Senior Manager, Total Rewards

This position is listed on behalf of a partner company, who manages all applications and next steps. Our partner is looking for a Senior Manager, Total Rewards based in Portugal.

We are looking for an experienced Total Rewards leader to drive the strategy, design, and delivery of global compensation, benefits, equity, and recognition programs within a fast-growing international technology organization. In this strategic and hands-on role, you will ensure that reward practices remain competitive, equitable, transparent, and compliant across multiple countries. You will collaborate closely with People, Finance, and Legal teams to shape compensation strategies, optimize benefits, and support critical business decisions. A key focus will be bringing AI and advanced analytics into compensation strategy, market benchmarking, job architecture, and pay decision-making. You will also lead the annual compensation cycle, develop scalable frameworks, and manage global vendor relationships. This is an opportunity to influence the employee experience and organizational growth while building innovative, data-driven Total Rewards practices in a remote-first, AI-forward environment.

• Define and lead the global Total Rewards strategy across compensation, benefits, equity, and recognition, ensuring alignment with business objectives and talent attraction, retention, and motivation goals.

• Develop and implement an AI-forward roadmap for compensation strategy, using artificial intelligence and advanced analytics to improve decision-making, efficiency, consistency, and transparency.

• Lead the annual compensation cycle, including merit increases, promotions, and equity planning, in close collaboration with People Business Partners, Finance, and business leaders.

• Own and continuously improve global job architecture, leveling, grading frameworks, and the job catalog, ensuring consistency as the organization scales.

• Leverage AI and data-driven methodologies for job evaluation, role-to-level mapping, calibration, and detection of inconsistencies or level drift, while maintaining appropriate human oversight.

• Lead global market benchmarking and compensation analysis, using platforms such as Radford, Pave, or equivalent tools to develop competitive and data-backed recommendations.

• Apply AI and automation to accelerate compensation benchmarking, pay modeling, scenario analysis, rewards analytics, and employee communications.

• Manage global benefits programs and relationships with external vendors, including Employer of Record (EOR) providers, benefits brokers, and equity administration platforms.

• Oversee EOR relationships, monitoring service quality, costs, compliance, and the overall employee experience across different regions.

• Ensure compliance with pay transparency, pay equity, and local compensation and benefits regulations across all operating jurisdictions, particularly within the European Union and the United States.

• Partner with Finance to manage compensation budgets, equity pools, and total rewards expenditure, ensuring accurate forecasting and effective cost management.

• Advise People Business Partners, recruiters, and hiring managers on compensation offers, pay decisions, and exceptions, balancing market competitiveness, internal equity, budget constraints, and talent priorities.

• Evaluate and introduce new AI and automation solutions while ensuring responsible, explainable, and legally compliant use of technology in rewards processes.

• Lead, coach, and develop the Total Rewards team, establishing clear priorities, supporting professional growth, and fostering a culture of accountability and continuous improvement.

• Act as a trusted strategic advisor to senior stakeholders, translating complex rewards data into actionable business recommendations.

Requirements:

• Bachelor's degree in Human Resources, Finance, Business Administration, or a related discipline. Professional certifications such as CCP, CEBS, or equivalent are considered an advantage.

• At least 8 years of professional experience in Total Rewards, with substantial expertise in compensation and benefits management within global, multi-country technology or SaaS organizations.

• Demonstrated experience designing and leading global compensation cycles, including merit reviews, promotions, and equity planning.

• Strong experience in market benchmarking and compensation analysis using platforms such as Radford, Pave, or comparable market data tools.

• Proven experience managing international benefits programs and external vendor relationships, including EOR providers such as Remote.com, benefits brokers, and equity administration platforms.

• Strong analytical, financial modeling, and data interpretation skills, with the ability to turn complex information into clear, practical, and commercially sound recommendations.

• Solid understanding of global compensation regulations, pay transparency, and pay equity requirements, ideally covering both European Union and US jurisdictions.

• Practical experience using AI-powered tools and automation to improve Total Rewards analytics, workflows, benchmarking, and operational efficiency.

• An AI-forward approach to compensation strategy and job leveling, supported by concrete examples of using AI or advanced analytics to shape pay philosophy, model market data, design or calibrate job architecture, and improve compensation decisions.

• Good judgment regarding responsible AI adoption, with the ability to ensure fairness, explainability, regulatory compliance, and appropriate human accountability in automated processes.

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to explain complex compensation concepts and build trusted relationships across People, Finance, Legal, and business leadership teams.

• Previous experience leading, mentoring, or developing teams, with the ability to set priorities, encourage growth, and drive results.

• Strong stakeholder management and influencing skills, particularly when advising senior leaders and supporting strategic organizational decisions.

• Adaptability, strategic thinking, and a hands-on mindset, with the ability to balance long-term program development with day-to-day operational execution.

• Willingness and ability to actively use the organization's own product and technology solutions.

Benefits:

• Competitive, location-based compensation: Salary packages are determined by experience, skills, and geographical market, with differentiated ranges for standard markets and major global technology hubs.

• Published annual total target cash ranges:

• United States: $183,000–$295,100.

• United Kingdom: £114,900–£189,000.

• Singapore: S$227,300–S$340,900.

• For other locations, including Poland, employment is arranged through a global Employer of Record partner, with a personalized Total Rewards Calculator provided after the first interview.