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 / 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/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/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 / 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
- 12–17 years of overall experience, with significant experience in Compensation & Benefits.
- Strong preference for candidates from reputed IT Services / 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 / 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/C&B platforms is preferred.
Preferred Candidate Profile
The ideal candidate should be:
- From a well-established IT Services / Technology organization.
- A strong hands-on Compensation & Benefits professional, rather than purely a governance/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/PGDM in Human Resources / Finance / related discipline preferred.
