Director, Global Compensation

Why Join Us?   Be a hero for our rare disease patients   At Ultragenyx, we fundamentally believe that taking real impactful action to care for the needs of patients and our people is always the right thing to do. To achieve this goal, our vision is to lead the future of rare disease medicine. For us, this means going where other biopharma companies won’t go – challenging the status quo and creating a new model that advances our field so more patients and caregivers can benefit from life-changing treatments. We do this by following the science, applying a novel rapid development approach, making innovative medicines at fair and reasonable prices, and creating a collaborative ecosystem to reach patients in ways that are most meaningful for them.    Our commitment and care for patients extends to our people, so culture is an essential cornerstone for Ultragenyx. We remain continuously focused on creating a supportive and inclusive environment of profound learning and growth – so employees can thrive in all areas of their lives, in and outside of work. Ultimately, we want to be an organization where we would be proud for our family, friends and children to work.   If you want to have a meaningful impact, do the best work of your career, and grow a lot, both professionally and personally, come join our team.

Position Summary:

ultradedicated – Your biggest challenges yield rare possibilities

The Director, Global Compensation provides deep broad-based compensation expertise and counsel across Ultragenyx, with a focus on supporting the company's more complex and globally distributed business areas. The role advises HR Business Partners, Talent Acquisition, and business leaders on complex and innovative compensation solutions. Drawing on extensive global pharmaceutical or biotechnology experience across multiple regions, the Director leads market intelligence, job architecture, salary structures, and compensation frameworks to support equitable, competitive, and consistent pay decisions aligned with Ultragenyx's compensation philosophy. 

Work Model: 

Remote: Officially documented as working full-time from home, with travel to Ultragenyx's offices or other locations on occasion as needed.

Responsibilities:

• Serve as the lead compensation advisor for assigned complex and global business areas, consulting on strategic hires, retention, promotions, job leveling, organizational changes, annual compensation planning, and other high-impact compensation decisions. 
• Develop an in-depth understanding of business strategies, talent priorities, organizational structures, and regional market conditions to anticipate compensation implications and recommend practical solutions. 
• Analyze complex compensation issues and develop market-informed recommendations that balance business objectives, external competitiveness, internal equity, global consistency, and compensation philosophy. 
• Design and recommend innovative compensation solutions to support critical talent, retention needs, and strategic business initiatives. Advise senior HR and business leaders, clearly communicating data-driven recommendations and exercising sound judgment. 
• Represent client needs and emerging business issues in the design, enhancement, and implementation of broad-based compensation programs, frameworks, policies, and processes. 
• Lead the global compensation market intelligence strategy, including survey vendor relationships and survey investment decisions. Oversee market pricing and benchmarking across functions, levels, and geographies using relevant data sources, translating complex analyses into clear recommendations. Attend vendor and industry conferences. 
• Own the global job architecture, leveling framework, job evaluation methodology, salary structures,, ensuring consistent and market-aligned application across regions, organizational structures, and career paths. 
• Maintain deep knowledge of pharmaceutical and biotechnology compensation practices and regional market and regulatory considerations across North America, EMEA, LATAM, and APAC, incorporating relevant developments into compensation recommendations. 
• Lead annual market reviews for assigned client groups, including assessment of market movement, competitiveness, salary structure alignment, midpoint progression, range adjustments, and pay compression; validate market recommendations and updated salary ranges for supported functions. 
• Provide subject matter leadership for annual compensation planning, global pay transparency and pay equity, and broad-based program enhancements, ensuring client decisions and application remain aligned with compensation philosophy, governance standards, and business priorities. 

Requirements:

• Bachelor's degree required and 10+ years of progressive broad-based compensation experience in high-growth, global environments; experience in a global public pharmaceutical, biotechnology, or life sciences company strongly preferred. 

• Demonstrated compensation business partnering experience with HR Business Partners, Talent Acquisition, and business leaders across multiple functions, geographies, and organizational levels. 

• Deep experience with market pricing, benchmarking, salary structure design, job architecture, job leveling, job evaluation, and compensation decision support. 

• International compensation experience, including experience supporting EMEA, LATAM, and/or APAC, preferred. 

• Excellent communication, influence, and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to explain compensation concepts clearly to HR and business audiences. 
• Experience with life sciences survey frameworks and compensation data sources such as Aon/Radford, Mercer, WTW, or similar providers. 
• Strong analytical, modeling, and problem-solving skills, with the ability to translate market data and compensation analysis into clear, practical recommendations. 
• Ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment while maintaining strong attention to detail, sound judgment, and a collaborative approach. 

#LI-CS1 #LI-Remote

The typical annual salary range for this full-time position is listed below. This range reflects the characteristics of the job, such as required skills and qualifications and is based on the office location noted in this job posting. The range may also be adjusted based on applicant's geographic location.

This position is eligible for annual bonus and equity incentives. Actual individual pay is determined by demonstrated experience and internal equity alignment.

Pay Range$212,200—$262,100 USD  Full Time employees across the globe enjoy a range of benefits, including, but not limited to:   ·         Generous vacation time and public holidays observed by the company ·         Volunteer days ·         Long term incentive and Employee stock purchase plans or equivalent offerings ·         Employee wellbeing benefits ·         Fitness reimbursement ·         Tuition sponsoring ·         Professional development plans   * Benefits vary by region and country

Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical is an equal opportunity employer and prohibits unlawful discrimination based on race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, national origin/ancestry, age, disability, marital and veteran status, and any other status or classification protected by applicable federal, state, and/or local laws. Reasonable accommodation will be provided for all protected statuses or classifications protected by applicable law, including individuals with disabilities, disabled veterans, for pregnancy, childbirth, and related medical conditions, and based on sincerely held religious beliefs. Applicants can request an accommodation prior to accepting a job offer. If you require reasonable accommodation in completing this application, or in any part of the recruitment process, you may contact Talent Acquisition by emailing us at talentacquisition@ultragenyx.com.

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Note to External Recruiters: All candidate activity and open positions are managed strictly through our Human Resources Department. Our Human Resources Department kindly requests that recruiters not contact employees/hiring managers directly in an attempt to solicit business and present candidates. Please note that failure to comply with this request will be a factor in determining a professional relationship with our organization. Submission of unsolicited resumes prior to an agreement set in place between the Human Resources Department and the recruiting agency will not create any implied obligation.  Inquiries on developing a recruiting relationship with us, may be directed to: talentacquisition@ultragenyx.com.