Workforce Planning Manager

Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton, a global Am Law 50 firm, has an immediate opening for a Compensation and Workforce Planning Manager.

We are considering candidates in any of our U.S. offices including Century City, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, Orange County, San Diego (Del Mar), San Diego (Downtown), San Francisco, Silicon Valley, and Washington DC. There is only one opening.

Sheppard, a leading global law firm, is seeking a highly analytical, detail-oriented Manager of Compensation and Workforce Planning & Governance to join the Human Resources team. This role leads professional staff compensation, performance management, workforce planning, workforce analytics, and organizational governance functions.

The Manager oversees compensation programs, workforce forecasting, organizational controls, and performance management processes that support the firm’s business objectives, talent strategy, and financial goals. The position partners closely with Finance, Recruiting, Professional Development, HR Delivery, and department leadership to drive data-informed workforce decisions and ensure consistent, compliant people practices across the firm.

• Analyze internal compensation data and external market trends to support the design, administration, and maintenance of competitive compensation structures for attorneys and professional staff.
• Manage annual compensation review processes for professional staff, including merit increases, bonus programs, promotions, market adjustments, and other compensation initiatives.
• Develop, maintain, and administer salary structures, pay ranges, job classifications, compensation guidelines, and pay governance practices.
• Evaluate compensation trends, internal equity, market competitiveness, and workforce movement to support informed compensation decisions.
• Benchmark roles using survey data, including Aon, Mercer, NALP, and ALM, and provide insights into market competitiveness.
• Partner with Talent Management, Finance, Practice Group Leaders, and department leadership on compensation decisions and related workforce planning matters.
• Develop reports and dashboards to track compensation metrics, workforce trends, discrepancies, and potential compliance risks.
• Support compensation-related projects, including pay transparency, job architecture, pay equity, and total rewards strategy.
• Ensure compliance with applicable legal regulations and internal policies, including FLSA classification, pay equity requirements, and international standards where applicable.
• Lead annual and long-range workforce planning initiatives to align business needs, talent resources, and firm strategy.
• Develop and maintain workforce forecasting, headcount planning, position management, and organizational modeling processes.
• Analyze workforce metrics, including headcount movement, turnover, vacancies, promotions, internal mobility, span of control, workforce demographics, utilization, and productivity trends.
• Partner with Finance and firm leadership to support workforce budgeting, position management, and resource planning decisions.
• Establish and maintain governance standards related to organizational structure, reporting relationships, job architecture, workforce approvals, and organizational changes.
• Maintain accurate compensation and workforce records and documentation while ensuring confidentiality, data integrity, and appropriate governance controls.

• 3-5 or more years of experience in compensation analysis, workforce planning, HR analytics, or a related function, preferably in a law firm, professional services firm, or corporate HR environment.
• Advanced proficiency in Excel, including pivot tables, lookup formulas, modeling, and…