Director, Total Rewards

1 big thing: Axios is seeking a strategic, execution-focused Director of Total Rewards to design and lead a competitive, scalable, and mission-aligned total rewards strategy that supports our growth and empowers our people to do their best work. 

Why it matters: At Axios, people are our product. A thoughtful, data-driven total rewards program helps us attract, retain, and motivate top talent—while reinforcing our values, culture, and commitment to fairness. This role will shape how we reward performance, support well-being, and invest in our teams as Axios continues to grow.

Go deeper: This role sits on our People Operations team alongside employee experience and compliance. It reports to the Senior Director of People Operations and manages one direct report. Responsibilities include:  

Total Rewards Strategy 

• Evaluate current-state compensation and benefits programs against future-state needs and recommend data-driven enhancements.
• Own and evolve our compensation and benefits strategy in alignment with business priorities. 
• Conduct compensation market analyses across the organization to ensure competitive market pricing and internal equity, informing compensation and benefits decisions.
• Partner with Talent Acquisition to benchmark roles and design competitive total rewards packages.
• Lead the annual rewards cycle, including merit and promotion reviews, in close partnership with FP&A on budget modeling.
• Serve as a subject matter expert and consultant to business leaders on the company's total rewards philosophy. 

Benefits Management

• Lead annual benefits renewals and budget modeling to provide Finance with the accurate data needed for informed decision-making.
• Own open enrollment strategy and execution, including communications, presentations, and employee support (office hours and enrollment sessions).
• Manage benefits vendors and broker relationships, including evaluation and ongoing performance.
• Design and launch a holistic wellness program that supports employee well-being, engagement, and retention.

Cross-functional Partnership & Leadership

• Serve as a trusted partner to leadership and stakeholders across Finance, Talent Acquisition, Talent Development, and Newsroom leadership to ensure seamless experiences. 
• Facilitate presentations and training across total rewards, including annual open enrollment and rewards cycle, such as merit and promotion reviews.
• Foster a collaborative culture that emphasizes innovation, accountability, and continuous improvement.
• Lead, coach, and develop one direct report while fostering a collaborative, high-performing team culture.

Process Optimization & Operations

• Leverage data, analytics, AI, and automation to improve and optimize total rewards processes, scalability, and tools.
• Continuously assess processes and programs to identify opportunities to enhance total rewards initiatives and evolve the total rewards program. 
• Lead planning and execution for multiple total rewards initiatives, ensuring clear communication and timely delivery.

The details: Ideal candidates will demonstrate most of the following:

• 8+ years of compensation and benefits experience, specifically in digital media/news industry 
• Comprehensive knowledge of compensation and benefits plan design and administration
• Experience with HRIS systems (e.g. Workday) and advanced proficiency in Excel and Google Sheets (e.g. pivot tables, vlookup) for compensation and benefits budget modeling 
• Familiarity with compensation benchmarking surveys (e.g. Croners, Comp Analyst) and related compensation and benefits tools 
• Strong analytical and detail oriented approach ensuring accuracy in compensation and benefits data and reporting.
• Understanding of monetary rewards and non-monetary recognition as methods to promote employee engagement and retention.
• Strong project management skills, with experience delivering total rewards initiatives from concept to execution.
• A collaborative, cross-functional mindset and the ability to influence leaders and navigate ambiguity.
• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills and the ability to build relationships across all levels of the organization.
• Experience managing benefits plans and have prior experience with self-funded benefit plans and broad vendor selection
• Strategic, execution-oriented leader with high EQ and accountability, comfortable managing time-sensitive requests in a fast-paced environment.

 

​​Starting salary for this role is in the r