Senior Director, People Operations & Total Rewards at Betterment

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Full Time

Start Date

Immediate

Expiry Date

11 Feb, 26

Salary

225000.0

Posted On

13 Nov, 25

Experience

10 year(s) or above

Remote Job

Yes

Telecommute

Yes

Sponsor Visa

Skills

People Operations, Total Rewards, Compensation Strategy, Payroll Management, Benefits Management, HR Systems, Project Management, Data Analysis, Compliance, Market Benchmarking, Pay Equity, Operational Excellence, Collaboration, Process Design, Employee Experience

Industry

Financial Services

Description

About Betterment Betterment is a leading, technology-driven financial services company that offers investing and retirement solutions for retail investors and investment advisors as well as financial wellness solutions, including a 401(k) for small and medium-sized businesses. Our team is passionate about our mission: making people’s lives better. We’re headquartered in NYC and offer hybrid NY-based positions (Four days/ week in-office). About the role As Senior Director of People Operations & Total Rewards, you’ll shape and execute a holistic compensation strategy that’s both strategic and operational. You’ll lead all aspects of People Operations & Total Rewards (e.g., compensation, equity, payroll, benefits, and related-HR systems), ensuring programs are data-driven, competitive, and aligned with our company mission. As a trusted advisor to the CPO, CFO, and executive leadership team, you will play a critical role in designing and executing total rewards strategies that attract, retain, and motivate talent, while ensuring scalability, compliance, and financial discipline. You’ll act as both architect and operator: designing scalable frameworks while staying close to the details that make them work. This role is based out of our NYC office. For jobs based out of our NYC HQ, we require in office attendance Monday through Thursday, weekly. Below we've reflected the base salary range we would offer for this position. Actual salaries may vary depending on factors including but not limited to location, experience, and performance. The range listed is just one component of Betterment’s total compensation package for employees. New York City: $200,000 - $225,000 We offer a competitive equity package, health, dental and vision benefits, life and AD&D, short-term and long-term disability insurance, EAP, commuter and parking benefits FSA/HSA, and 401(k) with employer match as well as a flexible PTO policy. This job may also be eligible for variable compensation in the form of a company incentive bonus. For jobs based out of our NYC HQ, we require in office attendance Monday through Thursday, weekly. A day in the life Design, implement, and govern compensation structures, including frameworks, pay band architecture as well as supporting equity programs and incentive plans Lead market benchmarking, pay equity analyses, and compensation reviews to ensure competitiveness, fairness, and transparency Partner with the CPO and CFO on compensation strategy, annual budgeting, and long-term incentive planning Collaborate with the Finance team to align policies and reporting across functions, as well as forecast compensation costs in support of workforce planning Manage and continuously improve benefits programs and ensure compliance with employment and benefits regulations (ERISA, ACA, HIPAA, FLSA, and others) Cultivate strong relationships with benefits providers, brokers, and HR technology vendors to optimize cost, service, and employee experience Lead the payroll function, ensuring compliant, accurate, and timely payroll cycles Partner cross-functionally with Finance, Legal, and external vendors to ensure compliance with complex tax and employment laws, while continuously improving payroll systems and processes Own HRIS and people data infrastructure-ensuring accuracy, reporting, and actionable analytics Drive operational excellence across People Operations, ensuring smooth execution of payroll, onboarding/offboarding, and compliance practices What we’re looking for 10+ years of progressive experience in People Operations and Total Rewards, with at least 5 years in a leadership capacity Deep knowledge of payroll, benefits, and employment laws, practices and systems Proven ability to lead People Operations teams in high-growth environments Experience managing HR systems (e.g., ADP, Pave, CultureAmp, Lattice, Greenhouse) and driving data accuracy and compliance Strong project management and process design skills, particularly around building systems that scale with business growth (including IPO readiness) A collaborative, proactive, and detail-oriented approach with a passion for operational excellence and a bias to action What being at Betterment means for you We change lives Join a community of innovators working to transform financial outcomes for real people. Your work will make an impact, always laddering up to our mission: making people's lives better. We set audacious goals We set them for the company, our customers, and ourselves—and we won’t stop until we reach them. We don’t just show up; we give our all, then celebrate our wins. We value all perspectives When we collaborate, we're at our best. We believe diverse perspectives lead to better outcomes and strive to uphold our supportive and inclusive community. We invest in you with: A competitive suite of benefits, including: medical, dental, and vision insurance; life and AD&D insurance; STD and LTD benefits, including infertility support and World Professional Association for Transgender Health approved benefits; and generous parental leave. Flexible paid time off (and encouragement to use it!) Meaningful opportunity for community building through our 7 Employee Resource Groups Empowerment to own and lead change and affect the business Dedicated professional development opportunities Lunch from our in-house chef at our NYC headquarters What happens next We’ll take a few weeks to review all applications. If we’d like to spend more time with you, we’ll reach out to arrange next steps, which will include 3-4 sets of meetings with your future colleagues. In the interview process, we’ll look to learn more about your skills, experiences, capabilities, and motivators. Many of our questions will be aimed at understanding how you might operate here at Betterment. Depending on the role, we may ask you to complete a case study exercise or technical assessments, as we want to collect a robust set of data points to better inform our decisions. On average, it takes us around 3-5 weeks to make a hiring decision, depending on your availability and sense of urgency. As a best practice, we aim to interview at least 2-3 final round candidates before making a hiring decision. Please note that, as we usually receive an overwhelming number of applications for open positions, we’re unable to offer individual feedback during the interview process. We recognize that interviewing for a new role is a big deal. We appreciate you considering Betterment as the next step in your career, and our Recruiting Team is here to support and advocate for you through the interview process! Betterment is dedicated to providing accommodations to candidates upon request. If you need accommodations at any point throughout the interview process, please reach out to your recruiter. Please note that in any materials you submit, you may redact or remove age-identifying information such as age, date of birth, or dates of school attendance or graduation. You will not be penalized for redacting or removing this information. Come join us! We’re an equal opportunity employer and comply with all applicable federal, state, and local fair employment practices laws. We strictly prohibit and do not tolerate discrimination against employees, applicants, or any other covered persons because of race, color, religion, creed, national origin or ancestry, ethnicity, sex, gender (including gender nonconformity and status as a transgender or transsexual individual), sexual orientation, marital status, age, physical or mental disability, citizenship, past, current or prospective service in the uniformed services, predisposing genetic characteristic, domestic violence victim status, arrest records, or any other characteristic protected under applicable federal, state or local law. E-Verify Statement Betterment participates in E-Verify. We will provide the Social Security Administration, and if necessary, the Department of Homeland Security, with information from each new employee’s Form I-9 to confirm work authorization. Please note that we do not use this information to pre-screen job applicants. E-Verify Notice E-Verify Notice (Spanish) Right to Work Notice Right to Work Notice (Spanish) CPRA Language - CA Applicants ONLY We collect and store personal information for the purposes of candidate tracking (for this role and future opportunities). The information you provide in the course of completing your application will be kept for up to 24 months. We use tools provided by third-party service providers but do not share candidate information for any purpose other than for recruiting. To access the data that is collected, request deletion or to make updates to your candidate profile, please email team.hire@betterment.com.

Responsibilities

Design and implement compensation structures and lead market benchmarking to ensure competitiveness. Manage benefits programs and payroll functions while ensuring compliance with regulations.