Senior Director, Total Rewards and Workplace Strategy

Recruitment Period: 02/09/2026 - Until Filled

Status: Full-Time 40 hours/week

Salary Information: Annual Minimum Salary-$102700-Annual Maximum Salary-$174600

Hiring Rate: $130000-$140000

Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences (PNWU) does not sponsor employment visas. Applicants must be legally authorized to work in the United States at the time of hire and for the duration of their employment with PNWU. Employment eligibility will be verified in accordance with federal law.

Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences (PNWU) was founded as a 501(c) (3) non-profit medical institution in 2005 aimed at increasing access to health care in medically underserved areas of the Pacific Northwest.

The University currently offers the degrees of Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine Doctor of Physical Therapy Doctor of Dental Medicine Master of Arts in Medical Science and Master of Science in Occupational Therapy enrolling over 550 students annually with plans to develop other programs and/or colleges. Interprofessional education partnerships with other universities adds another 100 students to the population. The campus includes 300 employees with academic programming spread over a five-state region.

PNWU is located in Yakima WA a city of approximately 95000 located in the south-central part of the state near the eastern slopes of the Cascade Mountains in a major agricultural and outdoor recreation region. It is approximately 140 miles from Seattle 170 miles from Portland and 200 miles from Spokane. The Yakima Valley is a wonderful place to live work and play. For more information visit Summary:

The Senior Director of Total Rewards and Workplace Strategy is a senior leader within the Human Resources and Workplace Experience team at Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences (PNWU). Reporting to the Vice President of Human Resources and Workplace Experience this role serves as a strategist for total rewards and workplace strategy ensuring that compensation benefits and workplace practices are equitable sustainable and aligned with PNWUs mission and values.

PNWU is in an important season of institutional growth systems modernization and workforce evolution. The Senior Director plays a key role in strengthening faculty and staff stability trust and engagement so that the University can consistently deliver excellence and care to students patients and the communities it serves. This role is responsible not only for program design and oversight but also for developing clear frameworks decision processes and practices that support thoughtful values-informed people decisions across a complex academic and clinical environment.

The Senior Director provides strategic and operational leadership for compensation benefits job architecture workplace accommodations and holistic well-being initiatives working in close partnership with Payroll Finance IT Academic Affairs and campus leaders. While this role does not directly oversee payroll operations it establishes strong collaboration and shared accountability to ensure a seamless accurate and respectful employee experience across the employment lifecycle.

This position blends analytical rigor with human-centered leadership and requires systems thinking sound judgment and the ability to navigate complexity with steadiness and care. The Senior Director serves as a trusted advisor to senior leaders offering clear analysis practical recommendations and consistent leadership during decisions that directly affect employees and institutional sustainability.

The role calls for a leader who can balance empathy with accountability bring clarity and transparency to total rewards and workplace decisions and contribute positively to a healthy inclusive and mission-driven workplace culture at PNWU.

Alignment with PNWU Mission Vision and Values

This role directly advances PNWUs mission and values with an explicit commitment to holistic well-being for faculty and staff:

• Mission-Driven: Designs and stewards total rewards and workplace strategies that attract retain and sustain a workforce committed to advancing healthcare education and service to rural and underserved communities while supporting institutional continuity and long-term capacity.
• Collaborative: Partners across Payroll Finance IT Academic Affairs and campus leadership to align people systems clarify roles and decision processes reduce friction and support sound institution-wide decision making built on trust and shared accountability.
• Compassionate: Centers dignity accessibility and consistency in benefits design accommodation practices leave administration and employee support processes balancing individual needs with operational realities through thoughtful timely and fair application.
• Genuine: Builds confidence through transparency consistency and clear communication around compensation benefits and workplace decisions that affect peoples livelihoods fostering understanding predictability and institutional trust.
• Student-Focused: Strengthens faculty and staff stability capacity and engagement so students experience continuity excellence and care across academic clinical and support environments.

Healthy: Advances holistic well-being by aligning benefits flexibility workload awareness and sustainable workplace practices that support physical emotional financial and professional health for faculty and staff.

Essential Job Functions:

Total Rewards and Compensation Strategy

• Provide leadership for the design implementation and ongoing refinement of PNWUs total rewards strategy including compensation benefits and non-monetary rewards ensuring programs are equitable competitive fiscally responsible and aligned with the Universitys mission and long-term sustainability.
• Design steward and continuously improve job architecture classification frameworks and salary structures for staff and administrators ensuring clarity internal equity and alignment with organizational needs.
• Partner with Academic Affairs to support faculty compensation models analyses and related decision-making recognizing the distinct structures and governance considerations within academic environments.
• Conduct market benchmarking pay equity analyses and financial modeling; translate complex data into clear practical recommendations that support leadership decision-making and institutional priorities.
• Provide oversight and guidance for annual compensation processes including merit adjustments and related communications ensuring consistency transparency and timely execution.

Benefits Accommodations and Holistic Well-Being

• Provide leadership for the design administration and continuous improvement of PNWUs benefits programs including medical dental vision retirement leave wellness offerings and employee assistance resources ensuring they are responsive to workforce needs compliant and financially sustainable.
• Ensure benefits offerings are inclusive and accessible across life stages and employment categories balancing competitiveness affordability and institutional stewardship in a complex academic and clinical environment.
• Lead and oversee the interactive accommodation process for employees ensuring consistency timeliness and compliance while approaching each request with care clarity and sound judgment. Partner with supervisors and leaders to support accommodation outcomes that respect individual needs and operational realities.
• Contribute to institution-wide efforts that support holistic well-being by aligning benefits flexibility leave practices and workplace expectations with PNWUs commitment to a healthy and sustainable work environment.
• Serve as a knowledgeable and steady resource to leaders and employees on benefits and accommodation matters reinforcing trust through clear guidance predictable processes and thoughtful communication.

