In short

• As the Head of Compensation, you will lead the strategy, design, and operational execution of our global compensation programs across a multi-market footprint. While you will collaborate closely with the Senior Director of Total Rewards to shape our overarching global strategy, you will drive the design, building, and operational execution within your space. We are looking for a technical expert and a practical builder who acts as a sharp strategic thought partner—someone who brings fresh compensation design perspectives to the table and stewards them from conception to execution. Your mission is to look at our structural complexity through a design lens, translating it into clean, streamlined rewards frameworks that make practical sense to leaders and employees alike - making compensation clear, accessible, and actionable
• The Head of Compensation role is an IC contributor with strategic oversight and will report to Senior Director Total Rewards on the Total Rewards team supporting the global organization
• Compensation strategy & architecture: Collaborate closely with the Senior Director of Total Rewards to shape our overarching rewards strategy, while taking the clear lead on designing and evolving the frameworks beneath it. From a pure compensation design perspective, you will own the development and maintenance of our global salary structures, pay bands, and grading frameworks - ensuring they are internally aligned, market-competitive, and scale-ready across all regions
• Thought partner & advisory: Serve as the primary subject matter expert and trusted advisor. Provide clear guidance and objective logic on high-impact compensation decisions, critical retention packages, and off-cycle requests
• Annual review execution: Own the global annual compensation review cycle end-to-end. Partner across functional teams to manage financial modeling, budget planning, data verification, and timeline execution, making the process cleaner and more efficient each year
• Systems optimization & automation: Identify operational bottlenecks and manual processes within the compensation function. Collaborate with our HRIS team to build scalable tools, templates, and automated workflows that reduce administrative strain and improve data accuracy
• Market intelligence & analytics: Manage our participation in global salary surveys. Translate highly complex quantitative data sets into straightforward, actionable insights and competitive positioning recommendations for leadership

Your story

• Global experience: You bring 10+ years of dedicated compensation experience within a global organization, with a proven track record of managing structures across multiple international regions simultaneously
• Core technical mastery: Deep operational grounding in job architecture evaluation, salary tier design, short-term variable incentives, and equity program mechanics
• Infrastructure builder: Demonstrated experience designing, launching, or heavily remodeling compensation programs and infrastructure from scratch, rather than simply maintaining existing corporate legacy systems
• System and data fluency: Highly advanced analytical skills with deep experience leveraging benchmarking platforms and modern HRIS systems to build automated models that business leaders rely on
• The explorer spirit: You possess a deep sense of professional curiosity. You are willing to rethink conventional compensation norms and venture into unknown solutions to find better ways of working
• Strong ownership: You have the resilience and determination to operate effectively without a predefined map or rulebook. You are entirely comfortable taking a complex, ambiguous problem, building a structured solution, and owning the execution from start to finish
• Big picture thinking: You understand how local talent dynamics, global market shifts, and corporate fiscal budgets interact, allowing you to design proactive programs that protect company stability
• Grounded influence: You communicate directly and clearly, avoiding unnecessary technical jargon. You focus on building cross-functional and cross-cultural consensus through transparent data and straightforward storytelling
• Calm and objective collaborative style: Compensation topics are naturally sensitive. You remain calm, supportive, and completely objective during sensitive alignment conversations, creating a predictable and safe space for dialogue

Our Total Rewards team operates with a broad global mandate across a 5,000-person organization, managing compensation, equity, benefits, and international mobility. Despite our small size, we maintain a high level of autonomy and work directly with senior leadership to drive impactful decisions for our people.We are committed to elevating our standards by refining program design, optimizing operational processes, and leveraging data-driven tools for greater efficiency. If you thrive in an environment dedicated to continuous improvement and smarter ways of working, we invite you to join us

Just by the banks of the Limmat you’ll find our largest global hub in Zürich West – On Labs – where you can hike up 12 floors through our custom-built spiral trail

What we offer

• On is a place that is centered around growth and progress. We offer an environment designed to give people the tools to develop holistically – to stay active, to learn, explore and innovate. Our distinctive approach combines a supportive, team-oriented atmosphere, with access to personal self-care for both physical and mental well-being, so each person is led by purpose
• On is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We are committed to creating a work environment that is fair and inclusive, where all decisions related to recruitment, advancement, and retention are free of discrimination
• Our full process can last about eight weeks from application to offer, because we care about getting it right. These steps explain how we usually do things

Ready to dig into the details?This second interview will be held with your future manager and will focus on the specifics of the job. Together you’ll delve into your unique skills and experiences and how they could be relevant at On. It's also a time to assess how you might feel working side-by-side. Bring any questions you have about the job, the team or anything else you might like to know – this is an open forum

Are we a good fit?We’ll get together internally to share our feedback and decide if we’re a match. We know that job searching is a big time investment, so it’s not a decision we take lightly. It’s also time for you to reflect on the experience – are we the right place for you?No matter the outcome, we’ll give you meaningful feedback

You'll start by submitting your application to a specific role