Location: Newton, MA (Hybrid)
Reports To: Director, Compensation
Job Summary:
The Senior Manager, Compensation is a strategic compensation leader responsible for the design, governance, implementation, administration, and continuous improvement of compensation programs that support Panera's business objectives and talent strategy. This role serves as a trusted advisor to HR, Finance, Talent Acquisition, HR Technology, and business leaders, delivering market-competitive compensation solutions that attract, retain, and motivate talent.
The position is responsible for incentive plan design and administration, compensation analytics, market benchmarking, annual compensation processes, pay governance initiatives, and Workday compensation operations. The Senior Manager leverages data-driven insights, market intelligence, and technology-enabled solutions to ensure compensation programs are competitive, equitable, compliant, and aligned with organizational performance goals. The role builds upon responsibilities currently focused on incentive administration, market pricing, compensation cycles, compliance, and stakeholder support.
Key Responsibilities:
Compensation Strategy & Consulting
- Serve as a trusted compensation advisor to HR Business Partners, Talent Acquisition partners, and business leaders on compensation philosophy, pay decisions, program design, and talent-related compensation issues.
- Partner with leadership to develop compensation solutions that support attraction, retention, engagement, and performance objectives.
- Translate compensation principles and market data into practical recommendations for business stakeholders.
- Support the evolution of compensation frameworks, salary structures, job architecture, and career progression models.
Incentive Plan Design & Administratio
- nLead the design, modeling, implementation, communication, and administration of short-term incentive programs across retail and field populations
- .Partner with Finance, Operations, and HR leaders to ensure incentive plans align with organizational objectives and performance outcomes
- .Conduct financial modeling and scenario analyses to evaluate plan effectiveness and support decision-making
- .Lead governance and continuous improvement efforts, including process optimization, documentation, controls, communications, and system updates
- .Conduct post-cycle reviews and recommend enhancements based on performance outcomes, participant feedback, and market practices
- .Ensure timely and accurate incentive calculations, approvals, and payouts in partnership with Finance and HR
.
Market Pricing & Benchmarki
- ngLead market pricing activities and job evaluations to ensure compensation programs remain externally competitive and internally equitabl
- e.Manage participation in industry salary surveys and maintain strong vendor relationships with market data provider
- s.Perform competitive assessments and develop recommendations regarding pay positioning, salary ranges, and compensation structure
- s.Maintain the integrity and quality of benchmarking, job matching, and market analysis methodologie
- s.Monitor compensation trends and emerging practices across retail, restaurant, hospitality, and service-sector organization
s.
Compensation Analytics & Insig
- htsDevelop compensation analytics, dashboards, and executive reporting to support workforce planning and compensation decision-maki
- ng.Analyze compensation data to identify trends, risks, opportunities, and organizational insigh
- ts.Support executive presentations through data-driven recommendations and business case developme
- nt.Measure and evaluate the effectiveness of compensation and incentive programs through quantitative and qualitative analys
- is.Leverage reporting and visualization tools to improve compensation transparency and decision suppo
rt.
Compensation Process Owner
- shipLead the annual merit, promotion, and compensation planning cycles, including Workday configuration, testing, validation, communications, and governa
- nce.Own semi-annual wage adjustment programs and support enterprise compensation initiati
- ves.Ensure compensation processes are scalable, efficient, and aligned with pay-for-performance princip
- les.Develop project plans and manage cross-functional stakeholders to ensure successful execution of compensation progr
ams.
Compensation Technology & Process Optimiz
- ationServe as the compensation subject matter expert for Workday Compensation and related sys
- tems.Partner with HR Technology teams to identify automation opportunities, streamline workflows, and improve user experi
- ence.Lead business requirements development, testing strategies, system enhancements, and release support activi
- ties.Establish process controls and governance frameworks to ensure data accuracy and operational excell
ence.
Pay Governance, Compliance & Pay
- EquityEnsure compliance with all federal, state, and local compensation regulations and require
- ments.Partner with HR, Legal, and HR Technology teams to support evolving pay transparency initiatives and related compliance require
- ments.Conduct compensation audits and participate in pay equity analyses to identify and address potential
- risks.Support compensation policy development, governance activities, documentation standards, and audit read
- iness.Monitor regulatory developments and recommend program or process changes as n
eeded.
Stakeholder Partnership & Ed
- ucationProvide compensation guidance and consultation to HR Business Partners, Talent Acquisition partners, and business l
- eaders.Develop and deliver compensation training, education, and communication mat
- erials.Collaborate closely with Finance, HRIS, Talent Acquisition, Legal, and Operations teams to ensure alignment across compensation initi
- atives.Build strong relationships across the organization to drive successful adoption of compensation programs and po
licies.Qualifi
cationsRe
- quired:Bachelor's degree in Human Resources, Business, Finance, Economics, Statistics, or a related
- field.8–10+ years of progressive compensation experience with increasing levels of responsi
- bility.Experience supporting large, geographically dispersed employee populations in retail, restaurant, hospitality, distribution, or similarly labor-intensive indu
- stries.Demonstrated expertise in compensation program design, market pricing, job evaluation, and compensation administ
- ration.Advanced Excel skills, including modeling, scenario analysis, and large dataset mana
- gement.Experience with Workday Compensation and enterprise HRIS-driven compensation pro
- cesses.Strong understanding of compensation compliance, pay equity, and compensation gove
- rnance.Proven ability to influence and consult with leaders at multiple organizational
levels.Pre
- ferred:Certified Compensation Professional (CCP) desig
- nation.Experience with compensation survey platforms such as Mercer, WTW, Aon, Radford, PayFactors,
- or ERI.Experience developing compensation dashboards and compensation analytics
- tools.Experience supporting pay transparency initiatives and multi-state compliance requir
- ements.Experience managing complex cross-functional pr
ojects.
Competitive pay $136,383 to $163,660
annually.The actual pay offered will be determined by multiple factors, including but not limited to the candidate’s relevant experience, job-related knowledge, skills, and geographical location. Individual compensation decisions are dependent upon the facts and circumstances of each position and
candidate.
