years of non-related college course work may be applied towards the total minimum education/experience required for the respective job.

Applicants Completing Studies
Applicants who do not meet the posted requirements but are completing their final academic semester/quarter will be considered eligible for employment and may be asked to provide additional information confirming their academic completion date.

Background Checks
The successful candidate(s) for this position will be subject to a pre-employment background check. Johns Hopkins is committed to hiring individuals with a justice-involved background, consistent with applicable policies and current practice. A prior criminal history does not automatically preclude candidates from employment at Johns Hopkins University. In accordance with applicable law, the university will review, on an individual basis, the date of a candidate's conviction, the nature of the conviction and how the conviction relates to an essential job-related qualification or function.

Diversity and Inclusion
The Johns Hopkins University values diversity, equity and inclusion and advances these through our key strategic framework, the JHU Roadmap on Diversity and Inclusion.

Equal Opportunity Employer
All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or status as a protected veteran.

EEO is the Law
https://www.eeoc.gov/sites/default/files/2023-06/22-088_EEOC_KnowYourRights6.12ScreenRdr.pdf

Accommodation Information
If you are interested in applying for employment with The Johns Hopkins University and require special assistance or accommodation during any part of the pre-employment process, please contact the Talent Acquisition Office at jhurecruitment@jhu.edu. For TTY users, call via Maryland Relay or dial 711. For more information about workplace accommodations or accessibility at Johns Hopkins University, please visit https://accessibility.jhu.edu/.

Vaccine Requirements
Johns Hopkins University strongly encourages, but no longer requires, at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. The COVID-19 vaccine does not apply to positions located in the State of Florida. We still require all faculty, staff, and students to receive the seasonal flu vaccine. Exceptions to the COVID and flu vaccine requirements may be provided to individuals for religious beliefs or medical reasons. Requests for an exception must be submitted to the JHU vaccination registry. This change does not apply to the School of Medicine (SOM). SOM hires must be fully vaccinated with an FDA COVID-19 vaccination and provide proof of vaccination status. For additional information, applicants for SOM positions should visit https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/coronavirus/covid-19-vaccine/ and all other JHU applicants should visit https://covidinfo.jhu.edu/health-safety/covid-vaccination-information/.

The following additional provisions may apply, depending upon campus. Your recruiter will advise accordingly.
The pre-employment physical for positions in clinical areas, laboratories, working with research subjects, or involving community contact requires documentation of immune status against Rubella (German measles), Rubeola (Measles), Mumps, Varicella (chickenpox), Hepatitis B and documentation of having received the Tdap (Tetanus, diphtheria, pertussis) vaccination. This may include documentation of having two (2) MMR vaccines; two (2) Varicella vaccines; or antibody status to these diseases from laboratory testing. Blood tests for immunities to these diseases are ordinarily included in the pre-employment physical exam except for those employees who provide results of blood tests or immunization documentation from their own health care providers. Any vaccinations required for these diseases will be given at no cost in our Occupational Health office.
Hybrid: On-site 3-4 days a week

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