Human Resources Manager – Total Rewards

POSITION SUMMARY
McMillan Pazdan Smith Architecture (MPS) is seeking a Human Resources Manager – Total Rewards to lead and enhance our compensation, benefits, and job architecture programs. This role ensures that MPS remains competitive in the market while aligning total rewards strategies with our organizational goals, financial sustainability, and employee engagement. While the primary focus of this role is total rewards, the HR Manager will also contribute to broader HR initiatives, providing comprehensive HR support as needed to foster a collaborative, high-performing workplace.

Reports to: Human Resources Director

Located: Atlanta, GA or Charlotte, NC

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Total Rewards Strategy & Compensation

• Develop and implement compensation strategies that ensure MPS remains competitive within the market while aligning with organizational goals and financial constraints.
• Lead salary benchmarking and market analysis to ensure pay equity and internal consistency across job roles.
• Provide guidance to leadership on salary structures, pay bands, and incentive programs.
• Design and administer bonus and incentive programs that drive performance and recognize employee contributions.
• Maintain and enhance the firm’s job architecture framework, including job families, functions, levels, and titles, ensuring alignment with industry standards and firm-wide objectives.

Benefits & Leave Administration

• Oversee and administer the firm’s employee benefits programs, ensuring they align with strategic goals and meet the diverse needs of employees.
• Evaluate and recommend benefit plan enhancements, ensuring cost-effectiveness and competitive offerings.
• Serve as the primary point of contact for benefits-related inquiries, resolving issues and providing employee education.
• Administer leave policies and accommodation requests, ensuring compliance with legal requirements (FMLA, ADA, etc.) and alignment with internal policies.
• Partner with vendors and brokers to manage benefit plans, negotiate renewals, and ensure optimal service delivery.

Job Architecture & Performance Frameworks

• Establish clear performance expectations, job responsibilities, and competency frameworks to support both individual and team success.
• Partner with department leaders to ensure job descriptions are accurate, aligned with firm needs, and reflective of industry’s best practices.
• Support the development of career pathways and succession planning, ensuring employees have clear growth opportunities within MPS.
• Provide guidance on job leveling, promotions, and internal mobility to maintain a structured and transparent approach to career progression.

Broad HR Support & Collaboration

• Provide generalist HR support as needed, assisting with employee relations, HR policy development, and workforce planning.
• Collaborate with the HR team to drive employee engagement initiatives, diversity and inclusion efforts, and leadership development programs.
• Contribute to HR technology and data management efforts, ensuring compensation, benefits, and job architecture data is accurate and accessible.
• Partner with finance and leadership teams to ensure HR strategies align with broader business objectives.

• 5+ years of HR experience, with a strong focus on compensation, benefits, or total rewards.
• Experience in job architecture development and compensation strategy.
• Strong knowledge of benefits administration, leave policies, and compliance.
• HR experience in an architecture, design, engineering, or professional services firm is highly preferred.
• Strong analytical skills with the ability to interpret compensation and benefits data to inform strategic decisions.
• Excellent communication skills, with the ability to explain total rewards concepts to employees and leadership.
• Proficiency in HRIS systems, compensation benchmarking tools, and Excel for data analysis.
• Ability to collaborate cross-functionally and work in a fast-paced, evolving environment.
• HR certification (e.g., SHRM-CP, SHRM-SCP, CCP) is a plus.