Total Rewards Specialist

About Ascend

Ascend empowers entrepreneurial CPAs to reach their goals with an innovative growth model that brings their firms into the new age. Backed by private equity from people-focused Alpine Investors, Ascend is building a modern platform for regional accounting firms that enables them to stay independent while accessing the resources of a large CPA firm to help them grow. Ascend provides access to growth capital, robust talent acquisition, best-of-breed technology, a catalytic leadership system, shared back-office services, and modernized equity incentives so that firms can surmount today’s industry challenges and reach their full potential. Founded in January 2023, the company attained revenues sufficient to qualify it as a Top 100 U.S. accounting firm within six months of operation. For more information, visit ascendtogether.com.

About Alpine Investors

Alpine Investors is a people-driven private equity firm that is committed to building great companies by working with, learning from, and developing exceptional people. Alpine prides itself on fostering cultures where people value empowerment, diversity, fairness, integrity, and intellectual honesty. Founded in 2001, Alpine specializes in investments in companies in the software and services industries. Alpine has over $15 billion in AUM and has offices in San Francisco, New York, and Salt Lake City.

For more information on the firm, visit www.alpineinvestors.com 

Position Summary

As the Total Rewards Specialist for Ascend, your job is to ensure we are delivering on our promise of better employee experience, benefits and compensation for our employees than what they could otherwise experience at independent regional firms. As we scale rapidly in the coming years, we will have opportunities to leverage negotiating power with brokers and vendors to establish better rates and superior benefits plans. From a compensation point of view, our unique buy-in and bonus program stand to set us apart compared to benchmarks. Your work across benefits programming and compensation analysis will allow our talent team to attract top talent in the industry and will help our CEOs budget for and retain A players within their firms (EE retention 85%+).   You will serve as the “face” of benefits administration internally and will personally be responsible and accountable for ensuring our EEs have a stellar experience.

Key Responsibilities
Working with the Director of People Operations, the Total Rewards Specialist will be responsible for the following:

Benefits Management:

• Design, implement, and manage competitive benefits programs to enhance employee experience and retention
• Partner with brokers and vendors to negotiate favorable rates and improve benefits offerings as the company scales
• Administer benefits programs, ensuring a seamless experience for employees and serving as the primary point of contact for benefits-related inquiries
• Analyze and optimize benefits strategies to ensure cost-effectiveness and employee satisfaction
• Monitor and evaluate benefits utilization trends to recommend improvements and cost-saving opportunities
• Lead annual benefits enrollment processes and ensure accurate and timely execution

Benefits Strategy:

• Assist in evaluating and potentially transitioning to a self-funded insurance plan or a more competitive provider by 2025
• Support the renegotiation of benefits plans with Cigna to optimize cost and coverage
• Research and assess the feasibility of moving benefits administration from Bswift to Workday to streamline processes and reduce vendor costs

Regional Platform and Add-On Integration:

• Support M&A-related benefits and compensation integrations, ensuring a smooth transition for newly acquired firms
• Collaborate with leadership and HR teams to align benefits and compensation strategies across all regional platforms and add-ons
• Ensure consistency in benefits offerings across firms while adapting to local market needs
• Act as a strategic advisor to leadership on benefits trends and best practices for newly integrated firms

Benefits-Related Employee Relations:

• Serve as the “face” of benefits administration, ensuring employees have a stellar experience
• Communicate total rewards programs effectively to employees, ensuring clarity and engagement
• Conduct training and informational sessions to enhance understanding of benefits offerings
• Handle escalations and complex employee benefits issues, providing resolutions that align with company policies and employee needs promptly

Benefits/Compensation System Management:

• Maintain and manage benefits and compensation-related systems, ensuring data accuracy and compliance with reporting requirements
• Develop policies and guidelines for compensation, benefits, and total rewards to ensure consistency and compliance with legal and regulatory requirements
• Partner with internal teams to support compensation planning, including salary structures, incentive programs, and performance-based rewards

Compensation Analysis:

• Conduct market research and benchmarking to ensure compensation structures remain competitive and aligned with industry standards
• Support the development and execution of the company’s unique buy-in and bonus programs to attract and retain top talent
• Provide data-driven insights to support budgeting and workforce planning efforts for leadership and firm CEOs
• Collaborate with leadership to develop compensation strategies that align with business goals and employee retention targets

Skills:

• Benefits Administration & Strategy: Expertise in designing, implementing, and managing employee benefits programs, including health, wellness, 401(k), and leave policies
• Self-Funded Plan Knowledge: Expertise in structuring, managing, and operating self-funded insurance plans, including reinsurance, stop-loss coverage, and financial risk management. Skilled in developing funding strategies for medical claims and administrative costs
• Compensation Analysis & Benchmarking: Strong analytical skills to assess market trends and ensure competitive compensation structures
• HRIS & Benefits Systems Management: Experience with benefits administration systems (e.g., Workday, Bswift) and payroll integrations to ensure accurate deductions and reporting
• Vendor & Broker Negotiation: Ability to leverage scale for better benefits pricing and manage vendor relationships
• Employee Relations & Communication: Excellent interpersonal skills to serve as the primary contact for employee benefits inquiries and ensure a positive experience
• Data-Driven Decision Making: Proficiency in analyzing employee participation trends, loss ratios, and survey feedback to optimize total rewards programs
• Process Improvement & Automation: Experience in streamlining benefits enrollment, billing, and compliance processes through automation and technology
• Compliance & Reporting: Familiarity with ACA, IRS reporting, and other regulatory requirements related to benefits and compensation
• Project Management & Integration: Ability to support mergers and acquisitions by aligning compensation and benefits programs across new partner firms

Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, Finance, or a related field
• Proven experience in designing, managing, and transitioning to self-funded insurance plans, including proficiency in reinsurance, stop-loss coverage, and financial risk management
• 4-6+ years of experience in benefits administration, compensation analysis, or total rewards
• Experience with HRIS platforms like Workday, Bswift, and benefits management tools
• Strong Excel/data analysis skills for benchmarking and reporting
• Knowledge of benefits compliance, ACA reporting, and 401(k) administration
• Experience supporting M&A integrations in compensation and benefits is a plus
• Certifications such as CEBS (Certified Employee Benefit Specialist), PHR/SPHR, or CCP (Certified Compensation Professional) are preferredTop of FormBottom of Form

What You Can Count On (We live by our values):

• Own it: We seize growth opportunities with the passion, speed and accountability of an entrepreneur.
• Serve whole-heartedly: We love our people and serve them with positivity and kindness.
• Be excellent: We set a high bar because our mission matters.
• Win together: We stay in sync, achieve as a team and celebrate each other.
• Bring the sunshine: We have fun and bring enthusiasm to make the journey joyful.

At Ascend, we provide a fair and equal employment opportunity for all candidates regardless of race, color, religion, national origin, gender, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender.