Senior Compensation Analyst (Principal)

Department: Human Resources

Classification: Administrative Faculty

Job Category: Administrative or Professional Faculty

Job Type: Full-Time

Work Schedule: Full-time (1.0 FTE, 40 hrs/wk)

Location: Fairfax, VA

Workplace Type: Remote Eligible

Sponsorship Eligibility: Not eligible for visa sponsorship

Salary: Salary commensurate with education and experience

Criminal Background Check: Yes

Financial Background Check: Yes

About the Department:

GMU Human Resources is dedicated to creating a people-centered environment where every employee feels valued, supported, and empowered to thrive. Our mission is to attract, engage, and retain talented faculty and staff through meaningful programs and practices that foster connection, growth, and well-being.

As a trusted strategic partner, our team champions an all-inclusive and innovative culture that prioritizes community and belonging. We play a vital role in advancing the university’s goals by designing and delivering services that support each employee’s professional and personal journey.

Serving close to 10,000 employees and retirees, our HR team continuously evolves to meet the needs of a dynamic, diverse, and dedicated workforce, building a workplace where people can do their best work and feel a strong sense of purpose.

As part of that commitment, George Mason University is proud to offer a wide range of benefits, including:

• Work-life Balance and Benefits;
• Generous leave benefits, including paid annual leave, paid holidays, paid sick leave, and paid two-week winter break (subject to annual approval);
• Tuition exemption benefits—covering up to 12 credit hours each academic year—for eligible courses at Mason, and professional development. Yes, you can earn a college education while earning a salary!;
• Commuter Choice Transit Benefit;
• Health/dental/vision benefits;
• Tuition dependent benefit (restrictions apply);
• Virginia Retirement System Hybrid Plan or Optional Retirement Plan for Higher Education; and
• Patriot Perks discounts to restaurants, events, and more!

About the Position:

The Senior Compensation Analyst (Principal) serves as a senior subject matter expert within the Total Rewards team. Under the leadership of the Sr. Director of Total Rewards, this role leads advanced compensation analysis, modeling, and program design initiatives that support the university’s strategic and operational goals. This role partners with HR and institutional leaders to deliver sophisticated, data-informed compensation solutions that align with George Mason University’s mission, values, and workforce strategy.

This position navigates complex data environments, conducts high-level quantitative analysis, and develops methodologies to evaluate and shape compensation policy, pay practices, and financial planning. The Principal Analyst contributes to the modernization of Mason’s market-based compensation framework and provides expert consultation on salary structures, career architecture, job evaluation, and pay equity. This role requires advanced analytical capability, compensation acumen, cross-functional collaboration, and strategic influence.

Responsibilities:

Advanced Compensation Analysis and Modeling

• Leads the design and execution of advanced compensation analyses, including salary modeling, scenario forecasting, and pay distribution studies across a broad range of employee populations;
• Establishes compensation modeling methodologies to assess employee- and cost-impact of base pay changes, merit processes, job architecture refinements, and incentive strategies;
• Delivers regular and ad hoc compensation reports, dashboards, and visualizations to support university decision-making;
• Analyzes trends in internal mobility, turnover, pay equity, and competitiveness; and
• Serves as a compensation analytics lead for senior-level reporting needs in coordination with HR leadership. 

Compensation Program Strategy and Governance

• Contributes to the development and evolution of the university’s job architecture, pay structures, and career frameworks to ensure alignment with market competitiveness, internal equity, and institutional workforce goals;
• Collaborates with the compensation team to refine the university’s compensation philosophy, job leveling methodology, and pay practices that support a merit-based and market-informed culture;
• Conducts comprehensive market benchmarking using national compensation surveys;
• Provides strategic guidance on the positioning of new and existing roles across academic and administrative areas;
• Maintains and updates George Mason's university-wide job classifications and salary structures, ensuring accuracy across systems and alignment with strategic workforce design;
• Supports annual merit, equity, and market adjustment cycles in partnership with HR, Finance, and academic leadership, including budgeting, modeling, and compliance review; and
• Provides strategic consultation on compensation decisions for complex roles, including high-demand, executive, research, clinical, or grant-funded positions. 

Stakeholder Engagement and Strategic Consultation

• Collaborates with HR Partners, Talent Acquisition, and Finance to provide high-level compensation guidance and ensure alignment with business objectives;
• Acts as a strategic advisor to unit leaders and HR stakeholders, supporting role design, hiring, retention, reclassifications, and workforce planning; and
• Leads and facilitates training sessions and toolkits to promote manager and stakeholder understanding of compensation policies and practices. 

