Position Summary-
The Senior Manager Compensation & Benefits (C&B) will lead the design, development, and governance of compensation frameworks and benefits programs for an airline workforce, including Pilots, Cabin Crew, Engineering/Technical teams, and Ground Staff. This role requires expertise in aviation-specific pay structures, international and domestic regulatory considerations, and data-driven compensation modelling. The individual will develop salary structures, allowances, incentive frameworks, and benefits programs that are marketcompetitive, compliant, and aligned with organizational goals.
Major Deliverables-
- Compensation Strategy & Structure Design
- Develop and maintain domestic and international compensation structures for Pilots, Cabin Crew, Engineers, and support staff.
- Create and manage allowance frameworks (e.g., flight duty allowances, layover allowances, technical allowances, risk allowances, foreign base allowances).
- Benchmark industry pay trends using market data and conduct compensation surveys and hypothesis modelling.
- Build and revise salary bands, progression guidelines, merit matrices, and incentive schemes.
- Design variable pay plans, productivity-linked incentives, retention schemes, and longterm reward programs.
2. Aviation-Specific Compensation Expertise
- Understand flight duty regulations, FDTL/FDP norms, crew rostering impacts, and how these influence compensation.
- Develop compensation policies for expat pilots, foreign crew, and crossborder roles.
- Collaborate with Finance & Flight Operations to design cost-effective crew compensation structures aligned with budget and regulatory requirements.
3. Benefits & Welfare Programs
- Design, implement, and manage employee benefits including medical insurance, travel concessions, wellness programs, and retirement benefits.
- Ensure competitive crew travel benefits, standby travel policies, parental benefits, and crewspecific welfare programs.
- Evaluate and implement benefit plans that increase retention and enhance employee value proposition.
Key Stakeholders
4. Data Analytics & Governance
- Drive decisions based on data insights using compensation modelling, analytics, and forecasting.
- Develop dashboards for compensation analysis, cost modelling, and benefits utilization.
- Ensure compliance with aviation labour laws, DGCA guidelines, international employment regulations, and internal policies.
5. Stakeholder & Business Collaboration
- Partner with HRBP, Flight Operations, Engineering, and Finance teams to align compensation strategies with business needs.
- Provide consultation to leadership on compensation scenarios, budgets, and workforce planning.
- Support C&B components of annual workforce planning, budgeting, and HR audits.
Required Qualifications & Experience
- Minimum 7+ years of experience in Compensation & Benefits, Aviation background or a complex, large-scale workforce environment preferred.
- Strong understanding of aviation compensation structures including flight-related allowances, international basing, and engineering pay models.
- Proven experience in salary benchmarking, compensation analytics, and market surveys.
- Strong analytical mindset with ability to work on hypotheses, build models, and present data-driven insights.
- Experience in HRIS, compensation systems, and advanced Excel/modelling tools.
Skills & Competencies
- Dataoriented with strong analytical and modelling capability
- High maturity, discretion, and judgement
- Stakeholder management and consulting skills
- Strong understanding of HR frameworks and compliance
- Ability to design logical, scalable, and cost-efficient compensation structures
- Excellent communication and presentation skills
Key Attributes
- High attention to detail
- Structured approach to problem solving
- Ability to work under pressure in a fast-paced aviation environment
- Strong ethical standards and confidentiality
