VP, Total Rewards at Avalara

United States

What You'll Do We are at an inflection point. We are raising the bar on talent, performance, and leadership. Compensation and benefits are one of the most powerful levers we have, shaping who we attract, how we differentiate performance, and how effectively we invest in our workforce. This role owns that lever. You will define how we invest in our people - across cash, equity, and benefits - ensuring we attract and retain top talent while making disciplined trade-offs. You will set the principles and build the systems that allow the company to scale, so leaders can make better decisions, faster, and with consistency. This is one of the highest-leverage roles in the company. You will operate with direct exposure to executive leadership and the board, as well as have a strong voice in shaping decisions that impact our most critical talent investments. #LI-Remote What Your Responsibilities Will Be What you’ll walk into A strong compensation foundation with an opportunity to further scale clarity, consistency, and decision quality Equity and executive compensation programs that need to evolve for the company’s next phase A well-established benefits strategy, with an opportunity to continue strengthening competitiveness, scalability, and alignment to company priorities globally A business that focused on rigor and partnership, with increasing expectations on how we connect rewards to performance and outcomes What you will own Compensation as a business lever Evolve the compensation philosophy anchored in company performance and business strategy Translate business priorities into clear pay decisions - who we invest in, how much, and why Drive strong, consistent pay-for-performance differentiation across the company Lead annual compensation cycles with precision, discipline, and credibility Equity and executive compensation Own the executive compensation strategy, including salary, bonus, and equity programs Design and evolve equity programs to effectively attract, retain, and motivate talent across different company stages Bring clarity and rigor to complex, high-stakes decisions that directly impact senior leadership and company outcomes Benefits as a strategic lever Build on a strong existing foundation to ensure benefits remain competitive, scalable, and aligned to company priorities Partner with the benefits team to evolve programs thoughtfully as the company grows and expands globally Ensure benefits investments are well understood, valued by employees, and aligned to business needs Maintain the right balance between global consistency and local market competitiveness Scale what works Build Total Rewards frameworks that are clear, consistent, and scalable Reduce reliance on exceptions and increase manager accountability by strengthening principles, guardrails, and decision-making quality Continuously refine programs based on business needs, market shifts, and talent outcomes Leverage data and AI to improve decisions Use data, analytics, and AI to improve the quality, speed, and scalability of compensation and benefits decisions Ensure responsible use of data with strong judgment around privacy, governance, and accuracy Embed a proactive insight-led approach across the Total Rewards function Build and lead a high-performing Total Rewards team Build, develop, and retain a team of credible, business-minded compensation and benefits leaders Maintain momentum on the team’s business judgment and partnership across the function, ensuring that they operate as strategic partners, not a transactional service Create leverage so that the function scales through your team and systems, not just your direct involvement What You'll Need to be Successful What great looks like in this role You’ve done this before Built or significantly evolved compensation, equity, and benefits programs in complex environments Operated in both private and public companies, understanding how expectations shift with scale and how to influence in various context Deep experience solving business problems with deep global compensation and benefits knowledge, including strong understanding of markets such as India where we have significant employee presence You operate at an enterprise level Connect rewards decisions directly to business performance and company outcomes Bring strong business understanding to solve real problems, not just optimize programs Make high-quality decisions with incomplete information, balancing talent, cost, and long-term impact Set a clear strategic vision for Total Rewards, evolving the function in line with the company’s growth and changing talent landscape Think in principles and systems and not one-off solutions You are a builder Create clear, scalable frameworks across compensation and benefits that reduce noise, exceptions, and rework Raise the quality of decision-making across the company and not just within your team You are obsessed with using AI and automation to build systems that scale as the company grows and evolves You build strong teams and partnerships Attract and develop high-caliber, respected Total Rewards professionals Build strong, trusted partnerships with People & Culture and business leaders Set a high bar for judgment, business acumen, and partnership Build a team that leaders trust and rely on for critical decisions You leverage data and AI effectively Bring practical experience deploying AI within people practices and programs Apply strong judgment in the confidentiality and responsible use of compensation data Use data and AI to drive better insights and faster decisions Continuously modernize how Total Rewards operates through technology You are proactive and outcome-oriented Take a solution-oriented, forward-looking approach, anticipating challenges before they become issues Position Total Rewards as a function that helps the business stay ahead Balance speed with rigor; simplicity with precision Stay focused on what drives outcomes, not theoretical perfection Avalara is an AI-first Company AI is embedded in our workflows, decision-making, and products. Success here requires embracing AI as an essential capability. You’ll bring experience using AI and AI-related technologies, ready to thrive here. You’ll apply AI every day to business challenges - improving efficiency, contributing solutions, and driving results for your team, our company, and our customers. You’ll grow with AI by staying curious about new trends and best practices, and by sharing what you learn so others can benefit too. How We'll Take Care of You Total Rewards In addition to a great compensation package, paid time off, and paid parental leave, many Avalara employees are eligible for bonuses. Health & Wellness Benefits vary by location but generally include private medical, life, and disability insurance. Inclusive culture and diversity Avalara strongly supports diversity, equity, and inclusion, and is committed to integrating them into our business practices and our organizational culture. We also have a total of 8 employee-run resource groups, each with senior leadership and exec sponsorship. What You Need To Know About Avalara We’re defining the relationship between tax and tech. We’ve already built an industry-leading cloud compliance platform, processing over 54 billion customer API calls and over 6.6 million tax returns a year. Our growth is real - we're a billion dollar business - and we’re not slowing down until we’ve achieved our mission - to be part of every transaction in the world. We’re bright, innovative, and disruptive, like the orange we love to wear. It captures our quirky spirit and optimistic mindset. It shows off the culture we’ve designed, that empowers our people to win. We’ve been different from day one. Join us, and your career will be too. We’re An Equal Opportunity Employer Supporting diversity and inclusion is a cornerstone of our company — we don’t want people to fit into our culture, but to enrich it. All qualified candidates will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, creed, religion, age, gender, national orientation, disability, sexual orientation, US Veteran status, or any other factor protected by law. If you require any reasonable adjustments during the recruitment process, please let us know.