Total Rewards Department Lead

About the role

Sequoia's compensation and benefit programs have reached the point where dedicated, specialized expertise is needed. The Total Rewards Department Lead brings a background in compensation and benefit program design and administration and holds explicit, firm‑wide responsibility for compensation‑ and benefits‑related programs — work that today is carried by people alongside their primary roles. This role gives Sequoia's total rewards function a single accountable owner for plan design, methodology, governance, and analytics, so that pay decisions across the firm are both correct and explainable, and so that partner functions — Finance, M&A, Compliance, the Advisor organization, and business leaders — have a defined counterpart for compensation questions rather than dispersed, ad‑hoc ownership.

Key Responsibilities

• Compensation Structure & Job Architecture: Own salary range construction, refresh cadence, and off‑cycle update triggers; own benchmarking methodology and survey source selection; own the job leveling framework, job family and career path architecture; own job description governance and FLSA classification. Coordinate with Finance (budget and affordability), Recruiting and HR Business Partners (leveling applied in hiring and internal job changes).
• Compensation Plan Design: Design compensation plans for business units, new role types, and M&A‑driven needs; lead annual plan review and updates for role or structural change; maintain plan documentation of record; resolve exceptions within defined thresholds. Coordinate with Business leaders (define the need and behavior to be incented) and Finance (cost input and scenario modeling).
• Advisor & Revenue‑Producer Compensation: Set advisor compensation philosophy; design new advisor compensation plans and changes to existing plans; maintain documented calculation methodology for every live plan as the document of record; own range review cadence and location adjustment policy. Coordination includes the Advisor organization (advisor relationships, education, and strategic direction of advisor economics). Calculation, quality assurance, and payment execution sit outside this role.
• Executive Compensation & Equity Governance: Design equity‑based compensation plans; own the participant recommendation process; lead participant understanding and education; lead annual plan review and updates for role or structural change; maintain plan documentation of record; resolve exceptions within defined thresholds. Coordinate with Finance (valuation, cap table maintenance, plan administration, vesting mechanics, and reporting).
• M&A Compensation Integration: Maintain visibility into compensation and equity terms before finalization; flag interactions with existing plans and firm‑wide philosophy; define compensation elements for incoming shareholders of an acquired firm; build and execute post‑close compensation and benefits harmonization plan; lead leveling and band placement of acquired roles. Coordinate with the M&A team (negotiation and deal terms) and the integration team (post‑close integration).
• Benefits Strategy & Medical Program Evolution: Set multi‑year benefits strategy alongside the annual renewal cycle; recommend medical plan design evolution and funding strategy as headcount scales; lead claims and utilization analysis with the broker and multi‑year cost trend forecasting; set cost‑sharing philosophy; own point‑solution and high‑cost coverage decisions; manage broker, consultant, and vendor relationships; lead periodic market review; lead benefits harmonization and plan consolidation in acquisitions. Coordinate with Finance (expense line ownership, affordability constraint, and cost input).
• Compensation Analytics & Pay Equity: Run pay equity analysis as a standing practice; produce market position reporting by role family; analyze turnover and offer acceptance against actual compensation and position in range; supply per‑role market cost inputs for the hiring plan. Coordinate with FP&A (financial modeling, budget aggregation, and reporting).
• Year‑End Compensation Cycle: Own the end‑to‑end cycle process and published calendar; design the recommendation process and configure supporting systems; conduct consistency and equity review of recommendations; produce compensation statement letters and manager enablement toolkit; publish the annual compensation assumptions memo and executive reporting pack. Coordinate with Finance (merit, COLA, and bonus funding recommendations) and Managers (individual recommendations with one‑up review).

Qualifications

• Required: Progressive experience in compensation and benefits program design and administration, including several years in a leadership capacity; demonstrated experience building or maintaining job architecture, leveling frameworks, and salary structures; experience designing incentive or variable compensation plans with documentation and governance; strong analytical skills, including pay equity analysis and market benchmarking methodology; ability to translate complex compensation mechanics into plain, explainable terms for employees and managers.
• Preferred: Experience with equity‑based compensation programs (e.g., phantom equity, equity grants, share purchase plans); experience in wealth management, RIA, or another SEC‑registered adviser environment, including familiarity with Form ADV disclosure implications; experience supporting compensation integration in M&A transactions; familiarity with Salesforce or comparable CRM/production‑tracking systems as they relate to revenue‑producer compensation; CCP, CEBS, or other total rewards certification.

Work Authorization

Applicants must be legally authorized to work in the United States on a full‑time basis without requiring employer sponsorship to commence or continue employment at any point in time. Sponsorship is not available.

Working Conditions

Frequent minimal physical effort such as sitting, prolonged periods working on a computer, standing and walking is required for this role. Depending on location, occasional moving and lifting of light equipment and/or furniture may be required. This role may require occasional travel, including travel to client sites, company offices, or industry events, as needed.