Total Rewards & HRIS Manager

About the role

You will own the end-to-end management of total rewards and HRIS systems for a multi-office, multi-discipline professional services firm. You will partner directly with senior leadership and business managers to design and administer compensation, benefits, and HR technology solutions that support a dynamic, data-driven culture. You will ensure that all people programs align with our growth objectives and reinforce a high-performance environment. You will act as a systems thinker, connecting payroll, benefits, and HR data to improve accuracy and employee experience. You will lead initiatives to question existing processes and build better, more efficient ways of working. You will manage complex integrations between HR platforms and payroll systems to maintain data integrity. You will serve as a subject matter expert on total rewards and HRIS for both internal stakeholders and external vendors. You will contribute to the continuous improvement of our HR infrastructure as we scale rapidly.

Key facts

What you'll do

Administer the full suite of total rewards programs, including salary structures, incentives, bonuses, and benefits administration, ensuring compliance and market competitiveness.

Lead the configuration, optimization, and integration of HRIS platforms, such as Workday, to support payroll processing, employee data management, and reporting accuracy.

Partner with finance and project teams to reconcile labor costs, manage billing structures, and support profitability analysis for client engagements.

Develop and maintain HRIS dashboards and reports that provide actionable insights into workforce trends, turnover, and compensation metrics.

Coordinate cross-functional projects that impact HR systems, collaborating with IT, operations, and leadership to deliver timely solutions.

Own the administration of employee lifecycle processes in the HRIS, including onboarding, transfers, promotions, and terminations, to ensure data integrity.

Manage relationships with external vendors, including payroll and benefits providers, to resolve issues and implement enhancements efficiently.

Perform testing and validation of HRIS changes, ensuring that business rules, payroll logic, and regulatory requirements are correctly reflected in system configurations.

Support the annual compensation and performance management cycle by administering tools, timelines, and data collection within HR platforms.

Lead data cleanup initiatives to improve the reliability of HRIS records and support better decision-making across the organization.

Provide subject matter expertise on total rewards policies, helping to interpret guidelines and communicate changes to managers and employees.

Contribute to the development of HRIS standards and best practices, promoting consistency across offices and disciplines.

Support special projects related to organizational performance, analytics, and process improvement as needed by leadership.

Act as a resource for HR and payroll inquiries, diagnosing issues within HRIS and total rewards systems and providing clear resolutions.

Requirements

Demonstrated experience managing total rewards programs, including compensation, benefits, and payroll integration within an HRIS environment.

Proven track record of working with HRIS platforms, preferably Workday, and understanding of how to configure and maintain core modules.

Strong knowledge of payroll processes and labor costing principles as they apply to professional services businesses.

Experience partnering with finance, operations, and leadership teams to support business objectives through HR technology and data.

Solid understanding of employment law and compliance considerations related to compensation, benefits, and payroll.

Excellent analytical skills, with the ability to translate business needs into HRIS requirements and system configurations.

Strong communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to influence stakeholders and manage change effectively.

Bachelor's degree in Human Resources, Information Systems, Business Administration, or a related field; advanced degree or certification preferred.

Nice to have

Experience in multi-office, project-based, or professional services environments.

Familiarity with consulting billing structures and how they integrate with HRIS and payroll systems.

Knowledge of data visualization tools connected to HRIS, such as Power BI or Tableau.

Experience with change management methodologies when implementing HRIS enhancements.

Understanding of best practices in employee lifecycle management within HR technology platforms.

Practical notes

This is a full-time position based in Northern New Jersey.

The role may involve occasional travel between offices as needed for project work or system implementations.

No visa sponsorship is available for this position at this time.

Candidates must be able to start within four weeks of acceptance.