Director, Total Rewards & People Operations

Your Impact 
 
Alpha-9 Oncology is seeking an experienced and strategic Director, Total Rewards & People Operations to lead the design, execution, and administration of our global rewards and people operations programs. As Alpha-9 continues to scale with operations in the United States and Canada, this role will serve as a key partner to People, Finance, Legal, and business leaders to ensure our compensation, benefits, HR operations, compliance, and employee experience programs are competitive, compliant, and aligned with our business strategy.

Reporting to the Chief People Officer, you will shape and evolve Alpha-9's total rewards philosophy while also providing operational leadership across HR systems, leave administration, employee lifecycle processes, and Canadian employment compliance. This role offers a unique opportunity to build scalable infrastructure and influence organizational growth while ensuring employees have an exceptional experience throughout their employment journey. This role is based in Boston, MA.

How You’ll Contribute 

• Define and execute Alpha-9's global total rewards strategy, including compensation, equity, benefits, retirement, wellness, and recognition programs.
• Lead annual compensation processes, including merit planning, promotions, market adjustments, bonus administration, and equity review cycles.
• Drive compensation benchmarking, job architecture, career frameworks, and market analyses to ensure competitive and equitable pay practices.
• Oversee all employee benefits programs in the U.S. and Canada, including broker relationships, renewals, plan design, open enrollment, and employee communications.
• Lead People Operations processes across the employee lifecycle, including onboarding, offboarding, employee records management, policy administration, and workforce reporting.
• Serve as the primary owner of Rippling administration, configuration, data integrity, process optimization, reporting, and vendor management.
• Oversee leave of absence administration, including FMLA, PFML, short-term disability, long-term disability, parental leave, ADA accommodations, and applicable Canadian leave programs.
• Ensure compliance with U.S. and Canadian employment laws related to compensation, benefits, pay transparency, employment standards, payroll, leaves, and HR policies.
• Partner with Legal and external advisors on immigration, cross-border employment matters, employee mobility, and workforce compliance initiatives.
• Develop and maintain HR policies, employee handbooks, standard operating procedures, and governance practices across multiple jurisdictions.
• Provide strategic support during organizational changes, relocations, workforce planning initiatives, and employee transitions.
• Analyze workforce, compensation, benefits, and HR operations data to identify trends and inform leadership decisions.
• Build and mentor scalable People Operations capabilities that support Alpha-9's continued growth.

The Skills You Bring 

• B.A. in Human Resources, Business Administration, Finance, or a related field.
• 10+ years of progressive HR experience with significant expertise in Total Rewards, Benefits, Compensation, and HR Operations.
• Demonstrated experience designing and administering compensation, bonus, equity, and benefit programs within high-growth biotechnology or life sciences organizations.
• Strong knowledge of compensation benchmarking, salary structures, job architecture, and market pricing methodologies.
• Deep understanding of U.S. and Canadian employment laws impacting compensation, benefits, leave administration, and HR compliance.
• Hands-on experience administering and optimizing HRIS platforms.
• Expertise managing employee leave programs, accommodations processes, disability programs, and related vendor relationships.
• Demonstrated ability to operate both strategically and tactically in a fast-paced, resource-constrained environment.
• Exceptional judgment, discretion, and ability to manage sensitive information.
• Strong project management and change management capabilities with a focus on creating scalable processes.