What are the responsibilities and job description for the Director of Total Rewards and People Operations Services position at Cohen & Co?
Location Options: Chicago, Cleveland, Philadelphia, Milwaukee, Baltimore and in the office 4x per week
Compensation Range $160,000 to $180,000
About The Role
Cohen & Co is seeking a strategic and hands-on Director of Total Rewards and People Operations Services to lead the firm’s compensation, benefits, payroll, and people operations infrastructure. This leader will design a competitive, data-driven, and financially responsible total rewards strategy that aligns with our growth agenda, professional services model, and culture of excellence.
Reporting to the Chief People Officer and partnering closely with the COO, Finance, Service Line Leaders, Legal, and internal committees, this role will be instrumental in scaling our programs and systems—particularly as we implement Workday HCM.
The ideal candidate brings analytical rigor, operational discipline, and a steady leadership presence with the ability to balance strategic vision and tactical execution.
Key Responsibilities
Total Rewards
What We Are Looking For
Required
Sure, we like numbers. (But we’ll never treat you like one.)
At Cohen & Co our foundational principles offer insight into how we achieve an inclusive, growth-oriented culture that fuels the success of our firm, our clients and our people. In particular, we honor our foundational principle of “great people first” by:
Agency recruiters may not submit unsolicited candidate information or resumes to any Cohen & Co employee without a recruiting services contract first being entered into with the Cohen & Co Talent Acquisition Team; see policy here.
Compensation Range $160,000 to $180,000
About The Role
Cohen & Co is seeking a strategic and hands-on Director of Total Rewards and People Operations Services to lead the firm’s compensation, benefits, payroll, and people operations infrastructure. This leader will design a competitive, data-driven, and financially responsible total rewards strategy that aligns with our growth agenda, professional services model, and culture of excellence.
Reporting to the Chief People Officer and partnering closely with the COO, Finance, Service Line Leaders, Legal, and internal committees, this role will be instrumental in scaling our programs and systems—particularly as we implement Workday HCM.
The ideal candidate brings analytical rigor, operational discipline, and a steady leadership presence with the ability to balance strategic vision and tactical execution.
Key Responsibilities
Total Rewards
- Develop and lead a comprehensive total rewards strategy aligned with firm goals, professional services norms, and Cohen’s culture, serving as a trusted advisory to the Chief People Office and People & Culture team, COO, Service Line Leaders, Finance team, and relevant internal committees
- Design and manage compensation programs including base pay, bonus programs, long-term incentive structures, and partner-aligned compensation models.
- Oversee equity-related administration, including tracking, reporting, compliance, and coordination with Finance and Legal.
- Lead annual compensation cycles including salary benchmarking, job architecture, incentive planning, and compensation budgeting.
- Oversee benefits design and administration ensuring competitiveness, compliance, and an excellent employee experience.
- Partner with Finance, Legal, and HR leadership to ensure integrated, compliant, and data-driven rewards strategies.
- Partner with business and Go-To-Market leaders to evaluate incentive frameworks that support performance and revenue growth.
- Monitor industry trends and regulatory requirements to maintain competitive and compliant programs.
- Lead all aspects of People Operations including compliance, policies, onboarding/offboarding, and process execution.
- Oversee payroll operations ensuring accuracy, timeliness, and compliance across multiple jurisdictions.
- Partner with Finance and Legal on tax, regulatory, and employment matters.
- Drive operational excellence and consistency in People Operations delivery.
- Own the firm's Workday HCM management and ongoing system optimization.
- Lead the people systems roadmap, data governance, and reporting infrastructure.
- Ensure reliable people analytics to support workforce planning and leadership decisions.
- Partner with Finance, IT, and vendors to deliver scalable and integrated systems.
- Serve as a strategic advisor to the CPO and senior leadership on total rewards, workforce planning, and organizational scale.
- Engage with executive leaders and Service Line Leaders to ensure alignment between compensation, performance, and business priorities.
- Lead, coach, and develop a high-performing Total Rewards and People Operations team while fostering operational excellence, innovation, and inclusion.
- Bring a hands-on, pragmatic approach to building and maturing programs in a dynamic, evolving environment.
- Support preparation of compensation program summaries and materials for partner groups, committees, and leadership discussions.
What We Are Looking For
Required
- Bachelor's degree required
- 10 years progressive experience in Total Rewards and People Operations
- 5 years in leadership roles overseeing compensation, benefits, payroll, and HR systems
- Expertise in compensation design, incentive structures, benefits compliance, payroll, and people data governance
- Experience managing HR technologies and building scalable processes
- Strong analytical capability, project leadership, and comfort operating in environments with evolving priorities
- Collaborative, thoughtful, and proactive leadership style with a focus on operational excellence
- Experience implementing or managing Workday HCM
- Professional services experience
Sure, we like numbers. (But we’ll never treat you like one.)
At Cohen & Co our foundational principles offer insight into how we achieve an inclusive, growth-oriented culture that fuels the success of our firm, our clients and our people. In particular, we honor our foundational principle of “great people first” by:
- Championing the importance of diversity, equity and inclusion by embracing the unique stories, backgrounds, perspectives and ideas that come from our people; and
- Offering a comprehensive and competitive Total Rewards package, which allows each employee to use the benefits that best suits their needs. Our offerings go beyond standard options, including time off outside of your standard PTO to give back to the community, annual discretionary merit increases and bonuses, talent development resources to tap into growth opportunities, and so much more!
- Salaries offered to candidates are determined based on factors such as candidate's relevant skillset, experience, licensure, and certifications, as well as job responsibilities, geography, market considerations, and organizational needs. At Cohen & Co, we don't stop setting ourselves apart by offering competitive base compensation. As part of our 'great people first' foundational principle, our firm offers a comprehensive and competitive Total Rewards package that allows each employee to design a package that best suits their needs and goes beyond standard options, including time off outside of your standard PTO to recharge and give back to the community, annual discretionary merit increases and bonuses, talent development resources to tap into growth opportunities, and so much more!
- Discover our Passion, Purpose & Expertise
- Learn more about our Firm's culture
- Experienced Hire Opportunities
Agency recruiters may not submit unsolicited candidate information or resumes to any Cohen & Co employee without a recruiting services contract first being entered into with the Cohen & Co Talent Acquisition Team; see policy here.
Salary : $160,000 - $180,000
