Vice President, Total Awards

Job Summary:

The Vice President of Total Rewards provides enterprise-wide strategic leadership and executive oversight for Total Rewards and Occupational Health across Care New England. This role is responsible for setting the vision, priorities, governance, and decision-making frameworks that ensure programs are market-competitive, equitable, compliant, and financially sustainable.

Reporting to the Executive Vice-President & Chief People Officer, the Vice President oversees Benefits, Compensation & Retirement, and Occupational Health, operating through a strong leadership team. The role focuses on strategic direction, enterprise alignment, and executive partnership, while empowering Directors and Senior Directors to lead day-to-day operations and major Total Rewards and Occupational Health initiatives

Duties and Responsibilities

Total Rewards Strategy

• Establish and articulate the enterprise Total Rewards strategy, philosophy, and guiding principles to support workforce attraction, retention, engagement, equity, and financial sustainability.
• Set system-wide priorities, sequencing, and success measures for Total Rewards initiatives across benefits, compensation, retirement, HRIS, and occupational health.
• Ensure Total Rewards strategies are aligned with organizational goals, operating unit needs, labor environments, and long-term workforce planning.
• Monitor external market trends, healthcare labor dynamics, and regulatory developments to inform strategic direction and executive decision-making.

Benefits Oversight

• Provide executive direction, prioritization, and governance oversight for health, welfare, retirement, wellness, leave, and related benefit programs.
• Sponsor and guide strategic benefit initiatives led by the Director of Benefits, including plan design optimization, vendor alignment, affordability strategies, and simplification efforts.
• Partner with Finance, Legal, clinical and executive leadership to evaluate benefit strategy and ensure decisions balance cost effectiveness with employee experience.
• Serve as escalation point for complex or system-wide benefit issues, vendor performance concerns, and enterprise-level risks.

Compensation & Retirement Oversight

• Set the enterprise strategy and governance framework for compensation and retirement programs, including market competitiveness, internal equity, compliance, and transparency.
• Provide strategic direction and executive sponsorship for the System Job Architecture, ensuring alignment across job families, career pathways, compensation structures, HRIS configuration, and labor considerations.
• Enable and support the Senior Director of Compensation & Retirement in leading execution of compensation programs, market benchmarking, retirement plan administration, and job architecture implementation.
• Serve as an escalation point for complex compensation, equity, or retirement matters and support executive- and Board-level discussions as needed.

Occupational Health Oversight

• Provide executive oversight of Occupational Health, ensuring alignment with workforce safety, onboarding readiness, regulatory compliance, and operational and clinical priorities.
• Support the System Director of Occupational Health in addressing cross-functional challenges, capacity planning, and service delivery improvements.
• Ensure Occupational Health programs integrate effectively with HR operations, credentialing, and workforce readiness processes.

Governance, Compliance & Enterprise Partnership

• Serve as a strategic advisor to the Chief People Officer and executive leadership on Total Rewards strategy, workforce cost dynamics, and organizational impact.
• Support fiduciary and governance committees related to benefits and retirement programs, including preparation of executive-level materials and recommendations.
• Ensure enterprise-level compliance with federal, state, and local employment and benefits regulations (e.g., ERISA, HIPAA, COBRA, FMLA, ACA, pay transparency laws), delegating operational execution while retaining accountability.
• Maintain strong cross-functional partnerships with Finance, Legal, Operating Unit HR Leadership, Payroll, and HR Business Partners to ensure alignment, transparency, and coordinated execution.

People & Leadership

• Lead, coach, and develop a high-performing leadership team across Benefits, Compensation & Retirement, and Occupational Health.
• Establish clear roles, accountability, and decision-rights that empower Directors and Senior Directors to lead execution effectively.
• Foster a culture of collaboration, accountability, continuous improvement, and service excellence.
• Build leadership capability and succession pipelines within Total Rewards and Occupational Health.

Requirements:

Bachelor's Degree Required; Master's Degree Preferred.

Senior HR or Total Rewards certifications (e.g., SPHR, SHRM-SCP, CCP, CEBS) preferred

Minimum 10 years of progressive leadership experience in Total Rewards within a complex, multi-entity organization; healthcare experience strongly preferred.

Demonstrated experience overseeing benefits strategy, compensation methodology, and retirement programs.

Strong knowledge of employment and benefits-related regulatory requirements.

Experience supporting Board-level committees and fiduciary governance.

Deep understanding of healthcare labor markets and unionized environments.