Sr Manager

Job Summary

The Senior Manager, Compensation is a strategic compensation leader responsible for the design, governance, implementation, administration, and continuous improvement of compensation programs that support Panera's business objectives and talent strategy. This role serves as a trusted advisor to HR, Finance, Talent Acquisition, HR Technology, and business leaders, delivering market‑competitive compensation solutions that attract, retain, and motivate talent. The position is responsible for incentive plan design and administration, compensation analytics, market benchmarking, annual compensation processes, pay governance initiatives, and Workday compensation operations.

The Senior Manager leverages data‑driven insights, market intelligence, and technology‑enabled solutions to ensure compensation programs are competitive, equitable, compliant, and aligned with organizational performance goals. The role builds upon responsibilities currently focused on incentive administration, market pricing, compensation cycles, compliance, and stakeholder support.

• Compensation Strategy & Consulting:
  Serve as a trusted compensation advisor to HR Business Partners, Talent Acquisition partners, and business leaders on compensation philosophy, pay decisions, program design, and talent‑related compensation issues. Partner with leadership to develop compensation solutions that support attraction, retention, engagement, and performance objectives. Translate compensation principles and market data into practical recommendations for business stakeholders. Support the evolution of compensation frameworks, salary structures, job architecture, and career progression models.
• Incentive Plan Design & Administration:
  Lead the design, modeling, implementation, communication, and administration of short‑term incentive programs across retail and field populations. Partner with Finance, Operations, and HR leaders to ensure incentive plans align with organizational objectives and performance outcomes. Conduct financial modeling and scenario analyses to evaluate plan effectiveness and support decision‑making. Lead governance and continuous improvement efforts, including process optimization, documentation, controls, communications, and system updates.
  
  Conduct post‑cycle reviews and recommend enhancements based on performance outcomes, participant feedback, and market practices. Ensure timely and accurate incentive calculations, approvals, and payouts in partnership with Finance and HR.
• Market Pricing & Benchmarking:
  Lead market pricing activities and job evaluations to ensure compensation programs remain externally competitive and internally equitable. Manage participation in industry salary surveys and maintain strong vendor relationships with market data providers. Perform competitive assessments and develop recommendations regarding pay positioning, salary ranges, and compensation structures. Maintain the integrity and quality of benchmarking, job matching, and market analysis methodologies. Monitor compensation trends and emerging practices across retail, restaurant, hospitality, and service‑sector organizations.
• Compensation Analytics & Insights:
  Develop compensation analytics, dashboards, and executive reporting to support workforce planning and compensation decision‑making. Analyze compensation data to identify trends, risks, opportunities, and organizational insights. Support executive presentations through data‑driven recommendations and business case development. Measure and evaluate the effectiveness of compensation and incentive programs through quantitative and qualitative analysis. Leverage reporting and visualization tools to improve compensation transparency and decision support.
• Compensation Process Ownership:
  Lead the annual merit, promotion, and compensation planning cycles, including Workday configuration, testing, validation, communications, and governance. Own semi‑annual wage adjustment programs and support enterprise compensation initiatives. Ensure compensation processes are scalable, efficient, and aligned with pay‑for‑performance principles. Develop project plans and manage…