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The Senior Compensation Professional serves as a senior individual contributor responsible for the end‑to‑end execution, oversight, and continuous improvement of complex short‑term incentive compensation programs supporting insurance lines of business. This role ensures incentive compensation outcomes are accurate, compliant, scalable, and aligned with business strategy by applying advanced analytical expertise, deep technical knowledge, and independent judgment within established governance frameworks.
The Senior Compensation Professional operates with minimal supervision, leads complex validations, supports incentive strategy execution, and plays a key role in system enhancements, audit readiness, and cross‑functional initiatives. This individual materially influences outcomes beyond their own deliverables and is recognized as a go‑to resource for incentive compensation expertise across the organization.
The role requires advanced, cross‑functional expertise across Compliance, Enrollment Operations, Information Technology, Sales Operations, Accounting, Finance, and Payroll, with accountability for anticipating and mitigating risks that affect incentive eligibility, calculations, system logic, audit posture, and financial reporting. The incumbent acts as a subject matter expert (SME) and trusted advisor, regularly consulted for complex issues, escalations, and design considerations.
Key Responsibilities
Incentive Compensation Administration & Oversight
- Lead the administration and oversight of complex short‑term incentive compensation programs, ensuring accuracy, compliance, and timely payout across insurance lines of business.
- Serve as an escalation point for complex incentive discrepancies, calculation disputes, and non‑standard compensation scenarios.
- Interpret and apply complex incentive plan designs and governance standards to resolve ambiguous or high‑risk compensation issues.
- Anticipate downstream impacts of plan changes, roster movements, eligibility updates, or market adjustments on incentive outcomes.
Systems, Data & Technical Leadership
- Lead user acceptance testing (UAT) for incentive compensation platforms (ICM/Varicent, Workday), including test strategy, scenario development, execution oversight, and defect resolution.
- Provide advanced troubleshooting for system configuration, data integrations, and calculation logic, partnering closely with IT and system administrators.
- Validate production readiness for system releases, platform upgrades, and incentive program changes.
- Design and review complex manual calculations and off‑cycle incentive payments; provide peer consultation and quality assurance.
Analytics, Reporting & Governance
- Oversee advanced validation of compensable data, incentive calculations, and payout files prior to payroll submission.
- Develop, enhance, and interpret monthly and quarterly incentive scorecards and reporting for leadership and governance forums.
- Identify trends, risks, and recurring issues; recommend process, control, or system enhancements to improve accuracy and efficiency.
- Establish and maintain incentive calculation documentation, validation methodologies, SOPs, and control artifacts.
Cross‑Functional Leadership & Influence
- Act as a primary incentive compensation SME and consultative partner to Compliance, Sales Operations, Enrollment, Finance, Payroll, and HR stakeholders.
- Lead or significantly contribute to cross‑functional initiatives related to incentive plan changes, system modernization, or operational improvements.
- Support internal and external audits by independently explaining incentive methodologies, calculations, controls, and system logic.
- Proactively identify compliance, financial, or operational risks and recommend mitigation strategies.
Sales, Finance & Business Acumen
- Demonstrate advanced understanding of sales structures, roles, territories, and performance measures and how they translate into incentive earnings.
- Partner with Finance to support incentive accruals, forecasting, reconciliation, and variance analysis.
- Advise stakeholders on accounting and financial impacts of incentive plan design and payout timing.
Judgment & Accountability
- Exercise independent judgment in complex, ambiguous situations with material business or financial impact.
- Influence decisions related to incentive processes, controls, and operational execution within established governance frameworks.
- Mentor and guide lower‑level compensation professionals, sharing expertise and best practices.
Use your skills to make an impact
Required Qualifications
- Bachelor's degree or equivalent professional experience( Finance and or IT background)
- 5 or more years of experience administering or supporting complex short‑term incentive compensation programs.
- Previous experience with target incentive compensation programs
- Advanced analytical and problem‑solving skills with a demonstrated ability to manage complexity and ambiguity.
- Proven ability to work independently with minimal supervision while influencing outcomes across teams.
- Strong command of incentive compensation governance, data validation, and audit standards.
- Recognized SME with experience serving as the escalation point for complex incentive or system issues.
- Strong cross‑functional leadership skills, with demonstrated influence across Compliance, IT, Sales, Finance, Enrollment, and Payroll.
- Experience supporting or leading large‑scale incentive plan changes, platform enhancements, or operational transformations.
- Advanced understanding of accounting and financial reporting impacts related to incentive compensation.
- Exceptional communication skills, with the ability to clearly influence stakeholders and explain complex concepts at all organizational levels.
Preferred skills
- Extensive experience administering incentive compensation programs within health insurance lines of business.
- Advanced hands‑on experience with ICM platforms, Varicent, and Workday, including system logic interpretation and UAT leadership.
Additional Information
In this role you will report to an Associate Director of Compensation.
This role is fully remote within the US.
This role could have up to 10% travel based on business need.
Travel: While this is a remote position, occasional travel to Humana's offices for training or meetings may be required.
Scheduled Weekly Hours
40
Pay Range
The compensation range below reflects a good faith estimate of starting base pay for full time (40 hours per week) employment at the time of posting. The pay range may be higher or lower based on geographic location and individual pay will vary based on demonstrated job related skills, knowledge, experience, education, certifications, etc.
$94,900 - $130,500 per year
This job is eligible for a bonus incentive plan. This incentive opportunity is based upon company and/or individual performance.
Description of Benefits
Humana, Inc. and its affiliated subsidiaries (collectively, “Humana”) offers competitive benefits that support whole-person well-being. Associate benefits are designed to encourage personal wellness and smart healthcare decisions for you and your family while also knowing your life extends outside of work. Among our benefits, Humana provides medical, dental and vision benefits, 401(k) retirement savings plan, time off (including paid time off, company and personal holidays, volunteer time off, paid parental and caregiver leave), short-term and long-term disability, life insurance and many other opportunities.
Application Deadline: 03-16-2026
About us
Humana Inc. (NYSE: HUM) is committed to putting health first – for our teammates, our customers and our company. Through our Humana insurance services and CenterWell healthcare services, we make it easier for the millions of people we serve to achieve their best health – delivering the care and service they need, when they need it. These efforts are leading to a better quality of life for people with Medicare, Medicaid, families, individuals, military service personnel, and communities at large.
Equal Opportunity Employer
It is the policy of Humana not to discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment because of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, marital status, genetic information, disability or protected veteran status. It is also the policy of Humana to take affirmative action, in compliance with Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act and VEVRAA, to employ and to advance in employment individuals with disability or protected veteran status, and to base all employment decisions only on valid job requirements. This policy shall apply to all employment actions, including but not limited to recruitment, hiring, upgrading, promotion, transfer, demotion, layoff, recall, termination, rates of pay or other forms of compensation and selection for training, including apprenticeship, at all levels of employment.