Senior Director of Total Rewards & HRIS (UKG Pro)

Senior Director of Total Rewards & HRIS (UKG Pro)

Employment Type: Direct Hire / Permanent

Location: Chicago, IL – Near North Side (Onsite 5 Days/Week)

Lead Enterprise Total Rewards and HR Systems Strategy

This is a high-impact leadership role responsible for shaping and scaling the Total Rewards and HRIS function within a fast-paced, growth-oriented organization. Sitting at the intersection of strategy and execution, you will own compensation, benefits, payroll, and HR systems for a multi-state workforce, with deep focus on UKG Pro as the core HRIS platform.

This role is ideal for a hands-on senior leader who thrives in complex environments, understands how to scale people systems, and partners directly with executive leadership to influence enterprise workforce strategy. You will play a critical role in strengthening HR infrastructure, improving data-driven decision-making, and elevating the overall employee experience.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the design and execution of Total Rewards strategy including compensation, benefits, recognition, and incentive programs aligned to business goals
• Own UKG Pro HRIS configuration, workflows, reporting, integrations, automation, and data integrity
• Oversee multi-state payroll operations ensuring accuracy, compliance, and timely processing
• Manage end-to-end benefits programs including vendor relationships, enrollment, compliance, and employee communications across core offerings (medical, dental, vision, life, disability, HSA/FSA, leave programs)
• Develop compensation architecture including job structure, salary bands, market pricing, and incentive plan design
• Build HR analytics and dashboards to support workforce planning, retention strategy, and executive decision-making
• Partner with senior leadership to translate workforce data into actionable business insights
• Ensure compliance with all applicable regulations including ERISA, ACA, and FLSA with audit-ready processes
• Lead, mentor, and develop a high-performing HRIS and Total Rewards team

Required Qualifications

• 10 years of progressive leadership experience in Total Rewards, Compensation, and Benefits within complex, multi-site organizations
• Strong hands-on UKG Pro experience including configuration, administration, workflows, reporting, and system optimization
• Proven HRIS leadership experience including integrations, automation, and system enhancements
• Multi-state payroll leadership experience with strong compliance expertise
• Deep compensation expertise including job architecture, salary structures, benchmarking, and incentive design
• Benefits administration experience including vendor management and regulatory compliance
• Strong HR analytics capability leveraging HRIS and BI tools for decision support
• Proven experience leading and developing HRIS or Total Rewards teams
• Strong executive presence with ability to influence senior stakeholders
• Bachelor’s degree required; advanced degree preferred
• Must be able to work onsite in Chicago, IL 5 days per week
• Must be authorized to work in the United States without sponsorship

Nice-to-Haves

• Experience in real estate, property management, hospitality, or other multi-site service organizations
• Experience supporting large-scale HRIS transformations or integrations
• Advanced HR analytics or workforce planning expertise

Why This Role Stands Out

• Direct ownership of UKG Pro strategy and enterprise HR systems
• High-visibility leadership role partnering directly with executive leadership
• Opportunity to build and scale a modern Total Rewards and HRIS function
• Broad scope across HRIS, payroll, benefits, and compensation in one leadership seat
• Immediate impact on workforce experience across a large, multi-site organization
• This is a high-visibility leadership role with a salary range of $170-200K (DOE)

Apply Now

If you are a UKG Pro and Total Rewards leader who thrives in hands-on, strategic environments and wants to make a visible enterprise impact, Apply today!!