Senior Compensation Analyst (Principal)

Department: Human Resources

Classification: Administrative Faculty

Job Category: Administrative or Professional Faculty

Job Type: Full-Time

Work Schedule: Full-time (1.0 FTE, 40 hrs/wk)

Location: Fairfax, VA

Workplace Type: Remote Eligible

Sponsorship Eligibility: Not eligible for visa sponsorship

Salary: Salary commensurate with education and experience

Criminal Background Check: Yes

Financial Background Check: Yes

About the Department:

GMU Human Resources is dedicated to creating a people-centered environment where every employee feels valued, supported, and empowered to thrive. Our mission is to attract, engage, and retain talented faculty and staff through meaningful programs and practices that foster connection, growth, and well-being.

As a trusted strategic partner, our team champions an all-inclusive and innovative culture that prioritizes community and belonging. We play a vital role in advancing the university’s goals by designing and delivering services that support each employee’s professional and personal journey.

Serving close to 10,000 employees and retirees, our HR team continuously evolves to meet the needs of a dynamic, diverse, and dedicated workforce, building a workplace where people can do their best work and feel a strong sense of purpose.

As part of that commitment, George Mason University is proud to offer a wide range of benefits, including:

• Work-life Balance and Benefits;
• Generous leave benefits, including paid annual leave, paid holidays, paid sick leave, and paid two-week winter break (subject to annual approval);
• Tuition exemption benefits—covering up to 12 credit hours each academic year—for eligible courses at Mason, and professional development. Yes, you can earn a college education while earning a salary!;
• Commuter Choice Transit Benefit;
• Health/dental/vision benefits;
• Tuition dependent benefit (restrictions apply);
• Virginia Retirement System Hybrid Plan or Optional Retirement Plan for Higher Education; and
• Patriot Perks discounts to restaurants, events, and more!

About the Position:

The Senior Compensation Analyst (Principal) serves as a senior subject matter expert within the Total Rewards team. Under the leadership of the Sr. Director of Total Rewards, this role leads advanced compensation analysis, modeling, and program design initiatives that support the university’s strategic and operational goals. This role partners with HR and institutional leaders to deliver sophisticated, data-informed compensation solutions that align with George Mason University’s mission, values, and workforce strategy.

This position navigates complex data environments, conducts high-level quantitative analysis, and develops methodologies to evaluate and shape compensation policy, pay practices, and financial planning. The Principal Analyst contributes to the modernization of Mason’s market-based compensation framework and provides expert consultation on salary structures, career architecture, job evaluation, and pay equity. This role requires advanced analytical capability, compensation acumen, cross-functional collaboration, and strategic influence.

Responsibilities:

Advanced Compensation Analysis and Modeling

• Leads the design and execution of advanced compensation analyses, including salary modeling, scenario forecasting, and pay distribution studies across a broad range of employee populations;
• Establishes compensation modeling methodologies to assess employee- and cost-impact of base pay changes, merit processes, job architecture refinements, and incentive strategies;
• Delivers regular and ad hoc compensation reports, dashboards, and visualizations to support university decision-making;
• Analyzes trends in internal mobility, turnover, pay equity, and competitiveness; and
• Serves as a compensation analytics lead for senior-level reporting needs in coordination with HR leadership. 

Compensation Program Strategy and Governance

• Contributes to the development and evolution of the university’s job architecture, pay structures, and career frameworks to ensure alignment with market competitiveness, internal equity, and institutional workforce goals;
• Collaborates with the compensation team to ref