Associate Director - Compensation & Benefits

About the Role:

We are looking for an experienced and strategic Associate Director - Compensation & Benefits to lead the India C&B agenda.

The ideal candidate should have 12 - 17 years of relevant experience, preferably from a well-reputed IT Services or Technology Services organization, with strong hands-on expertise in designing, implementing and managing compensation programs at scale.

The role will partner closely with senior HR and business leaders to drive competitive, equitable and business-aligned compensation practices while ensuring strong governance and execution.

Key Responsibilities:

Compensation Strategy & Program Design:

- Own and drive the India compensation strategy aligned with business objectives and talent priorities.

- Design and enhance compensation structures, salary ranges, grades, allowances and incentive programs.

- Develop compensation programs that support attraction, retention, performance and internal equity.

- Review compensation structures periodically based on market trends and business requirements.

Market Benchmarking & Pay Intelligence:

- Lead market benchmarking and compensation analysis across relevant IT or Technology talent markets.

- Work with compensation surveys and external market data to assess competitiveness.

- Conduct peer benchmarking, pay positioning and internal equity analysis.

- Translate market intelligence into actionable compensation recommendations.

Annual Compensation & Performance Cycles:

- Own the end-to-end annual compensation review cycle, including merit increases, promotions and bonus or incentive cycles.

- Partner with HRBPs and business leaders on compensation planning and budgeting.

- Develop compensation guidelines, frameworks and communication material.

- Ensure timely and accurate execution of compensation cycles.

Variable Pay & Incentive Management:

- Design and review variable pay or incentive structures aligned with business and individual performance.

- Partner with business and finance teams on incentive calculations, governance and payouts.

- Analyze incentive effectiveness and recommend improvements.

Executive & Critical Talent Compensation:

- Support compensation decisions for senior leadership, critical talent and key hiring cases.

- Conduct detailed compensation analysis for exceptions, counteroffers, retention cases and special situations.

- Provide data-backed recommendations to senior leadership.

Governance, Analytics & Compliance:

- Drive internal pay equity, compensation governance and policy compliance.

- Identify compensation anomalies and recommend corrective actions.

- Develop dashboards and analytics around compensation trends, pay positioning, attrition and workforce costs.

- Partner with HR, Finance, Payroll and HR Operations to ensure accurate compensation execution.

Stakeholder Management:

- Act as a trusted C&B advisor to HR leadership, business leaders, HRBPs and Finance.

- Present compensation insights and recommendations to senior leadership.

- Build strong partnerships across HR and business functions.

Required Skills & Experience:

- 15 - 17 years of overall experience, with significant experience in Compensation & Benefits.

- Strong preference for candidates from reputed IT Services or Technology Services organizations.

- Strong hands-on experience in India compensation and benefits.

- Proven experience in compensation program design and implementation.

- Strong understanding of salary structures, compensation benchmarking, pay ranges and job evaluation.

- Experience managing annual compensation and promotion cycles end-to-end.

- Strong exposure to variable pay or incentive design and governance.

- Experience in pay equity, internal parity and compensation analytics.

- Ability to independently analyze compensation data and translate insights into business recommendations.

- Strong stakeholder management and communication skills.

- Comfortable working with senior leadership and handling sensitive compensation matters.

- Strong analytical and problem-solving capabilities.

- Advanced proficiency in MS Excel and compensation analytics; exposure to HRIS or C&B platforms is preferred.

Preferred Candidate Profile:

- The ideal candidate should be from a well-established IT Services or Technology organization.

- A strong hands-on Compensation & Benefits professional, rather than purely a governance or COE profile.

- Comfortable working independently and owning the complete India C&B lifecycle.

- Strong in market benchmarking, compensation analytics and program design.

- Commercially oriented with the ability to balance market competitiveness, internal equity and business affordability.

- Education: MBA or PGDM in Human Resources, Finance or related discipline preferred.