Manager, Total Rewards | US

About the Role

Degreed is seeking a Manager, Total Rewards to provide strategic oversight of global payroll operations, benefits, and total rewards, ensuring consistency, compliance, and operational excellence across our global workforce. This role plays a critical part in ensuring the financial integrity, compliance, and scalability of our payroll and benefits operations as Degreed continues to grow globally.

Working closely with People Operations, Finance, and external vendors, you will oversee global payroll processes, benefits administration, and internal controls, while also supporting broader Total Rewards initiatives such as compensation cycles, reporting, and systems optimization.

This role is ideal for someone who enjoys bringing structure to complexity, improving processes, and building scalable global operations, while partnering cross-functionally to deliver a high-quality employee experience.

Key Skills

• 5+ years of progressive experience across payroll and benefits, with experience and/or exposure to Total Rewards.
• Proven ability to build and scale Total Rewards infrastructure and processes.
• Experience overseeing payroll across multiple geographies (US and EMEA required; additional regions a plus) with strong knowledge of payroll compliance, tax regulations, and statutory benefits requirements.
• Hands-on experience with payroll and HRIS systems such as HiBob, ADP Workforce Now, Deel, Papaya Global, or similar platforms.
• Experience supporting compensation processes such as merit cycles, bonus programs, and benchmarking preferred.
• Strong attention to detail with a commitment to accuracy, controls, and operational integrity.
• Experience managing vendors, brokers, and third-party administrators.
• Analytical mindset with the ability to interpret data and generate insights.
• Ability to operate effectively in a fast-paced, global environment and drive process improvements.
  
  

Key Responsibilities

• Total Rewards Strategy & Optimization
  • Help build and scale a cohesive global Total Rewards strategy that supports talent attraction, retention, and organizational growth.
  • Support compensation cycles, including merit, bonus, and benchmarking processes.
  • Own Total Rewards reporting and insights, including analysis of trends, costs, and program effectiveness.
  • Drive process improvements and automation across payroll, benefits, and Total Rewards systems.
  • Support the development and delivery of annual Total Rewards statements for employees.

• Payroll Governance & Oversight
  • Ensure data integrity across all employee lifecycle events, including hires, compensation changes, life events, and terminations.
  • Review and approve payroll across all geographies (US, EMEA, and other regions), providing independent audit oversight and backup coverage.
  • Oversee off-cycle payments, adjustments, and corrections to ensure accuracy and compliance.
  • Lead quarterly p