VP/SVP Total Rewards & People Operations
Cambridge, MA, USA
Position Overview
Flagship Pioneering is seeking an experienced and strategic Vice President or Senior Vice President to lead the design, management, and evolution of Total Rewards programs and key people infrastructure across our ecosystem. The role spans compensation, executive compensation, equity, benefits, people operations, and people analytics for Flagship and its portfolio of companies.
Key Responsibilities
Total Rewards Strategy and Leadership
- Lead strategy, design, and ongoing evolution of Flagship’s global Total Rewards philosophy across compensation, executive compensation, equity, benefits, and other reward programs.
- Serve as the principal architect of rewards strategy, recommending program direction to senior leadership and ensuring alignment with business priorities, talent strategy, and financial objectives.
- Develop and refine salary structures, incentive frameworks, equity guidelines, and market positioning across a global footprint.
- Oversee job architecture and leveling governance to support internal equity, talent management, and scalable compensation decision‑making.
- Guide annual compensation planning processes, including merit, bonus, promotion, and other pay actions, in partnership with HR, Finance, and business leadership.
- Partner closely with Talent Acquisition and HR Business Partners on executive and broad‑based offer strategy, market competitiveness, and internal equity.
- Lead the continued evolution of executive compensation and broad‑based equity strategy across Flagship and applicable portfolio companies.
Equity and Incentive Design
- Provide strategic leadership for complex equity and long‑term incentive programs, including private‑company equity structures and alternative long‑term incentive constructs.
- Oversee equity strategy, governance, and operational execution through the team, ensuring strong program design and scalable administration.
- Partner with senior leadership on the design and refinement of incentive and ownership frameworks that support attraction, retention, and long‑term value creation.
- Bring familiarity with innovative and non‑traditional compensation approaches, including profits interests, carried interest, and related long‑term incentive structures.
Benefits Strategy
- Lead benefits strategy across health and welfare, retirement, leave, and ancillary programs, ensuring competitive, sustainable, and value‑aligned solutions.
- Partner with the Benefits leader and external advisors to evaluate plan design, funding, market trends, vendor performance, and regulatory requirements.
- Support harmonization and modernization of benefits strategy where appropriate across a diverse ecosystem.
People Operations
- Oversee key People Operations functions including onboarding, offboarding, employee lifecycle processes, policy administration, compliance workflows, and service delivery.
- Ensure processes are scalable, well‑governed, and designed to support a high‑quality employee and manager experience.
- Partner effectively across HR, Payroll, IT, Legal, and Finance to improve operational efficiency and strengthen people‑related infrastructure.
- Provide leadership on HR compliance and compensation/benefits‑related compliance considerations.
People Analytics
- Lead the People Analytics agenda, generating insights that support executive decision‑making across workforce planning, hiring, retention, compensation, and organizational effectiveness.
- Oversee dashboards, reporting, and analytical frameworks that inform leaders, including the CEO and CFO.
- Translate data and analysis into actionable recommendations in partnership with HR Business Partners and business leaders.
- Advance an increasingly sophisticated analytics capability that supports better people decisions across Flagship and the broader ecosystem.
- Advise and support portfolio company leaders on Total Rewards strategy, tailoring frameworks for different company stages while maintaining governance and alignment.
Leadership and Team Development
- Lead, develop, and inspire a multi‑functional team spanning Compensation, Benefits, People Operations, and People Analytics.
- Foster strong collaboration across functional teams and build a high‑performing, service‑oriented organization.
- Manage external consultants, brokers, survey providers, and key vendors to support rewards strategy and operational excellence.
Qualifications
- 15+ years of progressive experience in Total Rewards, with depth in compensation strategy and experience leading broad, multi‑functional teams.
- Expertise in compensation design, market benchmarking, executive compensation, incentive strategy, and private‑company equity.
- Strong familiarity with alternative long‑term incentive structures, including profits interests, carried interest, and other innovative ownership or reward constructs.
- Experience in benefits strategy across health, retirement, and ancillary offerings.
- Experience overseeing or partnering closely with People Operations and People Analytics functions in complex organizations.
- Success operating in high‑growth, founder‑led, venture‑backed, or similarly dynamic environments.
- Global experience navigating matrixed organizations with multiple stakeholders and business models.
- Executive presence and the ability to influence senior leaders and present compelling recommendations.
- Ability to translate data and market insights into actionable decisions.
- Experience working with boards, founders, and senior executive stakeholders preferred.
- Prior life sciences or biotechnology experience preferred, but not required.
Benefits and Compensation
- Salary range: $300,000 – $400,000, dependent on qualifications, skills, and experience.
- Eligible for short‑term and long‑term incentive compensation.
- Flagship offers comprehensive health coverage, annual incentive programs, retirement benefits, and a broad range of other benefits.
- Compensation and benefits information is a good faith estimate and may be modified in the future.