Lead Compensation Consultant (Higher Education)

Resource 1 is seeking a Lead Compensation Consultant to support a Workday HCM and Finance implementation within a University setting. This is a hybrid onsite contract role, requiring onsite collaboration in downtown Chicago 4 days/week. As the Compensation Lead, you will serve as the University’s subject matter expert for compensation and job architecture, ensuring that Workday is configured to meet the institution’s HR and compensation needs. You will validate data, advise on processes, and collaborate closely with implementation partners and HR leadership to deliver best-in-class solutions.

Responsibilities:

• Serve as the functional lead for Compensation within the Workday implementation
• Work with implementation partner to design and validate compensation configurations
• Lead development of job architecture and compensation band structures
• Redesign compensation-related business processes (not lift-and-shift)
• Approve data mappings and validate functional outputs
• Participate in testing cycles (unit, UAT, parallel)
• Identify gaps in current compensation governance and recommend best practices
• Support integration of market benchmarking processes into Workday workflows
• Present recommendations to HR leadership and governance committees
• Collaborate with data conversion team to validate compensation-related data elements
• Support training material review and process documentation

Required Qualifications:

• 8–10+ years total compensation experience
• 6+ years of higher education compensation experience
• Deep understanding of:
• Faculty compensation models
• Union environments
• Grant-funded positions
• Student worker pay structures
• Deep expertise in job architecture, market benchmarking, and HR/compensation best practices
• Experience reviewing and validating HR/compensation data in large ERP environments
• Strong communication skills and ability to work in a collaborative, hybrid environment
• Proven ability to partner with consultants or system implementers

Preferred Qualifications:

• Exposure to Workday HCM or other HRIS systems (e.g., SAP, PeopleSoft)
• Experience with compensation for research grants, faculty, and unionized employees
• Prior involvement in HR transformation or Workday implementation projects

Medical insurance and a 401(k) plan is offered to all eligible W2 employees.