Director Compensation

What’s Unique About You Is What Makes Us Better! Diversity is our strength and competitive advantage. Bring your flavor to the Papa John's team today!

Job Summary

The Director of Compensation leads the design, development, implementation, and administration of Papa Johns’ global compensation strategy, programs, policies, and processes. This position is responsible for ensuring compensation programs support the company’s business objectives, attract and retain top talent, and maintain market competitiveness while ensuring compliance with applicable laws and regulations.

The Director serves as the organization’s subject matter expert on compensation and provides strategic leadership for base pay, incentive compensation, job architecture, salary administration, compensation governance, and compensation-related HR technology processes. This role partners closely with executive leadership, Human Resources, Finance, Legal, and the Compensation Committee to deliver effective and compliant compensation programs that support the company's business strategy.

Duties and Responsibilities (other duties as assigned)

• Lead the development, implementation, and administration of enterprise-wide compensation programs, including base salary structures, annual incentive plans, and other variable pay initiatives.
• Evaluate compensation programs, policies, and practices to ensure market competitiveness, internal equity, operational effectiveness, and alignment with organizational objectives.
• Partner with executive leadership, Human Resources, Finance, and Legal to develop compensation strategies that support business goals and talent priorities.
• Oversee participation in compensation surveys and conduct market analyses to support compensation planning, job evaluations, pay decisions, and workforce planning initiatives.
• Manage the annual compensation planning process, including merit increases, promotional increases, market adjustments, and incentive plan administration.
• Lead the administration and governance of job architecture, job evaluations, and compensation-related processes to ensure consistency and compliance across the organization.
• Ensure compliance with applicable federal, state, local, and international compensation regulations through ongoing audits, controls, and process reviews.
• Oversee compensation-related configuration, governance, and strategic direction for HR technology platforms, including Workday and supporting systems.
• Serve as the primary compensation liaison with external consultants, survey providers, legal counsel, auditors, and other third-party partners.
• Develop compensation analyses, recommendations, and materials for executive leadership and the Compensation Committee of the Board of Directors, including market benchmarking, pay-for-performance assessments, and regulatory disclosures.
• Lead, coach, and develop compensation team members by establishing priorities, fostering professional growth, and promoting a high-performance, customer-focused culture.
• Continuously identify opportunities to improve compensation processes, controls, technology, and employee experience through innovation and automation.

Education, Experience & Certifications

• 7+ years of experience in progressive Human Resources/Compensation leadership or related roles
• Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Human Resources, or other related discipline required

​ Functional Skills

• Analytical Skills: effectively uses data to generate insights for operations excellence
• Planning & Prioritization: highest impact, highest value
• Financial & Business Acumen
• Communicates Effectively and Candidly
• Problem Solving; ability to use rigorous logic to solve problems with innovative effective solutions
• Process Improvement: Strive to continually improve
• Ability to build and leverage talent
• Ability to work in a challenging, fast-paced environment and to adapt to new situations as they arise
• Ability to effectively communicate, inform, and influence senior leaders
• Ability to work cross-functionality on multiple initiatives with a successful record of advancing projects

Our Values

• EVERYONE BELONGS - We believe connectedness and belonging are the essential ingredients to our success
• DO THE RIGHT THING - We are relentlessly focused on quality and integrity and make the right choices, even when it's difficult
• PEOPLE FIRST - To craft positive experiences for our customers, we take care of each other first
• INNOVATE TO WIN - We champion and challenge for a better way in all we do
• HAVE FUN - We find joy, create meaningful impact and celebrate the journey together

Our Core Competencies

• CUSTOMER CENTRIC - We leverage data and insights to craft a customer experience that builds relationships, cultivates trust, and delivers excellence
• RESULTS DRIVEN – We focus on measurable outcomes by remaining optimistic, tenacious, and persistent even in the face of challenges
• CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT - We champion for better through strategic risk taking, experimentation and challenging the status quo
• BIAS FOR ACTION - We courageously lead, drive towards decisions, and maintain agility to meet the demands of our dynamic industry
• WINNING TOGETHER - We work together to unlock our full potential by actively collaborating and contributing in a cross-functional capacity

Papa Johns is an equal opportunity employer.

Papa Johns is a federal contractor that participates in the E-Verify program to confirm employment eligibility for each new team member. We also comply with all Right to Work requirements. Official E-Verify and Right to Work notices are available for applicants to review in both English and Spanish.

Everybody loves pizza, which means they also love the people who are behind the scenes working to deliver it. This is complex and challenging work – but let’s face it – it’s also pizza! If you want a fulfilling career with a company that’s always moving forward, we’re the right place.

Papa John's is a Federal Contract employer who participates in E-Verify to confirm employment eligibility for each new team member. For more information please view the following PDFs: E-Verify Poster (English) - Right to Work Poster (English) - E-Verify Poster (Spanish) - Right to Work Poster (Spanish) Papa John's is an Affirmative Action and Equal Opportunity Employer. For more information please click on the following PDF. See terms & conditions for site use.