Sr. Manager Total Rewards presso T. Marzetti Company

The Marzetti Company (Nasdaq: MZTI) manufactures and sells specialty food products. Our retail brands include Marzetti® dressings and dips, New York Bakery™ garlic breads, and Sister Schubert’s® dinner rolls, in addition to exclusive license agreements for Olive Garden® dressings, Chick-fil-A® sauces and dressings, Buffalo Wild Wings® sauces, Arby’s® sauces, Subway® sauces, and Texas Roadhouse® steak sauces and frozen rolls. Our foodservice business supplies sauces, dressings, breads, and pasta to many of the top restaurant chains in the United States.

At Marzetti, our mission is to make every meal better through high-quality, flavorful food. Led by our purpose, to nourish growth with all that we do, our team members are dedicated to creating great tasting food and cultivating deep and lasting relationships.

Reporting to the Vice President Total Rewards, the Sr. Manager Total Rewards supports the strategic development, design, implementation, communication, maintenance and compliance of all compensation and benefits programs, including executive compensation, AIP and LTI programs, to align with the company’s Total Rewards philosophy and business objectives. Under the guidance of the Vice President Total Rewards, this  is a highly strategic individual contributor position that will work to identify, develop, and deliver strategic compensation programs that meet and anticipate the internal needs of the organization while monitoring external trends in the marketplace. In partnership with the Vice President Total Rewards, this individual will also drive purposeful benefits strategy, including financial assessment of ongoing programs and viability of new offerings. Manages the annual Health & Welfare budget.     

• Support the strategic development of the total rewards strategy to ensure programs are fully aligned with the business strategy, are fiscally responsible, market competitive and support the attraction and retention of high performing talent. Identify and execute tactics to achieve the strategy, including project planning relating to Total Rewards program development, revision, and/or re-design.
• Partner with the Vice President Total Rewards to architect executive compensation strategies, including preparation of materials for the Compensation Committee of the Board of Directors. Manage the annual Pool of Stock grants, and any welcome grants provided for new hires. Perform annual LTI grant analysis to calculate increases in expense for accounting/finance. Assess recommended changes to LTI grants by level annually, prepare materials for the August Board meeting, and communicate approved grants to leaders, including participant communications.
• Partner with the Vice President Total Rewards to drive purposeful benefits strategy including new offerings, premium development and management of the annual Health & Welfare budget. Assess potential changes with respect to the Deferred Compensation Program, the ESOP, and the 401k Plan.
• Partner with HR and business leaders to enable successful implementation and acceptance of compensation and benefits programs companywide. Establish, build and maintain strong relationships with leaders across the organization to ensure our Total Rewards offerings support our strategic objectives, are competitive, valued, efficient, and aligned with our overall Total Rewards philosophy.
• Lead projects and take an active part in the management and deployment of compensation-related activities and programs, including project management, partnering with appropriate internal and external resources, and ensuring that projects are on-time and on-budget, while achieving desired goals and outcomes.
• Direct the annual salaried employee compensation process, including the merit review cycle and communications to employees and leaders regarding compensation philosophy and structure. Manage the design and development of compensation planning tools to assist and guide managers through compensation decisions.
• Direct the annual hourly employee compensation process, including partnering with leaders in Supply Chain and Operations to better understand local benchmarks and competitive information. Develop the strategy for hourly compensation, including philosophy and guiding principles to ensure an agile workforce for the future.
• Participate in the team to design and implement the Manufacturing Incentive Plan for hourly team members, in partnership with Finance and Supply Chain/Operations.
• Partner with Benefits Managers to ensure that the Total Rewards programs are complimentary and meet the unique needs of the organization. This includes an annual review of programs, identification of gaps, recommendations for improvement and cost-benefit analysis.
• Provide subject matter advice and expertise in support of M&A activities. Define and manage the company’s compensation structures as the business grows and expands via acquisitions.
• Plan, develop and/or participate in area and industry compensation surveys or special compensation studies, including market-based pricing, to ensure the company’s competitive position within the marketplace. Review and analyze findings, assess unique company needs, and develop specific recommendations to management with respect to the compensation structure. Prepare pay equity studies periodically for review by the Company’s Board of Directors.
• Use metrics and models to understand and analyze current compensation trends and predict future trends. Create models to forecast the effect of compensation on key financial metrics. Use business acumen and analysis to define areas impacted by compensation and correlate findings with business metrics to make recommendations. Regularly monitor compensation programs through employee and management feedback to ensure maximum ROI and employee perceived value of compensation spend. 
• Manage relationships with compensation vendor partners, including full understanding of databases to ensure successful survey completion and updates to jobs on an annual basis.
• Ensure strong governance and compliance with all pertinent regulatory and legislative requirements, including FLSA and pay equity laws, etc. Conduct an FLSA assessment and analyze the impact of changes to salaried non-exempt employee status from a compensation and benefits perspective.
• Maintain credentials and membership with professional associations such as World at Work to keep abreast of trends within the market regarding compensation issues and legislative or regulatory trends.

Communications

• Strong communicator with the ability to develop strong relationships with internal customers and external partners including WTW.
• Direct the preparation, development and distribution of all employee and manager communications regarding compensation, including tools utilized during the annual merit cycle.
• Lead the communication of any compensation philosophy or structure changes.
• Perform as liaison between others in the Total Rewards pillar (benefits and payroll) and employees with respect to compensation matters.

Leadership

• Able to identify and drive projects and initiatives to improve the efficiency and quality of compensation programs.
• Provide guidance and assistance to employees and managers regarding compensation policies and practices, and the utilization of available compensation tools.
• Provide analytical expertise, training, and support to others on the Total Rewards team and HR Business Partners, through guidance and interpretation of various compensation policies.

• Strategic Mindset
• Decision Quality
• Plans and Aligns
• Ensures Accountability
• Communicates Effectively
• Collaborates