Workplace Strategy and Strategic Partnership

• Serve as a trusted partner to leaders on workforce planning role design compensation decisions and workplace effectiveness helping align people practices with operational needs institutional priorities and available resources.
• Integrate perspectives across Human Resources Payroll Finance IT Academic Affairs and campus leadership to inform sound coordinated decisions and reduce fragmentation across people-related systems and processes.
• Apply systems thinking and practical judgment to navigate organizational complexity competing priorities and evolving workplace expectations offering guidance that is thoughtful realistic and grounded in PNWUs culture.
• Support change management related to compensation benefits systems modernization and evolving workplace practices helping leaders and employees understand the purpose impact and practical implications of change.
• Advance a consistent transparent and values-aligned employee experience across the employment lifecycle by promoting clarity predictability and follow-through in workplace practices and decisions.

HR Data Analytics and Reporting

• Provide leadership for HR data and analytics related to total rewards workforce metrics and institutional reporting needs ensuring information is accurate relevant and useful for decision making.
• Develop and maintain dashboards analyses and reports that support leadership understanding of compensation benefits workforce trends and resource implications translating data into clear insights and practical recommendations.
• Partner with Institutional Research Finance Payroll and IT to ensure data integrity consistency and alignment across systems recognizing the importance of shared definitions and reliable reporting.
• Support compliance audit and regulatory reporting related to compensation benefits and employment practices ensuring accuracy timeliness and readiness.
• Use data thoughtfully to anticipate trends identify risks and inform planning while remaining attentive to the limits of data and the importance of context and judgment.

HR Systems Modernization and Digitization

• Provide leadership for the ongoing optimization integration and effective use of HR systems that support total rewards accommodations and workforce data with attention to accuracy usability and sustainability.
• Partner closely with IT Payroll and Finance to improve data integrity system interoperability and user experience recognizing the interdependence of people process and technology.
• Lead or contribute to HR systems modernization initiatives including workflow redesign digitization of manual processes and participation in future system selection upgrades or migrations as appropriate to institutional needs and capacity.
• Ensure that HR systems and workflows support compliance reliable reporting and informed decision making while also reducing administrative burden for employees and supervisors.
• Balance improvement efforts with operational realities prioritizing changes that meaningfully enhance clarity efficiency and trust in people systems.

Collaboration with Payroll and Finance

• Partner with Payroll to ensure accurate and timely execution of compensation benefits and employee lifecycle transactions.
• Align Total Rewards practices with payroll processes to create a seamless and reliable employee experience.
• Collaborate with Finance to ensure compensation and benefits strategies are fiscally responsible and aligned with institutional priorities.
• Support budget planning through modeling of salary actions benefit cost projections and workforce investments.
• Maintain strong data integrity across HRIS payroll and financial systems through coordinated processes and shared accountability.
• Identify and implement process improvements that reduce manual work increase efficiency and strengthen internal controls.
• Ensure compliance with federal and state wage and hour laws benefits regulations and audit requirements in partnership with Payroll and Finance.
• Provide clear reporting and insights that support transparent equitable and consistent compensation and benefits decisions.
• Translate complex Total Rewards information into practical guidance for leaders to support informed decision making.
• Foster a collaborative stewardship-minded partnership that aligns people strategy financial sustainability and operational excellence.
• Performs other related duties as assigned and based on departmental need.

Education:

Required: Bachelors degree in human resources Business Finance or a related field

Preferred: Masters degree in a related field

Experience:

Required:

Minimum of 710 years of progressive HR experience with significant focus on compensation benefits and total rewards

Demonstrated experience in compensation strategy market analysis and job architecture

Experience leading benefits programs and accommodation processes

Strong analytical financial and data reporting skills

Experience partnering closely with Payroll and Finance functions

Preferred:

Experience in higher education healthcare or complex nonprofit environment

Professional certifications such as CCP CBP SPHR SHRM-SCP or PHR

Experience leading HR systems modernization or implementation efforts

Desired Skills Knowledge and Abilities:

Knowledge of HRIS and people systems integration; ability to operate effectively at both strategic and operational levels; ability to manage multiple priorities including direct oversight of multiple functional areas; knowledge of strategic planning organizational leadership and operational management; ability to work effectively with executive leaders faculty and staff; ability to communicate and have strong interpersonal and negotiation skills; knowledge and commitment to mission and opportunity and shared governance; and knowledge of confidentiality integrity and ethical decision-making.

To ensure full consideration submit:

A letter of introduction outlining background and qualifications for the position

Detailed resume

Contact information for three professional references

The job announcement above is not the full job description but represents the job responsibilities and requirements. A full job description can be provided upon request.

PNWU offers a comprehensive benefits package to eligible employees first of the month following date of hire and competitive salary.

Benefit Package (benefit eligible is at least .5 FTE):

• Health Benefits - Medical Dental Vision Life Insurance
• Paid Time Off
• 403b with Roth Option
• Paid Holidays

For information about life in Yakima visit our PNWU page.

PNWU is a drug-free workplace equal opportunity employer and educational institution. To request this publication in an alternative format or to apply in an alternative format please call Human Resources 509.452.5100.