Head of Rewards

Role

We’re hiring a Head of Total Rewards to build and run this function at Whatnot.

This role owns how we pay, reward, and support our team as we scale. That includes compensation philosophy, equity strategy, benefits, mobility, and the systems and team behind it. We’re growing fast, expanding internationally, and raising the bar on talent. This role shapes how we compete.

You’ll operate at both the strategy and execution level. You’ll set direction, design the frameworks, advise leadership and the Board, and run the actual work: comp cycles, benefits renewals, and systems. You don’t hand things off. You own them end to end.

You’ll report to the Chief People Officer and partner closely with the CFO, exec team, and Board. This includes Total Rewards strategy, managing one of our largest areas of spend, and building a team that acts as a real partner to the business.

• Set and evolve our Total Rewards strategy across compensation, equity, and benefits

• Own global compensation governance: job architecture, leveling, salary bands, and equity guidelines

• Build and lead a high‑performing Total Rewards team

• Run semi‑annual comp cycles end to end, including budgeting with Finance and calibration across orgs

• Scale benefits globally, balancing local needs, compliance, cost, and quality

• Design international comp and mobility programs (Japan, UK, Germany, and beyond)

• Advise leadership and the Board on executive comp, equity usage, and Compensation Committee matters

• Partner with Finance on budgeting, modeling, and long‑term planning for comp and benefits

• Own comp systems and data (Complete, Pave, Compa, Carta), keeping them accurate and useful

• Ensure compliance across all programs, in partnership with Employment Counsel

People who do well at Whatnot tend to be comfortable figuring things out as they go, biased toward action, and genuinely curious about what they're building. They care more about outcomes than credit and stay close to the product and the people using it.

You’ve built and led Total Rewards at scale, and you know where to be opinionated. You bring 12–15+ years of experience in high‑growth tech companies, including leading Total Rewards through rapid scaling and major inflection points (ideally pre‑IPO to post‑IPO). You’ve set strategy, built the function, and operated it in the real world. You'll bring:

• Deep expertise in compensation strategy and philosophy. You’ve designed job architecture, leveling, market positioning, and equity programs that hold up under scrutiny

• Proven track record building and leading Total Rewards orgs that scale, including the systems, processes, and talent behind them

• Strong international experience. You’ve designed and operated comp, benefits, and mobility programs across multiple regions with different regulatory environments

• Executive presence with substance. You’re trusted by the C‑suite and comfortable advising the Board and Compensation Committee on high‑stakes decisions

• Strong business and financial acumen. You’ve owned or deeply influenced large budgets, built multi‑year comp models, and made trade‑offs that balance cost, competitiveness, and retention

• Built teams that act as strategic partners to the business, not just program owners

• Ability to be hands‑on when needed. You’ll go deep in the data, systems, and details when it matters

• Sound judgment in ambiguity. You make clear calls, explain the tradeoffs, and adjust quickly as the business evolves

• Generous Holiday and Time off Policy

• Health Insurance options including Medical, Dental, Vision

• Work From Home Support

  • Home office setup allowance
  • Monthly allowance for cell phone and internet

• Care benefits

  • Monthly allowance for wellness
  • Annual allowance towards Childcare
  • Lifetime benefit for family planning, such as adoption or fertility expenses

• Retirement; 401k offering for Traditional and Roth accounts in the US (employer match up to 4% of base salary) and Pension plans internationally

• Monthly allowance to dogfood the app

  • All Whatnauts are expected to develop a deep understanding of our product. We’re passionate about building the best user experience, and all employees are expected to use Whatnot as both a buyer and a seller as part of their job (our dogfooding budget makes this fun and easy!).

• Parental Leave

  • 16 weeks of paid parental leave + one month gradual return to work
    * company leave allowances run concurrently with country leave requirements which take precedence.

Whatnot is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer. We value diversity, and we do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, parental status, disability status, or any other status protected by local law. We believe that our work is better and our company culture is improved when we encourage, support, and respect the different skills and experiences represented within our workforce.