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Head of Total Rewards & Analytics

South San Francisco, California

About Us 

Kardigan is a heart health company working to make cardiovascular disease preventable, curable and no longer the leading cause of death in the world.

It is Kardigan’s mission to develop multiple targeted treatments in parallel that bring people with cardiovascular diseases to the cures they deserve.
 
Led by Tassos Giannakakos, Jay Edelberg, M.D. and Bob McDowell, Ph.D., Kardigan’s co-founders have reunited after leading MyoKardia to discover and develop mavacamten, the first cardiac myosin inhibitor, resulting in an acquisition by Bristol Myers Squibb in 2020.
 
We have a cutting-edge discovery and translational research platform, a pipeline of late-stage candidates, and an industry-leading team that is driven to improve the lives of patients.
 
At Kardigan, we are motivated by our values which guide how we work, interact, and achieve our goals. Driven by patients and their families, we are deeply committed to improving the lives of patients and prioritizing their needs above all else. We believe in being authentic—leading with truth to bring out the best in others by creating an environment where every person knows they will be fully accepted. With an eagerness to learn, we encourage the highest levels of curiosity and are open to changing our minds. We are committed to winning as a team with urgency, excellence, and intention, and support each other no matter what role we play or where we sit. Lastly, we strive to enable the impossible because patients are counting on us. We are not afraid to take risks to unlock innovation and advance scientific discoveries.
 
These values are the foundation of our work, empowering us to make a real difference, every day.
 
 
 

Role: Head of Total Rewards & Analytics

The Head of Total Rewards & Analytics will own the evaluation, continuous improvement, and implementation of Kardigan’s compensation, equity, and benefits programs. This is a hands-on role and report to the Chief People Officer, with a focus on practical business partnership, evolving our rewards philosophy to align with our operating context as a high-growth, entrepreneurial organization. This role is an opportunity to build upon our established compensation and benefits frameworks to take our total rewards practice to the next level.

Job Responsibilities

  • Review, calibrate and manage broad-based compensation programs (base salary, short- and long-term incentive programs and recognition) to align with Kardigan’s business objectives and high-performance culture, keep a competitive position in the marketplace, maintain internal equity in compensation programs, and ensure compliance with applicable state and federal laws.
  • Develop and maintain compensation structure, including salary grades and ranges, geographic differentials, job classifications, career levels, and related position management information for the organization. Partner with People & Culture business partners on job architecture and changes that support our workforce planning and business objectives.
  • Conduct market research and benchmarking analysis to ensure competitive compensation structures to align with business growth
  • Support key members of Executive Committee (EC) and Board of Directors (BOD) by providing data, analysis, insights and expert guidance to drive recommendations and informed decisions around executive compensation, non-executive compensation, and other topics of interest to the EC, Compensation Committee and the BOD.
  • Design and manage employee benefits programs, including health, wellness, and retirement plans, partner directly with external vendors,
  • Lead key compensation initiatives such as year-end merit process, compensation strategy and implementation, pay equity studies and remediation, pay transparency, career leveling frameworks, and career path/ladder formation.
  • Oversee job evaluations, annual compensation surveys and timely audit responses.
  • Lead our performance management strategy and oversee related processes, including goal setting, mid-year check-ins and year-end performance reviews, and related communications, training, system alignment and project management.
  • Partner with People & Culture business partners to align performance management processes with business objectives.
  • Partner with Talent Acquisition and People & Culture business partners to optimize compensation-related processes and decision-making for job requisitions.
  • Collaborate with a high level of influence across business and functional leadership groups to ensure compensation plans, policies and decisions are developed and communicated effectively and consistently. Encourage innovative solutions and non-siloed thinking across business and functional areas. Maintain strong cross-functional relationships with finance, legal, communications, and People & Culture colleagues.

 

 

 

Required Qualifications

  • Bachelor’s degree in business administration, human resources or similarly related field or equivalent experience.
  • 12+ years of progressive compensation experience in the biotechnology/phama industry
  • Certified Compensation Professional (CCP) is a plus.
  • Knowledge of benefits compliance, including ERISA, HIPAA, COBRA, ACA, FMLA, ADA, and more.
  • Understanding of SEC, SOX, and tax requirements as well as all other government regulations that apply to compensation base and incentive compensation.
  • Expertise in designing and managing executive and global compensation, benefits, and equity programs
  • Deep understanding of interdependencies in compensation program and systems design, as well as legal, financial and tax implications of compensation programs and decisions.
  • Demonstrated professional business acumen, collaboration, diplomacy, judgment and relationship building that translates short and long-term strategy into actionable and measurable plans.
  • Strong presentation skills, including the development of polished powerpoint slides that convey compensation and performance management initiatives to both executive and broad-based audiences.
  • Strong quantitative skills including advanced excel skills to model various compensation scenarios.
  • Demonstrated experience of successfully executing against tight deadlines and proactive issue resolution.

 

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