Compliance, Policy, and Audit Support

• Ensures compensation programs comply with applicable federal, state, and institutional laws and regulations, including FLSA and OFCCP;
• Partners with HRIS, audit teams, and others to maintain documentation, data accuracy, internal controls, and audit readiness for all compensation-related activity; and
• Serves as a lead advisor on policy interpretation and compensation governance, contributing to institutional accountability and risk mitigation efforts. 

Program Innovation and Process Improvement

• Identifies and leads improvements to compensation tools, systems, and processes to enhance efficiency and user experience;
• Stays current with national trends, best practices, and regulatory developments in compensation and total rewards;
• Recommends strategic enhancements to keep George Mason competitive and compliant; and
• Serves as a thought leader in compensation modernization and equity advancement, contributing to a merit-based, market-aligned pay philosophy. 

Special Projects and Institutional Initiatives

• Supports institution-wide HR initiatives and cross-functional projects requiring compensation expertise;
• Represents the compensation function in strategic planning sessions, task forces, and ad hoc executive inquiries; and
• Contributes to the elevation of George Mason’s total rewards strategy through research, policy proposals, and data storytelling.

Required Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in Human Resources, Business, Finance, Economics, Data Science, or a related field;
• Substantial progressively responsible experience in compensation analysis, salary structure design, and strategic consultation (generally seven or more years);
• Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Excel, HRIS systems, and analytics or visualization tools (e.g., Tableau, Power BI, SAS, R, Python);
• Demonstrated experience conducting complex compensation modeling, benchmarking, and regulatory compliance reviews;
• Proven ability to interpret and apply federal and state compensation regulations (e.g., FLSA, pay transparency laws) and support institutional audit readiness;
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to present insights to leadership;
• Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal, with the ability to convey technical information to non-technical audiences;
• Demonstrated collaboration with HR, Finance, and department leadership to support strategic workforce planning;
• Compensation Analytics & Reporting: Expertise in developing dashboards and conducting in-depth pay analysis, trend forecasting, and decision support for leadership;
• Compensation Modeling: Ability to design and build cost models, forecast the impact of pay programs, and evaluate multiple scenarios at scale;
• Job and Pay Structure Maintenance: Ability to maintain complex salary bands and job classifications across diverse employee populations, ensuring consistent application and strategic alignment;
• Market Benchmarking: Proficiency in sourcing and interpreting salary survey data, performing market pricing, and making competitive pay recommendations;
• Compliance & Governance: Deep knowledge of compensation laws and regulations, audit preparedness, and risk mitigation strategies; and
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Proven ability to partner with HR, Finance, and campus leaders to ensure compensation supports organizational priorities.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Master’s degree in related field;
• Advanced professional certification such as CCP (Certified Compensation Professional), SHRM-SCP, or SPHR;
• Master’s degree in Human Resources, Business, Public Administration, Finance, or a related field;
• Experience in higher education, public sector, or research institution settings;
• Experience in higher education or public sector compensation, including knowledge of faculty/staff classifications and shared governance environments;
• Experience working with multiple employee classification systems;
• Experience supporting or leading compensation modernization initiatives, including job architecture, career pathways, or classification redesign;
• Proficiency with enterprise HR and budgeting systems such as Banner, PeopleAdmin, or Workday;
• Experience developing and delivering compensation training, guidance, or resources for managers and stakeholders;
• Knowledge of financial modeling principles and how compensation strategies impact budget forecasting and institutional planning;
• Budget Management: Ability to collaborate with Finance to align compensation modeling with budget cycles, workforce planning, and institutional cost controls;
• Program Innovation & Best Practices: A forward-thinking approach to process improvement, system modernization, and the application of national trends in total rewards; and
• Strong understanding of FLSA, pay transparency laws, OFCCP, and affirmative action frameworks.

Instructions to Applicants: 

For full consideration, applicants must apply for Senior Compensation Analyst (Principal) at https://jobs.gmu.edu/. Complete and submit the online application to include three professional references with contact information, and provide a Cover Letter/Letter of Intent with Resume for review.

Posting Open Date: August 15, 2025

For Full Consideration, Apply by:  August 29, 2025

Open Until Filled:  Yes