Compensation and Benefits Director

SUMMARY

The Compensation and Benefits Director leads the strategy, design, and execution of The Wine Group’s compensation and benefits programs, ensuring alignment with enterprise goals and talent strategy.

This role is accountable for developing a competitive, equitable, and compliant compensation and benefits framework that drives attraction, retention, engagement, and performance across the organization.

The Director will oversee a team of compensation and benefit professionals, providing leadership, development, and support to ensure excellence in program delivery and employee experience.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

Compensation

• Lead the enterprise compensation strategy, including salary structures, incentive design, recognition programs, and governance, to support business objectives and talent outcomes.
• Establish the organization’s market pricing and benchmarking strategy to ensure competitive, equitable, and fiscally responsible pay practices.
• Partner with senior leaders to shape compensation structures and workforce investment decisions for new and evolving roles.
• Provide strategic guidance on job architecture, position leveling, and pay decisions to ensure consistency, internal equity, and alignment with organizational design.
• Lead the annual compensation planning cycle, including merit, promotional, and market adjustment processes, supported by clear governance, analytics, and leader guidance.
• Ensure compensation programs comply with applicable federal, state, and local regulations while maintaining strong governance around pay practices, transparency, and risk management.

Benefits

• Set the strategic direction for the organization’s benefits programs, including health, retirement, leave, and wellbeing offerings, to support talent attraction, retention, and employee experience.
• Lead vendor strategy, plan performance evaluation, and external partner management to ensure high-quality service, cost-effectiveness, and alignment with organizational priorities.
• Provide strategic oversight of annual enrollment and ongoing benefits delivery to ensure an effective, compliant, and employee-centered experience.
• Monitor trends and regulatory changes affecting employee benefits.
• Shape the organization’s wellbeing strategy to support employee health, engagement, and productivity while reinforcing the broader employee value proposition.
• Oversee the creation of communication materials to enhance employee awareness of benefit offerings and ensure timely enrollment for new hires.
• Own benefits budget planning and financial stewardship, including vendor investment decisions, cost management, and support for plan changes or enhancements.

Leadership & Operations

• Lead the enterprise total rewards strategy, including compensation, benefits, wellbeing, and pay-for-performance programs, to support business objectives, talent outcomes, and organizational growth.
• Serve as the organization’s subject matter expert on total rewards philosophy, providing guidance, education, and decision support to leaders and HR partners.
• Build and lead a high-performing total rewards team by developing capability, strengthening succession readiness, and fostering a consultative, data-driven approach to service delivery.
• Provide strategic oversight of total rewards systems, processes, and data governance to ensure accuracy, efficiency, scalability, and informed decision-making.
• Own the financial stewardship of total rewards programs, including budget strategy, investment prioritization, and cost optimization across compensation and benefits.
• Partner cross-functionally with Finance, Payroll, Legal, and HR leadership to align total rewards strategy, ensure operational effectiveness, and manage risk across programs.
• In partnership with HRBP’s, advise senior and executive leadership on total rewards strategy, market trends, policy decisions, and workforce implications to support informed business decisions.
• Manage and maintain HRIS functionality for the disciplines in which they oversee.
• Leverage internal data, market insights, and program metrics to evaluate total rewards effectiveness, identify opportunities, and recommend strategic enhancements.

QUALIFICATIONS

Required:

• Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, Finance, or related field.
• A minimum of ten to fifteen (10 - 15) years of progressive experience in compensation and benefits, with at least 5 years in a leadership role.
• Demonstrated expertise in compensation structures, job evaluation, and benefits plan design.
• Demonstrated ability to lead, coach, and develop a team.
• Ability to provide leadership, work collaboratively on teams, and consult effectively and independently with all levels and functional areas of an organization.
• Demonstrated project/program management skills with the ability to focus on details.
• Project management skills with the ability to manage multiple priorities.
• Effective communication skills – presentation, written, verbal and listening skills.
• Commitment to staying abreast of industry standards and trends.

Preferred:

• Professional certification (e.g., CCP, CEBS, SHRM-SCP).
• Experience delivering compelling talent attraction and retention solutions through total rewards deliverables.
• Experience managing compensation and benefits in a multi-state or global environment.

COMPENSATION

• Hiring Salary Range Posted: $165, 600 - $210, 000.
• Actual compensation will be based on factors such as experience, skills, knowledge, and abilities, education, and other position-related factors.

At The Wine Group, we are proud to be an equal opportunity employer. Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information, national origin, disability, protected veteran status or other characteristic protected by law.

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NOTICE TO THIRD PARTY AGENCIES

Please note that we do not accept unsolicited resumes from recruiters or employment agencies. In the absence of a signed Recruitment Services Agreement, we will not consider, or agree to, payment of any referral compensation or recruiter fee. In the event that a recruiter or agency submits a resume or candidate without a previously signed agreement, we explicitly reserve the right to pursue and hire those candidate(s) without any financial obligation to the recruiter or agency.